Jill is co-owner of Kindred Spirits Yarn Studio and Kindred Spirits Design Studio in Franklin, PA. She is past president of the Wooly Wonders knitting guild. Jill teaches at festivals and yarn shops all around the Great Lakes area, including Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival, Knitter’s Day Out, Knitter’s Fantasy, Ann Arbor Fiber Expo, Kindred Spirits Yarn Studio, Yarn Cravin’, Yarn Garden (of Michigan), Rae’s Yarn Boutique, and Knit A Round. She is co-owner of B-ewe-tiful Design. Her designs have been published by Knitty.com, Dark Horse Yarns, Schulana and Cast On magazine.
Gwen is a Craft Yarn Council Certified Teacher and is accredited by the Association of Knitwear Design in both teaching and design. She teaches at venues throughout the country, recently published her first book, Entrée to Entrelac and her designs can be found in a variety of knitting magazines and through her business, Knitability, LLC. Education is probably the most important component of the Knitability business plan as all efforts focus on the company motto of "Taking Knitters to the Next Level". Whether teaching at a local yarn shop or at a national knitting convention, meeting new people and sharing the love of knitting is one of her greatest joys.
Beth has been teaching knitting on the national level now for more than twenty years! "I look back on these years with feelings of wonder and gratitude. I am doing things I never imagined possible — I have developed a network of friends, students, and colleagues that span the continent and the world, writing about knitting, creating and marketing my own line of knitting patterns, and even financially supporting myself and my children with what I love to do — teaching knitting!"
Candace learned both music and knitting at the age of three, and has followed these two loves all her life. She was co-director and cello instructor of the Suzuki String Program of Mansfield, CT for 16 years. She is the author of Sweaters From a New England Village, Sweaters From New England Sheep Farms. Beyond Wool, The Quilter's Quick Reference Guide, and Little Box of Crocheted Bags. Candace designs for yarn companies while she and her husband run their internet based business, www.Strickwear.com, which features her exclusive designs, and her new line of yarn, Merging Colors. When not doing the above, she is riding her bicycle. She lives in rural Connecticut with her pianist/knitting husband and 2 birds. She has three grown sons, all of whom know how to knit but refuse to do so.
Jolie has explored a wide range of needle arts after learning to cross stitch at age four. She designs, teaches, and stunt knits in the Atlanta area where she demystifies the obscure. Jolie is a past president of Atlanta Knitting Guild and the current president of North Georgia Knitting Guild. She has also completed Level 1 of TKGA Master Knitter. Her published patterns include 'Serpentine Short-Round Scarf' and 'Tetra Stadium Blanket."' She blogs her knitting experiments at jolieaelder.blogspot.com and posts on Ravelry as "Jolie."
Laura specializes in seeking out overlooked knitting techniques, overcoming technical obstacles and making them easy to understand using modern teaching methods. She designs knitted accessories using at least 2 colors and enjoys teaching all aspects of the needle arts. Laura is the author of the recently released Knitting Scandinavian Slippers and Socks and New Twists on Twined Knitting, as well as several books and articles on quilting, knitting, and weaving. She is The Entwined Knitter. In her spare time, Laura bikes, hikes, skis, and sews. She lives in the mountains of Colorado with her husband Russ with whom she loves to travel.
Charles Gandy, a TKGA Master Knitter, learned to knit at the young age of four from his mother, a designer and shop owner. He designed his first sweater three years later and continues to create today. A two-time winner in the recent Knitter's Magazine "Think Outside the Sox" contest, three of his designs are featured in the new book of the same name: "Dread Sox", "Snake in the Grass" and "Pedicure Polka Socks". His own book, The Embellished Sock: Knitted Art for the Foot features eighteen creative sock patterns and numerous techniques. His work is featured in numerous publications and he is a frequent teacher and lecturer in workshops and conferences nationwide.
I started in the needle arts business in 1963, as co-owner of a small yarn shop. When the shop closed, 12 years later, I became the needlework instructor at Bloomingdale’s in White Plains, New York. While at Bloomingdale’s I met a lot of yarn company rep’s that liked my designs and were very instrumental in helping me to get published. Since then I have written 19 books, the most recent being The Granny Square Book (released 11-11), Learn How to Free Form Crochet (released 12-10), The Complete Photo Guide to Crochet (released 12-09) and The Complete Photo Guide to Knitting (released July 2010). I have had many designs in knit and crochet publications, such as, Interweave Knits, Interweave Crochet, Crochet!, Creative Knitting, Belle Armoire magazines and many others. In addition to the magazines my designs have appeared in many hardcover books, such as New Ideas for Today's Knitting, New Ideas for Today's Crochet, Vogue Bags on the Go, 100 Bags, Easy Living Crochet, Think Pink and Special Techniques. I teach knitting and crocheting workshops all over the country. I love all aspects of both knitting and crocheting, but combining knitting and crochet in free form designs, is my passion.
For over 25 years, Ruth has specialized in dressmaking, weaving, machine/handknitting, and croshet. A former gallery owner, she produced wearable art sold in galleries across the country. She now does more experimental work and is a curator for the Ohio Craft Museum. Ruth also teaches a knit module to the fashion design students at Columbus College of Art and Design.
Debra is a certified CYCA teacher and an avid designer. She enjoys combining color, texture, and structure into silhouette- flattering styles. Her designs can be found in Knitters, Knit ‘n Style, and A Gathering of Lace. As an accomplished teacher, Debra encourages her students to knit with confidence and adventure.
Ginger is a Northern California based designer of knitted wearable art and a nationally known creative knitting teacher. She has an MA in Fine Art and taught knitting, weaving, and design classes at Saddleback College in southern California for 12 years. The author of the book, Module Magic, which focuses on the unusual designs and construction techniques for which she is known, Ginger designs for several knitting magazines and yarn companies.
Judy launched her career as a professional knitting instructor and designer in the early 1990's. She is now exclusively teaching knitting and design classes with the emphasis on customizing desired fit.
When Sarah was pregnant with her first son and looking for the perfect yarn for that first baby blanket, she discovered a new yarn store in town (short-lived, alas). The owner introduced her to the local knitting guild. That was in 1990, and that’s when her knitting life really took off. In January 2000, she taught at another yarn store for three years, showing over 150 different students how to knit Continental style, how to make socks and hats, how to finish their knitting projects, how to work Fair Isle and Entrelac, and how to design their own sweaters, among other things. Sarah says, "I provided my students with detailed handouts and lots of moral support. I encouraged them to contact me with any questions or problems, committed to see them through to the end of their projects, even long after the classes were over."
Mary Beth designs patterns for and writes about knitting and crocheting. She is author of The Secret Language of Knitters and Hooked for Life: Adventures of a Crochet Zealot.
First a dancer, then a neuroscientist and professor, Amy now devotes herself fulltime to the fiber arts. Her fiber work is certainly informed by her art and science background; she has a keen understanding of learning movement skills, composition, pattern recognition, and systematic exploration. The result is her focus on spinning and knitting technique, texture, three-dimensional structure, and knit designs that exploit handspinning techniques. You can find her articles in Spin Off and Interweave Knit & Spin.
Anna is a practicing psychologist and has been making clothing since she was old enough not to poke her eye out with a needle. She was cofounder and co-owner of Twisted Sisters although she recently decided to leave in order to pursue her passion for designing out-of-the-box knitting and sharing her passion through teaching. Twisted Sisters has published seven pattern books and multiple individual designs for magazines and other venues. She specializes in putting together unexpected elements to make wearable garments into wearable art.
Andrea learned to knit from her mother when she was 7 years old. Her mother had learned from a Portuguese lady and this is the only style she knew until she came to the USA in 1991. Since then she has been knitting avidly, designing and teaching. For the last 8 years she has been traveling in a mission to teach Americans and Canadians in how to knit with the yarn tensioned around a knitting pin among other classes. She also teaches on regular basis on yarn shops and guilds around the country. Andrea has published three technical DVDs and a book about the subject. Knitting Daily TV segments 307 and 811 show a glance of what Andrea teaches. www.andreawongknits.com
