Knitterati: Destinations

Norah has been designing for Vogue Knitting for over 30 years. Her newest book, 40 Timeless Knits, will be gifted to you at this retreat. Also well known for her book Knitting Nature, her Knitted Cable Sourcebook and a nine year stint as the design director at Berroco Yarns, Norah is now working independently. Current ventures include being a member of the Brooklyn Tweed design team and designing a fun collection of pieces in collaboration with The Fibre Co. Keep up with her new ventures and adventures at norahgaughan.com.

With more than 120 patterns appearing in Vogue Knitting magazine over the past 30 years, Norah Gaughan is one of the world’s most prolific knitwear designers. Collected here are 40 of Gaughan’s most celebrated Vogue Knitting designs—including pullovers, vests, cardigans, and more—each as fashionable today as it was when originally published. From her first appearance with a cabled vest to her latest with a Persian-inspired fair isle yoke pullover, Gaughan’s work is always a thrilling adventure of stunning textures, mesmerizing cables, and innovative constructions.

“ . . . embodies the best of Norah Gaughan’s brilliant career and is a ‘must-have’ for every knitter’s library, both for the creative patterns as well as inspiration . . . “
—Deborah Newton

“Norah specs her proportions to fit and to flatter a variety of body types. Her muse seems to be the knitter herself.”
—Margery Winter

“I have followed Norah’s designing career from the very beginning . . . [she] is, indeed, one of knitting’s great treasures.”
—Meg Swansen

“. . . [Norah’s] avid curiosity and enduring commitment to our craft has enriched the world of knitting in ways rarely achieved by a single designer.”
—Jared Flood

Thea Colman combined her hobbies, creating a career that justifies all her favorite purchases -- fiber, vintage glassware, and spirits. Her knitwear designs often feature cables, lace, and motifs that look harder than they are, and each one is named after a cocktail. Both the knits and the drinks are usually on her Instagram feed, under @theacolman.

I was always a knitter, but after leaving a career in advertising to raise my daughters, I found that I loved imagining my own knits more than I enjoyed following a pattern and began writing patterns. Combining knitting design with my longtime interest in cocktails made for the perfect second career, and I haven't looked back!

My heart goes to classic shapes, farm yarns, and small businesses, so many of my designs feature smaller producers and traditional details. I play with a mix of styles and construction methods in my work, and love to find motifs that look more difficult than they actually are. My patterns are known for attention to individual fit and descriptive notes in the instructions, so knitters can adapt each garment to best suit their figure.

Julia Farwell-Clay explores knitting with a boundless curiosity. For the last 14 years, she has been a growing contributor as a blogger, writer, teacher, lecturer, designer, and catalyst in the knitting world. As a former college teacher, Julia brings to her knitting students 30 years of knitting experience and a boundless enthusiasm for the craft. Her distinctive patterns usually include graphic interest and a modern twist on traditional color techniques. Julia has created more than 70 patterns and has been featured as both a writer and a designer in Knitty, Interweave Knits, PomPom Quarterly, and Twist Collective, among others. Her first book, From Folly Cove, was published in 2015 by Classic Elite Yarns.

Jessica has long been fascinated by the process of craft that is both useful but also capable of producing something incredibly beautiful. With her husband Casey, Jessica founded Ravelry in 2007, a community site used by millions of crafters worldwide who want a place to be together & celebrate their projects. With a passion for nurturing the connections found between yarn lovers and their tools, Jessica and Casey created an entirely community funded space in which people of all backgrounds and locations around the world could grow and learn together.

She loves photography, hiking, knitting, podcasts and reading and lives on the North Shore of Massachusetts.