Kimber Baldwin of Cincinnati is the owner/dyer of Fiber Optic Yarns, where she uses her PhD in chemistry to push the envelope of color possibilities. After 20 years of research in diverse areas ranging from statistical analysis to nuclear physics, she left science 5 years ago to pursue her love of the fiber arts. Her novel approach towards the dye process as a chemical reaction results in optimal color saturation with no/minimal bleeding. She’s best known for the brilliant intense colors on yarn and spinning fiber achieved by novel dye application techniques.
Pat Bullen of Centerburg started weaving on a potholder loom when she was five and now 50+ years later Pat is the director of weaving at the Cultural Arts Center in downtown Columbus. Most of her weaving is done on a stationary floor loom but she loves the fact that weaving can also be portable. She teaches a wide variety of classes that feature portable looms such as the twining loom, inkle loom, and assorted frame looms.
Maddy Fraioli of Roseville, Ohio is a certified McGown and Oxford instructor, and is the founder of the Buckeye Rug Hooking Guild. She teaches internationally and is a frequent contributor to Rug Hooking Magazine. Follow this link www.rosehilldesign.com to see her work.
Faith Gernhardt is a former teacher, now a retired computer technician who has been participating in the fiber arts since childhood. She was introduced to tatting in the late 50s and has been learning more about it ever since.
Martha Gifreda of Columbus was taught by her mother to knit in an (unsuccessful) effort to keep her quiet. Martha loves the soothing, meditative rhythms and textures of knitting, and is fascinated by its technical aspects. After 20+ years in the corporate world she retired to spend a more appropriate amount of time knitting. She is a regular at Meg Swansen’s Knitting Camp each summer, but was expelled from the Achtung School of Knitting for spray-painting “You Are The Boss Of Your Knitting” across the front of the administration building.
Constance Hall of Marysville believes that being creative is a way of life and the fiber world is a wonderful place to explore. She loves introducing students to a new skill and seeing where it takes them in their own creative journey. Constance began her fiber experience at the age of 5 when her mother taught her to crochet. Since then her interests have expanded to include knitting, spinning, weaving, sewing and felting as well as being a full time glassblower for the last 30 years. She has had the opportunity to study under some very talented teachers who have given her new skills to use in her own work.
Kate Larson’s fiber journey has led her to a year of study in England, a degree in Environmental Soil Chemistry from Purdue University, a tour of textile traditions in Estonia, and back to the Indiana farm where her family has lived for six generations. She teaches handspinning and knitting regularly in the Indianapolis area and around the country. Kate modeled techniques for Teach Yourself Visually Handspinning (MacKenzie, 2007), has been published in Spin-Off, and is the new author of Spinning Daily’s Spinner’s Connection blog. When Kate isn’t teaching, she can be found in the barn with her ever-growing flock of Border Leicester sheep.
Elisabeth Marino is a knitter and designer living in the Buffalo, NY metro area. Her designs are available on Ravelry.com, her blog http://knittingwithkarma.blogspot.com/, Amazon Kindle, and Local Yarn Shops. Currently sponsored by Cascade Yarns, Classic Elite Yarns, and Mountain Colors, she teaches at fiber fairs and knitting conferences throughout the Northeast US. She learned to spin on an 18th century wheel and carding tools when she was a child. No longer a spinner, she now teaches, knits, designs, and drinks coffee with her friends at Karma Knitting and Clothing in Williamsville, NY.
Carol McFadden from Pittsburgh was taught to knit and crochet by my mother and German grandmother, who felt these were “necessities” for my future. I took it several steps further, learning weaving and spinning 30+ years ago, earning a degree in Studio Art, participating in exhibits and shows where I earned awards and blue ribbons, becoming a production weaver for a bit, co-chairing a conference fashion show, selling my handspun yarn, fiber and patterns on Etsy and Ravelry, and teaching spinning. Basically I’ve never been very far from fiber no matter what job I’ve held. I’m completely addicted to color and fiber and am at my best when in the outdoors enjoying the peace and natural rhythyms around me. From these two touchstones I draw the inspiration for my fiber, yarns and finished pieces. I like to show my students the traditional ways of spinning, and then encourage them to break the rules in whatever ways they can while still creating a stable and useable yarn.