The artists and artisans of the fiber world come to you in The Long Thread Podcast. Each episode features interviews with your favorite spinners, weavers, needleworkers, and fiber artists from across the globe. Get the inspiration, practical advice, and personal stories of experts as we follow the long thread.
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As a budding crochet designer, Lir Shilton ran into obstacles and annoyances that many beginning crafters face. But instead of learning to live with them, she and her partner decided to make a platform that offers a different approach. Lir loved to crochet, and she especially loved creating designs to share with other makers. But crochet patterns vary significantly depending where you are in the…
A pair of silk stockings, mended again and again below the ankle, set Emily Whitted on the path of discovery that has led her through archives and museums of early American history. The stockings belonged to Philadelphia’s Stephen Girard, who was one of the wealthiest men in America. Museum records didn’t mention the mends, though the socks had been repaired several times, making them as invisible…
Book Club Podcast: What lesser-known treasures do Yarn Barn fiber artists love to share? Susan and Melissa share some of their favorites in weaving, spinning, and knitting. Liz Gipson drops by to talk about one of her books that Susan and Melissa adore. Book-loving crafters generally have a few special titles tucked on the shelf between the major must-have references: a self-published monograph, a…
A fifth-generation quilter from the legendary community of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, Loretta Pettway Bennett turns well used cloth into her own expressions of color and community. Loretta Pettway Bennett began her quilting journey as a child, threading needles for her mother as she sewed scraps into bedcoverings. The women in the town of Gee’s Bend pieced quilt tops and got together to hand quilt their…
With no background in fiber but a calling to help women in need, Diana Wiley built a thriving organization on handspun yarn, needlefelted gorillas, and a holistic community for over 200 women. Stepping into the Handspun Hope booth at a fiber festival feels like entering a luxury boutique filled with natural fibers, colorful yarns, handmade buttons, and whimsical sculptures. It would be easy to…
As Spin Off nears 50 years old, editor Pamela K. Schultz sees herself as the host of a wonderful spinning party that welcomes one and all. Taking a day off from the grind of law school, Pamela Schultz visited an art fair and saw a spinner with a spinning wheel. A longtime knitter, she had resisted suggestions that she learn to spin, but the rhythm of treadling and drafting offered an antidote to…
Among four-shaft weavers, A Handweaver's Pattern Book is commonly referred to by just the author’s name—Davison—or as “the green book,” a reference to the iconic cover of many of the book’s printings. Since Marguerite Porter Davison first published it in 1944, it has been a foundational reference, the first book that many weavers buy and the one they keep close at hand. Packed with drafts and…
Editor, teacher, and shepherd Kate Larson makes the case that every knitter is already part of the farm-to-fiber story—whether they know it or not. Kate Larson is the editor of Farm & Fiber Knits and a beloved teacher of spinning, knitting, and weaving. She took time out from lambing season to talk about the magazine’s goals. Kate Larson isn’t making a magazine only for farmers and handspinners.…
Book Club Podcast: Fiber art veterans Susan Bateman and Melissa Parsons compare notes with host Anne Merrow about the books every weaver, spinner, knitter, and crocheter should have on the bookshelf—plus big news about a classic weaving directory. They’re the first books you reach for, the ones you’ll never part with, and the first thing you recommend to every new crafter. If you have only one…
Knitters and crocheters know Angela Tong as a designer with hooks and needles, while weavers recognize her work in rigid-heddle and pin looms. Visitors to galleries and artisan markets know her as a potter. Angela thinks of herself simply as a maker, always drawn to creating beauty with her hands. Her first professional job set the tone: after earning a degree from the Fashion Institute of…
