KnitChats is a virtual community of knitters and teachers.
Learn and engage in your passion for knitting.
Learn and engage in your passion for knitting.
The Dream Team of Coaches, Advisers and Contributors
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KnitChats exists with the help of our team, sponsors and the subscribing knitters that love all things knitting. Thank you!
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Jessica Baldwin teacher My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was eight years old. I immediately fell in love with creating fabrics and different textures on those fabrics. In college, I set out to teach myself to knit because I wanted to knit myself sweaters. When I discovered wool yarn for the first time several years ago, I had finally found what I was longing for in yarn. I fell fast into becoming a serious knitter and went directly into lacework shawls. I quickly became adept to dropping stitches rows deep to repair my lacework. I have a love affair with stitch markers which stems from my abundant lacework knitting and the need for many stitch markers. It has led me to start an Etsy shop where I stock stitch markers made by myself, and occasionally, one of my children. Find me at www.stitchcraftyeffects.etsy.com I have now been teaching various knitting classes at my favorite local yarn store for one year and am a certified KnitCompanion instructor. Some of my classes are featured through my community college. I teach private crochet lessons as well. I have a passion for learning and am always looking for ways to improve my technique as well as push myself to learn new skills and then turn around and share what I have learned with others. I love to help build confidence in other knitters and enjoy seeing them have that “Ah-ha!” moment with their knitting. |
Jennifer Crimmins teacher I've always had a love of needle crafts. My mother taught me to crochet and embroider when I was six. I picked it up again in my early twenties and decided that I really wanted to learn how to knit. I tried teaching myself from books, but holding the yarn in my right hand felt so alien to me after crocheting for all those years. It wasn't until I happened across instructions on continental knitting that everything finally clicked. I've been knitting now for 14 years and designing for almost as long. My favorite things to knit are shawls, lace, and socks and I'm always ready to tackle a new technique. If something in a pattern I'm knitting doesn't suit me quite right, I have the know how to make changes or go one step further and design something myself. I love teaching others to knit and work their way around problems. I teach classes and run knit-a-longs at my local library and I give private lessons. I hope to share my skills with you at Knit Chats. |
Erin Duffy teacher Hello knitters and welcome to Knitchats! I first got into the fiber arts through sewing, and went to college for Costume Design. I started knitting in college after a quick knitting lesson at my local yarn store. A book from the library helped expand my knitting knowledge and before I knew it I was hooked! In 2010, I started working and teaching at The Webster’s yarn shop. Teaching has been my joy every since. Sweater making, getting gauge, modifying patterns, reading charts, fixing or troubleshooting mistakes, and lace are some of my areas of expertise. I’m proud to be a part of Knitchats, and look forward to helping knitters expand their skills, and gain more success in their knitting. |
Lorraine Gaudet teacher First and foremost I am a Knitting teacher. I owned and ran a knitting shop in Baltimore, MD for 20 years. Before that I knit for family and friends. I started knitting when I was 6. My auntie Edna taught me how to make socks because my feet were always cold. And so history was written. I was taught to knit American / British and knit that way pretty exclusively until the 60’s. In the 60’s I converted to continental and now employ both methods comfortably. During my time as a LYS owner I taught everything from beginners to Masters, fixed more mistakes than I care to think about and got people to feel comfortable with the process as well as the outcome. I love teaching this craft. I love to see how the creative bits take hold. I love seeing the light bulb go off when the student “get’s it." I also love seeing how the craft has changed, new techniques merging with the old and how the design field has opened up. Teaching on line for me is a new frontier, a new way to share my craft and my love for this skill. |
Didi Grooves teacher/designer I am a Latvian born New Yorker, a touring singer/musician, and have been practicing fiber arts since I was 4 years old. I first learned knitting under the guidance of my grandmother and ever since, Latvian folkloric motives and approach to knitting appear in my work. The main motivation for me to continue knitting and practicing other fiber arts is the desire to wear clothes that nobody else has. Thus, I specialize in knit design and can show you how to create your own clothes from scratch. |
Reid Haslup TEACHER Growing up in South Carolina, I always said I wanted to move north for school so I could see snow, but not so far north that I'd have to go to class in it. Raleigh seemed like the perfect spot, and I earned all of my degrees from North Carolina State University. My undergraduate background is in textile chemistry, and my doctoral research focused on color science. I have a passion for color, and I'm looking forward to sharing a bit of what I've learned! |
Sean Higgins teacher What’s up, mah knittahs! I’m Sean and I’m super exited to be one of the first teachers on KnitChats! I started delving into the fiber arts about 20 years ago, and about 13 years ago, I realized knitting was my main jam. I’ve been so lucky to have had opportunities to work part-time in yarn stores over the years, which is how I started teaching. I’ve taught beginning and intermediate knitting, as well as skill set and project classes. Apart from hoarding yarn, one of my favorite things about knitting is how technical and mathematical it often is, while still allowing each knitter to choose for it to be as simple or complicated as they like; turning a heel or choosing paired increases still makes me feel like some kind of wizard every time. I also really enjoy the multisensory experience it provides. (I’m totally a yarn sniffer.) I’m really into making socks and lace (or at least hoarding sock and lace yarn,) and I also really enjoy cables and texture. Presently, I'm practicing two-handed fair isle techniques to prepare for KnitChats' Strange Brew KAL, which I'm super excited about! I myself am a combined knitter, a proud knitting heretic, as Annie Modesitt coined, but I am fluent in and teach both English and Continental knitting and I’ve even had some luck teaching lefties! I think of my personal struggles beginning to knit, when a dropped stitch or forgotten increase meant I had to rip everything out and start over, wait for my next knitting group and hope someone could help me, or wait until the teacher was in at my LYS. It's all I knew to do, and it was so frustrating. I imagine now how different my knitting career would have been had I an awesome service like KnitChats available to me. Rather than lament, though, I am instead thrilled to be a part of KnitChats for an even wider opportunity to share my knowledge and experience and interact with fellow fiber artists just like you! I hope you’ll check us out soon! |
Martha Myers teacher/designer My mom started teaching me how to knit when I was 4, but most of my knitting has been over the last 20 years. I have taught many friends to knit and taught classes at my local yarn shop. I love doing private lessons and helping people with projects they have selected. I am currently the president of the Ol’ North State Knitting Guild and have started designing patterns for my Ravelry shop (www.ravelry.com/designers/martha-emily). For more information about what I am up to, visit my website MarthaEmily.com (launching soon). I love that knitting can be both relaxing and challenging depending on the project. That is probably why I have so many projects on the needles at the same time. I think KnitChat is a great way for people to get help when other options are unavailable. It will help keep the momentum going on projects to get the help when the help is needed. I am also very excited to see what everyone is working on and what challenges they are having. |
Amy Odin teacher/designer After years of exploring various art mediums, I discovered knitting 14 years ago and was hooked at first stitch. I believe there is more to knitting than just the physical act. Over the years, I have discovered it is not only a much needed cognitive challenge, but a therapeutic activity that brings a community together. This community has much to offer; we are men and women of all ages, skill levels, and come from all walks of life. Belonging to this group gives me the opportunity to share my love of the fiber arts. I knit whenever I can, teach at my local yarn shop, and design patterns available on Ravelry. You can check them out on Ravelry (username is amyodin), or visit my Facebook page at www.amyodindesigns.com. I’m excited to be teaching online. It makes the craft more accessible, and in turn, makes for many more enthusiastic happy knitters! |
Erin Rees teacher I have been working as a knitting instructor since 2010. I began my teaching journey at Bedford Stuyvesant Collegiate Charter School, teaching beginning and intermediate students all the basics of knitting, as well has how to read patterns and design their own projects. I currently work as a knitting and crochet instructor at Michaels Arts and Crafts in Brooklyn, NY and am certified by the Craft Yarn Council in Knitting and Crochet. My work can be viewed online at www.etsy.com/shop/flowergurlcrafts, https://www.ravelry.com/people/flowergurlknits and flowergurlnit’s pattern store on www.craftsy.com. |
Josie Flores teacher Knitting is my passion and has been for the last 15 years. I owned a local yarn shop for 5 years and it was during this time that I honed my skills by teaching others. There's still so much to learn and I'll enjoy the journey along with you! |
