The Close Knit podcast showcases artists, designers, and makers from all over the world who work with fibre in its many forms. Knitters, spinners, sewers, textile artists - all will be celebrated on the Close Knit podcast.

A huge thank you to this week's episode sponsor, Sunflower Knit.

A huge thank you to this week's episode sponsor: Sunflower Knit. ash alberg is a queer femme and fibre witch who seeks to create beautiful and practical designs using sustainable methods. equally importantly, they seek to nurture the skills, knowledge, and creativity of fellow fibre witches to achieve their goals. ash's second book of designs, in collaboration with yoth yarns and samson photography, will be published in september 2017 and will be available in hard copy and on ravelry. visit ashalberg.com for information about booking in-person classes or to join the creative coven, ash's online shawl design course. you can find ash on instagram and facebook as @sunflowerknit.

Thanks again to Sunflower Knit for sponsoring this episode of the Close Knit podcast!

In Episode 31 of the Close Knit Podcast, I spoke to Marlee Grace. Marlee is a person whose work I’ve been following for a long time - something like 3 years, actually, and she was one of the people I remember putting down as a “stretch goal” when I first conceptualized of making the podcast. Marlee talks to me about how she uses knitting to process being sober, how she learned to quilt, how she identifies as an improvisational quilter, and how her dance practice and training informs her way of working and being in this world.

We talk about the space and project she ran in Grand Rapids, Have Company, and how she navigated and continues to navigate the complexities of growing a project and business and hiring team members (pro tip: hiring your friends feels good) We also talk about the dynamics of sharing personal details on the internet versus IRL and the ways in which this has led to friendships and opportunities for Marlee. There’s a whole lot of good Marlee content that exists on the internet and I’m really excited to get to share with you this chat that we had.

People/ Things we mentioned in the podcast:

Fringe Association: Karen gets mentioned on basically every podcast episode i make. Marlee and Karen are IRL friends and Karen helped Marlee at the very beginning of her knitting journey. They had a shopkeeper's retreat together (which sounds like the best thing ever btw)
Eliza Fernand - marlee's quilting teacher and badass quilter
Secret Holiday and Co - It's OK banner
Lisa Congdon - illustrator. said something along the lines of 'don't email a person asking to pick their brain' (amen!)
Serpent and Bow - friend and maker of naturally dyed intimates
Faith Levine - friend and documentary maker
Alejandra Leon - lioness oracle tarot deck maker
Katie Crutchfield - waxahatchee, music maker

Find Marlee: website | instagram

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Until next time!

ani