Making

Behind every name, achievement or brand is a person. A person with a very real story…a story of where they are today in life and the journey that got them there. Anna Maria has a smile and voice that shines as bright as the fabrics she designs, but more than that, she has a personal story - from traversing early motherhood and 7 children through a career in design, to marriage, entrepreneurship and making. I hope you feel the passion and inspiration. You can find Anna Maria at annamariahorner.com and craft-south.com and on Instagram @annamariahorner and @craftsouth.

Max Bainbridge and Abigail Booth have built a life and business together in East London. Max is a woodworker and Abigail a natural dyer and quilter, and despite their individual practices seeming very different - their roots in traditional craft and the natural environment make them a perfect combo. It’s been a pleasure to follow their journey this past year as they’ve built their business and explored the different facets of making. You can find them at forest-and-found.com and on Instagram @forestandfound. And with that, here’s Max and Abigail...

Sponsor:  Fancy Tiger Crafts is a special yarn, fabric and notions shop based out of Denver Colorado. This inspired place is owned and operated by self proclaimed fiber nerds, Jaime Jennings and Amber Corcoran…two women who’s hope and journey have allowed them to share their knowledge, adventures and passion in fiber, and this is reflected in their beautiful shop as well as their endeavors in creating their own farm yarn Heirloom. Fancy Tiger Crafts is one of my favorite places to shop online for fabric, patterns and yarn, and I recently attended one of their craft nights and it’s even better in person. I’ve just began cutting out the Fen pattern and excited about their #fancykal that just started which you can find more info about on their blog. And make sure to mark your calendars for January 21st, where Fancy Tiger is hosting Superstar Knit Night with guests Laura Nelkin, Romi Hill, Miriam Felton, Jill Draper, Anne Weil and Lorilee Beltman. Grab your project and come hang out with knit with all these amazing fiber folk. Make sure to visit Fancy Tiger Crafts in person and online at fancytigercrafts.com and on Instagram @fancytigercrafts. Fiber folk: You know I love yarn with a story. There are so many facets of these stories…where it came from, who raised the fiber animals, who spun the yarn, dyed it, designs with it and so on. But what makes a yarn story even more exciting and the knit more satisfying, is the impact these yarns have. Angie Lenoir and Stephanie Stotts are two friends who created a fiber company which grew into focusing on creating yarns with a story and a mission. You can find Angie and Stephanie at kismetfiberworks.com and on Instagram @kismetfiberworks. On January 15-17th Kismet Fiber Works will be at Vogue Knitting Live in New York City at the Yarn Culture booth #713. And a special surprise, several of the Tajik women who spin the Pamiri yarn will be flying from their home in Tajikistan to New York City to attend Vogue Knitting and meet those who attend the event. I would encourage anyone who is near NYC or plans to visit, to stop by on Sunday from 10-2 and welcome them and to show your love and support of what they’re doing. Sponsor: Feel Good Yarn Co, the creator of SilverSpun yarn. This incredible cotton and silver blend yarn is produced using only American sourced fibers and is spun by the folks at North Carolina State University. Aside from it’s beautiful texture and stitch definition, SilverSpun yarn has some pretty amazing therapeutic and thermal properties because of it’s unique silver content, which you can hear more about in episode 33. They’ve introduced two new products, a colored version of their flagship product,

Like many of you, I’m a lover and supporter of Quince and Co yarns and all that goes into bringing this amazing brand to our fingertips. But many of you might not know the man behind the scenes. Ryan Fitzgerald is an integral part of what Quince and Co is today, working alongside his mother Pam and their incredible team to provide some of the most compelling pattern and yarn collections. His journey is a unique one, from environmental and political studies to architecture and then finding himself increasingly invested in Quince and Co. You can find Ryan at quinceandco.com

We’re all very familiar with the wool in the fiber arts, but something that’s far less known is it’s use in building materials, including insulation. What’s extra neat about wool insulation is that it often times uses wool that would be of little or no value in the yarn world and therefore making the best use out of this fiber we love so much. Thayne Mackey and his family are doing something pretty wonderful at Montana Green Insulation and I’m excited for you to hear more. You can find Thayne at montanagreeninsulation.com and on Facebook as Brookside Woolen Mill

Today marks the 1yr birthday of the Woolful podcast, and you can only celebrate such things with angels, like today’s guest Tif Fussell or as many of you know her, Dottie Angel. Every single one of the past 42 episodes have been so important to me, however today’s holds special meaning. For any of you who know Tif, you know the treasure she is. Her story goes beyond fiber or textiles, motherhood or marriage…it’s a story of a woman finding her strength and healing, and her creative journey. You can find Tif in her Pacific Northwest mossy shed and on Instagram @dottieangel.

Sponsor: Ewetopia is a local yarn shop in rural Viroqua, WI, carrying a beautiful selection of yarns and fibers, including their very own line of hand dyed yarns. One of my favorite things about Ewetopia is it’s generational foundation, the shop was started by Kathryn Ashley-Wright and later her mother Lisa Ashley joined her as partner in the business. Along with Kathryn’s grandmother Gloria and her daughters Stella and Mae…you’ll sometimes find all four generations busy around the shop…what a special thing to have. In addition to the Ewetopia shop and yarn brand, Kathryn and her family have a farm in southwestern Wisconsin where they grow certified organic hay and rotationally graze their flock of 50 ewes…comprised of Corriedale, Border Leicester and Merino crosses, which contribute to their Ewetopia yarn and fiber line. If you’re in the Viroqua area or just passing through, make sure to visit them in person. You can find a selection of Ewetopia yarns and fibers, and more info on the shop and farm online at ewetopiafibershop.com. And find them on Instagram @ewetopiayarn. Fiber folk: To me, Green Mountain Spinnery is one of the staples of the fiber industry, and has been since founded in 1981 by David Ritchie, Libby Mills, Claire Wilson and Diana Wahle. I first learned about the spinnery through my friend Annie, who is a huge advocate of their yarns. Then all of the sudden I kept hearing about the everywhere…that’s how it goes yeah? haha. The more I learned, the more I loved. From their humble hardworking beginnings, to creating an organic yarn, their formation of a coop and their overall beautiful influence within this fiber community…I’ve met few others in this industry with such a rich history and gratitude for what wool has brought them. Today you get to hear a bit of that history and hear that richness in their stories, as David, Libby, Claire and Kate tell the Green Mountain Spinnery story. You can find Green Mountain Spinnery at spinnery.com and on Instagram @greenmtnspinnery. Photos by Kathy Cadigan, Green Mountain Spinnery and Megan MacDonald Sponsor: In 2013, Anna Dianich opened Tolt Yarn and Wool. a local yarn shop in the beautiful Pacific Northwest town of Carnation, Washington. A couple weeks back we celebrated Tolt’s second anniversary, with the release of a very special book, Farm to Needle: Stories of Wool. When we pick up our needles and cast-on the first stitch,

There are a handful of special soul’s in this fiber industry, that have laid the groundwork and forged paths for what it is today and what it will become…having been a great influence on so many fiber folks. Pam Allen is one of these people. From motherhood and design, nursing school to Interweave knits, Classic Elite and now Quince and Co…Pam’s fiber journey is an inspiring one. When I first began talking with Pam, she started out by telling me that what she hoped to share was her personal journey…and honestly, that’s exactly what I hoped she would say. And with that, here’s Pam…

Jill Draper is what I would call one of the OG’s of hand dyed and small farm yarns. From studying fine arts, to making decoupage vases and then finding her calling in dyeing yarn which led to creating her own bases from small flocks around the US, Jill is a gem in this industry and craft. So much of my early interest in farm yarns came from watching Jill’s journey and passion for working with traceable fibers and milling with domestic mills. Many of you may be familiar with Empire, or yarn babies as many call them…boasting 1280 of aran weight Rambouillet wool. She recently released her newest yarn Rifton, a wonderful combination of natural colored and dyed wool. You can find Jill’s incredible line of yarns at many of your favorite local yarn shops and her newest yarn Rifton in her Etsy shop Jill Draper Makes Stuff.

Earlier this Spring I received a very endearing email from a woman named Emmaline, a 24 year old sheep farmer in western NY and owner of Orchard View Lincoln Longwools. As Emma began to share a bit of her story, having started her flock at age 12, building her business with her father over the years and now venturing into the wool aspect of her business, I knew the rest of you should hear her story too. In the fiber farming and production side of the fiber industry I don’t often meet other young folks, especially ones with such spirit and gumption as Emmaline…so I hope you find her story as inspiring and encouraging as I have. You can find Emmaline at orchardviewlincolns.com and on Facebook at Orchard View Lincoln Longwools.

The Lost Coast is one of my favorite places to visit and one we frequented when living in California, because of it’s incredible beauty and good people, like my friend Annie and her family. I remember getting a text one day from Annie saying that I needed to check out this new local yarn, Lost Coast Yarns. A few months later it popped up again when talking with this weeks sponsor, NorthCoast Knittery, the exclusive retailer of the yarns and I knew there had to be a story and special person behind it, and there was. Amanda Malachesky is the dreamer and doer behind Lost Coast Yarns, a new small batch yarn company that sources local fibers and natural dyes to create their line of hand-dyed farmstead yarns. You can find Amanda at Facebook.com/lostcoastyarn and her yarns at northcoastknittery.com.

When someone’s name continues to come up in conversations, you start to get the hint that maybe you should get to know said person…well Daphne Marinopoulos is one of those people. After a few months of aligning schedules and rural internet bandwidth, we were finally able to sit down and have a talk, and it spoke to me in a special way…much of that conversation you’ll hear here today. From flight instructor to foreign service officer to fiber mill owner and creator of The Fibre Company, Daphne has had a pretty incredible journey, and one highlighted by a life of fulfilling her creative passion and destiny, something I know many of us seek and aspire to do. I’ve long admired the quality, composition and obvious care that goes into The Fibre Company yarns, but I never realized the story behind it, until now…and as we all know, the story is everything.

You can’t help but be mesmerized by the work of Allison Volek Shelton, founder of Shutters and Shuttles in Nashville, TN. The intricacies of the designs, the curated colors of the fiber she both dyes and weaves with…it’s a bit unbelievable. What’s even more intriguiging is hearing her journey of how she went from pursuing a life as a glass blower to herpetology to cupcakes and finally landing in the most serendipitous of callings…a textile weaver.

I first met Brooke a couple years ago when I sat across from her at a little knit gathering Karen from Fringe Supply Co had at her studio. At the time I wasn’t aware that she was the force behind Sincere Sheep, but it didn’t take long for me to get to know the passion, knowledge and love this woman has for the fiber industry. She’s so giving with her knowledge and has been a great encourager and connector for my own fiber pursuits, enlightening me about wool classing and encouraging me to attend a local wool classing certification and introducing me other fiber folk who have great wisdom to share. But more than all that, she’s an extremely hardworking mother who naturally dyes the most beautiful collection of domestic yarns. You can find Brooke at SincereSheep.com and on Instagram @sinceresheep.

One of my favorite things since starting this podcast is being introduced to some of the most amazing people in the fiber industry and the things they are up to. One such person is the spirited Laurie Gonyea of Feel Good Fiber Co, who is doing something pretty exciting with her yarn SilverSpun. As I got to know Laurie a bit better, I loved seeing and hearing her enthusiasm, not only for this great product, but for entrepreneurism and how these two things combined can have a very positive affect on many peoples lives…as makers, as receivers and as women and mothers in business.