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Instructor Biographies

We are so excited to have these wonderful instructors on board for NCFF 2023!

Lyla Agius

Lyla studied weaving in 2007 with Hannalore Cole—a master weaver from Germany who teaches in Mountain View, CA—and she has been weaving ever since. Lyla has studied interior design, and she has a degree in fashion design. She uses weaving for these two passions: home and apparel. Lyla currently teaches weaving at her studio in Ipswich, SD, and the Aberdeen Cultural Center in Aberdeen, SD. Lyla has been published in Handwoven magazine. She also spins, knits, and uses fiber and fabric as an art medium.

Rhonda Berman

Rhonda is primarily a fiber and mixed media artist. She started designing with zippers and needle felting about 7 years ago and since has written several books on the topic as well as designing many broach 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.

Anna Flowers

Hi, I’m Anna Flowers, a crochet enthusiast who discovered my passion for fiber arts in 2018. As a Spanish medical interpreter, I turned to crochet to keep my hands busy while waiting for clients. Since then, I’ve expanded my horizons by learning new stitches, reading patterns, and experimenting with different projects.

I’ve found joy in making dolls and other stuffed animals, and have even translated patterns to help other creators reach a wider audience. For me, crochet is more than just a hobby – it’s a part of my life that I love sharing with others. Selling my creations not only funds my hobby, but also brings joy to those who receive them. After all, the best gifts are personal!

Elizabeth Fox

Elizabeth is an explorer and adventurer from her armchair and with needles or hooks. She like adjusting patterns or creating her own by exploring new stitches and techniques. During her working hours she is a university librarian who likes reading (go figure – a librarian who likes to read), playing with her dog and cat, and all things fiber. She knits, crochets, spins, weaves (though not well), sews, cross stitches, tats, and has done a bit of bobbin lace.

Kelly Knispel

Kelly Knispel, a shepherd and fiber artist in South Dakota, is the owner of Dakota Carding & Wool, a custom fiber mill, processing fibers into beautiful clouds for hand spinning and felting. This carded prep gives you an easy to draft, open preparation great for spinning a woolen or semi-worsted style yarn. Pure and simple washing, dyeing and carding of the fibers makes hand spinning a variety of yarns a pleasure. You may follow Kelly @dakotacarding on Instagram.

Christy Lickei

I really like crafting and I am always willing to try something new. I started Tablet/Card weaving because I thought I might use it for a program at the Living History Fair and I fell in love.

Kerry Maas

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.

Jessie Nesseim

Jessie has been spinning on drop spindles for over half her life and loves to add to her collections when every she can. Collecting different spindles to use with different fibers is a lot of fun and learning about different spinning traditions adds to her interest in the fiber arts. Outside of drop spindle spinning, Jessie enjoys dying fiber, weaving, knitting, and crocheting.

Heather Schmidtke

My name is Heather Schmidtke and I have a small mini mill in Northern MN that produces roving and batts from my own flock of shetland cross sheep and for others. I also hand dye luxury yarns at a discount price. My fiber adventures are always expanding!

Margaret Stump

Margaret Stump has been weaving on pin looms for over 40 years. (Actually it’s closer to 50, but she prefers not to admit it.) She is the author of three books: Pin Loom Weaving, Pin Loom Weaving To Go, and Adorable Beasts: 30 Pin Loom Woven Animals & 4 Playscapes. In addition to her books, she has published a growing number of projects in national magazines devoted to weaving including Handwoven, Easy Weaving with Little Looms and Yarn Australia. Margaret enjoys teaching pin loom weaving techniques and projects at regional and national fiber conferences or anywhere else that fiber enthusiasts gather.

Marta Telkamp

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.

Lisa Wonderly

Located in South Dakota, I am a single mother who started raising French Angora rabbits five years ago. I now run a wool, fiber, and custom crochet business out of my home. I have been crocheting for over twenty-seven years, so when I wanted to add to my skill sets, I became a self-taught fiber artist and hand-spinner of yarns four years ago. Blending on a blending board has become my favorite way to prepare my wools/fibers for hand-spinning. It allows me to combine my love for all things yarn, colors, and textures, and to create fun, unique finished crocheted items.