When my daughter insisted, at the age of just nine, upon learning to spin and then to knit socks, I went along merely in the role of chauffeur and cheerleader. But the moment I discovered the magic of a turned heel, I was an instant addict. Since then, I've rarely left home without a sock's worth of fiber on hand.
I believe that creativity, inherent in all of us, awakens us to our own inner power and expands the spirit. I find joy in the exploration of organic forms and the blended colors of nature. Textures derived from the clash of a diversity of materials and fiber types allow every element of a finished item--fiber, form, color, and texture--to speak in its clearest voice. While imposing intellectual order via expectation and planning can be rewarding, serendipity must be allowed its place in the creative process.
Marcia Weinert has been addicted to turning fluff into stuff ever since sneaking her 9-year-old daughter’s spindle and fiber after their first class together, more than two decades ago! Her handspun skeins and original knitwear designs have taken top honors at both the New York and Maryland Sheep and Wool Festivals, and her patterns have appeared in print, online at Knitty.com, and in Spin Off Magazine. She teaches spinning, knitting, felting and crochet in many outlets across the northeast--including the Fiber Festival of New England, Endless Mountains Fiber Festival (PA), Central New York Fiber Festival, Western New York Fiber Festival, New Hampshire Sheep & Wool Growers Association Fiber Festival, the Weaving and Fiber Arts Center in East Rochester, NY, and a crafting circle begun in 2004 at the public library where she worked. She has provided sample knits for top-flight knitwear designers, and served as a technical editor.
Marcia is certified as a wool classer and handler by the American Sheep Industry Association; since then, she has also trained as a shearer. She assists regional shepherds and shearers as a volunteer at shearing time with handling and skirting fleeces, and helps to broker their wools to mills and handspinners. She serves as a judge at the New York State Fair.
Marcia's spinning mentors have included Judith MacKenzie, Rita Buchanan, Celia Quinn, Sarah Anderson, Maggie Casey, Pluckyfluff (Lexi Boeger), Kate Larson, Lynne Vogel, Galina Khmeleva, Milissa Ellison-Dewey, Eileen Hallman, Amy King, Joan Berner, and Alanna Wilcox. Her felting mentors include Martien Van Zuilen, Lisa Klakulak, Fiona Duthie, Eva Camacho, Katya Mokeyeva, Carol Cypher, Anne Einset Vickrey, Andrea Graham, Joan Berner, and Natalya Brashovetskaya. Her knitting mentors include Donna Druchunas, Melissa Leapman, Cat Bordhi, Anne Berk, Kate Atherley, JC Briar, Lorilee Beltman, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Kim Evans McBrien, Alasdair Post-Quinn, and every one of her students.
Marcia is certified as a wool classer and handler by the American Sheep Industry Association; since then, she has also trained as a shearer. She assists regional shepherds and shearers as a volunteer at shearing time with handling and skirting fleeces, and helps to broker their wools to mills and handspinners. She serves as a judge at the New York State Fair.
Marcia's spinning mentors have included Judith MacKenzie, Rita Buchanan, Celia Quinn, Sarah Anderson, Maggie Casey, Pluckyfluff (Lexi Boeger), Kate Larson, Lynne Vogel, Galina Khmeleva, Milissa Ellison-Dewey, Eileen Hallman, Amy King, Joan Berner, and Alanna Wilcox. Her felting mentors include Martien Van Zuilen, Lisa Klakulak, Fiona Duthie, Eva Camacho, Katya Mokeyeva, Carol Cypher, Anne Einset Vickrey, Andrea Graham, Joan Berner, and Natalya Brashovetskaya. Her knitting mentors include Donna Druchunas, Melissa Leapman, Cat Bordhi, Anne Berk, Kate Atherley, JC Briar, Lorilee Beltman, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Kim Evans McBrien, Alasdair Post-Quinn, and every one of her students.
