Fiberside Chat
Join Live Online Chats with Some of Fiber's Most Exciting Creators
We’ve invited some of your favorite designers and creators to join us for a series of online gatherings with Longmont Yarn Shoppe: Fiberside Chats!
Launched in May of 2020, these gatherings hosted on Zoom, are one-hour sessions with special guests joining us to give 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!
How to register: Register on Longmont Yarn Shoppe website, select YARN HARBOR from drop down menu. Check out.
As a participating shop we get credit for bringing our customers along!
Your ZOOM Link will be sent the evening before and about 1 hour before the event. Check your spam filter if you do not see it.
NEW FOR YOU!
If you have a conflict in your schedule for a particular chat, don't worry we've got you covered. Many of our guests are allowing Zoom recordings of their Chat. You'll be able to confirm this on registration. Whether the chat will be recorded or not will be clearly stated for each chat.
Recordings will be available for 1 week after the chat, only to registered attendees.
Upcoming Guests:
Julie Weisenberger
September 28, 2025
Sweaters & More: All Things Cocoknits!
This Fiberside Chat with Julie Weisenberger will include an overview of the Cocoknits Sweater Workshop method with tips on how to tweak the system to achieve your perfect fit! She will have sample sweaters on hand to share, mostly current designs but maybe some sneak peeks of upcoming designs too. You’ll also get an insider look at how Julie invents Cocoknits tools and accessories and how they're made, incorporating the use of sustainable materials wherever possible. Julie is looking forward to sharing all things knitting and Cocoknits with you!
Bio:
Julie Weisenberger followed her passion of creating sophisticated knitting patterns and useful tools and founded her own company, Cocoknits. She learned to knit while studying in Europe and has blended English tailoring with top-down techniques to develop her own system of knitting called “The Cocoknits Method”. Created for knitters by a knitter, Cocoknits tools are thoughtful additions to the maker’s arsenal with an emphasis on simple styling and sustainable materials that will last.
This is a live Zoom Event on Sunday, September 28th at 2:00pm EDT, 1:00pm CDT, 12:00pm MDT, 11:00am PDT
This Fiberside Chat will be recorded - a link to the recording will be available for one week and shared with registered attendees only.
Registration will close 1.5 hours before beginning of event.
Di Gilpin & Sheila Greenwell
October19th, 2025
Gansey Knitting and So.Much.More!
We can’t wait to meet Di Gilpin and Sheila Greenwell, the authors of ‘The Gansey Knitting Sourcebook’ and creators of so much more! They will talk about the history of Gansey knitting, the amazing source material within the book, along with the contemporary Gansey designs for knitters that showcase the best of Gansey motifs and patterns. We’ll learn how Di’s extensive library of designs are created, the process and their uniqueness, crossing between traditions while sometimes creating new techniques influenced by their work in Fashion. They’ll also share the luxurious and unique Scottish yarn ranges they create. We’ll enjoy a discussion of Couture knitting along with all the latest on the new TV series, “The Game of Wool" of which Di and Sheila are both Judges! Register now, you don’t want to miss this Fiberside Chat!
Bio:
Di Gilpin: In 1983, I took a year off from teaching history to travel, arriving on the Isle of Skye with little more than a rucksack containing a tent, some wool and knitting needles. I ended up spending 18 years on the island, inspired by nature, landscape and sea. I worked on my knitting skills, experimenting with different processes, styles and stitches.
Now based at Comielaw Farm on the Balcaskie Estate in Fife, I create wool ranges including an organic wool/cashmere in collaboration with Uist Wool. Sheila and I work together designing knitting patterns, garments for different fashion clients, teaching and workshops. I helped develop the Moray Firth Partnership Gansey Project with the Scottish Fisheries Museum.
I now have a company and work with Sheila and a wonderful team working from the studio. Our brand involves collaborations with designers including Graeme Black, Paul Hardy, Nike, La Fetiche and Connolly England. Slow fashion, ethical and sustainable production are our ethos.
Sheila Greenwell: I come from a Scottish knitwear town and from a family closely connected to spinning and wool, so I could knit before I went to primary school. Looking at old handwritten notes from Gansey knitters reminds me strongly of how I knitted as a learner without the benefit of printed patterns. I met Di 14 years ago, having retired after 30 years of teaching and now I am lucky enough to share both teaching and knitting with her. The Gansey story always captivates our audiences around the world.
This is a live Zoom Event on Sunday, October 19th at 1:00pm EDT, 12:00pm CDT, 11:00am MDT, 10:00am PDT, 6:00pm BST
This Fiberside Chat will be recorded - a link to the recording will be available for one week and shared with registered attendees only.
Registration will close 1.5 hours before beginning of event.
Stephen West
October 26, 2025
Stephen's World of MKAL's, COLOR and STITCHES too!
Join Stephen as he welcomes you into his colorful woolly world of Westknits Mystery Knit Alongs. In this 1 hour 15 minute presentation, Stephen will share a first look at this year's finished design, the Mystery MusiKAL Shawl! Taking a look back at 16 years of MKAL history, he will dissect the clues, share the inspiration for this design, discuss how he chooses his color palettes, and share secrets for how to make your palettes pop. And what about the stitches?! We’ll find out what Stephen’s favorite are - dips, droplets, brioche and more as he shares how he develops his designs inspired by these and others. Don’t miss this year’s visit with Stephen at Fiberside Chats!
Bio:
Stephen West’s shawl designs and innovative use of color have helped him become an internationally recognized and respected designer. Stephen was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He studied dance at the University of Illinois, where he encountered his first local yarn store, Klose Knit in Urbana. The creative atmosphere of that local shop spurred Stephen to start designing patterns, and he was soon featured in Knitty’s fall 2009 issue with his Colonnade Shawl. Not long after, he moved to Amsterdam, publishing more patterns and launching a series of pattern books under the name Westknits. He continues to produce pattern books and hosts several online knit-alongs each year. His simple, clean, architectural designs have now been knitted by thousands of knitters all around the world. Stephen has taught workshops throughout the United States and internationally in Finland, Denmark, Germany, Italy, France, Israel, Iceland, UK, and Amsterdam where he co-owns Stephen & Penelope, a yarn boutique in the city center. In 2019 Stephen and his business partner Malia Mae Joseph realized a long-held dream by launching their first yarn brand, West Wool.
This is a live Zoom Event on Sunday, October 26th at 1:00pm EDT, 12:00pm CDT, 11:00am MDT, 10:00am PDT, 6:00pm CET
This Fiberside Chat will be recorded - a link to the recording will be available for one week and shared with registered attendees only.
Registration will close 1.5 hours before beginning of event.