Meet Our Teachers

Amidst the rich landscapes of Santa Fe, this retreat offers relaxation and an invitation to explore your creativity with the expert guidance of

Gudrun Johnston, Mary Jane Mucklestone, Jennifer Berg, and Tressa Weidenaar. 

Gudrun Johnston

Gudrun was born in Shetland in the seventies, when her mother was running the successful knitwear design company, The Shetland Trader. Some thirty years later and now living in the United States, Gudrun has followed in her mother’s footsteps by reviving the Shetland Trader name, and she has made a name for herself in the knitwear design industry. Gudrun often includes aspects of her Shetland heritage in her designs, mostly utilizing traditional lace patterns in a contemporary context. She also loves to design using seamless construction methods and is always adding new techniques to her seamless knitting skills. As a frequent visitor to Santa Fe Gudrun is excited to bring together two unique cultures that she loves! 

Mary Jane Mucklestone
Mary Jane Mucklestone is a knitwear designer and author of 4 books specializing in colorwork knitting. With an extensive background in art and textiles she travels the world to learn traditional knitting techniques, recently completing an artist residency in Fair Isle, the namesake place of stranded knitting. Her book 200 Fair Isle Motifs and 150 Scandinavian Motifs have both been translated into multiple languages and are distributed throughout the world. Though she grew up in Seattle, Mary Jane has called Maine her home for over 30 years and loves that knitted garments are needed year round.

Meet Our Presenters

Jennifer Berg
Jennifer Berg is a Knitter, designer, and creator using a variety of textures. She has been knitting for about 7 years and has started to design her own patterns that are inspired by her culture. Jennifer is Navajo and grew up on the Navajo reservation, near the New Mexico/Arizona border. She pulls from designs,textures, and colors that have surrounded her throughout her life and is eager to be a Native designer within the Knitting Community. 
Tressa Weidenaar
Tressa Weidenaar is a Navajo knitwear designer, weaver, and maker of anything she finds interesting. She lives in Gallup, New Mexico with her husband and two children. When she's not knitting she enjoys being outdoors exploring the high desert canyons and mesas of the southwest. She has had designs published in Taproot Magazine, Making GIFTS and PomPom Quarterly. She can be found on Instagram @tsinbikee and Ravelry as Tsinbikeeknits.