Diane L. Augustin

Diane L. Augustin (http://www.yarnhappybeadhappy.com) teaches knitting, crocheting, and Tunisian crochet classes at several yarn shops and art centers in the Minneapolis/St. Paul/St. Croix Valley area. She manages the daily activities and teaches classes at ThunderWillow Community Arts in Hudson, WI. She holds classes at Ramsay County and Hudson libraries, as well as through Hudson Community Education. She often conducts workshops and demonstrations at special events and festivals in the area. Diane has been teaching professionally for seven years. Her background as a graphic artist in the publishing industry facilitates her ability to design, write, produce, and publish her patterns. She is also the photographer. She continuously develops new designs, offering them as classes, with a focus on teaching techniques. Diane learned to knit continental, or combination style, at seven years old from her grandmother, who had to teach her in order to get her own knitting back from Diane! She lives in western Wisconsin, just outside of Hudson, with her husband, Lance, and the boss of the household, Thomas Edison, their stray kitty who came to stay. Diane is Yarn Happy Bead Happy!.

Josh Bennett

Josh Bennett grew up in Pennsylvania, where he learned to knit from his grandmother when he was 8 years old. After a short time, he stopped, because boys don’t knit. He then got interested in musical theater, because apparently, all boys sing and dance. In 2000, Josh worked at the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT, where he picked up knitting again from the cast members in the show, and he hasn’t stopped since. After moving to New York City in 2001 and knitting constantly, Josh worked at a yarn shop on the Upper West Side that wrote custom patterns for their customers. Noticing the lack of menswear patterns being designed and published, he took his pattern-writing skills and set out to change that. Josh has collaborated with CFDA Award-winner Michael Bastian on a hand-knitted line; Michael Bastian by Josh Bennett sold in stores worldwide. They have also worked together on projects for the Folk Couture: Fashion and Folk Art at the American Folk Art Museum, Le Cabinet de Curiosités of Thomas Erber, and a fashion helmet for the NFL/Bloomindale/CFDA Super Bowl XLVIII collaboration, which was auctioned off for the NFL Foundation. He was the senior men’s sweater designer at Tommy Hilfiger and has also designed knitwear for GANT by Michael Bastian, Project Runway winner Irina Shabayeva, Rowan Magazine, Vogue Knitting, and many other knitting publications. He recently created an exclusive capsule collection of men’s hand-knitted sweaters for Bergdorf Goodman. Josh studied menswear design at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). For more info, visit JoshBennettNYC.com.

Steven Berg

“Be inspired. Be brilliant. Be limitless.”

Steven Berg is a fiber artisan armed with a wealth of experience, a daring sense of style, and a firm belief in the transformative power of creativity that knitting or crocheting offers to all who are brave enough to push the boundaries. He began his career early, creating custom knits for Barbie dolls and family members alike. This naturally led him to become a star student in fashion design at Minneapolis College of Art & Design, Parsons, and the Fashion Institute of Technology.

Following graduation, Berg found inspiration in the fashion capitals of the world, leading him to a career as Design Director and VP of design at Munsingwear, Perry Ellis, and other international design houses. In later years, his creative work brought him back to his favorite medium, the one that always inspired him the most: the imaginative world of fiber arts.

Today you will find Steven in his store, the Yarn Garage: 6,000 square feet in a nineteenth-century firehouse adorned with chandeliers, animal prints, and his eclectic collection of objets d’art from his international travels. Steven has changed the definition of “yarn shop” forever. Steven’s knitwear designs and “chunky funky” creations have caught the attention of Hollywood celebrities and stylists. His creations have been featured in national publications and are available on popular knitting websites. Steven reminds all fiber aficionados: “The possibilities are endless. There are no mistakes, only variations. And always remember to glam it up!”

John Brinegar

John Brinegar is a knitwear designer and fiber artist based in New York City. In addition to having designed for Vogue Knitting, Tahki Stacy Charles, and many yarn companies, John is also an exhibiting visual artist, focusing on sculptural works in the yarn medium. His work has been widely published in knitting magazines and books, as well as the collections of Tahki Stacy Charles and Fashion Week runways. John is known for his “no knitter left behind” teaching style, and his popular classes sell out regularly. His Craftsy class, “Seaming Beyond the Basics,” makes finishing fearless and addresses many common seaming situations with ease. You can find John on Facebook, or follow his Instagram feed @knitboy1

Cecelia Campochiaro

Cecelia Campochiaro started knitting at age 12 as a hobby. She has a doctorate in physical chemistry and has lived and worked in Silicon Valley for over 20 years, developing different kinds of microscopes for finding problems with computer chips. Cecelia began experimenting with new ways to create fabric when flying on business trips. These ideas grew and eventually the book Sequence Knitting was born. Textiles, photography and the arts have been lifelong passions and she loves thinking about these different creative areas intercept with math and science.

Amy Detjen

Amy Detjen was the “List Mom” of the original Knit List for more than four years, then started KnitU. She’s very proud to have been Meg Swansen’s assistant at Meg’s Knitting Camp for more than 15 years. Teaching knitting and helping people learn about their knitting options is something Amy is passionate about; she loves helping people solve problems.

Nicky Epstein

Beloved knitwear designer Nicky Epstein has gained worldwide recognition for her abundant creativity, groundbreaking sense of style, and informative workshops. She has authored numerous books, including Cover Up with Nicky Epstein, Nicky Epstein’s Crocheted Flowers, Nicky Epstein’s Knitted Flowers, Knitting Never Felt Better: The Definitive Guide to Fabulous Felting, Knitting Beyond the Edge, Knitting Over the Edge, Knitting on the Edge and Knits for Barbie™ Doll. Her designs are featured in a regular column in Vogue Knitting magazine and her work has been in many other knitting publications, on television, and at art exhibitions. She currently resides in New York City with her husband, Howard.

Norah Gaughan

Perhaps best known for her book Knitting Nature and a nine year stint as the design director at Berroco, 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. Her newest book, The Knitter’s Cable Sourcebook, will be available in October of 2016 from Abrams. Keep up with her new ventures and adventures at norahgaughan.net.

Faina Goberstein

Faina Goberstein is a prolific knitwear designer, author, and a professional teacher. She is the co-author of the bestselling books The Art of Slip Stitch and The Art of Seamless Knitting, and her designs can be found in Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, Knit.Purl, Knitscene, Twist Collective, Interweave Crochet, and various books. Faina is best known for her elegant and well-fitted classic designs showing off textures, cables, brioche, and slip-stitch techniques. She teaches in person at various venues nationally and abroad as well as on Craftsy.com. She is fascinated with many knitting techniques and loves to pass her excitement to her students. Unusual slip-stitch techniques are Faina’s latest obsession.

Franklin Habit

Designer, teacher, writer, and illustrator Franklin Habit is the author of I Dream of Yarn (Sixth&Spring Books), It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons (Interweave Press, 2008) and proprietor of The Panopticon (the-panopticon.blogspot.com), one of the most popular knitting blogs on the Internet. On an average day, upward of 2,500 readers worldwide drop in for a mix of essays, cartoons, and the continuing adventures of Dolores the Sheep.

Franklin’s varied experience in the fiber world includes contributions of writing and design to Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, Interweave Crochet, PieceWork, Twist Collective; and a regular columns and cartoons for Knitty.com, Ply magazine, Skacel Yarns (Fridays with Franklin), and Lion Brand Yarns. Several of his independently published designs are available via Ravelry.com.

He travels constantly to teach knitters at shops and guilds across the country and internationally, and he has been a popular member of the faculties of such festivals as Vogue Knitting LIVE!, Stitches Midwest and East, and the Madrona Fiber Arts Winter Retreat.

Amy Herzog

Amy Herzog loves helping knitters create garments they love to wear. She is the author of Knit to Flatter and Knit Wear Love (STC Craft), and is the creator of the CustomFit custom sweater pattern generator and the Knitter's Toolbox app of handy knitting calculators. She teaches across the country and on Craftsy.com, and she has appeared on American Public Television's Knit and Crochet Now. Her designs have been published by Rowan, Interweave Knits, Knitscene, Twist Collective, and more. Find out more at amyherzogdesigns.com.

June Hemmons Hiatt

June’s book, The Principles of Knitting, first appeared in 1990, and it was soon recognized as the definitive work on knitting techniques. It went out of print in 1997, used copies were scarce, and it soon commanded very high prices. June realized a second edition was needed and set to work again. She spent ten more years rewriting the entire book and adding new material; the second edition appeared in 2012. This big book, with more than 700 pages and 900 illustrations, contains everything you could possibly want to know about the craft of knitting. You will not only find written instructions with clear graphics, but June explains how each technique works, compares it to similar ones, and makes suggestions for how to best use it. June will be giving her popular Stitch Gauge class about the innovative, accurate method of doing a gauge that was first introduced in The Principles of Knitting.

Since her book was published, June has turned her attention to reintroducing the technique of working with a knitting belt. This method—once widely used by production knitters in Europe—has been almost forgotten everywhere except in Shetland, where it is still in active use. It is known as one of the fastest ways to knit and also makes it possible to produce a remarkably even fabric. Perhaps even more important, it is very easy on the body due to the minimal motions used—those who knit with a belt tend not to have repetitive motion injuries. June and her son, Jesse, have redesigned the traditional knitting belt, making it more stable and comfortable to wear, and Jesse makes each one by hand. For more information about June, her book, and the knitting belts, see www.principlesofknitting.com.

Romi Hill

Romi Hill lives on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Northern Nevada, where the high desert nights are cool and the air is clear and crisp. A lifelong crafter and knitter, she is inspired by the natural surroundings in her corner of the world, and her designs have an organic flow. She specializes in lace of all weights, and you can see her full pattern collection on Ravelry. Romi’s lace book from Interweave Press, New Lace Knitting, was published in September 2015 and features timeless patterns for garments and accessories. She loves dark chocolate with chili peppers, and she’s a sucker for a great pair of cowboy boots.

Maggie Jackson

Maggie Jackson was brought up on a small dairy farm in Northern Ireland where at six years old she was taught to knit and began her journey from quiet farmer’s daughter to award-winning international knitwear designer! She was trained as a fashion designer and did ready-to-wear for 25 years, selling to Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus in the US as well as having her own retail shop in Ireland. Today, Maggie supports the Maggiknits Collection, showing at Vogue Knitting LIVE and Stitches, doing fashion shows, workshops, book-signings, and international and national retreats, with the aim of sharing her knowledge and encouraging knitters to think outside the box! Also telling an Irish yarn here and there with her own Irish sense of humor! Check out her work at www.maggiknits.com, www.maggiknitsretailgalleria.com, and www.youtube.com/maggiknitsdesigns.

Gudrun Johnston

Gudrun was born in Shetland in the ’70s, when her mother was running the successful knitwear design company, The Shetland Trader. Some 30 years later and now living in the U.S, Gudrun has followed in her mother’s footsteps by reviving the Shetland Trader name, and she has made a name for herself in the knitwear design industry. Gudrun often includes aspects of her Shetland heritage in her designs, mostly utilizing traditional lace patterns in a contemporary context. She also loves to design using seamless construction methods and is always adding new techniques to her seamless knitting skills.

Courtney Kelley

Courtney Kelley is the co-owner of Kelbourne Woolens, distributors of The Fibre Co. yarns. She graduated from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2001 with a focus in Fiber and Material Studies, and immediately began working in a knitting shop while attempting to become an artist. She stayed in the knitting world after a brief foray into the world of fine art, and founded Kelbourne Woolens along with her business partner, Kate Gagnon Osborn, in 2008. A designer at heart, she loves knitting and designing lace, as well as making as many sweaters as possible. She is the current chair of the Yarn Group of The National Needlearts Association and an associate member of the Craft Yarn Council. Courtney lives in Philadelphia with her partner and two children.

Felicia Lo

Driven by an obsessive, passionate, and often tumultuous relationship with color, Felicia Lo has intensely pursued everything related to design, dyeing, spinning, weaving, knitting, and photography. In 2005, she founded SweetGeorgia Yarns, an artisan hand-dyed yarn company that makes exquisite knitting yarns and spinning fibers in stunningly saturated colors. Felicia has taught spinning, dyeing and weaving in her production studio as well as online via Craftsy.com as a way to welcome more fiber enthusiasts to the world of color and texture.

Patty Lyons

Patty Lyons (pattylyons.com) is a nationally recognized knitting teacher who is known for teaching the “why,” not just the “how,” in her pursuit of training the “mindful knitter.” Patty teaches nationally at guilds and knitting shows around the country such as Vogue Knitting LIVE, STITCHES, and the Knit and Crochet Show, and her popular classes can also be found online at Interweave, Annie’s, and Craftsy, where her “Improve Your Knitting Class” was named Craftsy’s most popular class of 2013!

Patty’s designs and knitting skill articles have been published in Vogue Knitting, Interweave Knits, Knitter’s Magazine, Cast On, Knit Style, Knit 1,2,3 and Creative Knitting magazines, where she also writes a knitter’s advice column called “Patty’s Purls of Wisdom.” Patty’s designs have also been included in pattern collections from Classic Elite Yarns, Kollage, Takhi Stacy Charles, Cascade, Universal, and Noro.

Trisha Malcolm

Trisha Malcolm’s life in needle crafts began at the age of 4 and has spanned summers knitting, sewing, crocheting, and embroidering at the beach, months backpacking around the world, and academic years as a high school needlework teacher. An editorship at McCalls Needlework and Craft magazine led to a career in craft publishing, including her time as the Craft Editor at Family Circle Magazine Australia and other publications before she took over the helm of Vogue Knitting in 1997. Her role at the company has expanded in the ensuing years, to encompass Knit Simple magazine, a book publishing division (publisher of the Stitchionary series, Knitopedia, and more), custom publishing, and stitching-themed events. Trisha lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her son.

Nancy Marchant

Nancy Marchant is the Queen of Brioche. For more than 30 years, Nancy has studied the nuances of this European stitch, developing new and exciting stitches and techniques for achieving beautiful results. She is the author of Knitting Brioche, Knitting Fresh Brioche, Leafy Brioche, and she is working on her current knitting passion of developing tuck stitches. Nancy lives in Amsterdam and works as a graphic designer yet still finds the time to travel the world giving lessons and spreading the brioche love around.

Annie Modesitt

A native of Ohio, Annie taught herself to knit at age 25 before a move from NYC to Texas. The Texas tenure didn’t last, but knitting did, and upon her return to the NY area she began knitting for other designers and designing for major knitting magazines. Her work has appeared in Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting, Knitters Magazine, Cast On, Family Circle Easy Knitting, McCall’s Needlework, and many international fiber- and yarn-oriented publications. She teaches worldwide and across the United States. Annie knits using the Combination Method and believes that there truly is no wrong way to knit. She lives in St Paul, MN, with her husband, kids, and assorted pets.

Mary Jane Mucklestone

Mary Jane Mucklestone is a hand-knitting designer known for inventive colorwork design. She has a passion for folk knitting and has traveled the world to study traditional techniques and to learn about the history of the craft. Her first three books, 200 Fair Isle Motifs, 150 Scandinavian Motifs, and Fair Isle Style, were instant classics. This fall saw the release of her fourth book, Geo Knits: 10 Lessons and Projects for Knitting Stripes, Chevrons, Triangles, Polka Dots and More. Mary Jane loves to teach, specializing in lively, fun, and informative classes.

Mary Jane's inventive hand-knitting designs are featured in many books and magazines as well as on her website, MaryJaneMucklestone.com.

Lucy Neatby

Lucy Neatby is an internationally recognized teacher, designer, and writer who thrills knitters around the world with her inimitable charm, knowledge, and uniquely colorful designs. Her passion for nurturing and empowering knitters and putting them in control of their art is legendary! She is the author two books, Cool Socks Warm Feet and Cool Knitters Finish in Style, and she created the Learn With Lucy DVD series (16 titles).

Deborah Newton

For more than 25 years, Deborah Newton has designed for all the major craft and knitting magazines, for yarn companies, and for Seventh Avenue, as well as being a regular columnist for Vogue Knitting. She is the author of numerous books, including Designing Knitwear, which has been in continuous print for more than 20 years, and Finishing School: A Master Class for Knitters. Deborah's newest book, Good Measure: Knit a Perfect Fit Every Time, was chosen by Amazon as one of their 15 Top Craft Inspiration Books of Fall 2015. She lives and works in Providence, Rhode Island.

Brooke Nico

Brooke Nico began designing by sewing her own wardrobe, inspired by drape and color. She brought her talents to knitting almost ten years ago, first exploring modular construction then lace. Next, Brooke opened Kirkwood Knittery, a yarn shop in St. Louis. Brooke’s designs have been featured in several magazines, including Vogue Knitting and Debbie Bliss magazine. As a dedicated teacher, Brooke guides knitters through the intricacies of techniques to make their projects as polished as possible.

Gayle Roehm

Join us and learn about Japanese knitting from Gayle Roehm, who has been teaching knitters across the country how to enjoy these beautiful designs. Gayle majored in Japanese studies, speaks Japanese, and lived in Japan during and after her college years. She went on to business school and worked as a management consultant all over the world, including many visits to Japan. An avid knitter throughout her career, she has been using Japanese patterns for many years. With the rise of the Internet, anyone anywhere can find a wide range of Japanese books and patterns, and her classes have been popular at events such as Vogue Knitting LIVE, Stitches, Interweave Knitting Lab, Yarnover, Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat, Sock Summit and more. Gayle’s designs have been published in Knitter’s Magazine, Interweave Knits, A Gathering of Lace, and by yarn companies. For several years she translated Japanese patterns for Dancing Fibers (now Sunrise Yarns/Diakeito), and she prepared the Japanese section for the book Knitting Languages. She also sells original work at a local fiber arts gallery.

Carla Scott

Carla Scott is currently editor in chief of Knit Simple magazine and executive editor of Vogue Knitting magazine. She has been working with Vogue Knitting since 1982 and has enjoyed hosting the VK tours for the past 10 years. She created and edited the Vogue Knitting Stitchionary book series and is closely involved in the various knitting books published by Sixth&Spring Books. A knitter since the age of 7, Carla has had a career in the hand-knitting industry spanning more than 30 years, working for various yarn companies, knitting magazines, and book publishers in New York City. Carla lives in Manhattan with her husband and daughter (who is also a knitter).

Leslye Solomon

Having taught more than 20 years of sold-out classes at national and international seminars, Leslye Solomon is an enthusiastic, energetic, and empathetic teacher. Her classes include comprehensive sweater designing, hands-on sweater finishing, and easy-to-learn (or switch to) continental knitting. Leslye has published a number of sweater designs and editorials, and she has produced numerous instructional DVDs. Her well-photographed, studio-produced DVDs include the following titles: The Hand-Knitter’s Guide to Sweater Finishing, The Absolute Best Way to Learn How to Knit, The Hand Knitter’s Guide to Buttonholes and Bands, The Hand Knitter’s Guide to Making Socks, and The Hand Knitter’s Guide to Making Socks on a Single Circular Needle.

Debbie Stoller

Debbie is the author of the New York Times–bestselling Stitch ’n Bitch series of knitting and crocheting books. She is also the Editor in Chief of BUST Magazine. Debbie began knitting when she was only 6 years old, but it took 30 years before she actually learned to enjoy it. Once she became obsessed, in 1999, she started a Stitch ’n Bitch group in a cafe in NYC’s Lower East Side, and it became the inspiration for thousands of Stitch ’n Bitch groups that have formed all across the country in the years since. She has written 5 books in the Stitch ’n Bitch series and has her own line of yarn, Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller. She lives in Brooklyn with one crazy cat, 2 weird dogs, and way too much yarn.

Carol Sulcoski

Carol Sulcoski is an attorney turned fiber artist. She is the author of Knitting Ephemera, Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarns and co-author of Knit So Fine. Her knitting designs and articles have appeared in Vogue Knitting, Knit Simple, KnitScene, St.-Denis Magazine, Knitty.com and other publications. Carol also creates hand-dyed yarns and fibers as Black Bunny Fibers, and she began her own pattern line in 2009. She lives with her family outside Philadelphia.

Meg Swansen

Meg Swansen is a knitting designer, the owner of Schoolhouse Press, and the daughter of venerated knitter Elizabeth Zimmermann. In her own words, Meg declares she “has been knitting for untold decades and teaching for about 40 years.”