Judi Lehrhaupt and Nelda Davis
Nelda is a 1991 graduate of the Ontario Handweavers and Spinners Guild Spinning Certificate Programme. She has taught classes and given lectures at various regional conferences, craft schools, guilds and shops. In 1991 she co-curated an exhibit “To Spin a Fine Thread” at the New Jersey Museum of Agriculture. Nelda returned to MAFA as an instructor last year having taught spinning related classes at MAFA in 1997 and 1999.
Judi’s focus on fiber arts started about 24 years ago when she began raising sheep. At that time, she had a Shetland Sheep dog with herding instincts. To provide practice for the dog, she and a friend bought some Shetland sheep. Unfortunately, Shetland sheep don’t flock well!
Long story short, she fell in love with the sheep and she became intrigued with the idea of creating her own yarn. She began spinning lessons with Betty Oldenburg at The Spinnery (N.J.) in 1994 and has studied with a variety of excellent instructors since. In 2002 she began a program of study in spinning with the Ontario Handweavers & Spinners (OHS). After six years, she received her certificate and embarked on an in-depth study on “The Versatility of a Shetland Fleece.” In 2017 she was awarded the OHS Master Spinner Certificate.
Recent teaching experiences in fiber arts have included teaching at the MAFA 2019 and 2021 regional conferences, judging fleeces at Maryland Wool and Sheep Festival and Garden State Sheep and Wool Festival among others. She was honored to be chosen by Oliver Henry to assist in fleece sorting in Lerwick, Shetland.