Meet Our 2026 Student Teachers

Both classes are 3-Hours in length and only offered on Saturday of the Retreat
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Erin Franzinger Barrett
Arts Teacher & Cross Stitcher
About Erin's Class:
Thread Anarchy: Cross-Stitch as Personal Ritual & Radical Remembrance
​What if your needle could speak? What if a single thread could hold memory, magic, and meaning?

In this 3-hour session, artist, researcher, and cross-stitch anarchist, Erin Franzinger Barrett, invites you into a welcoming, spacious circle of creativity and conversation. Rooted in slowness, somatics, and stitching as a sacred act, this class explores cross-stitch as a healing language, one that connects us across time, cultures, and geographies.

You’ll begin by choosing or creating a personal healing touchstone to stitch: a word, phrase, or symbol of protection, remembrance, or transformation. Erin will guide you through:
  • The basics of cross-stitch and intuitive embroidery
  • Creating your own patterns or using curated designs (including healing symbols and words)
  • Working in small groups with resources that draw from various diasporic traditions of textile storytelling
  • Considering the historical, political, and deeply human dimensions of craft
Whether you stitch a quiet phrase to tuck inside a jacket, a scroll to hang on your wall, or a patch to carry with you, this class is about making meaning with your hands and anchoring into the long lineage of humans who’ve turned to thread in times of grief, resistance, joy, and healing.

All levels welcome. No prior stitching experience needed, just bring your spirit, your story, and your curiosity.
Supply List: Coming Soon
Kit FeeL Coming Soon
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Bonnie Natko
Data Stitcher, Bargello Teacher, & Tarot Lover
About Bonnie's Class:
Threads of Meaning: Tracking Patterns of Healing, Spirit & Self Using Bargello
Transform your healing journey through data that turns into devotional art. In this creative needlepoint workshop Bonnie blends pattern, intuition, and self-study as a way to translate personal “data” into a vibrant Bargello tapestry.
Bonnie has used this method to track everything from her daily tarot pulls to the winners of Olympic medals.

You will be invited to bring a month’s worth of observations, intuitions, or rhythms to stitch into striking geometric patterns that reflect your unique inner world. You might track your daily moods, dreams, your meditation or creative practices, the moon phases, daily pain levels, hours of sleep, temperature in your hometown, or anything that matters to you and your healing journey (like your daily Tarot card pulls).  

This practice is equal parts art and insight. It invites you to track, witness, and honor your patterns in a tactile and sacred way. No needlepoint experience required. Come with curiosity, leave with a stitched artifact of your journey toward healing and creative empowerment.

All levels welcome. No prior stitching experience needed. 
Supply List: Coming Soon
Kit Fee: Coming Soon

Why Student Teachers? 

A Note From Kiala
We are excited to announce that for the first time ever we have STUDENT TEACHERS at Sacred Makers. What is a Sacred Maker's student teacher you ask? 
  • They have attended at least three cycles of the Sacred Makers Soul Retreat (ie, they are one of us!!).
  • They identify as a mystic, seeker, healer, or creative. 
  • They have a handicraft that they use to "say something" bold, unique, & thought-provoking.
  • They have shared their craft, their passion, and their mission with us and we LOVE what they are doing.
I am on a mission to elevate the voices in our community of makers who are doing what I call, "Quiet But Mighty Work" in the world. People who may not have lots of social media followers (heck, neither do we), but who continue to show up anyway. I look for people who are on their own healing journey & who are willing to share about it openly
Please celebrate our first ever student teachers:

Erin Franzinger Barrett & Bonnie Natko!!!

Erin is a Chicago-based teacher and working artist who explores common humanity in liminal spaces. They create classrooms that are warm, accessible, and nurturing - whether for 8 year olds learning to read, for adults learning to listen to their bodies in a yoga classroom, or for makers to learn to communicate with themselves and the world via thread. They see fiberwork as a site for weaving connections between past, present, and future. 

Bonnie Natko calls herself a "Data Stitcher" because she blends pattern, intuition, & self-study as a way to translate personal “data” into a vibrant Bargello tapestries. She uses this method to track everything from her daily tarot pulls to the winners of Olympic medals. Its fun and functional.