Instructor Biographies

FEATURED INSTRUCTOR

Cori Eichelberger

• When Knitting Goes Wrong: Fixing Mistakes, Saturday, 9–12 (3 hours)
• 50 Shades of Sweaters. Saturday, 1:30—4:30 (3 hours)
• Latvian and Vikkel Braids, Sunday, 9–12 (3 hours)
• Fixer Upper, Sunday, 1:30–3:30 (2 hours)

Cori is a former high school English teacher for at-risk students (1986–2001), whom she also taught to knit. She has over 20 years’ experience teaching beginning knitting, and her technique classes and workshops are popular at yarn shops and retreats throughout the United States. She is known for her love of color. In 2017 she coauthored the book Minnesota 52: 16 Knits Inspired by the Road, and in the fall of 2020 published Knitwords: 8 Patterns and 10 Musings that Celebrate the Knitter. She has a bi-weekly YouTube podcast—“Irocknits”—where she tries to inspire knitters to make beautiful sweaters and shawls while providing tips and tricks and a touch of humor (“Iroc” is Cori spelled backwards). Cori lives in the southwest area of Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband and a large chocolate labradoodle. You can find her patterns and book at http://www.irocknits.comas well as on Ravelry, Etsy, and Lovecrafts.

Rhonda Berman

• Zipper Needle Felted Art, Sunday, 9–1 (4 hours)

Rhonda is primarily a fiber and mixed media artist. She started designing with zippers and needle felting about 6 years ago and since has written two books on the topic as well as designing many brooch patterns and framed pieces. Rhonda has taught many workshops across the Midwest and loves sharing her passion for experimentation with others and watching the spark of creativity light up someone’s face. Examples of her work can be found at ZipplyArt.com.

DiAnn Boehm

• How to Spin a Bunny, Saturday 9–12 (3 hours)
• Alcohol Dyeing Silk Scarves, Saturday, 1–3 (2 hours)

DiAnn has been spinning since August 2000. Her first fiber animal was a black French Angora buck named Chandler. Country Dream Acres specializes in Angora rabbit fiber, yarn, and yarn kits. DiAnn is a Babe and Spin-o-lution Spinning Wheel dealer and instructor.

Kelly Knispel

• Beginning Wheel Spinning, Friday, 2–4 (2 hours)
• Beginning Wheel Spinning, Sunday, 9–11 (2 hours)

Kelly, a spinner and shepherd with more than 30 years’ experience in the fiber arts business, raises Bluefaced Leicester sheep in South Dakota. She hand shears the long locks, processes the fibers using plant or protein-fiber dyes, and cards the fibers into a carded cloud on an industrial carding mill at Dakota Carding and Wool Co. Kelly hand spins the carded wool and fibers, making luxurious yarns for knitting, weaving, and other fiber arts. Kelly offers custom carding services, teaches spinning and knitting classes, and sells her woolen items under the name of Biotayarns.

Jeri Kurtz

• Nuts About Crochet! Saturday, 1–4 (3 hours)

Jeri has crocheted and knitted for over 55 years, originally learning in a high school home ec class. Inspired by that teacher, she taught her first crochet class to her own class of home ec students a few years later. Since that time, Jeri has taught many individuals, young and older alike, through local organizations, including the Brookings FiberWorks Guild. Jeri loves to learn new things relating to fiber and hopes to pass on that love to others. Besides crochet and knitting, she enjoys many other fiber arts, including embroidery, felting, sewing, and quilting. Jeri also has a certificate for the Master of Advanced Crochet Stitches and Techniques program through The Crochet Guild of America.

Kerry Maas

• Knitting and Fitting Toe-Up Socks, Friday, 1–4 and 5–8 (6 hours)

Kerry has been knitting for more than 20 years, and knitting socks for more than 15 of them, mostly toe-up. We don’t talk about how many skeins of sock yarn she has.

Annie Mullin

• Crocheted Toys: Tips and Tricks, Sunday, 9–12 (3 hours)
• Introduction to Tunisian Crochet, Sunday, 1–4 (3 hours)

Annie is an avid fiber artist who loves to share what she’s learned with others. She’s crocheted and sewed for most of her life, having learned from her grandmother and mother respectively, and picked up knitting as an adult.

Jessie Nesseim

• Fun with Spindles, Friday, 5–7 (2 hours)

Jessie enjoys spinning with her various drop spindles. She started in her early teens and enjoys learning new spinning techniques with different spindles. She also enjoys other fiber fun like weaving, knitting, and dyeing.

Kimberley Oslund

• Alchemy Shawl, 12–4 (4 hours)
• Needle Felting Ornaments, Friday, 5–8 (3 hours)

Kim is a fiber artist and owner of SlipKnits in Rapid City. Fibers used in creative ways have been a steady and very important part of Kim’s life. In addition to being a store owner and teacher, she enjoys knitting, crocheting, spinning, dyeing, and rug hooking, and is a new twiner. “There is nothing better than inspiring someone to investigate their own creativity.”

Shaina Scott

• Basic Brioche, Friday, 5-8 (3 hours)
• Double the Fun with Multi-Gauge Stitches! Sunday, 1-3 (2 hours)
• Hobby Journal Hoedown, Saturday, 9–12 (3 hours)

Shaina (aka YumiYarns) has been designing since 2011 and has had patterns published through Knitters Magazine and KnitPicks. Her knitting patterns and classes are geared toward process knitters who also want beautiful and fun finished objects. Most projects are paired with photo tutorials and learning resources via YumiYarns.com to help you painlessly grow your crafting skills and encourage you to keep trying new techniques.

Marta Telkamp

• Stranded! A Tale of Two Colors, Friday, 1–4 (3 hours)
• Beginning Needle Tatting, Saturday, 9–12 (3 hours)
• Two Needles, Two Colors, & Beads in Tatting, Sunday, 9–12 (3 hours)
• KnitCompanion: An Introduction for iOS Users, Sunday, 1–2:30 (1.5 hours)
• KnitCompanion: An Introduction for Android Users, Sunday, 2:30–3:30 (1 hour)

Marta’s passions are music and the fiber arts. For over 25 years, she has been at various times a school music teacher, church choir director, and handbell choir director, and she has taught knitting, crochet, and needle tatting classes. Stranded knitting and the creation of lace in knitting and tatting are her favorite fiber pastimes.