About Our 2026 Gathering Mentors

Sarah Boink
Sarah Boink is a New York–based fiber artist and educator whose work centers on tapestry weaving with handspun and sustainable fibers. She is the founder of Sizz Handmade and brings a teaching approach that balances technical skill-building with material awareness and creative confidence. Her workshops are designed to meet experienced fiber artists where they are while encouraging exploration, experimentation, and deeper engagement with fiber. Sarah’s website is www.sizzhandmade.com.





Terri Drouin-Gurette
Terri began spinning in 2004 and quickly developed a passion for her hobby. From the beginning, she has demonstrated spinning and other fiber arts in a variety of different settings, (from living history events, schools, farm days, and fairs to local yarn shops, guilds [spinning and quilting], etc.) and is always happy to share her knowledge. As a result of her involvement, she was selected to be a SOAR (Interweave Press’ Spin Off Autumn Retreat) Scholar in 2011. Terri has earned many awards in Skein and Garment Competitions, including, but not limited to, Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft Festival, The New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, and the Eastern States Exposition. She has also earned Awards from the Northeast Handspinners’ Association and the Handweavers’ Guild of America. Terri has also been published in Wheel (Ashford), Spin-Off, and Ply Magazine and in Interweave’s Spinning Daily Blog. Terri has recorded episodes for the Ply Online Spinning Guild and is also a co-host of the Guild’s Third Thursday Spin-in. Terri is a life-long resident of Connecticut. Find Terri’s website at www.TerriSpins.com.


Amy Tyler
Hailing from Michigan, Amy has degrees in modern dance, kinesiology, and physiology. Her art and science backgrounds give her a keen understanding of learning and analyzing movement skills, composition, pattern recognition, and systematic exploration. She translates that understanding into practical approaches to spinning and knitting techniques. She has been teaching spinning and knitting at venues across the country for over 20 years and is well known for her animated and engaging teaching style. Amy has numerous articles published in Spin Off, and PLY Magazine; and she has also published in Interweave Knits, Handwoven, Little Looms, and Farm & Fiber Knits. You can find out more about her work on her website, www.stonesockfibers.com


Diane Cadrain
Diane Cadrain turned full-time to art in 2015 after retiring from her job as a lawyer and free-lance writer specializing in employment law topics. As a fiber artist, she came of age during the time when sewing was taught in public schools and was a part of mainstream culture. Today, her fiber artwork includes piecing and quilting, felting, hand embroidery, and knitting, but felting has been her main medium for several years. She is a former co-president of Connecticut Women Artists, an elected member of the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts and an Artist Member of the West Hartford Art League. Diane’s website is www.diane-cadrain.com.


Gigi Matthews
Gigi Matthews’ keen interest in fibers and materials is a result of decades of world travel to over 30 countries. As a spinner, she has sold yarns in markets and on Etsy, teaches at guilds, regional conferences, the Tatter Textile Library, and the John C. Campbell Folk School, and has published articles in Ply Magazine and in Shuttle, Spindle & Dyepot. Gigi is currently the president of the MidAtlantic Fiber Association and a member of the Handweavers Guild of America’s board of directors, where her focus is on sustainability and inclusivity. Gigi lives in New York and her website is www.gigimatthewshandspinner.com.


Mary Ann Williams
I made my first basket late one afternoon in 1988, after a very challenging day as an elementary school teacher—and it was a disaster. Even so, I found the craft engaging and therapeutic, and that afternoon marked the beginning of a basketmaking journey that has now spanned more than thirty-five years. have continued to grow my skills and deepen my love for basketmaking by taking workshops whenever and wherever I can. Along the way, meeting so many wonderful people has been an added and much-appreciated bonus. I am a member of the National Basketmakers Organization and the Northeast Basketmakers Guild. In addition to teaching at the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival, I have led basketmaking workshops privately, at Dutchess Community College and Dutchess County BOCES, for the Westchester Area Basketmakers Guild, for weaving and spinning guilds, and at local libraries. Sharing basketmaking through workshops allows me to bring together my two passions—weaving baskets and teaching others. I am a resident of the State of New York.


Jane Woodhouse
Jane Woodhouse has spent many years working as a production weaver and exploring natural dye processes through self-directed research. She studied clothing and textiles in college and later received her MFA from San Francisco State with a concentration in fibers. She currently lives in Peacham, Vermont where she is active in local textile production and the Vermont Fibershed. She is the co-director of the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival and a frequent contributor to Ply and Spin-Off magazines. Her interests include spinning, knitting, ethnic textiles and surface design on handwoven fabrics.


Patsy Sue Zawistowski
Loving all the fibers, Patsy maintains a wide focus while teaching and spinning multiple-ply yarns for variety and exciting results. For more than forty years she has structured her workshops with yarn samples pages students can store for future reference. Patsy’s goals include teaching students to understand how the mechanics of twist and grist affect yarn structure and encourage record keeping and sampling, skills she learned while earning her Certificate of Excellence and Master’s from the Handweavers Guild of America in 1985/87. Patsy is currently living in Maryland and her website is www.spinnin’guru.com