Live Online Chats with Engaging Creators
Fiberside Chats are one-hour online (Zoom) sessions with special guests, giving us a peek into their world. These designers and creators will discuss their unique path, creative processes, latest projects—or whatever is inspiring them now. There will also be a Q&A session, giveaways, and other fun surprises for those who join! The gatherings are organized and hosted by our friends at Longmont Yarn Shoppe. The registration fee for each chat is only $20 USD and the proceeds support the guests and participating yarn shops such as ours.
How to register: Join Barb, Cynthia and the River City Yarns group! Register on Longmont Yarn Shoppe's website and find River City Yarns in the drop down menu. Easy-peasy!
Details:Sunday, September 24, 2023: A Virtual Visit to Sweden with Lotta Löthgren
Lotta H Löthgren is a knitwear designer, writer and yarn-dyer living with her family, dogs and chickens in a small village in the southeast of Sweden. Lotta will join us at our Fiberside to talk about her newly published book Observations: Knits and Essays from the Forest. The book holds a combination of knitwear designs and essays on different parts of the landscape she calls home: a small village in the southeast of Sweden, nestled among forests and lakes. Lotta will show a selection of the samples from the book and share her story of leaving a position as a university librarian to pursue a more creative career path. This is sure to be a captivating Fiberside Chat - see you there! Find out more on Lotta's website: https://www.lottahlothgren.com/
This is a live Zoom Event on Sunday, September 24th at at 1:00pm Eastern, 12:00pm Central, 11:00am Mountain, 10:00am Pacific, 7:00pm Central European Summer Time
Sunday, October 8, 2023: The Joy of Yarn with Marie Greene
There’s often a big difference between the yarn we buy and the yarn we use – and some of us have an unruly stash to show for it. Raise your hand if:
- You’ve ever felt exasperated and uninspired by your yarn stash (same!)
- You don’t believe in yarn diets (ew, right?)
- You have tons of yarn already, but none of it is the right yarn for your project (been there)
- You’ve tried a zillion ways to get your yarn (and crafts!) organized, but nothing seems to work (the struggle is real)
Good news, you’re not alone! Join our special guest, best-selling author and designer, Marie Greene from Olive Knits, as she shares game-changing secrets from her newest book, The Joy of Yarn. Marie has worked with thousands of knitters from around the world to help them make sense of how they buy, store, and use the yarn they love. She’ll share tips for mindfully investing in your “fiber real estate” and why it matters – and she’ll teach you how to identify how well your stash is working for you. Marie will share tips for transforming a messy, overwhelming stash, into a lovingly curated “home” yarn shop that will inspire you – and have just what you need for those emergency Friday night cast-ons. Best of all, Marie knows the joy of “new yarn” and why the most important part of having a stash is knowing how to curate it. With her candid, funny, and relatable style, she’ll leave you feeling encouraged and inspired. Say goodbye to yarn diets and say hello to The Joy of Yarn!
Marie Greene is an internationally known designer, author and knitting teacher. She is the founder of Olive Knits and the Knit Camp app, and the author of four (soon to be five!) books on knitting, including Seamless Knit Sweaters in 2 Weeks, and her upcoming release The Joy of Yarn. Her renegade knitting tricks, and cheerful teaching style, have helped knitters around the world knit with skill and confidence. Marie teaches the "how" AND the "why" and empowers her students with the skills to be the boss of their own knitting. You'll love her candid insights, brilliant tips and hilarious stories that will not only teach and inspire you but will keep you laughing along the way. Marie lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, and three fur-babies, Greta, Opal and Josie.
This is a live Zoom Event on Sunday, October 8 at 1:00pm Eastern, 12:00pm Central, 11:00am Mountain, 10:00am Pacific
Sunday, October 22, 2023: Yarn! Making the World a Better Place with Caroline Sommerfeld
The wool trade and the production of yarn go back thousands of years but how do they actually work today? The creation of yarn is an international endeavor, and in this talk we will go behind the scenes, including the who, what, where, when, and why of how wool and other fibres get from the sheep and the land to end up in your yarn. A great deal of planning and preparation goes into creating the yarns we know, and love, and this talk will shed light on the choices and partnerships that go into the process, whether it is local or a commercial yarn.
Equally important is what a yarn is made from! The most used and most popular wool is Merino, but what about the more than 1000 other breeds of sheep raised today? Heritage breeds and sustainable fibres are important genetic resources who come with rich histories and cultural connections. Many heritage breeds are endangered, so we’ll explore some of what makes them important and what they can bring to our beloved yarns. In the process we will see how we as knitters, crocheters, weavers (and more) can change the world for the better!
Caroline has always been fascinated by fibres and yarn and demanded to learn to knit when she was four, which kicked off a lifelong passion for all things knitting and yarn! Knitting was quickly followed by embroidery, crochet, hand dyeing, rug hooking, tatting, bobbin lace and later spinning and weaving. Spinning brought with it the opportunity to learn more about the properties of fibres and yarn design and learning to spin launched thirty years of intensive study about fibre and how yarn is made, a study that goes on to this day. As a hand spinner she has worked with well over 100 breeds of wool from all over the world and has greatly enjoyed researching the history of sheep and spinning technology through the centuries.
Caroline is the founder and creative director of Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts where she uses her passion and deep knowledge of fibre to design the custom yarns and colour ways sold by her company. The company focuses on sustainable, eco-friendly, and heritage fibres and practices to create purpose driven yarns, designed to provide the best experience possible while at the same time promoting these values. Caroline also works as a knit designer, appearing in various publications including Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, and Wool Studio, and is also published through Ancient Arts Fibre Crafts. Caroline is an avid fibre artist who incorporates stories into all her work and loves nothing more than to share her passion for fibres, yarn, history, and knitting with other people through teaching!
This is a live Zoom Event on Sunday, October 22 at 1:00pm Eastern, 12:00pm Central, 11:00am Mountain, 10:00am Pacific
Read these helpful tips before you register:
- You should sign up early to get a seat.
- Registration fees must be paid in advance to hold your seat.
- Registrations will close 3 hours before the event starting time.
- You will receive an online invitation and meeting identification code that you will need, from Longmont Yarn Shoppe in order to enter the event. This invitation will come within 24 hours of the event.
- As this is an online event, you need to have Zoom downloaded on a computer, tablet or mobile device. If using a computer, make sure you also have a webcam and microphone built in or attached.
- Refunds? Sorry, there are no refunds if you forget to sign in or cannot attend.
- Date Changes or Cancellations: in the event the Fiberside Chat has to be cancelled due the the Guest not being able to attend, Longmont Fibers will make the best effort possible to immediately accommodate a new date. All participant registrations will be valid for the new date. In the event an alternative date is not available your registration will be refunded in full.
- Questions? Send an email to info@rivercityyarns.com