Meet Shanna Armenta | Fiber Arts Teacher and General Yarn Addict

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shanna Armenta and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shanna, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was raised in a somewhat poor rural neighborhood in SE New Mexico and spent a great deal of time with my grandparents, especially my grandmother. She was always busy: cleaning the house or watering the yard, feeding the chickens or working at her sewing machine making clothing, home goods or toys. Yet she always took time to play games with my little sister and me, the only time during the day you would see her sitting and not doing anything necessary or productive. She was always willing to teach us anything, be it creative or useful. She started teaching me how to cook at 5 years old and sewing at 6. She showed me how to harvest spearmint for tea in the morning and how to make pom-pom tools from cottage cheese lids in the afternoon. Folding laundry and baking zucchini bread for neighbors was followed by time spent with crayons and coloring books right alongside us. It was the ultimate example of valuing creative efforts as a worthwhile use of time alongside the day-to-day needs of life.
As I got older, I came to understand that this was apparently a family trait. Stories of my great-grandparents, great aunts/uncles and all manner of cousins were filled with mentions of music, painting, drawing, crochet, quilting, singing, flint napping, leather work, jewelry making, whittling, welding, poetry and creative writing. Considering how little money and few resources I knew these people had, I stand in awe of these poor, industrious people who refused to let poverty and hardship prevent them from making and creating.

Viewed through that lens, it shouldn’t be surprising that, of all the things I have done in my life, teaching fiber arts (knitting, crochet, spinning, kumihimo, etc.) at a local yarn shop has captured my dedication and brought me the most joy.
Every time a customer leaves with yarn and tools and that wonderful anticipatory smile on their face, I know I have made a positive impact on their day. When a student leaves a lesson with skills and confidence they did not have before they arrived, I can’t help but hope that their craft will be one of the most rewarding things in their lives from that day forward. I am deeply and happily addicted to all things related to making and using yarn and love to see the same excitement and contentment come to life in others. It took some prodding from a number of loving but insistent friends and acquaintances to get me going, but my YouTube channel was definitely the most logical next step to take. It allows me to help teach and support more people than I can reach through my work at an LYS (local yarn store), and the website and audio podcast I have cooking in the background will be extensions of that same desire.

During her last 15 years of life, the greatest gift anyone could give my grandmother was a new craft or creative outlet. I honor her loving efforts every time help someone else add these things to their lives as well.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My journey into what I am doing now was a little slow, a little strange, and definitely unexpected. I had promised myself early in my life that I would never have to work food service or retail, and anyone who knew me when I was younger would never have pegged me for a teacher of any sort. Yet here I find myself loving both small retail and teaching – I help manage the inventory and displays at Grandma’s Spinning Wheel, help customers choose patterns, materials and tools, help run events, do some photography and videography work, and a million other little things. It’s an ideal situation for someone who gets bored easily and has a hard time sitting still.

The teaching is something that developed slowly over time. First it was just basic crochet, then advanced crochet techniques as my own knowledge grew. It was quite a while before I felt competent enough to begin teaching others to knit and spin. I began offering classess on more subjects, teaching at local community organizations and helping customers out of tricky problems with their projects. That is when the first comments of “you should have a Youtube channel” started to come out.
I was resistant initially because there are already so many great content producers out there; I know because YouTube has been my classroom for a long time now! It was the acknowledgement that everyone learns a little differently and each teacher instructs in their unique way that made me decide to give it a try. My teaching style has helped many students succeed where their previous attempts had failed – I have a knack for breaking the learning process down into tiny little pieces and create a solid foundation for everything else to come.

The other impetus that drove me to establish my channel was my love of the quality yarns local yarn shops carry and my desire to introduce more people to those products and the small retailers who stock them. While very basic materials can be found at big box stores, a visit to a good yarn shop can be a delight for fiber artists – the colors, the textures, new tools and toys, sample garments for inspiration, in-person instruction and the comraderie of other yarn enthusiasts. Unfortunately, roughly 70 to 80 percent of the country has no local shops within a couple of hours drive in any given direction, and those folks must settle for lower tier products or deal with the myriad pitfalls of shopping online. Between my desire to offer honest reviews on products and a desire to help more people learn, the iHeartYarn channel finally emerged.

It’s had a slow start; the technological learning curve can be steep, and there have been tragedies in my personal life – both are the kind of hurdles most content producers wrangle with at some point. I’ve kept at it however, and as I improve, my audience grows. As my audience grows, their feedback helps me grow as a content producer. It’s a wonderful cycle to be a part of!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I almost don’t want to talk about this – in my opinioin, Tucson is one of the best kept secrets in the US! First, I would encourage them to come the last week of January. The weather is generally sunny and while not always warm, we rarely get snow and the winter sunsets tend to be spectacular.

Day 1: A trip out to the Desert Museum west of the city. The Sonoran Desert is one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet and much of that animal, bird, insect and plant life can be viewed at the Desert Museum. A lot of desert critters are nocturnal, but they tend to be more active during daylight hours in the winter. After walking all day, an early dinner and drinks at Cup Cafe at the historic Hotel Congress. The service is excellent, the patio seating area is great if the weather is decent, and there are often musicians about. The Mission Street Tacos plus The Hotel Salad will leave you happy and a slice of their flourless chocolate cake is a must.

Day 2: Easy on the feet day! Breakfast at Dedicated, a gluten free bakery, followed by a 90 minute drive up to Windy Point near the top of Mt. Lemmon. The drive up the mountain is scenic, and Windy Point is a big lookout full of giant boulders and slabs of stone with amazing views of the entire valley. Take a good windbreaker and a good hat along with lots of pictures and a picnic lunch! Afterwards, there are some great antique stores scattered around east Tucson, a good way to burn a few hours waiting for the doors to open at the Gaslight Theater – a dinner theater that puts on original productions that are generally spoofs of popular movies and plays.

Day 3: another drive, this time about 90 minutes SE of Tucson to Tombstone. Bring comfy shoes! The Good Enough Underground Mind tour is a lot of fun, the Birdcage is one of the most interesting wild-west museums around, and the giant Tomstone Rose is one of the lesser known wonders of the world! Some of the headstones at Boot Hill are real conversation starters, and the Buffalo burgers at the O.K. Cafe are delicious.

Day 4: Staying close and indulging the inner child. The Reid Park Zoo crams a whole lot of zoo into a fairly small area. It is well designed and well maintained. A late lunch downtown at the historic El Charro Cafe – great Mexican food at one of the only restaurants that breaks the “guide book” rule. The food is great! The rest of the afternoon and evening reserved for a full pass at Golf n Stuff. Two great putt putt courses, an arcade, bumber boats and laser tag. Dinner: Zinburger, about 6 minutes away. Fantastic burgers and lots of great drink options.

Day 5: Bookman’s at Speedway and Wilmot – a huge used book store that carries movies, music, musical instruments, video games and has a collectibles room. An easy two hours at least! About 20 minutes away is walk down memory lane – an actual movie rental place called Casa Video. The place feels like a step back in time of about 30 years, and they have popcorn you can munch while wandering around looking at the shelves. Follow up with a massage at one of the many health spas around town, and get to sleep early.

Days 6 & 7: The Tucson Gem & Mineral Show! I love the bead Show out at the Casino Del Sol, the 22nd Street show, and there are generally amazing displays at the Convention Center. Comfy shoes and a lot of cash are a must! Dinner the last night at Feast, an amazing restaurant with a seasonally changing menu. Amazing service, killer food, and the Chef never fails to come out and check on all of his diners. The wine selection there is also excellent.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The owner, staff members, teachers and loyal customers at Grandma’s Spinning Wheel in Tucson, Arizona. I blame them for turning what was once just a hobby into a full-blown addiction and bizarre career shift!

Website: Coming Soon ( iHeartYarn.life)

Instagram: FeatherAndFiber

Youtube: iHeartYarn

Other: If you are ever in Tucson and are a yarn fiend like me, come see me at Grandma’s Spinning Wheel – I can be found teaching there most Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.

Image Credits
Shanna Armenta, iHeartYarn