PAST TEACHERS

Nancy Skakel

Class Nancy is Teaching

It's in the Bag

Nancy Skakel, Soft Heart Creations, has been working with wool for many years. She has
always enjoyed the tactile pleasure of the feel of fiber in her hands and the connection with
people throughout history who have created useful and beautiful things out of fiber. In 2001 Nancy
discovered felting, and it immediately became her passion. She started out needle felting,
charmed by creating beautiful dragons and whimsical woodland creatures. Very soon she
branched into wet felting, nuno felting, and eco printing and natural dyes. Several of her
pieces have won awards. Nancy has also taught classes locally, at regional fiber festivals, galleries,
and at Maryhill Museum. It has been a wonderful privilege and inspiration to take classes
and workshops with several world renowned felters. From these master felters she has learned
many techniques and different ways to develop her ideas into her creations. She has also
learned so much from these gifted mentors about how to teach a hands on class in this classic
medium. The marvelous capacity of wool to take form with silk, linen, and so many other
other fibers is a continual wonder for Nancy.

Stacy Schlutsmeyer

Class Stacy is Teaching

Breaking all the Rules: Tablet Woven Uzbek Jiyak

The process of creating textiles brings Stacy joy. Of all the fiber arts she’s done, tablet weaving has captured her heart with the complex possibilities that arise from very simple tools. She has been a teacher in one form or another for most of her life, and she loves the way a student lights up when a new concept clicks. She aspires in her teaching to make tablet weaving comprehensible and fun. She has taught at the ANWG Conference, Red Alder, and the Seattle Weaver’s Guild.

Heidi Grevstad
Birchbayrughooking.com

Class Heidi is Teaching

Traditional Rug Hooking

Heidi Grevstad has been hooking rugs since 2004. She received her McGown Teacher's Certification in 2023. Heidi primarily uses wool fabric that has been cut into strips for her rugs. She enjoys and teaches all styles of hooking from fine shading to primitives. She is a three time Celebrations finalist. Her work has been featured in several rug hooking magazines and books.

Lori Kathrine
Golden Feather

Class Lori is Teaching

Whimsical yard Art

Guiding others through many art forms, Lori encourages self expression without judgement using wonder and curiosity as tools to explore and create. Through her research she has discovered that there are so many people who lack confidence to play and just allow something to become whatever it wants that she has made it her mission to encourage others to use this muscle and learn to trust themselves again.

As a young child Lori has always been hyper creative. Always blowing her mother’s mind with the things that she would create. Through the years Lori guided many of her nephews and nieces to draw and paint. Though she hasn’t taken any art classes herself, as an adult she realized that she has a gift that has been well received! In 2018 Lori opened up a self discovery center where she taught many classes, facilitated many workshops with a focus on the joy of discovery.

Lisa Ellis
LisaEllisDesigns.com

Classes Lisa is Teaching

Colored Cables
Mosaic knitting
Playing with Thimbles

Lisa is the owner of a wholesale pattern line, designs for yarn companies, and is a traveling knitting instructor in the Pacific Northwest. Lisa has two publications with Leisure Arts and is also a contributing designer to more than a dozen other books and magazines as well as having published articles on knitting techniques. Her passion is taking knitters to the next level. Lisa is a native of Washington state, currently living in Gig Harbor.

Lauralee DeLuca

Classes Lauralee is Teaching

Exploring Wools Found in the PNW
Watercolor Looking Nuno Scarves from Braids

Lauralee DeLuca learned to spin, weave and dye at age 20, felting and kitting a few years later. She spent almost 20 years living off the grid in rural Alaska mushing her dogs, substance living, spinning and selling her hand spun dog fur products while further her craft. She has been teaching most of that journey, everything from handspinning to kids art classes even homeschooling her two children through high school. She moved to the Olympic Peninsula over 10 years ago with her children, 8 spinning wheels, boxes of fiber and not much else. She continues to teach, spin lots of yarn, felt too much and dye anything white in sight.

Debra Danielson
Becki Roberts

Workshop Debra & Becki are Teaching

Eco Fabric Printing

Debra and Becki have been eco printing for a few years now. They recently came back from a weeklong workshop on Eco Printing in Morocco. They got to share learning experiences with Eco Printers from different countries. They look forward to sharing their knowledge with you.

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Karen Whooley
karenwhooley.com

Classes Karen is Teaching

Crochet the Dragon Scales Bracelet
Crochet Beaded Bling

Karen Whooley is an award-winning, internationally known crochet designer, author, and instructor. She creates patterns and teaches classes for crocheters who crave simplicity and elegance with a dash of adventure.

Karen has been teaching nationally since 2004 and has shared her passion at events such as Stitches West, Fiber Fusion NW, Dallas-Fort Worth Fiber Fest, and the Crochet Guild of America's Chain Link Conferences. Her classes—both live and online—are among the most sought after in the crochet world.

She is the author of 27 books, including Modern Italian Lace Crochet, Coastal Crochet, and her most recent release (2025), Socks: The Crochet Way. Crochet is her passion, and her mission is to inspire students by helping them build confidence and creative freedom, empowering them to turn their own crochet dreams into reality.

Karen Chabinsky

Workshops Karen is Teaching

Spinning 102, Taking the Next Step
Spinning With the Right Technique

I've been teaching in the Pacific Northwest for over 20 years. This includes classes for guilds, demonstrations, and managing teaching programs. My expertise includes spinning and weaving classes, and events have included the Fiber Fusion Northwest event over the past years, NwRSA Conferences in Spokane and Tacoma, demonstrating various techniques at events, and teaching spinning and weaving classes for various guilds. I am also a Certified Fiber Arts Judge, certified through NwRSA, with expertise in weaving, spinning and felting judging at local fairs from Pierce County up to Watcom County in Washington State for the last 20 years.

Susan Kroll

Workshop Susan is Teaching

Kumihimo on a Marudai

I love to spin, knit, weave, and dye with natural dyes. In short, I am a "maker" and my world is threads. One long winter I studied the Japanese art of braid making, reading books and working patterns. I found lots of ways to incorporate braids into my "makings" for both decoration and function.

Kathy Martin
www.gotmygoat.com
Etsy.com

Workshops Kathy is Teaching

Handpainting & Speckling Yarns
Triangle Loom Weaving Jump Start
Mohair Lock Spinning Joy

I put in my time in the non-fiber related rat race and now fill my days with caretaking a dwindling flock of Angora goats and playing with natural fibers. I have wheel spun, dyed, knitted, crocheted, and woven with triangle looms since the beginning of time. Wynham Farms and gotmygoat are brands recognizable from online ventures, fiber festivals, trunk shows, and classes taught in several states.

Una Walker
www.woolywalkers.com

Workshop Una is Teaching

Beginner Punch Needle

Una is a Fiber Artist from La Grande, Oregon whose fashion and artwork has been exhibited nationally to rave reviews. As a sought aVer fiber arts teacher, her classes range from beginning to advanced techniques in a variety of mediums. Una grew up in her parents’ craft supply store where she gained experience in a wide range of crafts as both an artist and teacher. An example being her appearance on HGTV’s ‘That’s Clever’ in 2009, making a pair of shoes! She got started punching over a decade ago at a craft show “make and take” where she first worked with the Oxford Punch Needle. Combining unique materials is Una’s most inspiring challenge in her work; she loves “figuring it all out”. From raw wool, to sewing the finishing stitch, she is always looking ahead to new and creative approaches. Una’s latest fiber experiments include explorations in dyeing and seeing how the color and texture bring life to her designs. Una’s work has been exhibited at craft shows across the country where she also sells under her business name of Wooly Walkers. Una’s “Chair #1” was recently selected to be in Excellence In Fiber for 2022 and "Chair #2” won Best in 3D from Art Center East in La Grande, Oregon. Una has completed her Advanced Oxford Punch Needle training and has been teaching punch needle for the past 10 years. She has taught at Estes Park Wool Market, Taos Wool Festival, Oregon Flock and Fiber, Black Sheep gathering, Fiber in the Forest, Stitches West and Southern California, teaching with both patience and an attention to detail, that combined with her easy-going sense of humor results in a fun and rewarding experience for all. Una thrives on problem solving and she loves working with beginners. Find our more about Una on her website.

Dawn Ahlert
DawnAhlert.com

Class Dawn is Teaching

Supplementary Weft Inlay

Like many of us, Dawn began exploring the fiber arts at a young age. Her passion for
learning and fiber arts has driven her to explore many areas of the medium and Dawn’s years
as a hairstylist contribute to her deep understanding of fiber and color. Dawn received a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing from the University of Central Florida and a
Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from Montana State University in 2000. Dawn earned
The Handweavers Guild of America’s Certificate of Excellence for Level 1: Technical Skills
in Handweaving in 2020, and Level 2: Master Weaver in 2022. She has also received the
HGA’s Award that honors outstanding exhibited works of fiber art and first place in HGA’s
Wearable Art Exhibition at Convergence in 2024. Dawn is a member of the Southwest
Montana Fiber Arts Guild, the Helena Spinners and Weavers Guild, and the current president
of the Montana Association of Weavers and Spinners (MAWS). Dawn enjoys sharing her
knowledge through teaching and conducting workshops in fine art, weaving and spinning.

Joy Winfrey

Workshop Joy is Teaching

Nature Embellished Needle Felted Pumpkin

Joy hase been teaching in a variety locations for 8 years. She mostly teaches at her home and most recently has taught at Peninsula College Port Townsend.

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Cheryl Raps

Workshop Cheryl is Teaching

Basic Knitting

Cheryl has taught spinning, inkle and tablet weaving, embroidery, knitting and crochet for over 30 years at a variety of living history events. She was also partner in a craft business for four years and provided training in the above skills.

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Melissa Galbraith
www.MCreativeJ.com

Workshops Melissa is Teaching

Stitch a Fabric Landscape
Wildflower Embroidery Basics

Melissa Galbraith is the fiber artist behind MCreativeJ. She was born and raised in the desert of Washington state, where her mother instilled a love of making things by hand at an early age. Drawing on her love of nature, Melissa creates whimsical and modern embroidery patterns and kits. She loves sharing how anyone can embroider with her embroidery kits, patterns, and virtual workshops.

Melissa was reintroduced to hand embroidery after finding her desk job monotonous and needing a creative outlet. She loves that embroidery allows her to play with texture and color and is also a portable craft. Along the way, many crafty minded makers also wanted to learn how to embroider too but were daunted by where to start. So Melissa began to share her embroidery knowledge.

Melissa's embroidery kits and patterns make it easy to learn a new craft for makers of all skill levels. She loves sharing how anyone can embroider with her new book How to Embroider Texture and Pattern.

Rosanna Diggs
www.rosannadiggs.com

Workshop Rosanna is Teaching

Beginning Embroidery - Customize a Canvas Tote

Rosanna Diggs is a Washington based fiber artist who loves teaching others how to embroider. With over two decades of needle arts experience, she now teaches and offers a full line of embroidery kits. Rosanna is also a mother of three and loves adventuring with her family.

Julia Ceffalo

Workshop Julia is Teaching

Paint and Dye your Own Yarn and Roving

Owner and Chief Creator of her business, Fiber in the Dell, Julia has had a vendor booth selling her yarns and fibers at the PNW Fiber Expo since it's inaugural year in 2022. Julia have been in business since 2013.

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Michelle Andrus
www.andrusfarmsllc.com

Workshop Michelle is Teaching

Round Reed Basket Weaving

Over the past twenty years, Michelle has had the honor of sharing her expertise and passion for workshops across various festivals and events. Among her recent teaching engagements, she had the pleasure of conducting workshops at prominent events such as the Copper K Fiber Festival in Montana, OFFF (Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival) in Oregon, the Prairie City Fiber Fest in Oregon, and the Flag Wool Festival in Arizona. Each opportunity has allowed Michelle to impart knowledge, share experiences, and connect with individuals eager to delve into the world of fiber arts.

You can find details about Andrus Farms LLC on our website. Our approach to sustainable farming, and a glimpse into the workshops and classes Michelle conducted over the years. She passionate about fostering a sense of community and learning through fiber arts, and she looks forward to the possibility of contributing to your upcoming event.
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