ABOUT US
The Yarn Crawl
The Hudson Valley Yarn Trail, now celebrating its 6th year anniversary, is dedicated to supporting local yarn shops, wool farms and fiber artists.
Each year, we host yarn crawls, workshops, fiber exhibitions and community activities throughout the Hudson Valley Region. The organization was founded in 2017.
Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook to see any updates for this year's crawl, as well as photos from previous years!
Marlea Willis
HVYT Partner and Public Relations Specialist
Marlea is an avid knitter who dreams of living on a tropical island spending her time knitting – Alice Starmore “I Love You”, – scuba diving, riding horses and singing. In the
meantime, Marlea is a principal at Luminary Communications, a dynamic public relations firm known for leading high-profile, cutting-edge media campaigns geared to the entertainment industry and arts nonprofit organizations. Marlea is a current member of the Patterson, NY Rotary Club and will serve as the club’s President in 2023/2024.
Mary Ellen “Mel” Ros
HVYT Partner and Non-Profit Executive
Mary Ellen or “Mel” as she is known to friends, has been knitting since the age of 10 when she was gifted a kit to make an afghan while recuperating from knee surgery. While still at the intermediate stage, she has always loved the craft and in recent years has challenged herself to learn new techniques.
One of the first supporters of the HVYT, when asked to become a partner her answer was a resounding yes! Mel is a non-profit executive and licensed social worker. She has worked both internationally and domestically with immigrants and refugees and
continues to work to assist those in need here in the Hudson Valley. Mel is a Trustee of the Pawling Free Library and an avid supporter of local community projects.
The Hudson Valley Yarn Trail (HVYT) was born out of the joint creative vision of AnneLouise Burns and Marlea Willis in 2017. Together they sketched out plans to support fiber artists, local yarn shops and wool farms by hosting yarn crawls, workshops, fiber exhibitions and community activities throughout the Hudson Valley and western Connecticut.
AnneLouise was diagnosed with cancer in early 2020. She faced her illness with courage and her signature style of humor and realism. In spite of her illness, she continued to devote her time and talents to the HVYT. A talented graphic artist, who held a Masters in Design Management from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn NY, she designed all the Yarn Crawl materials over the
past five years.
Tragically, AnneLouise passed away in February of 2023, surrounded by her family. We remember her as a gifted artist who loved gardening, art museums, hiking, cycling on rail trails, exploring the unknown, and KNITTING – AliceStarmore was her favorite designer and she loved making socks with her custom-made Erlbacher CSM. AnneLouise’s sense of humor and distinctive laugh could light up a room. She was a loving wife, mother and friend, and an inspiration to those around her.
We sorely miss her.