Wool in School: Creativity, Heritage, and Hands-on Learning 

The Wool in School project, based in Ireland and founded by fiber artist and educator Lorna McCormack, is a fantastic program that brings the story of wool into classrooms. It is all about connecting students to nature, tradition, and wool as a renewable material. 

One of the main offerings of the program is the Wool2Ewe education box. The kit includes a classroom display, educational resources, and ways for teachers to integrate wool education into their curriculum. 

Another element is the Heritage in Schools project, where Lorna visits schools across Ireland and leads workshops on traditional Irish fiber practices. In 2024, over 250 children took part in a five-week series of workshops geared toward learning real skills and an appreciation for their local heritage. 

The Wool in School program also offers FeirmVR, a virtual reality experience that lets students explore farming and wool production in immersive 3D. 

To learn more or bring Wool in School to your classroom, visit www.woolinschool.com

It’s a Wrap! Tour de Fleece 2025

As the 2025 Tour de Fleece (otherwise known as TdF) draws to a close in a few days, spinners from around the world will reflect on the past three weeks of creativity, camaraderie, and craftsmanship. I hope they all have a chance to take a breath! The event, which runs parallel to the Tour de France, has once again proven to be a highlight of the fiber arts calendar. Whether participants met their goals or simply had the chance to spin with friends, the end of the race marks a moment of celebration and community. 

The 2025 TdF saw an even stronger sense of global connection. Fiber artists from diverse backgrounds, locations, and skill levels united over the shared challenges. Simply searching for #tourdefleece2025 on social media will bring up hundreds of photos of finished yarns. 

On a personal note, I love using TdF as a chance to step out of my comfort zone. One year, I challenged myself to spin with a pair of underwear (clean) on my head just to get my teammates to giggle. While this year I haven’t accomplished anything quite so wild, I have managed to spin up about half a pound of low-twist singles as part of a new fiber experiment (more to come). My comfort zone is pretty wide at this point, but singles yarns still confound me. 

Did you spin in TdF this year? If so, what did you accomplish? 

SCENE: Upcoming Events

You are SCENE!  Feast your eyeballs on these upcoming fiber events submitted by our readers! 

July 11 – 13: Wyoming Sheep & Wool Festival, Buffalo, Wyoming 

July 19 – 20: Fiber U, Lebanon, Missouri 

July 25 – 26: Fiber Christmas in July, Kellyville, Oklahoma 

July 26 – 27: Prairie City Fiber Fest, Prairie City, Oregon 


PLY strives to bring together the global spinning community and give a voice to spinners everywhere. Is there an upcoming event you’d like to share? Do you have or know of a new product, fiber, or tool you think the community should know about? If so, fill out this form

Once a month, we’ll feature SCENE content on the blog and social media. 

What are you waiting for? Let us know what’s cool, hep, lit, fire in your fiber world!  

PLY Guild: Second Season Drop – Episode 2

Ding! Ding! Ding! 


The second episode of the second (worsted) season of the PLY Guild has dropped and is ready for your viewing pleasure! 

  • Four brand-spanking-new spinning segments 
  • Four great teachers: Deb Robson, Maggie Casey, Jillian Moreno, and Jacey!
  • More than 2 hours of spinning content!


It’s a great episode filled with lots of information about choosing fibers for worsted yarns. 

We’ll see you again with a new episode in six weeks (but in the meantime, come see us in a spin-in)!  If you haven’t already gotten your membership, this is an episode you won’t want to miss! 

PLY Spinners Guild is a space for spinners. We are an inclusive and diverse community that embraces all spinners committed to learning, growing, questioning, answering, and supporting their fellow guild members.  We strongly believe that the more diverse our community is, the stronger our community is. Our core beliefs of kindness, diversity, and inclusivity inform everything we do. PSG supports people of every ability, ethnicity, race, religion, sex, and gender. We hold that every single community member is important. We believe that black and brown lives matter. We see and support our LGBTQ+ community. We reserve the right to remove anyone that meaningfully and purposefully disrupts the community or makes other members feel unsafe.    

Genesee Valley Handspinners Guild: Preserving the Ancient Art of Handspinning 

by Ron Tyler 

In the nineteenth century, the Genesee County area in upstate New York had many individuals spinning wool and flax to provide textiles for their families and for the barter system that provided many goods and services. Spinning was done on great wheels and saxony wheels that many pioneers brought with them across the state from the New England states. The main purpose was for clothing and to supply linens for their daily lives. Nearly every household was spinning for garments and weaving for textiles. 

Upstate New York saw many heritage breeds of sheep, which were the main source of their spinning fiber–producing animals. Many farms in upstate New York also had many acres of flax growing. There were approximately 46 thousand acres of flax produced by families in upstate New York. That process was labor intensive to get linen for clothing and bedding. 

In 1985 a small group of like-minded individuals formed the Genesee Valley Handspinners Guild. They had the tenacity and skill to develop their craft. The guild mission statement was to preserve the ancient art of handspinning and to educate themselves and the public on the history and skill of spinning fibers into yarn. Their skills expanded not only to spinning but to weaving, crochet, and knitting. In reality, it birthed a generation that used fibers for many arts and crafts today. 

The spinning guild became the launching ground for many to become modern sheep farmers and mill owners to process wool. They educated many to work in textiles and in local museums to preserve that history. I, like many others, are the products of those wonderful individuals who formed the guild and educated their members in spinning, weaving, and the skills necessary to be successful spinners of wool, flax, and other fibers. 

The early years of the guild saw many natural-colored sheep wool and fibers. The dawn of color and dyeing fibers brought many skills to spinning. Many spinners saw the creations of colorwork sweaters, garments, blankets, and many socks and shawls. This led into indie dyers and the frenzy of color in the hands of skilled spinners. 

In 1995 the guild created The Finger Lakes Fiber Festival held at the local fairgrounds. This yearly festival ran for 25 years, eventually growing to offer over 80 venders and to attract thousands of people. This festival included many opportunities for demonstrations and educational classes. We have since scaled back and now offer The Shepherd’s Wool Market, which is a smaller event. We continue to offer demonstrations and educational classes to support our mission statement. 

Our guild programs have been focused on the skills needed to be successful at individual endeavors, teaching skills in drafting techniques, fiber preparation, spinning wheel maintenance, and use of color. We have incorporated a sheep breed study that has delved into the breeds available and their uses for different textiles. We are gradually building our knowledge on the use of color, especially how to manipulate color at the spinning wheel with braids and the use of stash wool with parallel drafting techniques. We continue to strive and provide education for our members and the public. Occasionally our monthly meeting will consist of us sitting and spinning as a group with no agenda. 

The Genesee Valley Handspinners Guild continues to this day, recently celebrating its 40th anniversary. We continue to be like-minded individuals preserving this ancient art of handspinning. Modern day spinning provides many guild members yards of yarn. Spinning provides a sense of pleasure, joy, therapy, and self care to the modern spinner, our guild members among them. 

The challenge that the guild faces is bringing this craft to the next generation. We are using our collective experiences to encourage and refresh the guild’s presence in the next generation. 

Ron Tyler, a retired nurse, is president of the Genesee Valley Handspinners Guild. He has been spinning for close to 20 years and is an avid collector of antique spinning wheels. He is also a historical interpreter in textiles at a local museum with an expertise in the history of flax. 


Are you part of a fiber guild with a great history or a guild that is doing truly innovative work?  We want to know about you! 

New Guild Spin-In Today! Join us!

Hooray! Hooray! Today’s the day! 

Today is our first ever third Thursday PLY Spinners Guild (PSG) spin-in! 

We encourage you to check out our new spin-in at 5 pm pacific today, March 20th. These third Thursday spin-ins are dedicated to helping you develop the foundational spinning skills and fiber confidence you want. So, if you’re looking for something a little more foundational in addition to, or instead of, Sunday spin-ins, we’d love to see you.   

All of the spin-ins are put on by the PSG. Third Thursday spin-ins will be hosted by one or two of our PSG hosts – Lori Paterson, Donita Westman, Terri Guerette, and Heavenly Besser – while Sunday spin-ins will still be hosted by Laura Linneman and Jacey. 

 If you aren’t already a member of the guild, make sure you are signed up so you can participate!   You’ll have full access to all our incredible video tutorials as well as the spin-ins, where you can ask questions and get real feedback from other spinners. 

We can’t wait to see you there! Please remember that the PLY Spinners Guild is a space for spinners at all levels of spinning. We are an inclusive and diverse community that embraces all spinners and welcomes everyone to create a brave space to question, challenge, and support one another. We strongly believe that the more diverse our community is, the stronger our community is. Our core beliefs of kindness, diversity, and inclusivity inform everything we do. Racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to remove anyone who meaningfully and purposefully disrupts the community or makes other members feel unsafe.

Designer Interview: Shana Cohen

PLY is proud to work with some incredible artists, tool makers, and designers.  Today we’d like to feature Shana Cohen, a designer whose Palimpsest cardigan pattern appeared in the recent Winter 2024 Care issue of PLY.  

Tell us a little bit about yourself? (the hardest-to-answer question first!) 

I’m a knitting pattern designer, architect, design educator, and new spinner! I love creative problem-solving and helping makers to become the best versions of themselves. I hold this true in all of my design processes, and pride myself on meeting my students where they are and helping each student to work to their full potential. I am an empath and extrovert who loves coffee, friends, hiking, and creativity. I live in the Denver, CO, area with my husband and son.  

How did you get started designing patterns? 

I have been involved in creative problem-solving for my entire adult life through my career in architecture and design education. As an architect, I create a set of design directions to solve a prompt. As a design educator, I write assignments for students to solve creative problems while honing their own creative voices. As a knitting pattern designer, I’m doing very similar things: creating a set of design directions for the maker to execute in an asynchronous manner. My first pattern was a superhero cape designed for my son. He asked me for a knit cape with stripes going in two different directions. We worked in a designer-client relationship to come up with a design to meet his needs. I felt a renewed sense of creative energy while solving this problem, and the experience got me out of a funk and helped shape my design identity.  

In the Care issue, you tell us a little about your inspiration for the Palimpsest pattern.  Can you tell us a little more about how you gather inspiration for your patterns? 

I look at my design process as solving a problem for a client, just as I’ve been trained in architecture. I ask questions and propose a design to meet the needs while staying true to my own values of working with clean and thoughtful details and maximizing material use. Sometimes I am struck by a missing piece in my wardrobe or daily life, and other times I get excited by a yarn or a particular detail I want to try. Every so often I am struck by a word or a name that drives the design forward.  When I collaborate with others, I think about how to create a design that will showcase us both in the best light. 

How long does it take for you to work out a pattern and what does your process look like? 

Sometimes I can get through a design in a matter of weeks, from concept to sample and pattern, but most often it’s a longer process for me. I work in sketches and study models (three-dimensional scaled swatches) throughout my design process. I often “road test” a piece before really solidifying it: that is, I make a full-scale mock-up (it might be in the final yarn, or in some instances, a piece of fleece fabric or sheet to test a shape or idea) and then I live with it for a bit, figuring out if the size and proportion is what I’m really going for. I use smaller study models and swatches to experiment with assembly and finishing details, and I often make smaller pieces to photograph or record a video of my process to help explain the details. This process also helps me to make sure that my writing really matches what I actually did! Occasionally I think of a design idea in my head and create nearly the entire thing with limited notes. In these instances, I end up making another version (or portion of a version) while I write to make sure I’m following my own directions! I try to create directions to accommodate many types of makers: those who prefer precise instructions for how many colors to use and where to change colors, for example, as well as those who prefer to freestyle a bit more. 

How do you view and use handspun yarn as a designer? 

As I mentioned, I’ve been lucky enough to have knitters execute my designs with their handspun yarn for a few years, and I’ve asked them about how they make pattern choices for their handspun yarn to help understand my own writing moving forward. I believe my modular designs show off handspun yarn because there are often smaller stitch counts and changing directions in the fabric, which allows the yarn to shine in different ways. My designs usually use a looser gauge, and I find they are forgiving for variations in yarn thickness.  

What are your favorite and least favorite parts of the design process? 

I love coming up with an idea and creating a pattern that allows others to make a unique version of my design. I always do a bit of a happy dance when someone chooses to make one of my patterns! The design process can be very solitary and long, and sometimes my designs just don’t work out the way I plan. I put a lot of myself into my work, and sometimes I get bogged down with other life events and need space from a design, so it doesn’t become tied to a negative memory.  

Do you have any inspirational words or suggestions for ways our spinners can better incorporate handspun yarn in their knitting? 

As I’m still a newer spinner myself, I look at larger pieces entirely completed with handspun yarn and I feel a bit overwhelmed, so what about trying out your yarn with something small? I have a few fidget toys in my design portfolio, and they were some of the first patterns I used to test out my handspun yarn. These tiny pieces hold memories of my own making, and the rich texture of my handspun yarn adds to the tactile quality of these handheld treasures. Also, you can use your handspun along with a commercial yarn in a striped or textured piece. I’ve recently created a few designs that do this. I’ve intentionally finished with details in the commercial yarn rather than handspun for a smoother finish, but the beauty of creating is that you get to choose what you make!  

Spin Together 2025! A Resounding Success!

To all our friends who partook in Spin Together and to all our friends who cheered us on from the bleachers, PLY had an incredible first year participating in this virtual spinning competition. We had so many people interested in joining us that we had to host not one but two teams! Forty-seven spinners came together to form The PLY Z-Twist team (led by Jacey & Meagan) and the PLY S-Twist team (led by Karen & Jillian).

With a dose of healthy and friendly competition (we’re looking at you, Jacey) both teams spun some incredible yarns during the last week of February. Below are just a few of the photos of the hard work our teams put in!

This week, our teams will be submitting their photos on their respective Facebook groups for their teammates to vote on. Winners will receive a one-year PLY subscription (or extension if they already have a current subscription)! We’ll be looking forward to announcing winners on our Facebook page on March 10!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you and we’ll be looking forward to next year’s virtual competition!

Jacey, Karen, Jillian, and Meagan

New Monthly Spin-In for the Guild!

New Monthly Spin-in focused on building foundational spinning skills

There’s nothing like spinning with friends. As spinners, we love to learn from, share with, and generally support each other. Spin-ins provide all those things and the twice monthly PLY Spinners Guild spin-ins (via Zoom) have been one of my favorite regular happenings this past year.  We meet for 90 minutes on the first Sunday of each month at 5pm pacific and the third Sunday each month at 10am pacific. We chat and spin, ask questions, show off what we’re working on, and often deep dive into a specific spinning technique or fiber.  

These Sunday spin-ins have really focused on building community, SALs, show and tells, Q/A sessions, and special guests (PSG teachers, PLY Magazine authors and designers). While we’ve always welcomed newer spinners and celebrated spinners of all skill levels, we do understand that it can be intimidating to join in when you aren’t confident about your skills.  

For anyone that has felt like that, even just a little bit, we encourage you to check out our new spin-in on the third Thursday of each month at 5pm pacific. These third Thursday spin-ins are dedicated to helping you develop the foundational spinning skills and fiber confidence you want. So if you’re looking for something a little more foundational, in addition to, or instead of, Sunday spin-ins, we’d love to see you on third Thursdays starting on March 20th.  

All of the spin-ins are put on by the PSG. Third Thursday spin-ins will be hosted by one or two of our PSG hosts: Lori Paterson, Donita Westman, and Terri Guerette while Sunday spin-ins will still be hosted by Laura Linneman and Jacey. 

Donita Westman knits, spins, weaves, and teaches fiber arts in central Ohio. When she isn’t creating with fiber, she’s likely playing with her dog, reading, literally herding her husband’s cats out of her fiber studio, and sometimes blogging at donitawestman.com. 

Terri Guerette learned a variety of fiber arts from her mom at a young age and began spinning in 2004. She quickly developed a passion for her newest hobby. Terri teaches and demonstrates spinning and other fiber arts in many different settings (living history events, schools, farm days, fairs, etc.) and is always happy to share her knowledge. She was a SOAR Scholar in 2011. 

Lori brings her love of Black history and teaching to everything she does. Lori finds spiritual sanctuary in the meditative nature of knitting, spinning, and dyeing. Since 1990 when she saw a woman wearing handknit socks, she has been determined to not only make her own socks but to make so many things from fiber. Lori hand paints yarn for knitting and fiber for spinning in her Portland studio (a converted garage) and sews together pretty colored fabric in her (very little) spare time.

Heavenly Bresser is an award-winning handspinner, spinning wheel restorer, and international fiber arts instructor. Some of her areas of passion include a love for working with color, working from fleece, and researching historical information for antique spinning wheels.

We can’t wait to see you there! Please remember that the PLY Spinners Guild is a space for spinners at all levels of spinning. We are an inclusive and diverse community that embraces all spinners and welcomes everyone to create a brave space to question, challenge, and support one another. We strongly believe that the more diverse our community is, the stronger our community is. Our core beliefs of kindness, diversity, and inclusivity inform everything we do. Racism, sexism, and other forms of oppression will not be tolerated. We reserve the right to remove anyone who meaningfully and purposefully disrupts the community or makes other members feel unsafe.