Nancy Young is an artist working in many mediums, covering many centuries. Her stained glass work is modern, something she describes as trying to emulate "water colors with glass". Her spinning, lace, and bobbin skills take her back centuries to when these skills were essential, not optional.

One of her favorite works is a 2x5-foot stained glass window now in the chapel at Snow Mountain Ranch, near Winter Park, Colorado. Done as a memorial to a volunteer at Snow Mountain, Jerry Ford, the window features no straight cuts, with the lines all flowing to give the illusion of columbines in a breeze. (The three horizontal lines visible are the reinforcing bars across the back of the window.)

She has done a number of special window projects, most recently for a church in Granby, Colorado, with a design of her own to compliment existing windows in the church. She also teaches stained glass, but only by special arrangement, there are no scheduled classes.

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These are some of her natual-dye quilts.

Her spinning skills are very good, and she has given demonstrations for a variety of schools and groups, and regular historical demonstrations near her home in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. In addition to spinning and then knitting an endless stream of gifts for relatives, her spun and knit efforts also show up on some of her figurines. She is now teaching spinning, and her classes can either be scheduled by a group or privately.

To compliment her spinning, she has taken on the task of understanding natural dyes. She uses her quilting as a way to showcase some of the subtle color shades that can be achieved using local mountain plants. She now teaches natural dyeing, as a one-day program.

Her interest in spinning and dyeing came from knitting, something she has done for years and has only recently begun teaching, focusing on the more difficult and advanced aspects.

Her continuing fascination with fibers took her into the world of bobbin lace. She has visited a number of Europe's best-known crafts centers, including the lace-making center at Brugge in Belgium, and has successfully taught herself this old skill. As with most of her fiber skills, some of her lace work shows up on her figurines.

She has moved on from that into the field of collectable dolls, based on her figurine experince. Her first started as The Crafters, with The Knitter and The Quilter done, but quickly expanded to include sports figures. A number are in the works, somewhere between the idea stage and final finishing.

Contact Nancy by email for quotes, ideas, and further information for your project, whether it is a custom design or a question about learning these skills.

nancy@jy1.com