Board of Directors (2023-2024)
Judy Weller, President
Judy lives in Hot Springs, SD with her husband Tom and 5 cats. Judy works for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Hot Springs, trying to make a slow transition into retirement, and is counting the days to when she can pursue her hobbies full time. Judy is a mother of three and grandmother to ten awesome kids.
Her fiber journey began at age 6 when her aunt taught her how to crochet. She then proceeded to crochet doll clothes for her own as well as friend’s dolls. Growing up in Germany, she was also exposed to all manner of fiber craft – which she didn’t always appreciate. Her four brothers, the outdoor, and trees for climbing took priority for a while. She picked up the knitting needles again when she was pregnant with her oldest. Progressed from baby clothes to sweaters and learned very quickly to look for patterns to knit in the round as piecing was not her favorite. For many years projects were Fair Isle or Icelandic Sweaters and complex Aran knits. As life became busier with full-time work and growing kids, she switched to socks, knitting many pairs by hand. Judy was born and raised in Germany and every trip to visit family resulted in a suitcase full of Regia yarn hauled stateside – especially when the self-patterning and self-striping yarns became first available. Now with so many beautiful yarns available in the US, her hoard has grown to “Stash exceeds life expectancy” proportions.
Searching for a particular type of heel on youtube she found a video of a CSM and knew she had to have one. In 2014, after much research, a LeGare 400 found its way into her home and since has been followed by a variety of machines. A big part of her love of the old machines is the finding, cleaning, and getting them to knit aspect. A passion for teaching and helping others continues to bring her much joy as she shares her knowledge and often her machines with others.
Most recently spinning has been added to her fiber adventures and next up will be weaving. Retirement can’t come soon enough!
Z Cohen, Vice President
Location, location, location! I am fortunate to live near many long time, experienced, and helpful crankers. So I had a great support system to start. I was already an obsessed yarn collector, aka knitter, when I stumbled across Ravelry’s machine knitting forums. There I lurked for a couple of years until a Home Profit Master Machine fell into my lap.
My CSM obsession grew quickly. Cranking is the perfect marriage of some of my favorite things: yarn, learning, teaching, socializing/not socializing, making things, and troubleshooting! It’s sort of like what I do for a living, except there’s not enough yarn in my workplace….yet.
Julie Pulkrabek, Treasurer
I bought my first CSKM with two knitter-friends. We barely used it until we went to a crank-in in Cape Giradeau where I met Jamie. I was hooked but my two friends were not so I bought their portions. I went to Sock School and learned even more. Attended a few crank-ins, PIGS and COWS. Now I have two machines, a Tru-Knit and a Dean & Bean. I LOVE being able to make a pair of socks in an hour. The first pair I hand-knitted was with a size 9 needle so those were doable. The second pair was with a size 2 so I found the person with the shortest feet, my mother-in-law and gave them to her. When I heard about CSKMs, I was intrigued and excited. I continue to be both as I learn more patterns and meet talented people using their machines in ways I never even considered. Recently I even created a pattern for a hand puppet that has been a lot of fun. I am giving them to grandparents to use when they video chat with their grandchildren.
Iowa City, Iowa/The Villages, Florida
Vickie Storlie, Secretary
I live in Clarks Grove, which is in south central Minnesota, with my husband, Darrell. I am a retired 9-1-1 Dispatcher, working 36 years for the Albert Lea Police Department and the Freeborn County Sheriff’s office.
I first saw circular sock knitting machines at the Back to the 50’s Car Show that he held at the Minnesota State Fairgrounds. Pet and Deb Oswald were demonstrating at the Lady’s Show Case building. They were there for one day, and I spent a fair amount of time watching Deb knit. I came away thinking, “I can do this.” Which led to me purchasing a machine off of Craig’s list from a lady in Minnesota. She also provided me with information about the Ham Lake Crank-in. I attended a few times, and they took me under their wing. Pretty soon, I was at PIGS in Ankeny, going to Cape Girardeau, MO, and COWS in Illinois. From there, attending LOONS in La Cresent, MN, and finally hosting the LAMBS Crank-in in Albert Lea, MN, which has been going on for 4 years.
I have a number of machines, but who’s counting? They consist of Favorits, Bickfords, Legare 400, Gearharts and Speedsters, and a couple of Bumblebees. They just kind of grow on you.
The CSM community is such a friendly group of people, and it is enjoyable to be among them. I enjoy helping others learn as we were all new at one time.
Jamie Mayfield, Member-at-Large
Jamie Mayfield lives in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. She is wife to Jeff and mom to two teenagers, Zak and Zoë. Jamie is launching her own business selling supplies, accessories, and coned yarn for circular machine knitters. She also travels the country teaching people to use their CSMs.
Her motto is to leave no craft behind…current trends include hand knitting, quilting, machine embroidery, and always crochet. She dabbles in inkle weaving, weaving on a floor loom, painted rocks (or other surfaces such as gourds and flower pots), card making, several types of beading, and glass bead making. Rarely is there enough time in the day to get it all done, but she gives it her all!
Dorinda Balanecki, Member-at-Large, Certifications
From Orion, Michigan. Started Cranking in September 2018.
Dorinda’s favorite aspect of cranking is learning to do new things with the machine and meeting new people. Her favorite item to make is purses. Her advice to her younger self, “Go slow it is not a race. Everyone learns at their own speed.” The sound the machine makes is mesmerizing, like a kitten purring. 😍
Dorinda, along with some other local crankers, want to put together a Michigan Crank In. I would love to be able to make socks for my family as Christmas gifts. I would also love to be able to make socks for veterans and homeless shelters perhaps as part of a crank in marathon.
Find Dorinda on Ravelry as Mshatbox.
Kim Kieffer, Member-at-Large
In April 2019 I ran across the CSKMS Facebook group and immediately became fascinated with the machine and set out to get one of my own. Within a few weeks, I had ordered a Native Stone (turquoise) Erlbacher Speedster and signed up for Beginner and Advanced Sock School in June. I joined CSKMS in May to be able to see all the wonderful resources while waiting for my machine to arrive.
I also started watching SockTV which was another super helpful resource that had me really ready when my machine arrived with 6 days to go before Sock School! I was able to finally make a sad-looking sock before attending. I packed up my machine and drove all the way to Missouri. Four days of Sock School was a TON of hard work but I met some absolutely terrific people and really got to know my machine well. It was through this initial wonderful experience that I felt comfortable enough with my skills to complete the Beginner Skills Certification Program with CSKMS in the first session of the program in 2020.
I live in Fishers, Indiana with my husband Michael and stepdaughter Katie who will graduate high school in 2021 and then is off to Ball State. Find me on Ravelry as 4Kemma.
Justin Oberholzer, Member-at-Large, Website and Membership
I live in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. I started cranking at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020, squeaking into my first crank in a week before the pandemic shut down. I own multiple machines including a NZAK, an Autoknitter and a Legare. I also work on a Worldstar which is on loan from a friend. I enjoy cranking a pair of ribbed socks in an evening and having the ability to do other projects such as mittens, fingerless gloves and hats. The biggest fact about me is that I recently switched from a 9-5-day job as a legal assistant to pursue my own business in selling my hand dyed yarns called Piper’s Knits.
Lisa Jorgensen, Member-at-Large
I live in Spencer, Iowa, where I run a business and raise my son with my husband who is also a cranker. This is what justified my purchase of not just one but 3 machines within weeks of each other in 2020. We were flatbed knitters before we started cranking, and to be honest we were afraid of the machines since they looked complicated. Fortunately, there are many great crankers and events in our area which allowed us to pick it up quickly. I was lucky to meet and be inspired and then taught by many of the established crankers and found my community amongst them. I am particularly drawn to unusual machines and to try to exploit their special qualities to understand the potential of their uniqueness. This had led me to meet people from all over the world. I was honored to be asked to help out with something that I enjoy so much.
Board of Directors, 2023-2024
Judy Weller, President
Z Cohen, Vice President
Vickie Storlie, Secretary
Julie Pulkrabek, Treasurer
Kim Kieffer , Member-at-Large
Justin Oberholzer, Member-at-Large, Website
Dorinda Balanecki, Member-at-Large, Certifications
Jamie Mayfield, Member-at-Large
Lisa Jorgensen, Member-at-Large
Newsletter – Open, does not need to be a Board Member
Board of Directors, 2020-2022
Judy Weller, President
Michelle Seigenthaler, Vice President
Kim Kieffer, Secretary
Sheryl Campbell, Treasurer
Z Cohen, Member-at-Large – Newsletter
Rich McGeheran, Member-at-Large – Website
Erica Rowe, Member-at-Large – Membership
Dorinda Balanecki, Member-at-Large
Jamie Mayfield, Member-at-Large
Kathleen Ducharmes, Member-at-Large
Candy Terry, Member-at-Large
Kathy Roletter, President Ex Officio
Board of Directors, 2019-2020
Judy Weller, President
Michelle Seigenthaler, Vice President
Candy Terry, Secretary
Sheryl Campbell, Treasurer
Z Cohen, Member-at-Large – Newsletter
Rich McGeheran, Member-at-Large – Website
Erica Rowe, Member-at-Large – Membership
Dorinda Balanecki, Member-at-Large
Jamie Mayfield, Member-at-Large
Kathy Roletter, President Ex Officio
Board of Directors, 2018-2019
Kathy Roletter, President
Dara Wagner, Vice President
Candy Terry, Secretary
Sheryl Campbell, Treasurer
Margaret Briggs, Member-at-Large – Website
Z Cohen, Member-at-Large – Newsletter
Michelle Seigenthaler, Member-at-Large
Judy Weller, Member-at-Large
Victoria Jicha, President Ex Officio
Board of Directors, 2017-2018
Kathy Roletter, President
Candy Terry, Vice President
Dara Wagner, Secretary
Sheryl Campbell, Treasurer
Margaret Briggs, Member-at-Large
Lynn Israel, Member-at-Large
Kim Kulasa, Member-at-Large
Victoria Jicha, Ex Officio
Board of Directors, 2016-2017
Victoria Jicha, President
Candy Terry, Vice President
Dara Wagner, Secretary
Kathy Roletter, Treasurer
Margaret O’Reilly Briggs, Member-at-Large
Sheryl Campbell, Member-at-Large
Ginny Duncan, Member-at-Large
Carol Gursslin, Ex Officio
Board of Directors, 2015-2016
Carol Gursslin, President
Candy Terry, Vice President
Dara Wagner, Secretary
Kathy Roletter, Treasurer
Victoria Jicha, Member-at-Large & Newsletter Editor
Margaret Briggs, Member-at-Large
Fred Hauck, Ex Officio
Board of Directors, 2014-2015
Carol Gursslin, President
Betty Cowin, Vice President
Sharon Lesio, Sheila Trunzo, Dawn Helstrom, Secretary
Kathy Roletter, Treasurer
Victoria Jicha, Member-at-Large & Newsletter Editor
Marty Wieferich, Member-at-Large
Sharon Lesio, Member-at-Large
Fred Hauck, Ex Officio
Board of Directors, 2013-2014
Fred Hauck, President
Carol Gursslin, Vice President
Kathy Roletter, Secretary & Acting Treasurer
Marty Wieferich, Treasurer
Betty Cowin, Member-at-Large & Newsletter Editor
Marty Wieferich, Member-at-Large