Western North Carolina has become one of the top spots in the country for crafts. And even more attention was focused on the area's craft scene when six Haywood Community College students were selected to participate in the Schacht Spindle Company Student Showcase in Boulder, Colo. (The company manufactures hand weaving looms and spinning wheels.) HCC students Cindy Hall, Sally Patton, Elisabeth Reed, Julie Stefano, Brenda Tuckey, and Susan Zakanycz shared their work at the showcase, which highlights how hand weaving is evolving in new directions. Hall and Zakanycz both received category awards (plus $200 gift certificates from the Schacht Spindle Company). Tuckey received an honorable mention and a special edition weaving shuttle. The showcase featured 60 students from 18 schools across the country. Haywood Community College had most students participating from a single school. Extensive work went into the pieces on display at the showcase. Hall, for example, spent 40 hours designing a black shawl using a "collapsed" technique – which involves wetting the fiber so it twists back on itself to create a unique pattern. There are still slots available for this fall in Haywood Community College's professional crafts fiber program. The program covers weaving and textile design along with business skills, says HCC fiber instructor Catherine Ellis. Registration takes place on Wednesday, Aug. 11, and Thursday, Aug. 12 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. For more information on Haywood Community College's professional crafts fiber program, call 627-4500. – Jason Lauritzen