Meet your Interweave Yarn Fest Instructors
Creative. Warm. Skilled. Approachable. These are just a few of the words used to describe your 2015 Yarn Fest Instructors. If you’ve attended an Interweave specialty fiber event in the past, you just might see some familiar faces—along with new soon-to-be favorites representing the worlds of knitting, spinning, crochet and weaving.
To learn more about your 2015 Interweave Yarn Fest Instructors click the 'Learn More' button below.
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Kate Atherley |
| Kate is Knitty.com's Managing Technical Editor, and a seasoned designer and teacher in her own right. Her book on custom-fit socks is due out this summer from Interweave. Her first book, Beyond Knit & Purl, was praised as the 21st century Knitting for Anarchists, providing a thorough, but beginner-friendly way to build your knitting skills and knowledge. She's known for her attention to detail in her patterns and her classes, and she regularly teaches at stores and events across North America, including Interweave Knitting Lab and Vogue Knitting Live. Her work has appeared in many books and magazines. |
| Website: http://kateatherley.com |
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Sessions
- Two Socks in One: The War & Peace Method (3 hours) (Thursday Morning & Sunday Morning)
- Socks: Going Your Way (3 hours) (Thursday Afternoon)
- Math for Knitters (3 hours) (Friday Morning)
- Fixing Mistake (3 hours) (Saturday Morning)
- Custom Fit Socks (3 hours) (Saturday Afternoon)
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Anne Berk |
| Anne Berk was certified by TKGA as a Master Knitter in 2003. Anne has designed for many yarn companies and her DVDs on intarsia technique—Inside Intarsia and Intarsia in Depth—are published by Interweave. She has written patterns and articles for many publications, including Piecework, Sockupied, ColorKnit and Twist Collective. She has taught classes nationally on subjects ranging from argyle socks to zipper insertion into hand-knits. Annetarsia Knits is a reference book for learning to knit Intarsia flat or in the round, in stockinette or garter stitch. The book includes workshops, a motif library and 28 patterns for using the new techniques. Its content is designed for knitters of all skill levels. Anne is also an optometrist in private practice in Portland, OR, and is a distance runner. |
| Website: www.annetarsia.com |
Sessions
- Intarsia Garter Stitch (3 hours) (Thursday Morning)
- Annetarsia: Intarsia in the Round (3 hours) (Thursday Afternoon)
- Argyle Socks (6 hours) (Friday)
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Sara Bixler
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| Sara Bixler is an instructor at the Mannings Handweaving School in East Berlin, Pennsylvania. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Art and a Bachelor of Science in K-12 education—although she gives full credit to the depth of her knowledge to her apprenticeship with her father, Tom Knisely. Sara is a frequent contributor to Handwoven Magazine and Weaving Today. She has been hosted by several mid-Atlantic weaving guilds for discussions on color relationships in weaving, which is where her primary focus of weaving studies has been. Sara’s body of work is all-encompassing, and she strives to have an eclectic and diverse knowledge base in all the fiber arts. This range of cross-media knowledge broadens her body of work and allows great flexibility when instructing students from diverse backgrounds and levels of experience. |
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Sessions
- Weaving with Knitting Yarns (6 hours) (Thursday)
- Color in Weaving (6 hours) (Friday)
- Weaving with Handspun Yarns (6 hours) (Saturday)
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Ann Budd
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| Ann Budd is the bestselling author of a dozen knitting books, including the popular Knitter's Handy Book series, Getting Started Knitting Socks, many in the Style series, and Sock Knitting Master Class. |
| Website: www.annbuddknits.com |
Sessions
- Cast-On Techniques (3 hours) (Thursday Morning)
- Bind-Off Techniques (3 hours) (Thursday Afternoon)
- Socks at Any Gauge (3 hours) (Friday Morning)
- Sweater Design Basics (3 hours) (Friday Afternoon)
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Maggie Casey |
| Maggie Casey is co-owner of Shuttles, Spindles & Skeins in Boulder, Colorado. Some people have wine cellars, Maggie has a fleece basement! She holds Part 1 of HGA’s COE in Handspinning. Maggie has taught spinning at Shuttles, SOAR, the Estes Park Wool Market, the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival and guild programs around the country. She has been a skein judge at the Taos Wool Festival, Estes Park Wool Market, Colorado State Fair and Convergence 2004. She is the author of Start Spinning: Everything You Need to Know to Make Great Yarn, an Interweave book. Her DVDs include Start Spinning, Getting Started on a Drop Spindle and Big and Lofty Yarns. |
Website: www.shuttlesspindlesandskeins.com
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Sessions
- Start Spinning (6 hours) (Thursday & Friday)
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Robyn Chachula |
| Robyn is the author of Blueprint Crochet Sweaters, Unexpected Afghans and Crochet Stitches Visual Encyclopedia. Her work has been featured in Interweave Crochet, Crochet!, Love of Crochet, Vogue Crochet and more. She is one of the crochet experts on the PBS show Knit and Crochet Now! |
| Website: www.crochetbyfaye.com |
Sessions
- Crochet Like a Pro (3 hours) (Thursday Morning)
- Unexpected Lace Crochet (3 hours) (Thursday Afternoon)
- Beyond the Basics (3 hours) (Friday Morning)
- Crocheting with Color (3 hours) (Friday Afternoon)
- Crochet Cables and Lace (3 hours) (Saturday Morning)
- Crochet Finishing Master Class (3 hours) (Saturday Afternoon)
- Crochet Jewelry (3 hours) (Sunday Morning)
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Lily M. Chin |
| Lily M. Chin is an internationally famous knitter and crocheter who has worked in the yarn industry for more than 30 years, as a designer, instructor and author of seven books on knitting and crochet. Lily teaches extensively around the world. She also has also starred in instructional DVDs and teaches online classes. Lily has created looks for the New York Fashion Week runway collections of ready-to-wear designers. She was named a Master Knitter by Vogue Knitting and has been involved in some aspect of the New York fashion industry since age 13. |
| Website: www.lilychinsignaturecollection.com |
Sessions
- Short-Rowing Bust Darts (3 hours) (Thursday Morning)
- Knitting Tips, Tricks and Hints (3 hours) (Thursday Afternoon)
- Crochet Tips, Tricks and Hints (3 hours) (Friday Morning)
- Bias Knitting Without Prejudice (6 hours) (Saturday)
- Fine Shaping in Crochet and Patterning (3 hours) (Sunday Morning)
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Darla Fanton
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| A teacher and designer for more than thirty years, Darla Fanton derives great joy in giving obscure crochet techniques new life for today’s fiber fanatics. She is constantly experimenting to discover what new spin she can put on traditional crochet stitches. Her credits include designs for yarn manufacturers, numerous magazine articles, leaflets and contributions to multi-author books. Darla was honored to be included in the book Crochet Master Class, published in 2010. Her most recent book, 50 Tunisian Stitches, was released in 2013. Certified by the Craft Yarn Council of America, Darla is a popular teacher at national conferences, as well as her local yarn shop, where she is known for her patience and detailed instructions that typically include numerous step-by-step photographs. |
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Sessions
- Double Hook Crochet: The Basics (3 hours) (Thursday Morning)
- Knit & Purl with Your Crochet Hook (3 hours) (Thursday Afternoon)
- Puffs, Posts, Cables & Connections: Designing Tunisian Arans (3 hours) (Friday Morning)
- Tunisian Entrelac: To Felt or Not; In the Round (3 hours) (Friday Afternoon)
- Double Helix Bead Crochet Necklace & Bracelet (3 hours) (Saturday Morning)
- Technicolor Tunisian (3 hours) (Saturday Afternoon)
- Tunisian Cuff Bracelet (3 hours) (Sunday Morning)
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Abby Franquemont
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| Abby Franquemont, author of the bestselling spinning book Respect The Spindle, has been steeped in the fiber arts since birth. The daughter of field anthropologists studying textile production, she was raised largely in the rural Andes of Peru, where she learned to spin, weave and more, starting at the age of five. In 2006, she left a successful career in information technology in order to write and teach full-time about the fiber arts, particularly spinning. Why spinning? Abby says it's the most fundamental of the fiber arts—the one upon which the most others depend—as well as the most at risk of being lost and hardest to pass down in any way other than hand-to-hand. Abby is technical, passionate, inquisitive and informed; she has taught individuals and groups of all ages, skill levels and combinations thereof. Her classes are among the first to sell out wherever she goes. Her book, instructional DVDs, magazine articles, and blog are widely recommended and her down-to-earth approach is empowering for students of all levels. |
| Website: www.abbysyarns.com |
Sessions
- Spindle Spun Sock Yarn (6 hours) (Thursday)
- Spindles for Knitters (3 hours) (Friday Morning)
- Spinning Self-Striping Yarns (3 hours) (Friday Afternoon)
- Spindles for Knitters (3 hours) (Saturday Morning)
- Spectacular Silk Singles (3 hours) (Saturday Afternoon)
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Kate Gagnon Osborn & Courtney Kelley
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| Kate Gagnon Osborn and Courtney Kelley own Kelbourne Woolens, distributor of The Fibre Company yarns and publishers of patterns and craft accessories. They have authored four books and multiple collections of knitting patterns, and their designs have appeared in Interweave Knits, knit.wear, KnitScene, Interweave Crochet, and books such as Free Spirit Shawls, Fair Isle Style, November Knits, Scarf Style 2, Weekend Hats and Knit Local. Their shared experiences in fine art, textiles, retail, knitwear design and many years of knitting experience have all informed their role as teachers, designers and business owners. |
| Website: www.kelbournewoolens.com |
Sessions
- First Steps in Crochet (3 hours) (Thursday Morning)
- Next Steps in Crochet (3 hours) (Thursday Afternoon)
- Demystifying Charts: Learning (and Loving!) Working Lace from Charts (3 hours) (Friday Morning)
- Fabulous Finishing (3 hours) (Friday Afternoon)
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Sara Goldenberg White
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| Sara received her Masters of Fine Art, with a concentration in fiber, from Colorado State University. Sara has since been exhibiting throughout the country, as well as teaching fibers and weaving classes at both Front Range Community College and Shuttles, Spindles & Skeins in Colorado. Sara also contributed to Jane Patrick’s A Weavers Idea Book. The two then went on to co-author a forthcoming woven garments book. |
| Website: www.saragoldenbergwhite.com |
Sessions
- From Woven Cloth to Garment (3 hours) (Thursday Morning)
- Weave a Scarf in a Day (6 hours) (Thursday & Saturday)
- Pick Me Up: Easy-as-Pie Pickup Patterns for the Rigid Heddle Loom (6 hours) (Friday)
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Galina Khmeleva
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| Galina A. Khmeleva, owner of Skaska Designs and author of Gossamer Webs: The History and Techniques of Orenburg Lace Shawls and The Gossamer Webs Design Collection: Three Orenburg Shawls to Knit, has earned the reputation as one of the most respected and knowledgeable lace knitting instructors in the country. As a former clothing and costume designer who worked with the aristocracy of St. Petersburg's music and theater society, Galina was a pioneer in breaking down barriers in the new Russia that allowed Russian women the opportunity to achieve ownership status in private companies. As the principal student to Orenburg's lace knitting elite, Galina brings the classic style and revered traditional knitting techniques of Russian lace to her classes. Her unique, inspiring and fun-loving teaching style has made her a guru of lace enthusiasts across the US. And as an added bonus, Galina's classes are an unforgettable cultural experience. |
| Website: www.skaska.com |
Sessions
- The Fundamentals of Orenburg Knitted Lace (6 hours) (Thursday)
- Spinning the Orenburg Way (6 hours) (Saturday)
- Grafting With a Russian Twist AND More!! (3 hours) (Sunday Morning)
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Kate Larson
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Kate Larson loves using fiber arts as a bridge between her passions for art and agriculture. Her fiber journey led her to a degree in Environmental Soil Chemistry, travels through northern Europe in search of textile traditions and then back to the farm where her family has lived for six generations. She keeps an ever-growing flock of Border Leicester sheep and teaches handspinning and knitting regularly in central Indiana and around the country. Kate has published articles and designs in Spin-Off Magazine, Jane Austen Knits, Knitting Sweaters from Around the World and other publications. She manages the Spinner's Connection blog at SpinningDaily.com.
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| Website: www.katelarsontextiles.com |
Sessions
- Creative Focus: Building a Spinner's Idea Notebook (3 hours) (Thursday Morning & Sunday Morning)
- Spinning Handpainted Fibers (3 hours) (Thursday Afternoon)
- Woolen Stitches: Spinning for Crewel Embroidery (6 hours) (Friday)
- Spinning the Three Leicesters (6 hours) (Saturday)
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Annie Modesitt |
| A native of Ohio, Annie taught herself how to knit at age 25, before moves to both New York City and then Texas. The Texas tenure didn’t last, but knitting did, and upon returning to the New York area, she began knitting for other designers and designing for major knitting magazines. Annie’s work has appeared in Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting, Knitters Magazine, Cast On, Family Circle Easy Knitting, McCall’s Needlework and many international fiber and yarn-oriented publications. Annie teaches worldwide and across the United States. She used to knit using the combination method, but now believes that there truly is no wrong way to knit. Annie lives in St. Paul, Minnesota with her husband, kids and assorted pets. |
| Website: www.anniemodesitt.com |
Sessions
- Combination Knitting (3 hours) (Friday Afternoon)
- Charted Entrelac (3 hours) (Saturday Morning)
- Knitting with Wire (3 hours) (Saturday Afternoon)
- Knitting with Beads (3 hours) (Sunday Morning)
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Jillian Moreno
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| Jillian Moreno is passionate about handspun yarn. She is perpetually curious, enjoys poking ideas with a stick and loves to inspire other spinners to think a little differently. She is the Editor of KnittySpin.com, the spinning little sister of Knitty.com. She is a regular contributor to Ply Magazine and sits on its editorial board. Jillian is currently working on a spinning book to be published by Storey Publishing. |
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Sessions
- Cheaper by the Dozen: Twelve Ways to Spin Variegated Tops (3 hours) (Thursday Afternoon & Friday Morning)
- I Like Big Yarn and I Cannot Lie: Spinning Big Lofty Yarn (3 hours) (Friday Afternoon)
- Yarnitecture: Building Exactly the Yarn You Want (6 hours) (Saturday)
- Batts in the Belfry: Spinning Batts (3 hours) (Sunday Morning)
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Alasdair Post-Quinn |
| The author of the book Extreme Double-Knitting, Alasdair has been developing techniques and designing double-knitted work since 2005. He has a new book in the works and hopes to be pushing the boundaries of double-knitting for a long time to come. He lives in Cambridge with his wife and cat. |
| Website: www.double-knitting.com |
Sessions
- Introduction to Double-Knitting (3 hours) (Friday Morning & Saturday Morning)
- Multi-Color Double-Knitting (3 hours) (Friday Afternoon)
- Two-Pattern Double-Knitting (3 hours) (Saturday Afternoon)
- Double-Knitting Cables (3 hours) (Sunday Morning)
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Biggan Ryd-Dups
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| Biggan Ryd-Dups is a Swedish knitwear designer who has been living in Australia since the 1980s. In 2003, she started her Biggan Design Yarn label in order to have a superior yarn to work with. Like a painter's palette, her yarns come in a plethora of colors to be inspired by. Biggan Design produces DK and fingering weight yarns in 64 vibrant colors, which are never discontinued. Her yarns are so soft you can wear them on your skin and, best of all, can be machine washed, making it the perfect, modern yarn for the busy woman. Biggan designs every garment under the sun with this yarn and gives workshops to inspire and teach other knitters to do the same, so that they can create their own personalized knitwear wardrobes. |
| Website: www.biggandesign.com |
Sessions
- Continental Knitting (3 hours) (Thursday Morning)
- Taking the Fear Out of Steeking (3 hours) (Sunday Morning)
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Nancy Shroyer |
| Nancy Shroyer knits, spins, weaves, dyes, designs, teaches and invents in Cary, North Carolina! Her approach is to make working with fiber easier for everyone. She has found many shortcuts, techniques and formulas that can save time and anxiety. This has led to her to develop Nancy’s Knit Knacks, products which are sold worldwide. |
| Website: www.nancysknitknacks.com |
Sessions
- Introduction to PA German/Scandinavian Band Weaving (3 hours) (Friday Afternoon & Sunday Morning)
- Buttonholes, Zippers, Cords, and Pockets (3 hours) (Saturday Morning)
- Fair Isle Knitting 101 (3 hours) (Saturday Afternoon)
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Stephanie Flynn Sokolov
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| Stephanie Flynn Sokolov is a fiber fanatic, experienced in teaching and motivating students in many fiber arts. She has diverse expertise in spinning, weaving, knitting, felting and dyeing. Her interest in fiber arts started at a young age. She trained in Accessory Design at the Fashion Institute Of Technology and continues expanding her expertise by seeking out the best in the industry. Stephanie co-authored Woven Scarves: 26 Inspired Designs on a Rigid Heddle, as seen on Knitting Daily TV, and her projects can be found in Spin-Off Magazine, The Weaver’s Idea book by Jane Patrick and Yearning to Weave and Spin (a Schacht Spindle publication). She also teaches Pick up Stick and Finger Control Techniques on the Craftsy online teaching platform. All of Stephanie’s students are sure to find inspiration in any class she teaches. She loves to spread her contagious enthusiasm for weaving with everyone she meets and is so fun to be around! |
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Sessions
- Magic Weaving and Fabric Transfiguration (6 hours) (Thursday)
- Log Cabin Patterns on the Rigid-Heddle Loom (6 hours) (Friday)
- A Lattice Scarf in Leno Lace (6 hours) (Saturday)
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Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark |
| Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark is a knitwear designer, writer and teacher based in Birmingham, Alabama. Known for her stylish and feminine designs, she has designed for many yarn companies, books and magazines, including Classic Elite, Malabrigo, Interweave Knits, Knitscene, Twist Collective and Knitty. She also stars in the instructional DVD Brioche Knitting Basics and is the author of Brioche Chic: 22 Fresh Knits for Women & Men. |
| Website: www.mercedesknits.com |
Sessions
- Introduction to Brioche Knitting (3 hours) (Thursday Morning & Saturday Morning)
- Brioche With a Twist (3 hours) (Thursday Afternoon & Friday Morning)
- Brioche Colorwork (3 hours) (Friday Afternoon)
- U-Turns: Short Rows for Shaping & Pattern (3 hours) (Saturday Afternoon)
- Embroidery on Knits (3 hours) (Sunday Morning)
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Mary Beth Temple
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| Mary Beth Temple is an author, designer and teacher of both knitting and crochet. Her work appears frequently in magazines and books and she is also the owner and lead designer for the popular pattern line Hooked for Life. Visit her online on Twitter @Hooked4Life. |
| Website: www.HookedforLifePublishing.com |
Sessions
- Tunisian Crochet Basics (3 hours) (Saturday Morning)
- Beautiful Bruges Crochet Lace (3 hours) (Saturday Afternoon)
- Crocheted Mitered Squares (3 hours) (Sunday Morning)
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