FOUNDER (she/they)

A life-long love of handmade, in 2008 Ana established Toil & Trouble, a knitwear design company. In 2010, she created her own line of hand-dyed yarns. Ana's love of community and teaching lead her to open Circle of Stitches in 2015. Ana is passionate about supporting artists and artisans, and values the relationship she builds with every maker she is proud to represent in the shop. She is also an inaugural member of Vogue Knitting Live’s Diversity Advisory Council.

When she is not at the shop, you can find her elbows-deep in her dye pots. Ana has a wealth of fiber knowledge to share, with over 25 years of knitting experience and extensive technical knowledge. She loves helping people find inspiration, and her favorite projects are sweaters, shawls, socks. Ana specializes in fixes and repairs, and can help you fix any sort of project, from scarf to charted lace. She teaches at knitting guilds and events across the country.

Ana brings her practices of mindfulness to the fiber community. She is a Fiber Witch - W.I.T.C.H. is a “Woman in Total Control of Herself” (though the acronym isn’t perfect, as we believe all genders can be witches). So what is a Fiber Witch? To Ana, that means approaching fiber crafts with mindfulness and intention. Knitting (or crocheting, weaving, embroidering…) is an invitation to slow down in a world that romanticizes busy-ness. The repetitive nature of knitting helps us drift into a meditative state. Our brain waves literally slow down!

Ana also has over 20 years of tarot experience, which she brings to Circle of Stitches in workshops and tarot readings. Book a tarot reading, or check out Ana’s knitting and crochet patterns!

MARKETING MAVEN (she/they)

Emily is the artist behind Kitty With A Cupcake. Designing accessories, stationery, and flair that all feature her whimsical illustration style, highlighting themes such as witchcraft, crafting, queer pride, and nerdy stuff, all in a 90’s color palette of pastels and neons. Emily started their small business in 2022 with a successful Kickstarter for their Magical Merit Badges Pin Collection and has been working full time as an artist since 2023. She loves drawing and creating things she would personally use and wear, so every sale is meaningful!

Prior launching Kitty With A Cupcake, Emily has been working in niche retail marketing for over a decade, and in the fiber industry specifically for over half that time. Emily’s marketing specialties are content creation, email marketing, and e-commerce optimization.

Emily has vended at numerous shows including comic cons, occult expos, knitting events, and witchcraft conventions across the country. They have previously lended their organizational and marketing expertise to the board of the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival where they served as the Education Chair. It is her goal to use her extensive knowledge of shows and festivals to help provide a smooth experience to all vendors, both before and after the Fiber Witch Festival.

As a knitting pattern designer, Emily has published patterns with Knit Picks Collections, Interweave, Knit Now, and Insight Editions.

Emily currently podcasts with her co-host Lauren of Valkryie Fibers on The Fiber Coven Podcast and has previously hosted the F** This Knit Podcast. The Fiber Coven Podcast is a weekly witchy-themed fiber arts podcast which showcases their journey as two yarn witches exploring the realms of knitting, dyeing, spinning, and other enchanting crafts. You can find The Fiber Coven on iTunes and all your favorite Podcast apps.

Emily shares their Louisville, KY home with their spouse and a lively menagerie, including one dog, three cats, one rabbit, and six chickens. Her love for kitties, cupcakes, all things witchy, all things cute, and yarn shines through her work.

FEATURED ARTIST (she/they)

Rochelle (Ro) is a folk artist, stitch witch, surface pattern designer, and disabled maker living in rural New York with her lifemate and three feline familiars. ...Okay so three bonded familiars, plus two foster kitties and one feral friend but who's really counting?

After dropping out of art school to pursue a degree in Veterinary Technology, Ro moved to Vermont in hopes of securing an internship in wildlife rehab and eagle/owl care. Fate intervened though and she found herself as second-in-command at Burlington's most beloved fabric and yarn boutique instead.

Her experience in Vermont led her to start her former craft blog, Lucky Lucille (named after her late soulmate, Lucille, a rescued Pit Bull with a heart of gold), and vend at her first craft fair under the same name. Aside from her personal blog, Ro has also provided content for Craftsy.com as well as several magazines in the knitting, sewing, and quilting industries. She also founded the popular Make Nine Challenge you may have seen on Instagram.

After moving back home to New York, the brand Lucky Lucille eventually evolved into Home Row Handcraft, a small business catering to fellow stitch witches, fiber alchemists, and makers of magic. A lifelong believer in the very real magic of nature, Earth, and artistic expression, Ro uses these elements as inspiration for her work in both art and textiles.

When she's not knitting, sewing, gardening, or wrangling cats, Rochelle volunteers as Co-Director of Art and Activities with Camp Discovery AAD (a camp for kids with chronic and debilitating skin disorders), an organization she's volunteered with every summer for nearly 20 years. Born with a rare skin disorder herself (Autosomal Recessive Congenital Ichthyosis), Ro is an advocate for rare diseases, mental health, and the empowerment of art and craft. Through her art and design work she hopes to inspire everyone to 'Craft Real Magic'.