STITCHES South 2013 Teachers
|
Marly Bird
Marlaina "Marly" Bird fled the world of financial services to launch her Yarn Thing podcast and hasn't looked back since. To Marly, a bi-craftsy girl who both knits and crochets, the yarn is the star not how you work with it. She's creative director for Bijou Basin Ranch Yarns and the co-author of Curvy Crochet (Leisure Arts, 2011). You've seen her designs in Knitter's Magazine, Knit Simple, Interweave Crochet, Interweave Knits, Knitscene, Inside Crochet, Wild Fiber, Crochet Today, Knitting Today and Petite Purls, and in the books Knitter's Book of Socks, Unexpected Afghans, Simply Crochet, Perfectly Plus and Knitting Plus. In her spare time she is a wife to a very understanding husband, raises three kids and teaches at her local yarn store in suburban Denver.
Enter the world of Marly at www.marlybird.com and www.thepurseworkshop.com.
View Marly's Interview
View Marly's Classes
|
|
Gwen Bortner
Gwen Bortner is a Craft Yarn Council Certified Teacher, teaching at venues throughout the country and is the author of Entree to Entrelac. 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.
Gwen's teaching philosophy can be summed up in the following quote, "As a teacher, my goal is to help students increase the size of their knitting 'tool box'. Although I may have a preference, experience has shown that my preferred way is rarely the only way. My mantra is 'knitting is fun' and if class isn't fun, then I am not doing my job."
View Gwen's Interview
View Gwen's Classes
|
|
J C Briar
A self-confessed technique freak and skill junkie, JC has a special fondness for textured knitting and novel construction techniques. If it involves lace, cables, or seamless construction, it's sure to catch her eye. She shares her enthusiasm by teaching at shops and fiber festivals and through her book, Charts Made Simple.
View J C's Interview
View J C's Classes
|
|
Laura Bryant
With a degree in fine arts from the University of Michigan, Laura began Prism Yarns in 1984. She continues as Prism's creative force, specializing in color and hand-dyed yarns and has published over 70 pattern booklets for Prism. Laura has written six books, including The Yarn Stash Workbook, The New Knitter's Template (coauthored with Barry Klein), and recently produced the DVD Knitter's Guide to Color with Laura Bryant and Yarn to Fit with Barry Klein. Her newest book, Artful Color, Mindful Knits from XRX Books is available now. She teaches and designs with a 'no rules' approach, and her classes are designed to bring out the creativity within all of us.
View Laura's Interview
View Laura's Classes
|
|
Lily Chin
Lily M Chin is an internationally famous knitter and crocheter who has worked in the yarn industry for nearly 25 years, as a designer, instructor and author of 8 books on knitting and crochet. She has looks for the New York Fashion Week runway collections of designers Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang, Diane von Furstenberg and Isaac Mizrahi; and her work has been on the backs of celebrities and supermodels. She was named a "Master Knitter" by Vogue Knitting. She is regularly cited in media across the U.S., including the Late Show with David Letterman, Martha, CBS Morning News, CNN, HGTV and more. Lily Chin has lived in New York City all her life and has been involved in some aspect of the fashion industry since age 13.
View Lily's Interview
View Lily's Classes
|
|
Cindy Craig
I learned to knit while chaperoning Girl Scouts in Norway. While in our hospitality home, I asked the mom to teach me how to knit, and because I was pregnant with my first son, we started a baby sweater. She had the back finished in two nights, and I was still on the ribbing!
I have learned so much since then and now spend my days managing Studio Knitting & Needlepoint, Kansas City, MO. I love helping people learn to knit or crochet — especially, when they get stuck! I knit everywhere I go and am frequently questioned on the sidelines of the soccer field and at PTA and Cub Scout meetings.
I love to design and write patterns.
View Cindy's Classes
|
|
Edie Eckman
Edie Eckman is the author of a number of best-selling crochet and knitting titles including Around the Corner Crochet Borders, Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs, Socks to Knit for Those You Love, and most recently, Connect the Shapes Crochet Motifs. As a teacher, designer, and technical editor, she is on a mission to educate knitters, crocheters, AND designers to ensure that patterns are as clear as possible to the greatest number of consumers and to empower stitchers to become confident in their skills. She loves to learn from her students!
View Edie's Interview
View Edie's Classes
|
|
Candace Eisner Strick
Candace Eisner Strick has immersed herself in music and knitting most of her life. Now retired from 16 years of teaching cello, she concentrates on designing, writing, and teaching knitting. Her newest book, Strick-ly Socks, features a revolutionary and amazingly simple way of knitting socks. She is the author of 6 other books, has been published in numerous magazines, and has taught nationally and internationally since 1998. She is the creator of her own line of yarn, Merging Colors, and her own line of patterns under the name of Strickwear (www.strickwear.com).
Candace's students say they not only love learning from her classes, but thoroughly enjoy her sense of humor as well. Appropriately, "strick" means to knit.
View Candace's Interview
View Candace's Classes
|
|
Margaret Fisher
Margaret Fisher is a TKGA Master Knitter and nationally known knitting instructor who teaches across the country at conventions, shops and guilds. She loves colorful, textured fabric and well-fitting sweaters with contemporary style. She designs and makes one-of-a-kind garments and accessories. Margaret is a former co-chair of the Master Hand Knitting Committee of The Knitting Guild Association (TKGA) and has written magazine articles on knitting and knitting techniques. She is the author of Seven Things that can "Make or Break" a Sweater®.
View Margaret's Interview
View Margaret's Classes
|
|
Charles Gandy
Charles, 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 18 creative sock patterns and numerous techniques. His work is featured in numerous national publications, and he is a frequent teacher and lecturer at workshops and conferences nationwide.
View Charles's Classes
|
|
Antje Gillingham
Antje Gillingham grew up in Germany and learned to knit at the age of eight. In 1982 she moved to the central coast of California, where she lived for the next 17 years. When her husband's job relocated the family to Tennessee, she rediscovered her infatuation with fiber and all that is knitting. Antje is the author of three best-selling books and has published patterns in several knitting magazines. Over the years, her travels have taken her all over the country, and along the way she has made many new friends who all share the same passion for knitting. It is these wonderful, like-minded souls who continue to inspire her to design, write and teach. When she isn't traveling or teaching at a variety of knitting workshops, she can be found relaxing at home...with knitting in hand.
View Antje's Interview
View Antje's Classes
|
|
Susanna Hansson
Susanna grew up in Sweden and learned to knit in the fifth grade, as did all young Swedish girls in the early 1960's. She has been an instrumental influence in the renaissance of interest in the unique patterned colorwork Bohus Stickning sweaters and her collection of vintage garments was the centerpiece of a highly successful exhibit at the American Swedish Institute (ASI) in 2009. In addition to teaching at all four STITCHES events, Susanna takes her workshops on the road to guilds, retreats, and shops in North America, Scandinavia, Japan, and the UK. Her work is grounded in her love of technique, detail, history, and culture. She loves to teach as much as she loves to knit!
For more information about Susanna, please visit her website at www.oneofsusannas.com.
View Susanna's Interview
View Susanna's Classes
|
|
Sivia Harding
Sivia Harding learned how to knit in 2000 and has been churning out patterns since 2003. Her work has appeared in publications under her own name and has been featured in Twist Collective online magazine, Knitty.com, various subscription clubs, and in many knitting books. Sivia is known for her work with exceptional beaded knits. Her self-published designs are found on Ravelry and her website (www.siviaharding.com), and recent updates can be found on her Facebook page.
View Sivia's Interview
View Sivia's Classes
|
|
Betsy Hershberg
Betsy Hershberg is a life-long knitter whose knitting world was turned upside down and inside out when she learned how to bead knit in 2002. As ideas for combining beads and fiber began to take over her knitting brain, she found herself on a completely unexpected journey which has forever altered the way she thinks about her "left-brained" self and the creative process. She is thrilled to be sharing some of these discoveries, along with unique bead-knitting techniques, and lots of fabulous projects and patterns in her book, Betsy Beads: Confessions of a Left-Brained Knitter, available from XRX Books. Betsy also takes enormous pleasure in teaching, feeling it is especially rewarding to help knitters reach new levels of technical knowledge, confidence and independence that will free them to explore their own individual creativity. You can view her work at www.studiobknits.com.
View Betsy's Classes
|
|
Barry Klein
Trendsetter Yarns Company owner/designer Barry Klein has been knitting for 40 years. He started knitting by working in his family knitting store where all patterns were designed for the knitters body. He has worked as an Industry Teacher doing knitting classes all over the world for the past 25 years. Barry has designed knitwear for all industry magazines along with knitwear for television shows, ice skaters and movie stars. He has authored 5 knitting books and worked as a spokesman on Knitting Daily and other television knitting shows. He loves to share his love of yarn and everything that can be done with yarn. Barry has been voted one of the Top 10 Men who Knit/Design throughout history. Learn why "Let the yarn do the work" is his favorite motto.
View Barry's Interview
View Barry's Classes
|
|
Melissa Leapman
A popular teacher and prolific designer, Melissa Leapman is the author of several bestselling knitting and crocheting books including Mastering Color Knitting and Stashbuster Knits (Potter Craft), as well as numerous publications and DVD's from Leisure Arts. Her most recent book, Knitting the Perfect Fit, was released in August 2012.
View Melissa's Interview
View Melissa's Classes
|
|
Rick Mondragon
Rick Mondragon, Knitter's editor, has been knitting for over 40 years. His passion for color is obvious in his work, but underlying all his designs is technique. Besides knitting and crochet, he is an accomplished spinner, free-lance tailor, dressmaker, and quilter. He has been teaching for 25 years offering ideas and insight to perfecting skills with needles, hooks, yarn, fiber, fabric, and thread. He loves the challenge of garment design and deconstructing and translating a pattern into words.
View Rick's Classes
|
|
Brooke Nico
Brooke began her designing activities by sewing her own wardrobe, inspired by drape and color. She brought her talents to knitting almost 10 years ago, first exploring modular construct, then lace. In 2006 Brooke opened Kirkwood Knittery which she not runs with business partner Robyn Schrager. As a dedicated teacher, Brooke guides knitters through the intricacies of techniques to make their projects as polished as possible.
View Brooke's Classes
|
|
Kellie Nuss
Kellie is a self-taught knitter with a keen interest in the success of her students. A proud knitting 'geek,' she loves to teach the principles and practices that are the foundation to every knitting technique and that allow any knitter to become confident enough to try anything they want. She is from Maryland and has been teaching professionally for 15 years. Kellie goes by kellamina on Ravelry.com and blogs at thesamestitch.com
View Kellie's Interview
View Kellie's Classes
|
|
Shannon Okey
Shannon Okey is a designer, the publisher behind Cooperative Press, and a former knitting magazine editor. She has written more than a dozen fiber arts titles and taught everywhere you can imagine, including drop-spindling on a swaying cruise ship! Her most recent book is The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design.
View Shannon's Interview
View Shannon's Classes
|
|
Judy Pascale
Judy Pascale, a native of Connecticut and a life-long knitter, launched her career as a professional knitting instructor and designer in the early 1990's. She has professionally sold her unique knitwear under the name The Judith Collection both privately and at juried shows. For several years she was employed at a yarn shop where she taught knitting classes and assisted numerous customers with their knitting and finishing problems. She is now exclusively teaching knitting and design classes with the emphasis on customizing desired fit.
The second phase of Judy's design career combined knitting with beads. Using a non-prestringing technique and textured stitches, she has designed classes from small projects to garments. Her most recent phase is wet felting. This ancient textile process remains vibrant and fascinating today. Besides teaching for STITCHES, her experience includes The National Needle Art Association (TNNA), Vogue Knitting Live (VK Live), The Knitting Guild of America (TKGA) and yarn shops and guilds all over the country.
Most importantly, Judy has joined the ranks of other talented members of the knitting community whose explosive interest is creating a renaissance for the ageless art of knitting.
View Judy's Classes
|
|
Sarah Peasley
Sarah's passion is making knitting accessible to everyone. She is known for the patience and humor with which she teaches, for the relevance and detail of her class notes, and for her ability to instill confidence and provide her students with a wide range of lasting skills.
View Sarah's Interview
View Sarah's Classes
|
|
Esther Rodgers
Esther is a full-time fiber artist from Mebane, North Carolina. She is known as a creative art yarn hand spinner and for her unique fiber preparation. Esther is also a felter, weaver, and knitter which gives her the perspective of how her yarns are going to be used. She is constantly innovating in her spinning techniques to create new textures and is on the cutting edge in terms of yarn design. Esther is an enthusiastic and patient teacher possessing both national and international teaching experience.
View Esther's Classes
|
|
Sandi Rosner
Sandi is a designer, teacher, and former yarn-store owner. She is the author of Not Just Socks, Not Just More Socks and Not Just Socks for Kids, a series of books using self-striping sock yarn.
View Sandi's Classes
|
|
Merike Saarniit
Merike Saarniit has been teaching workshops in knitting, spinning, weaving, and dyeing for over 20 years, and at most STITCHES events since 2000. The combination of her traditional Estonian heritage (including serious research of Estonian knitting) and her contemporary degree in Studio Art contribute to her unique designs and workshop presentations.
A more complete bio is available at www.Liisu.com.
View Merike's Interview
View Merike's Classes
|
|
Jane Slicer Smith
Jane has an honors degree in knitwear design from Trent University in England and extensive experience as a designer and producer of handknit garments and knitting kits through her company Signatur Handknits (sigknit.com). Her book Swing Swagger Drape includes the A-line and Swingcoat patterns for which she is best known. When she is not teaching in the US and England, she is at home in Sydney, Australia.
View Jane's Interview
View Jane's Classes
|
|
Leslye Solomon
Having taught at all of the STITCHES events for more than 20 years and at a numerous variety of knitting seminars from England to Alaska, Leslye Solomon is an enthusiastic, energetic, and empathetic teacher with extensive knitwear training. She presently owns Woolstock Yarn Shop in Glyndon, Maryland which, through the daily activities, delivers a huge variety of knowledge and experience she wants to share with you. From her extensive training and understanding the experience of hundreds of other knitter's projects, she has shared her experience and knowledge through the production of beautifully photographed instructional videos/dvds. DVD's and book subjects cover expert sweater finishing, making socks using double points and a single circular needle, expert techniques in buttonholes and bands, a wonderful method of continental knitting, exciting and beautiful bead knitting, various titles on the subject of machine knitting, as well as a book entitled, The Uncomplicated Knitting Machine. Leslye has created KnitSpeaker, a new iPhone, iPad, iPod touch timed audio pattern repeating app for knitters. A class with Leslye is an experience that will arm students with valuable knowledge. Their only concern is whether they will remember it all.
View Leslye's Interview
View Leslye's Classes
|
|
Stacey Trock
Stacey has been bringing cuteness into the crochet-world with her adorable stuffed animals since 2008. She is the author of Cuddly Crochet and Crocheted Softies and has self-published over 100 irresistibly cute animal patterns through her website, FreshStitches.
Stacey firmly believes that there's no 'right way' to crochet and enthusiastically experiments with a variety of techniques (even less-popular ones!) to achieve the desired finished product. This philosophy spills over into her teaching style: she encourages students to discover what works best for their own crocheting style for maximum crochet enjoyment!
View Stacey's Classes
|
|
Beth Whiteside
A software professional as well as knitting teacher, designer and technical editor, Beth's curiosity has led her to visit many countries (stranded color, EPS, k1b, lace, ...) on the knitting world map. Originally from New England, she now lives in San Francisco, where mountains, ocean and Haight Street are always good sources of inspiration. What she loves most about teaching is finding ways to make light bulbs pop on in her student's head and helping them grow as knitters.
View Beth's Interview
View Beth's Classes
|
|
Myra Wood
Myra is a fiber artist, designer and author of Crazy Lace and Creative Crochet Lace along with numerous published patterns in magazines and books. She's appeared on tv shows including Knitty Gritty, Knit and Crochet Now, Uncommon Threads and online classes. Specializing in all things creative with a background in fine and graphic arts, Myra teaches a wide range of inspiring classes.
View Myra's Interview
View Myra's Classes
|
|
David Xenakis
Formerly known as the 'List Dad' for KnitU, part of XRX's online community, David is the President and digital guru for Knitter's Magazine & XRX Books. His background as a weaver and editor of The Prairie Wool Companion shapes his interest in knitting.
View David's Classes
|
|
Daniel Yuhas
Daniel Yuhas learned to knit as a college kid nearly 20 years ago, and the obsession has grown ever since. He believes that knitting is fundamentally good for the universe — every stitch we knit is an act of creativity, and loves it when his role as a teacher is to encourage that spark of creativity in his students. Daniel's first book, Knitting from the Center Out, came out in the Fall of 2012. Daniel lives and knits in Portland, Oregon.
View Daniel's Interview
View Daniel's Classes
|
|
Anna Zilboorg
Now an Anglican Solitary living in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Anna has expanded Magnificent Mittens to include Socks. Her other books include Fancy Feet, 45 Fine & Fanciful Hats to Knit, Knitting for Anarchists, and Socks for Sandals and Clogs.
View Anna's Classes
|
|
