Cozy Chats at FIBRuary

Cozy Chats at FIBRuary Festival bring you up close with the creative minds behind your favorite fiber arts.

Throughout the festival, you’ll enjoy 30-minute talks and live Q&A sessions with knitwear designers, indie dyers, spinners, makers, and fiber artists from across the community.

These relaxed, conversational sessions are your chance to gain insights into their process, hear inspiring stories, ask questions, and connect directly with the people who make the fiber world so vibrant.

Come get cozy, discover something new, and meet the makers who bring creativity to life.

A woman with long red hair stands at a podium, speaking to a seated audience in a brightly lit room with large windows. The image features overlay text that reads, "COZY CHATS FUBRUARY."
A woman smiling and holding pink and gray striped knitting on a knitting needle, with promotional material for a knitting class and a business card for Knit's ISU in the foreground.

Keynote Cozy Chat Speaker

We’re thrilled to have Jill of KnitSisu join us this year as the cozy chat keynote speaker. With years of experience teaching knitters of all skill levels, Jill shows how creativity and delight are just as important as technique.

Jill will present a cozy chat on Mindfulness in Knitting, including the "Technique Shawl", a design-style that teaches knitters how to read fabric, free them from the tie to a written pattern, and build confidence.

Keynote cozy chat on Saturday, January 31, 2026 @ 11:45am

Learn more about Jill!
Pre-Order: Twist of Fun Cowl (Digital Pattern)
Pre-Order: Twist of Fun Cowl (Digital Pattern)
$8.00
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Emily Bennett - Emily Bennett Studio - Artist

From Terre Haute Indiana, Emily is a well known weaving instructor and installation artist. Her work has been featured in over 45 galleries and she was the visiting artist at the Indianapolis Children’s Museum for 2024/2025!

During her cozy chat on Friday, January 30, 2026 @ 2:45pm she will share more about her philosophy that “weaving is for everyone" and her personal history with weaving, including examples of old and new artwork!

Check out the Flower Weaving Kits
Olivia Ash, Author

Olivia Ash - Liv Balanced

Artist, Author, & Founder of Liv Balanced, LLC

Olivia "Liv" Ash is an artist, speaker, author, & attorney. Her personal journey in managing a degenerative genetic disorder has strengthened patience & grown an appreciation for what it means to "roll with" uncertainty.

Liv uses words & paint to heal herself & help people embrace emotional expression. Liv seeks balance within nature & daily experiences while celebrating the beauty of the arts. Liv finds joy in creating with color, whether with fiber or painting abstract art.

Join Liv on Friday, January 30, 2026 @ 3:45pm for a cozy chat on how crafting builds community.

She will be on hand for Q&A before and after her chat. Books will be available for sale on site and she can sign them!

Book Title: Painting the Landscape of Loneliness, the Drive to Connect and Strategies to Identify your Needs (also at Amazon in all formats)

website: www.livbalanced.net

IG: @liv_balanced_llc

Pre-order your Signed Copy!
A woman sitting at a table with handmade knit hats and accessories on display, smiling at the camera. The display includes a mannequin wearing a knit hat with a pom-pom, and a sign with a QR code for scanning. The logo for Rosie Rosie's Knit Co. is visible below the image.

Stephanie Gilbert - RosiePosieKnitCo

Stephanie Gilbert is a self-taught knitter and pattern designer from Nashville, Indiana, currently living in Bloomington where she spends her time designing and knitting while also being a stay-at-home-mom of four!

Her passion is designing fun, whimsical colorwork patterns that are approachable for beginners but keep the advanced knitter engaged.

She will be discussing her creative process as well as giving tips and tricks for stranded colorwork knitting with a time for questions and answers at the end.

Stephanie’s cozy chat will be Saturday, January 31, 2026 at 10:45am in the cozy chat room.

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Paige Shipley - Paige Shipley Designs

Knitwear Designer and Knitting History Enthusiast

Paige Shipley is knitwear designer and educator from Indianapolis, IN.  She ran a yarn business (Good For Ewe) until 2020, when she decided it was much more fun to teach classes and organize knitting retreats. She loves knitting on tiny needles, and will talk about stranded colorwork until you make her stop. 

When not knitting, she does research for environmental law cases, writes fairy tales for grown-ups (see below link!), experiments in the kitchen, and travels as often as possible--always with a basket full of fiber arts projects.  She can often be found in the garden, muttering to herself with her backside up in the air. 

You can find her at FIBRuary Festival for a cozy chat on Fiber Arts & Fairy Tales - Exploring the symbolic roles of fiber arts in folklore Saturday, January 31, 2026 @ 2:45pm

Check out Paige's Lemon & Thyme: Heartland Fae Series, Book 1