TeDi is the Chief Sheperdess of Small Acre Farm and the twine part of Timber and Twine. Nearly ten years ago she had an unplanned career change and wasn’t sure what was next. While making a batch of goat milk soap (Rosemary Mint shampoo bars) she thought maybe she could go full time on the farm and make a life she loved. In the next years, sheep and goats became her coworkers and she became a full time shepherdess, soap maker and fiber artist. Now her mission is to be a steward to heritage craft skills and slow craft through teaching, sharing and cheering folks on! She teaches, weaves and dyes with plants and bugs at her homestead, Small Acre Farm.

Erika Lindgren is a full-time fiber artist in northeast Iowa and is the creative maker behind AriBo Arts. A lifelong educator, she enjoys sharing her passion for color, texture, and fiber in a myriad of forms. Erika learned to knit in college and in the last decade has added spinning, carding, felting, weaving, and dyeing to her repertoire. She teaches at her guild in Iowa and at retreats around the US. She also does frequent demonstrations on Facebook. Erika teaches beginning spinning classes, several classes on carding, and classes on fiber reactive dyeing.

Kathy Sparks, The Hand Maiden, is celebrating 50 years as a fiber artist. Living in the Midwestern United States (Indiana), Kathy retired from teaching science at the college level and now devotes her life to researching traditional fiber arts, especially natural dyes. “Everything I produce is By Hand, using locally sourced fibers, or crops I’ve grown on my farm. When someone works with yarn I have created, they hold in their hands a product that has been infused with color, naturally produced, locally grown and created with inspiration provided by nature." A popular workshop instructor, Kathy has taught spinning, weaving and knitting workshops around the globe. As breeder of Connemara Ponies, she continues to serve the breed society as Chair of the Inspections Program. A grandmother to three active young boys, Kathy is the author of three books, including The Song of the Muskox which focuses on her favorite fiber - Qiviut

As an educator of students with disabilities for over 30 years, my best classroom memories are watching students' reactions when they acquire a new skill. Weaving is among my favorite subjects to teach. From the beginning steps of warping a loom and basic weave, to trouble-shooting how to repair a broken warp, and threading the heddle for complicated patterns, I enjoy each aspect. I've taught at many art shops or fiber fairs throughout Iowa, Central & Northern Illinois, Wisconsin, and a fiber retreat in Colorado. I will teach at Copper K this summer. I've had a couple patterns published by Schacht Spindle Co’s newsletter patterns. I love receiving project photos and feedback from students.

When I’m not teaching, my husband, fondly referred to as The Shepherd, and I are raising a variety of multipurpose sheep breeds and our 5 sons. Our Merinos, Natural Coloreds, Rambouillet, Columbias, Polypays and now Targhee sheep produce over 1,000 lbs. of wool annually. Hand spinners and all fiber artists enjoy our homegrown combed top, roving, batts, and yarn for their textile projects. I spin our wool and spend my free time creating one of-a-kind woven items on my rigid heddle loom. I adore our sheep and their fiber. The scarves, ponchos, wraps, blankets, table runners, placemats, and even the rugs we produce from skirtings are fine examples of what we can create with the resources, tools and knowledge. This is a lovely way to honor and show gratitude toward our sheep. I hope you’ll join me on this journey. Sincerely, Anne Sammons

Julie Koeppen, native to Bloomington Indiana, is a life long knitter. She previously owned a knitting shop but now enjoys spinning, weaving and knitting and loves to make friends with every dog she meets

Toot (shown here with her amazing mom) is the Timber half of Timber and Twine. Toot and TeDi run Small Acre Farm and Timber and Twine together. She is a lifelong woodworker and has recently retired from over 30 years of teaching middle school shop. You will see her out and about on the farm during the festival and offering “turn your own spindle” to a small group of participants.