The Complete Captain’s Log

Time for another love note to one of our fibre alumni – Jillian! We have a nice training program that our yarnistas go through when starting at the shop. But when I hired Jillian in 2013, I was nearly 8 months pregnant and moving the shop from our first location to our second location. Instead of going through our training program, Jillian spent the first few weeks at fibre space in a two-person packing and moving project lead by my MOTHER. If you have met my mother or know anything about her management of projects in general, you would know why this is still Jillian’s favorite story to share about her time at the shop…working side by side with my amazing but also very particular mother. (Again, I am SO sorry Jillian). Amazingly she has positive things to say about the experience…and she didn’t quit after the first week of work.

In fact, she never successfully quit. Jillian started here when she was in law school and worked on and off as a yarnista over the years as she built her career in law and as a civil servant, coming back to teach or work on the floor when possible. You will still find her working the floor during our busiest days. She is the last yarnista from our original location to still be working at the shop - a true OG. But most of you know her from our teaching program. Jillian is a phenomenal instructor, with many years of experience. She is always learning, always curious, which makes her such an incredible teacher and asset to fibre space.

Without her, I do not know how we would be pulling off our furloughed federal worker program! During government shutdowns, which have become entirely too frequent, she leads our volunteer group of teachers, creates the class program and keeps her finger on the pulse of what is happening in DC so that we can pivot quickly. As a federal employee herself, she has been able to represent that part of our community within the shop, and we are so proud of the work we have done together for our federal workers!

Thanks for making it through some big big transitions in this business, Jillian! So grateful for you.

It’s a great time to dive into a class! This week we’re learning to knit hats, crochet beanies, mend our makes, and to take our projects over the finish line!

Book your class at the link in our bio!

Do you fall hard for fabulous fibres? Do discussions about sheep breeds, staple length, and drafting methods get your dopamine dancing? Are you still searching for your perfect yarn? Sounds like spinning is for you!

Whether you’d like to learn more about how yarns are made, or you’re dreaming of a sweater quantity of your very own hand-spun, spinning is a great way to gain a deeper understanding of fibre types, yarn construction, and how these factors affect your finished projects.

We`re talking all things Spinning on the Captain`s Log today, head over and check it out! https://fibrespace.com/2026/02/fibre-facts-spinning-in-space/ ‎

We can`t help you at the shop with AI-generated patterns but what we CAN do (and love!) is help you find the perfect pattern.

Our help desk is open during shop hours and the yarnistas love finding the perfect pattern rec that gets you a gorgeous FO and supports designers. AI patterns aren`t tested or edited and can lead to a lot of frustration and wasted time, that`s why we love to curate lots of pattern recommendations to go with the many yarns we carry.

We`re not here to gatekeep our favorite designers, yarns, patterns, and techniques - we love to talk all things stitching and help you make the projects of your dreams! Drop & tag your favorite pattern designers in the comments below!

Today I am writing another love note to a fibre alum who has contributed so much to fibre space for the last two decades. Lesley has been around since the Knit-a-Gogo days (my first business). She was a big part of getting this shop opened, providing endless input, opinions and time, making sure the store would be the best it could possibly be for the community. As a skilled “pancraftual,” she brought her passion and expertise in crochet to the early development of the teaching program at fibre space, and continues to support our efforts to serve knit AND crochet.

When I finally opened the shop in 2009, Lesley was part of the initial team of yarnistas but then stayed on as an instructor and so much more after leaving that post to focus more on her full-time career. You’ve likely seen her on some of our busiest and most important days of the year, including Plaid Friday, where she was our cheerful bouncer in those first couple of hours. You might not have realized that she likely made her entire outfit.

Since she was part of the initial staff at the shop, Lesley has every single nightly note in her gmail somewhere. She can find nearly anything in her gmail. She IS the institutional memory of this company.

But one of the biggest ways that Lesley has contributed to fibre space, was the one hour or less she gave us every other Monday. Lesley clocked out of her full-time job and shifted her focus to our payroll, calculating instructor pay, entering other contractors that required payment that week and then entering our staff hours and pay. How did this come to be? Well early after opening the business, I found myself in the ER headed into surgery to have my appendix removed. When I explained to the surgeon that I had to be out of surgery and lucid enough to run payroll by 4 pm the next day, she pleaded “can you find anyone else to run your payroll?!” (She probably also rolled her eyes REALLY hard and I wouldn’t have blamed her one bit). Lesley became that person. Having this biweekly task handled with care and attention for the last …15 years perhaps… has been a game changer. Thank you so much for being part of this incredible journey with me Lesley!!