Hello and welcome back to the SweetGeorgia Show.

I'm your host, Felicia Lowe, and the founder and creative director of Sweet Georgia Yarns, an artisan yarn company based here in Vancouver, Canada.

And also the School of Sweet Georgia, our online fibre arts membership and learning community.

Now, today we are joined by an artist who truly embodies the creative spirit from fleece to finished object.

Heavenly Bresser is an award-winning hand spinner, a TKGA certified level one master knitter, a crochet, weaver, indie dyer, and also an international fibre arts instructor.

She's the founder of Heavenly Knitchet, and her work and writing can be found in the pages of Spin off Magazine, Ply Magazine, and Tiny Studio Magazines.

Now, after meeting Heavenly in person at one of the HH America shows, I have been meaning to sit down and chat with her about her life in the fibre arts.

So please sit back and enjoy my conversation with Heavenly Brother.

I am so excited to finally be recording with you because I think that we met officially face to face almost two years ago at H+ H in Chicago.

And it was just by happenstance because I think we were both having lunch and we just happened to sit down at the same time next to each other.

And I was like, oh, I get to actually talk to you.

Yeah, it was a lot of fun.

I really enjoyed, I enjoyed that experience.

The entire event was a lot of fun.

And of course, getting to meet you and get a chance to talk to you.

I was like, oh, this is cool.

No, I mean, I was so inspired by that initial time where we sat down and you were showing me samples of things that you had spun.

And I was like, we need to talk more beyond the 15 or 20 minutes that we have here for lunchtime.

And then it's just been so long.

Just things happen and everything.

So I'm glad that we're finally doing this.

So thank you so much for making the time.

Thank you for inviting me.

I was so excited.

I'm like, oh, of course I'll do this.

This is great.

Yeah, for sure.

So let's start from the very beginning.

Because you were just telling me a little bit about how um, about like where you're where you're at and then where you've been traveling to and where you've been traveling from and all of these kinds of things.

Can you give us a little bit of a background for anybody who maybe has not yet met you?

Um, share a little bit about your background and where you're from.

Okay, so I'm originally from Chicago, Illinois.

Um, born and raised there, and I still live in Illinois, but I'm a little bit of ways away from the city.

So I'm about 35 to 40 minutes uh west of the city now in this uh suburbs, and I live in a small town.

I like to call it small because it's small-ish.

You can drive right through it.

Um, I live in a small town called Warrenville, and I've been here for quite some time.

I think it's going on maybe 12, almost yeah, 12 years, a little over 12 years here in this town.

Um, but as far as my creative journey uh started, it really started with my older son when I had him.

So this is back in 2008, and I had a maternity leave.

So here in the States, you have maternity leave so that you can, you know, get away from work so you can spend time with your newborn.

So I'm like, great, fantastic, sounds great.

Now what to do?

Because at the time I was working in retail and I was I had a management position and I really enjoyed it, and I loved being able to work in the clothing department.

I did a lot of fun things with organizing and strategizing for that.

But when I got home with my kiddo, I was thinking, okay, so now I have a newborn, my firstborn son, and I have a lot of downtime from you know here and there.

So I decided to learn how to crochet.

And it's really my husband's fault because he's the one that said, Hey, why don't you pick up a craft like crocheting or knitting?

And I'm like, What's that?

Prior to that, I had not been exposed to yarn crafts, and I didn't know anyone in my immediate family that had experience with um using yarn and things like that.

So I started off with crochet, and this is early, I want to say 2009, so 2009, and then a few months after teaching myself to crochet, I decided I'm going to jump into learning how to knit and knit socks for this little guy with his growing feet.

So I went right into knitting right after, only a few months after uh crocheting.

So I've been doing that for some time and still up to now.

I still crochet and knit.

Um, but my spinning journey started much later, and that was a product of being around the yarn community and helping out a good friend that owned a yarn shop.

And the yarn shop is actually not too far from where I currently live.

Um, but it was years before I moved here.

So it's kind of nice to have how everything is all connected.

And I um helped her out at her yarn shop and I would bring my secondborn son there.

So another newborn, bringing him to a yarn shop.

I think I get in trouble with these newborns.

Um, but anyway, bringing the newborn into the yarn shop, I was able to speak around a lot of people, a lot of other crafters, and um really get to learn more about the yarn shop, the ins and outs about it, and finding ways to help where wherever I could.

And this particular yarn shop owner, her name is Tina.

Yes, Tina, if you're listening, it's your fault.

She decided that she would have an introductor come in to show everyone um how to learn to do drop spindling.

And somehow I missed the memo.

So I was shocked.

I'm like, wait, what's this?

What is this new thing?

And um, I missed the memo.

And she had her drop spindle from that class and the fibre, and decided that I needed to learn how to use it because she didn't want it anymore.

And I'm like, wait a minute, if you don't want it, why should I do it?

And at the time, I had a lot of my time really invested into knitting and crocheting.

And I was thinking, I don't think I want another craft.

I think sticking to what I'm doing right now is good, especially with two kids.

You know, this is pretty much where I want to be.

And long story short, she forced it on me.

And I went home with this kit.

I went home with this kit and I gave it a genuine try.

And now this was um, it would have been, I believe, early 2014 when this took place.

Um, and so didn't work out really well because I had no idea what I was doing.

But that was pretty much the start and introduction to the um fibres, just learning more about where yarn comes from.

I feel like everything was pretty much over my head.

Yeah, I mean, I'm looking at your your your website, um, and I stumbled on you probably like maybe a little bit after you had learned how to spin, and your spinning was absolutely gorgeous.

But I was like looking at your website, and your website is under the business name or the name Heavenly Knitchet.

Is that right?

Is that how you pronounce it?

Okay.

That's correct.

Because initially I was like, I'm not quite sure how to pronounce that.

But then I guess I discovered that your name, Knitchet, can you explain a little bit about what it's all about?

Yes.

So when I went into business, I at the time I wanted to make a lot of knit and crochet accessories.

So being around people, I guess, in different yarn shops and things, I noticed that there was a huge separation between the knitters versus the crocheters.

And also at the time, the treatment of depending on which craft you were working on, um, and how you were helped in the yarn shop.

And I wasn't a huge fan of that.

So when I noticed that in my um personal experiences, I was thinking, okay, so one craft is not better than the other.

And depending on what you craft, I feel like you could be looked at a certain way.

And I didn't like that very much.

So that was my um thought process behind knit Shea is putting knit and crochet together because one isn't better than the other, and that's my opinion.

I stand on that.

And I um crochet is really what led me into the knitting world, and I found that it was, you know, just as valid to make socks, to make scarves, to make hats, and whatever you'd like.

And I don't know, I felt like there was a need in my, I guess, my journey to um make sure I voice that, that I really respect both, you know, equally.

And I feel like there's no reason why um the spaces can't be shared between the two crafts.

I feel like it's ridiculous to think otherwise.

I know there's a huge overlap, right?

We use the same yarn, we make fabric, it's just how we form the stitches, it's slightly differently.

Exactly.

Exactly.

We're just also on the team, just starting to learn uh a little bit more about Tunisian crochet, which is where you can even do crochet that makes it look exactly like knitting.

So I'm like, Oh, you just made my heart flutter a little bit.

That is one of my favorite um crafts.

I absolutely love Tunisian crochet, and sometimes it's referred to as hybrid, hybrid crochet, and I love it.

It's fantastic.

I love the fabric that you can make with it, and I like that you can fool people, you really can, um, into thinking that, you know, okay, this was a knitted fabric.

And no, it was used, it was created with a hook and it looks lovely.

I oh, I love Tunisian crochet.

Don't get me on that tangent.

I know, right?

I think it's just like uh the kind of person who just loves to work with yarn to likes to work with texture and uh fibre and all sorts of things like that.

So then jumping back into your drop spindle, how did that whole experience go for you?

Oh, I have to breathe deep when I think about that experience.

It was a little tough.

And I think a good chunk of what my bad experience was about um really dealt with the fact that I didn't have someone to show me how to do it.

And this kind of leads into why I ended up becoming an instructor down the line.

I found out all the things that I struggled with with the drop spindle and eventually wanted to help others with those things.

But my first experience was also pretty poor because I had fibres that were really hard to draft.

So the fibre itself was actually pretty compacted.

It was dyed, which is usually not my favorite for or recommendation for students is to have dyed fibres because you never know if the fibres might be a little more compacted than something that isn't.

And that experience and not having an instructor, um, someone to guide me, and also trying to look online.

At the time, the resources were pretty thin.

Um, looking online, trying to find YouTube videos, and everyone has, of course, their own way of doing things, their opinions about things and what they think is the best way to go about it.

And it's really hard to sift through the information as someone that's brand new.

You just assume that what you're watching might be valid and it might be very helpful for your experience.

But for me, that was not the case.

I tried with a few videos, and by a few, I would say maybe three or four, and it just wasn't working.

The fibre wasn't well prepped, but also even with a new fibre, I still had a really hard time.

And what I noticed with my experience, I wouldn't make notes of what I was experiencing.

So some of the things I would experience was pain in my wrist and not enjoyable to me.

Um this absolutely shouldn't hurt, right?

And I don't know how many others have felt that experience, but I would never want anyone to have the experience I had.

And I fought through it, and it was something that I was proud that I kept fighting for, but it was a losing battle because I didn't know what I was doing.

And so that pretty much was a recipe for disaster, just those two things alone.

And um, yeah, so from there I decided that's I'm gonna put this in the corner and put it in timeout until I figure out what's going on with this.

And from there, that is where I purchased my first uh vintage um, oh, I'm sorry, antique spinning wheel.

Yeah, and that's a whole other journey.

So let's talk a little bit about the wheels and all the things that you have been experiencing with wheels, the whole journey that you've had with the wheels, spinning wheels.

The journey is it's been a journey.

Yeah, it's pretty much ongoing.

Oh, okay, so with the wheels.

Um, my first wheel purchase, I want to say that one was February of 2014.

I believe that was the first wheel purchase, and that one was a $35 Saxony wheel, and it was a German-style wheel, and I found it in Milwaukee.

The credit really belongs to my husband.

He found it online, and we both, you know, traveled from our home and did a mini road trip basically to pick it up.

And I thought, okay, if I can't figure out the drop spindle just yet, let's just give a spinning wheel a try.

Why not, right?

Well, I get this wheel, bring it home, and it needs some work.

And I'm thinking, great, I don't know if it's going to work at all, but it does need to be fixed.

So I started the repair process and I fell in love with the spinning wheel mechanics, had no idea that this would be the case, but I absolutely fell in love really hard for the way that the wheel was made.

I was really fascinated with the different um pulleys, the drive-wheel size.

I was thinking about how everything works together.

And the repairs I had to do for this particular wheel were very minimal compared to some of the repairs I would do down the line.

But um the treadle needed a little bit of help, so I needed to uh reattach new leathers for the treadle.

So many German style antique wheels have uh leather straps that are on the bottom of the treadles, and that's a really neat feature.

And then the maidens also needed some help too, and very small, very small, small, small fixes.

And then when I fixed everything, I still didn't know how to use the actual wheel.

So that was another area to explore.

When I looked into local guilds, that is where I found more quote unquote help because I figured the community around might know a little bit more about the particular wheel and also if it will actually work at some point.

So when I found this guild, which is so exciting, I find I find this guild and it's in a small town.

And guess what name that town is?

Warrenville.

How does that happen?

So exciting.

So I find this guild and they meet.

It's a five-minute drive from my house.

And I I could have fallen over.

I'm like, okay, this must be meant to be.

And I decided to go to the the uh next schedule meeting, and I brought the wheel with me.

By the time that I decided all of this, my husband finds another wheel.

This time he finds a vintage one.

I know.

So you'll see me, you're you will hear me saying a lot about how it's his fault, and it truly is.

So he likes to go to thrift stores, and the thrift stores, of course, they have all types of things in the thrift stores.

And he found this second wheel in parts, and he had a discount, so he was able to purchase the wheel super cheap, and then he had a coupon to use.

So I was able to get that wheel pretty cheap, and I think it was $15.

It was really cheap, whatever it was.

That's really encouraging.

He has like a lot of confidence in you that oh yeah, um, my wife can put this spinning wheel together and like figure out how it all works.

Like, he has a lot of confidence in you.

Did you have confidence in being able to put all of these things together?

And at that time I was hopeful.

But I don't know if I was as confident as he was at the time because I looked at the wheel and went, What is it supposed to look like?

And it looks very different from all of the other wheels.

And I do get into these rabbit holes when I learn a little bit about something.

So I noticed that there were different types of wheels from the past, but this particular one was uh had a vertical orientation.

So when I looked at it, I'm thinking, how do you put it together?

Really?

This looks really weird.

So um that took a little bit of time trying to figure out how you know this wheel will come together.

But then I figured it out and I had some of his muscle to help me pull things apart that weren't properly put together, and that's a long story behind that.

Um, and then I took both both of the wheels to that guild meeting, and I was told that both of them will eventually work.

Although I didn't know how to spin on them.

Eventually they would both work.

So I was really excited to hear that possibility.

And yeah, eventually I did get both of them working and and I made yarn with them.

So it was it was a really exciting experience and start with the spinning wheel.

Yeah, and now I have seen some of the restoration videos that you've been working on, and it's so impressive because not is it just like like I restored my weaving loom downstairs, but I just sanded it and then refinished the the wood to make it look pretty.

But you have like a lathe, you're like re-generating bobbins, recreating pieces and parts and then refinishing them and re-assembly, like it's a huge thing now.

Um, can you talk a little bit more about like your whole restoration process and now and how many wheels have you how how many wheels have you done now?

Oh man.

Okay, I can't count how many wheels I've done with the restoration process.

I've done a lot.

Oh my gosh, I've done a lot.

Um, I started with my own first to make sure I really understood how to recreate different parts and things before working with others.

So wheels from other owners.

And that process, oh, it took a lot of time to really study the wheels, study how things are made.

It really is a specialized um, I would like to say occupation or profession almost, um, especially for those that do this um 100% of the time.

This is only a portion of what I do.

Um, so I'm not, you know, I'm not in the wood shop every single day.

Which there are some restorers that are, this is what they do, you know, nine to five.

I'm in the woodshop, I'm in the metal shop, this is how it go.

And for me, it was very slow.

So I started off with all of the repair work.

So some of the minor things that I like to refer to as repair work, which would be uh a good example, would be fixing the leathers on those treadles, um, or fixing um or replacing leather parts for the spinning wheels.

So things that can be done without um special equipment would be what I would refer to as a repair job.

And or or things that you could use around the house that could be an easy fix.

When it comes down to doing the restoration work, it did require more investments.

So having a lathe, which I was excited to get one.

I just didn't know how to use one.

I was thinking I'm gonna start all over on this, you know, part of things, but I was really, really, really excited um to make that step.

And I've had my own lathe for oh, it might be going on four years, I believe, of having my own wood lathe, but I'm also a part of a makerspace community.

So I have access to not only my lathe, which I have in my uh garage, I have a whole fibre studio slash wood shop area in my garage, but I and I do have access to this makerspace.

Um and the makerspace is um not too far of a drive, it's fairly local to me.

And I'm able to use two wood lathes that they have there.

So they have an extended size for longer parts, which is really nice.

And they have two metal lathes that I could use.

So I started learning how to use their equipment, um, just being a part of their community.

And the way it works for this particular makerspace is you pay a monthly fee and you have access to the entire building 24 hours a day, which is fantastic.

Oh, it's great.

I love it.

And so um having my own was really helpful so I can learn how to do everything on my own.

And then um, I found that using the wood lathe is easier than using a metal lathe.

And there's a bit of a learning curve with metal because the settings for the metal lathe is a little more intricate.

Um, your speeds and feeds are really um important depending on what types of metals you're cutting.

So I'm trying not to get too techie here, but your your speeds for your um cutting and drilling and things like that, a lot of it has to uh depends on the type of metal you're using and the size that you're trying to um cut or recreate.

Um, and I I find the um math with it is a lot of fun.

I love math, so I'm a little bit nerdy.

So for me, it's fun.

It's it's a lot of fun and exciting.

Um and it's a little bit of a thrill trying to figure out the problem solving with the wheels.

So it all comes together lovely that way for me.

And I really, really, really like researching older wheels.

I have a huge passion for that.

So if someone asks for me to restore something or fix something for them, I am like thrilled.

I'm like, yes, please, because I want to know more about your wheel.

I want to learn more about the maker, where it came from, um, just what was in their mind when they decided they wanted to create this particular wheel, and how can we get it back to the point where um it not only functions and looks great, but um it resembles what it would have looked like if that person had made it.

So it's it's like a special little place in my heart.

Yeah, that would feel amazing.

I think now I I have definitely uh like at least I can send people to you because people will often like post photos to us, like anybody know anything about this wheel, or I just got this, or I just found this, you know, will it work?

All of that kind of stuff.

And uh yeah, it's it's fantastic if you have that knowledge and you're sort of gathering a lot of that expertise now.

Like with your experience, do you find that like you have found, oh, I would have liked to see this kind of improvement on a wheel?

Or, you know, have you gathered up all sorts of ideas or improvements to maybe even create your own wheel, design your own wheel?

Yeah, I actually have spent some time brainstorming and thinking, dreaming of a wheel that I would like to make.

And I actually started working on, I guess I could say it.

I started um building my own Sharka.

Oh.

I love them.

So I started building my own, and I'm really thrilled at where it's going so far.

And I basically put all of the skills that I've acquired over the years into this, and it's been a labor of love, and I've been working on it for a while now.

It's I I would say it's going on a year since the actual conception, but the design, the whole like thought process, brainstorming, and all of those things.

Um, it's going on a year in December of this year, and from the beginning of January is when I really started putting the footwork to it.

So my spare time has pretty much been dedicated to that.

Um, and by spare time, I mean outside of any requests and um restoration projects that others have sent my way, um, the teaching engagements, all of those things are all first, and then you know, I get a chance to work on that.

Like I get so excited to get back to it, but it's been a little in a little bit of time out.

Yeah.

Okay, well, that's very exciting.

So if you can explain to people, because I know that we are we're actually putting together a class for the School of Sweet Georgia for next year about spinning cotton, and we'll be showing a charka as well.

And so can you describe sort of what it is and how it's different from maybe a spinning wheel that people might be more familiar with, like a Saxony wheel or a castle wheel, you know, like a vertical uh orientation versus like a Saxony orientation.

What would a charka do and how is it different?

Okay, so the charka is its own category, which is pretty neat.

And it actually comes in different, different um styles or designs.

So there are some that are table charkas, and they have the drywheel similar to your treadle wheel, um, where the dry wheel is right in front of you, and it's not completely flat on the table, like the charka that I'm dreaming of and have been working on.

Um so there are some that are floor charkas, also, so they're similar to a great wheel, and they are just much larger in size.

And those are some of the ones that you would see traditionally.

Um, if you look up the if you just type in charka and just put traditional charka, those are probably the ones you'll see in a search um engine.

And then there are box charkas, so the ones that are they come in a smaller box and they're much easier to transport.

And the drive wheel is nicely enclosed in the box, as well as an accelerated wheel that's right next to it, and it involves more than one pulley.

So you would have one drive band that will go over your drive wheel, and it will also attach to your accelerated wheel.

So it almost looks like you have two drive wheels, but you don't.

Um, so you have one wheel and then you have a smaller one, and then you have one one of your drive bands will go on those two components, and then you have your spindle, which you will need a separate band, um, drive band to go over the spindle wheel and over that smaller wheel that's in between the spindle and the drive wheel.

Um, it's so much easier to see all of that as opposed to describing it.

But the nice thing about the box ones, and also there's a briefcase style too, which is bigger.

So briefs briefcase style is the bigger one, the box one would be the smaller one.

Both of those are more portable than your table and your floor shark's.

Um, but what I like about the box or your briefcase style ones is that those you can close them and they they look like a tiny, you would never know unless you open it that it has a spinning wheel inside.

Yeah.

So all of the, yeah, all the components are stored inside of this box.

So your spindles are uh typically uh in that box as well.

Your fibres can be stored in the box and like in a separate component in the box.

And most of them come with a yarn reel.

So you can wind your yarn off after you're done with the spinning session.

So everything you need is pretty much in the box.

Yeah.

So it's nice to not have to carry separate things for your um spinning session.

Yeah, it's like very compact.

Someone brought, well, actually, I dana, Diana Twist brought one to Knit City in our demo lounge uh like about a month ago, and everybody was trying it.

It was out for like hours and hours, people sitting and trying it.

Because I think, like you were mentioning about the mechanics of how these pulleys work, you're generating a lot of rotation with a very small amount of movement.

So if you can imagine it's probably very good for people with um if you know, uh ergonomically speaking, it's probably very easy to operate, not a lot of strain on your hands, but you can produce a ton of twist.

And then make yarn super fast.

It's such an elegant way of spinning.

And that's the way I like to think of it.

Um, I have I have a great wheel, actually, I have more than one great wheel.

I guess we didn't fully answer that question about wheels, but more than one great wheel, and then I have what's called a pendulum wheel.

And the pendulum wheel, you're able to sit next to what looks like a great wheel, and it has a treadle.

So you will put your foot down on the treadle and the spindle will move away from your body.

So you can do long draw off the spindle and sit the whole entire time, and the spindle comes towards you and away from you.

It just swings.

That's crazy.

I know.

And that one also puts a lot of twist into your singles, too, with the great wheel having such, or the drive wheel, I should say, for that particular wheel.

It has a huge, huge, huge diameter.

Um, very comparable to your standard great wheels.

So if you give it a nice turn, you you can insert a lot of twist into your singles.

So you could spin really, really, really fine singles.

Cotton is fantastic for that.

And it's the same concept for the charka, the the book shark, the uh briefcase style ones, um, being able to just turn the knob just so gently and be able to insert a nice amount of twist so you can draft away.

It's it's so fun.

That's incredible.

Yeah, it is my favorite for for cotton, absolute favorite.

Amazing.

Okay, so let's go back and talk about your spinning because then where we left off with your spinning is that you had these two wheels and then you brought them to the guild, and they said, Oh, yeah, they'll eventually work.

And then where did you go?

Like, did they sit next to you and help you with drafting, or did they provide you with tips, or how did you then um start spinning?

Because I know that you you've become like an absolutely excellent award-winning spinner.

And so from that moment of bringing the two wheels to the guild to becoming like an award-winning spinner, what was that like?

Okay, so I thought bringing the wheels to that particular meeting that I would, I guess, dive in more and say, okay, well, today's the day to learn to spin.

But I didn't know about a leader, I didn't know, like, I didn't know how to do anything still, although they I felt like there was a lot of promise there and a lot of confirmation that yes, you're on the right track.

But um, at the time, no one just, you know, volunteered to just show me, like, hey, you know, go ahead and set it up this way.

Let's just do this now.

And I also didn't want to push it because I didn't know anyone very well.

So I was like, I'll just ask a few questions and get a feel for, you know, if I'm able to join this, if this feels like the right place for me, um, before I like start asking too much.

I just didn't want to over, you know, I don't know.

I was like, I don't want to overstay my welcome and I'm just like new here.

And um, I also didn't know how inviting it would be because I okay, I hate to say it this way, but I was the youngest person in the guild.

And sometimes you feel a little out of place because everyone knows each other, everyone's familiar with each other, and then you're the new person.

And like, I don't know if I'll end up staying or if they wouldn't even want me here.

So we'll we're gonna see how this goes.

So that first experience, um, I was just excited to know it would work eventually.

Um, but then I heard a few people talking and saying, Oh, there's this fibre shop.

And they were talking about where they buy fibre.

Well, I decided to buy some fibre, and I went on this little, it feels like a road trip, it's not that far, but it was about an hour, it really did.

It was about an hour, I think an hour 15 from my house.

And I was like, Oh, I hope I find something helpful because that's just one way.

So I go to this place, and lo and behold, there are tons of wheels to sit and try.

And I almost lost it.

I'm like, oh, wait, I'm I could try out some other wheels outside of what I have.

And then I was thinking, I don't even know how to try them.

But the nice thing about it was the owner wasn't there at the time, but I believe it was her daughter or somewhat a family member that was running the shop at the time.

And so what was really nice was the wheels that you could try actually had fibre already attached to them in yarn, like you know, spun from someone else that tried it.

So I said, okay, well, maybe I'll just get a feel for one of these and see if I can do something.

And what happened was I ended up sitting right in front of a Lindrum.

It was a folding double treadle.

And I sat there and it had a little bit of Cory Dale attached to it.

And I said, you know, I'll give it a try.

Don't know what I'm doing, but I hope I don't break it because it's mine.

So I gave it a try and I spun as if I've always have spun like my entire life, and it really blew me away because I really didn't know what I was doing.

I just started trdling.

I'm like, I know I need to move my feet, and I know eventually my hands need to move like around the same time.

And so I was just drafting and drafting and drafting, and I was making yarn that looked really consistent, and I was really surprised.

I was like, this is how this works, this is how this works.

So um, my excitement really drove me to buy a Lindrum because I was thinking, if this is what spinning is like, I want this.

So I figured it could either be the wheel, it could be the fibre.

I don't know, but I really enjoy this.

And the shop owner or the person you know running the shop at the time didn't stop me.

So I was thinking, I think I'm okay to keep spinning.

Yeah.

So I just continued, and that ended up being my first modern wheel purchase.

And that really is, I guess, my way of learning to spin was on that particular Lindrum.

So I came back the following week, and that was December 2015.

So that's you usually what I call my spinning wheel birthday, because that's when I actually learned how to spin on a wheel.

So yeah, it was so great.

I think all of that experience probably was all inside your head already because you'd been doing the drop spindle and trying to draft, but maybe the the fibre was compacted and so that was difficult, but you were still trying to do it, and then sitting down at a wheel where there was already yarn that was formed on it, and then maybe the fibre, if it was like undyed cordale, it's easy to draft, ready to go.

And then ta-da, it's amazing.

I know when um in my spinning class, when I learned how to spin, the room was full of Lendrum uh double treadle Saxony wheels.

Like that was the wheel that everybody learned on, and they just work and they were easy, and they were just like they're just a such a solid, solid wheel.

So yeah, that's awesome that that started you on this whole path.

And maybe you're just very natural at it, very, very natural to be able to produce very consistent yarn intuitively, maybe.

It just flowed, and I since then it would it has been a breeze spinning, and I'm like, okay, I'll take it.

I will take it.

So yeah, it's been great.

Fantastic.

So then at what point in time did you sort of start turning around and teaching?

Because you're also a spinning instructor as well now.

Yes.

Oh boy.

Um, okay.

All right.

So I went from getting the the Lindrum and I pretty much spun every day.

Um, so I couldn't stop spinning.

You couldn't make me stop.

I would spend so much time just trying any and everything I can get my hands on.

Um, being part of the that local guild and being able to be around others that knew more about fibres and things, that was a nice way to purchase everything.

Like I just started buying things and thinking, okay, eventually I'll learn how to spin this.

I don't even know what this combination is or how this translates to knitting or crochet work.

I have no idea what the fabric's gonna be like, but I just want to spin everything.

So I went from not doing any spinning to spinning every single day and really finding the little areas that I found were interesting enough where I felt like, I wonder if other people know about this, or I wonder if, you know, other people experience this kind of thing.

I would make little notes about things and um not just the spinning experience, but thinking about the way I draft or the way that I would ply.

Like I knew some basic things, but I didn't look at YouTube anymore because that drove me nuts.

I was anti-Youtube.

I'm like, I cannot trust this anymore.

I was anti-looking up things, and so I really just dove in and said, okay, if I change this, what will happen?

If I change this, what will happen?

If I do this, what will happen?

I did a lot of experimentation for every single day.

I would just try something different.

And um, I found the things that I didn't like, and I found the things that work really well, and I found things that I felt were the next step if it were something more challenging.

Like, how do you get in the middle?

And I felt those little things that I was doing was leading me to become a teacher later, and I didn't put that together until much later.

That okay, I kind of, you know, took this spinning process as a way to learn how to get better, but making it easier for myself.

And then there was an opportunity for me to teach, and I didn't think I was going to be part of this opportunity.

But um, what happened was I went, I attended a festival or a it was more of a knitting crocheting event, not really a full-blown fibre festival.

And um, it was run by Stitches events at the time.

They are no longer, but it was run by them at the time.

And at this time, they had very little spinning workshops.

And several of friends of mine, we all came together for this event.

We all, you know, got a chance to see each other, and we all were talking, and everyone's like, How come they don't have enough spinning workshops?

And so we kind of sort of cornered one of the organizers and said, Hey, what's up with that?

And I didn't say a whole lot, but a lot of my friends did.

And they're like, Okay, so what's going on?

How come we don't have a lot?

And they're like, Well, it's not really well attended, and we don't have a lot of you know, people signing up for it and all of those things.

And then they said, Well, we also don't have a lot of proposals.

So I said, Well, what if someone puts in proposals?

So I put in proposals and they took them.

They took every single one of them, though, and I wasn't expecting that.

And from there, I taught with them all the way until they ended, like all the way until you know, Stitches Events was no more.

And I've done several of the in-person events.

Um, I don't think I missed any of them actually.

Um, several months, you know, we would be in one state and then another state and then another state.

And then we had virtual events, and I would teach a lot of drop spindle basics.

So it went back to teaching people how to use a drop spindle.

So it went from me doing all of the wheel things and then going back to the spindle and getting really comfortable with using the spindle myself.

Um, and then also taking my notes from my horrible experience and really pulling that, all of that information and turning that into a course.

So that was a lot of fun being able to teach beginners, but I would do it monthly.

So it was like a monthly virtual thing.

Um, so I pretty much memorized exactly how to tell people how to spin.

So much so that I taught my older son in 10 minutes how to use a drop spindle.

I was jealous.

I'm like, you did it already.

I wish I had that instruction.

But um, it worked really well.

And from there, I really branched off into so many different things.

Um, I branched off into color work.

I love working with different colors.

Um, and same concept.

I like to attack something.

So really just approach it in one way and then say, okay, how could I change this and make this different?

And how can I make this more approachable?

And how can I take something that everyone does and see if there is another way that can make this easier for people that may not know how to do it the most common way?

So that's really my approach with almost all of the classes that I teach is how can I show this and make this a little bit easier for you?

I know, because when we sat down for lunch that day at HH, you were showing me all these samples that you had spun from blends of silk.

And I remember you being super excited about all these samples.

They're gorgeous, they're all spun beautifully.

But like how each of the silks was a little bit different and how they behave differently, how they resulted in a different feel in this game.

Where are you getting inspiration for all of these experiments and like finding these new rabbit holes?

Oh man.

Inspiration sometimes I feel like drops out of thin air.

I could just start with one thing, and then out of nowhere, all of these ideas just show up.

I've had some inspiration and dreams, even.

Like I would go to sleep.

I'm dreaming about these things, everyone.

I can't help it.

Um, so I will I will think about something long enough where I could just picture, okay, what if?

Like I can kind of picture where it could go, and then from there, I'll see if it actually goes there and then make changes and things like that.

Um, I have been asked to write articles too, so that is a nice um way to dive into things, um, being asked to write articles about uh different topics and wild silk being one of them.

I was asked to write an article for Spinoff about Wild Silk, and that made me want to get way more familiar with Wild Silk because I knew very little about it at the time.

Um, but I really wanted to venture into the blending part of it.

And I like working with blends.

I like working with um just really interesting fibre uh combinations and seeing how that um works really well with my uh knitting.

So I do a lot of swatching.

I'm probably a swatch queen.

I probably have more swatches than finished projects because I love playing around with just small amounts of samples and seeing what I really, really like about them and what I would change if I wanted to use them for something.

Um, so I guess I'm a serial sampler.

Yeah.

Yeah, I hear you.

I hear like process, very process driven and learning and exploration driven.

I I noticed also on your website that you offer one-on-one clinics and one-on-one meetings to help people with their spinning, which is amazing because I don't know of anybody else who does this, but to be able to sit with you for like 15 minutes and then have you look at someone's spinning and see how they're doing it and then offer suggestions on this.

This is fantastic.

Have you discovered like um sort of uh uh repeat issues that people come up with, or like you finding commonalities with the challenges that people have when they're learning how to spin?

So I don't really find a lot of common things amongst uh the different people that sign up for the one-on-one sessions.

What I try to do with these sessions is find out what the person's goal is.

So some people have a goal to spin more bulky.

Um and that's what they like to use.

You know, when they're done with their yarn, they want to use their worsted weight yarns, their air and weight yarns, and they're bulky and super bulky, but they don't spin that way.

And they may not want to spin a ton of really thin singles to get to that weight.

And so there might be a few people that are in that category or in that zone.

And then I find there are others that are really, really new to spinning, and so they want to know a variety of ways to spin so that they don't have a default yarn.

And I think that's probably one of my favorite things to teach people is how to be able to spin really thin yarn one day, and then the next day, if you wanted to spin super bulky.

So being able to have a nice range of things, but it really depends on the person because some people just have a preference as to what they want to spin, and then some people they're newer to spinning, they have no idea.

They just want to do it all.

So it really just depends on the person when it comes to that.

Yeah, I mean, I I think it's so helpful if you're able to like provide some guidance for people who are kind of like, oh, I know how to do this, but I'm not really sure where to go from here.

And so just to have somebody to talk to about that, I think is absolutely fantastic.

So I think it's cool that you offer that.

Um listening to all of the things that you've been doing and all the things you've been learning and exploring, and you know, mechanics of restoring spinning wheels and then spinning, obviously, and spinning every day and then teaching.

And how do you juggle all of the things?

How do you because we talk about being this sort of multi-craftual maker type of person who's somebody who likes yarn, likes knitting, likes crochet, likes spinning, likes weaving, likes dyeing?

Oh, we also talked about weaving.

Um, I think that we didn't actually get into talking about weaving.

Maybe you could talk about weaving, but like, how do you manage to juggle all of the things that you like to do?

Like, how do you divide up your time?

How do you divide up your space?

So I like to I try my best to prioritize and really look at my calendar.

I really look at my calendar for special dates.

So I work ahead for the teaching schedule.

I'm usually really far ahead when it comes to preparing for those kinds of things.

Um, so for that is usually not a whole lot of work as far as preparation goes.

So I do have more, I find I use a lot of my um quote unquote downtime.

So some of the time that I'm not you looking at my calendar and putting things in the calendar, um, trying to think of what things need to be done first.

And I look at things that need to be done first and things I want to do, and then make sure that it's in the week somewhere.

The things I want to do must be in the week because I so far I have not felt as if anything that I'm doing is actually work.

So even though it does, some of it can take time away from home, um, from my family and things like that, it hasn't felt it hasn't so far.

It hasn't anyway.

Hopefully, never.

It hasn't felt like a burden, which is really nice.

It hasn't felt like um there's some sort of pressure.

So I kind of put myself in a mental space of knowing, okay, this is coming up, so I should be prepared for this.

Um, or I know I'm going to travel um this past October.

I traveled twice, but there have been Octobers where I traveled three times in a month, which is a lot of time away and a lot of preparation.

But I usually I usually plan for you know those types of things months in advance to make sure things are smooth.

And then I plan a lot with my family so that we don't miss out on special events or things that we can do.

And my kids are very busy.

I have one that's on a soccer team and he just started wrestling, and that's every day of the week for his practices.

And so we have a nice running engine at home, and my husband's um his work schedule is very flexible, so it's really nice that he is able to be at home a good amount of the time.

And if he has to travel, I'm usually not traveling, so we have it so that we don't overlap with travel, which is nice.

Um, but we make plenty of time to hang out and do things.

And so, for instance, for today, I knew I had I'm having a wonderful time talking with you.

So I was like, you know, I think this morning, because the kids have no school today, we'll spend time playing games because we usually do that on the weekends.

But I'm like, we'll do it early, we'll just kick that off early.

So sometimes we'll rotate things just to make sure everything works.

When it comes to crafts, though, that's where it can get a little bit tricky.

Um, I get the family things in because I feel like that's so important to me.

Don't want to miss out on those things.

Um, get the priorities done.

So all the things that, you know, I've signed contracts for, things that I have for customers, and like those are still high priority.

When it comes to the crafts that I want to do, I have a nice list of things that I would love to do.

Um, and I always hope that I mark some of those off, you know, and I do them in small portions.

So I sometimes take my spinning with me for the concerts that my my younger son has for band.

When his class isn't performing, I'm spinning on my Turkish spindle or my supported spindle in my seat.

Um, I just find little moments um when we're driving.

Um, I'm in the passenger side, I will bring something with me and I'll work on things while driving, um, while my husband's driving.

Um, or if I'm commute, have a long commute while I'm on the plane.

I find all kinds of ways to slip in a little bit of craft time.

Um, that way I still feel like I'm filling up my little crafty tank while, you know, we're still doing regular things.

And I find that I still get a lot done and I don't have to um sacrifice a lot of sleep.

Um, when I first started, I felt like I was really sacrificing sleep to get things going and trying to figure out where to spend my energy and time.

But now, no, I get plenty of sleep, but I'm still getting a lot done and it feels good.

So it feels great.

Amazing.

Yeah, we talked about like um a variety, because we're always talking about a variety of strategies to be able to fit in your making stuff in among like very busy family life or very busy work life or all these kinds of things.

And uh trying to figure out how to carve out time.

And we talk about that technique that you're using that we call it patchwork time, kind of like finding a spot here and a spot here and a spot here, and eventually it all comes together and then you're able to complete something, but it's just a a little bit wherever you can find time.

Um we talk about that on the team as well, you know, like, oh, my kids are at soccer practice, so I'm gonna, you know, knit on the sideline or whatever it is, um, just to fit it all in.

And you'd be surprised how much time is there.

You just have to.

I once talked to a girl who she would knit in the grocery store lineup, you know, like waiting for the groceries to get wrung through.

She would just be knitting there.

And I just, oh, every single, every single little bit of time, yeah, you could use it.

Yeah.

So I'm I'm glad to hear that that's how you're getting it done.

Yeah.

How about your space-wise?

Because you have, like you mentioned, in your garage, you have woodwork space and you have yarn set up and oh boy.

I'm glad we're not recording this in that space today because it's a bit of a mess right now.

Um, just coming back from a lot of events, I still have things I really need to put away.

I've been slowly working at putting them away.

And that's also part of it is being able to organize your space and really reclaim your space.

It's really a thing for me.

Um, is making sure that it doesn't become something a space that I don't want to go into anymore.

So that's really, really important to me.

So I do have stations in my garage, and it's not a very, very big garage, but I've made it work really well for me.

And so um when I I have dying racks that are out when I have things that are drying.

So when I dye fibre, I have my racks out.

When they're not, I have everything put away.

So everything is is pretty much like it has its own little home and own little parking space until I need them.

And I have my drum carter, for instance, it's on a it's a kitchen cart, essentially, and you can roll it out whenever you know you're ready to use it.

Otherwise, it has its own little home.

And it's the same thing with the I have a shacked um flip loom.

And right now it's on the stand, but it's vertical, so you know, it doesn't take up a lot of space.

It's it's just you find really interesting ways of making the space work for what you need it for.

And then the woodworking part is a little more um not as flexible because the equipment is a little heavier to move back and forth.

So where things are, they pretty much live there.

Um, the lathe isn't something that you just take off a stand and keep putting up and down places, so you just have to leave it where it is.

Um, same goes for the same thing goes for the um bandsaw that I have and also the uh drill press.

Those things are pretty much in places that they should just stay where they are.

Um, but they are separate by it's like a curtain, basically, a curtain and it's like a partition um where I just go in there, I kind of sneak my way into the little partition, put on my little uh face shield, and just transform into this woodworking person.

And then I work on my project and then you know, escape out of there and try to leave all of the sawdust in there.

I do have a filtration system and things like that going.

And then I also have a I have a freestanding AC that cuts on in the summer, and I have a uh heating unit in there so I could work in there in the winter.

So everything works really well.

And I have a sink in there.

It's insane the things that I have in that space, but it works really well.

It's it's fantastic.

That sounds amazing.

That sounds wonderful.

Like to be able to have space.

And I know what you're talking about with those rolling cards, because I have a number of rolling cards also in my space.

It's kind of like, oh, when I need this, I will roll that card out and then I'll put it back.

And so that's a great way to do things.

I don't know if you ever read um Deb Men's book, Color and Spinning.

Yes, yes.

That was one of my favorite books when I like first started learning how to spin and learning how to die and all that kind of stuff.

And she showed photos of her basement, and that's where she did all of her dyeing, and she it was and she had a sink in there.

I was like, Oh, that's the dream.

One year I went to SOR and she was one of the instructors.

And uh we were sitting at like some table for lunch, and she was saying, Oh, next year I think SOAR is gonna be in like my town, and you guys should come and see my studio.

And I I was such a new spinner, I was like, Oh, that sounds like amazing.

But you have just come back from SOAR just um a couple days ago.

Oh, this would have been a few weeks ago.

So tell me about your experience.

Mine was so long ago, and I had such a good time, but I'm I'm curious to see what how things have changed and how your experience has been.

Oh, it's been fantastic.

I find the SOAR retreat, oh, I I can even put it into words.

Um, I I haven't gone there as an attendee, which I would have loved to experience that.

Maybe one day I'll be able to go as an attendee.

Um, but the attendees always rave about it, and so many people return back to the event, and it that says a lot about you know the experience um from the previous years.

But um, this this particular year was really, really fun.

Um, I taught, let's see, I taught from Monday through Thursday, um, two sessions each day.

So um I'm trying to think how the the structure for SOAR is where you have a two-day intensive and then you have sampler classes.

So for the two-day intensive, I taught blending with wild silk.

I had to remember for a second and not mix up this past event with the previous year.

I also taught last year and the year before.

So try not to mix up the the sessions.

But this time was in um the location was Loveland, Loveland, Colorado.

And it's a beautiful, beautiful area there.

Just the weather was fantastic um this year.

It was really, really nice.

I actually felt like I was overdressed.

I was like, oh no, I think I'm a little overdressed with the big coat.

I don't think I need this.

Um, but it's really nice because everything is included in the event.

So you wake up in the morning, you go downstairs for breakfast, then you go to your class, and the first half of the day is you know part one of your two day intensive.

So Monday and Tuesday is where the two-day intensive takes place.

I did the blending with Wild Silk, which was a lot of fun.

We spent a lot of time learning how to blend with Wild Silk, and the students brought hand cards.

And so I did demonstrate how to use how to use a blending board and also how to use a drum carter.

But just using hand cards, you can do a lot of blending.

And there are fun techniques and different approaches you you will want to do, or different approaches you would should try with the hand cards so that you can get a different blend than what you expected if you weren't using them.

So it's really, really, really cool.

I had a lot of fun showing those demonstrations for the second day.

And then the sampler was working with opposing plies.

And that's a class I love teaching.

I absolutely love working with different yarn structures and really helping students see why you might want to do something, not just saying, okay, here's how you do it and have fun.

But really thinking about how you can take these yarns that you're creating and how you can use it if you are a knitter or if you're a crochet and how you can change little things to make it so that the yarn is a little more sturdy, for instance.

Um, whether you want to use them for socks or something else, and giving them different ideas of where you can use it for a final project.

So it was a lot of fun, a lot of fun this year.

I loved it.

It was so fun.

Yeah, it sounds like a fantastic event.

I I remember that feeling of, you know, you wake up and then you go down to breakfast and then you sit with people that you've never met before.

Everybody's so excited to talk about spinning, and then you go to your class.

It's just it's lovely.

Then you meet again for lunch, and then they have evening activities always planned.

And yeah, it's just you're just with your people.

I always look forward to the evening presentations.

You never know what the presentation is going to be.

Even those of us that are teaching, we don't know.

So we walk into it not knowing what's going to happen either.

So it's a nice surprise for us.

And it could be a new release for something.

It could be um, you know, they have raffles and things going on uh throughout the event.

And so it's nice to see, you know, that people are winning different things.

It's just a fun, fun, fun experience.

And I can see why people go every single year, and it's one of the events they do not want to miss.

I could see why.

It's it's a lot of fun.

Just watching it, you know, from the teacher's perspective.

I can see why people would want to come every year.

It's so much fun.

Yeah, I can see how like people wanting to get together in person is is is so important.

And uh yeah, so having these events where people can gather and share the things that they're passionate about, I think is is so great that they're all coming back and that people are coming and attending and there's so much participation in them.

So that's fantastic.

Now, yeah, looking forward at the next couple of months, what are the kinds of things that you are working on?

Oh man, what am I not working on?

Okay, so the Sharka is still in view.

Um, I also have another restoration project outside of the current one that I'm working on.

So I am making some new parts for a uh wheel that I'm currently working on, but then I have another wheel that arrived, and I have that to work on eventually.

Thankfully, for that one, I actually don't have a hard deadline because this is a friend of mine that said, Okay, can you please take my wheel?

And she's like, I have other things to use.

So whenever you're ready, so it's not something that has a hard deadline, but that is something that's coming up to work on.

Um, that wonderful Sharka.

I have to mention that like three or four times because I want to get it done.

I can't wait.

Um, I also have a actually have a teaching event tomorrow.

Um, so I do teach locally outside of all the travel.

I teach locally as well.

And that is something that I try to make time for because I think it is really helpful to be able to teach people locally.

I travel to do this, but it'd be really nice to, you know, um extend the same things that I extend outward, inward, you know, more so around my immediate community.

Um, and I also help with the I also teach at the um guild that I'm a part of in Warrenville.

So I became a long-term member there and they asked me to teach.

So I'm not sure what that looks like for um next year for my immediate guild, but usually every year I teach for them as well.

Um, for the next few months, which I think going down the line as far as calendars go, um, I have a few more travel events.

I have a teaching event in Baltimore that I will be traveling for, and that's in at the end of February.

So that's you know, a few months away.

Um, I've been invited to do a few more things earlier in the year, and we'll see how those go.

Um, I'm just looking at my calendar thinking, phew, those little breaks, those tiny little breaks.

That's a lot.

So for February, I am expected to do three events.

So we'll see how that goes because that's right around the corner.

But also, um, Maryland Sheep and Wool has their winter fest every year, and that is in January.

And the registration for that opens um, let's see, it opens Sunday, November 9th.

So in a couple of days from now, uh, that will open.

And yeah, I'll be teaching two different sessions.

One of the sessions is um, it is called Slow to Quick, Ease Your Way into Long Draw.

That one is like a nice approach for those that aren't very comfortable with long draw techniques, showing you how to start where you are and work your way towards a point of contact um uh technique, and then showing what double drafting looks like.

So um that is a really it's one of my favorites.

Very cool.

Yeah.

Yeah, one of my favorites.

And the other session is uh, let's see, it's uh prep like a pro, showing people how to how to comb and using different types of combs and why you might need more a different type of comb for the fibres that you're um planning on combing and how to remove those fibres so that you can prepare for spinning.

So yeah, that's that's gonna be fun.

I can't wait.

I'm looking forward to those.

I love all this.

It's just such a deep dive into so many of the like details about spinning that we don't always get access to.

So I'm so glad that you're providing all of this information and all this this teaching.

Um, I had such a wonderful time chatting with you today because I feel like you are somebody who goes into things and like you've said it before, we're like, I'm not quite sure what I'm doing.

But you always have this attitude, like, but I can learn.

I can and it just is very um growth mindset, you know, like I'm not sure, but I can figure it out.

I'm not sure, but I'm gonna find the resources where I can get this done.

And so there's very much the sense that um that you are excited about learning and trying new things, and you are not deterred.

You're not um, you might be like, oh, I'm not sure, but you're still gonna try it anyways, which I I love this attitude.

So it's very infectious.

So I appreciate you spending the time with me today.

Um and to have this conversation.

Thank you for having me.

I I love this.

This is this has been so much fun.

So much fun.

And yes, you're correct.

I am definitely someone that jumps into things and I'm like, no, if there's a problem, I must solve this.

And I do I love the growth of things, I love knowing that you can grow, like you don't have to feel stuck in a particular place.

So yeah, it's it's such a I don't know, it's very fulfilling.

It's fantastic.

So if people want to sort of continue to follow you and like uh you know, see what you're doing and where you're teaching and all the things that you're restoring and making, where is the best place for them to find you?

Okay, so my website is one of the best places if you want to contact me.

Things real well, yeah.

If you want to contact me and it has anything related to spinning wheels or you need some help with um one-on-one sessions, those types of things, my website is the best place to go.

And that one is www.heavenlyknitshay.com and knit crochet is one word, as we talked about earlier.

And then if you want to find me on social media platforms, you can look on Instagram um under Heavenly Knit Shea.

If you want to find me through Facebook, same thing, same page, Heavenly Knit Shea.

So if you type that in, you'll find you'll see a my face.

My face will pop up and you'll know it's me.

If you see yarn and fibre or maybe a machine moving, fixing a part, then it's probably my page.

Fantastic.

So we're gonna put all the links to all of your details um in our show notes and all of these kinds of things as well.

So thank you so much for taking the time.

I'm so glad that we finally got a chance to chat.

I'm so happy about this.

This is so fun.

I'm so glad you asked me to.

I was like, this is great.

And I'm glad this date worked.

So happy.

Thank you.

Yeah.

You're welcome.

Thank you so much for joining me on the Sweet Georgia show.

I hope today's conversation has maybe inspired you to try some different fibre arts or crafts that you've been curious about as well.

I loved hearing about how Heavenly approaches learning with such an open and positive attitude.

If you are interested in following more of Heavenly's work, you can find her at Heavenly Knit Shay on Instagram, on Facebook, and her website is heavenly.com, which is H E A V E N L Y K-N-I-T-C-H-E-T.com.

Now, if you are interested in learning more about spinning or weaving, knitting or crochet, you can join us at the School of Sweet Georgia, where we have more than a hundred video-based fibre arts courses to take you from absolute beginner to confident crafter.

We have monthly and annual all-access memberships where you can access all the courses, including spinning, weaving, dyeing, knitting, crochet, and more.

And we also have a standalone spinning membership.

If the only thing you want to do is focus on spinning right now.

As well, we have a very, very vibrant and encouraging community of multicraft jewel makers that you can find at sweetgeorgiayarns.com slash community.

Thank you so much for being with us today, and until next time, keep creating, keep exploring, and remember there is always room for more color in your craft.

This is Felicia, and I will see you in the next episode.

Bye for now.