2026 INSTRUCTORS
KATE ATHERLY
Kate is an expert teacher, with more than 20 years experience teaching at local yarn shops, guild gatherings, retreats and large-scale events. She also is a writer, tech editor, and prolific designer. She is Knitty.com’s Managing Technical Editor, and a seasoned designer and teacher of all things knitterly.
She has written eight books, and edited a ninth. She is also the co-founder of Nine-Ten publications, a Canadian publisher focused on textile art, craft and industry. Some of her titles include: Custom-Fit Hats,
Custom Shawls, The Knitter’s Dictionary, ‘Knit Mitts: Your Hand-y Guide to Knitting Mittens and Gloves‘, ‘Custom Socks: Knit to Fit Your Feet‘, and ‘Beginner’s Guide to Writing Knitting Patterns’.
Kate's known for her attention to detail in her patterns and her classes, and she regularly teaches at stores and events across North America and the UK, including Vogue Knitting Live, Unravel and Knit City. Her work has appeared in many books and magazines.
Kate lives in Toronto with her husband and their rescue dog, Winnie.
JENNY BROWN
Jenny Brown is the creative force behind 316 Dye Studio. She brings a wealth of experience with nearly two decades in the fiber arts and has an unyielding passion for her craft. When not in her dye studio, you can find Jenny out in her dye garden, knitting, spinning, or likely participating in some other niche craft.
CYNTHIA BUTCHER
Cynthia Butcher is a Craft Yarn Council Certified Crochet Instructor currently teaching and working part time at Unwind Fiber Arts in Lees Summit Missouri. With over 50 years crochet experience, there aren’t too many fiber arts she hasn’t tried at least once, crocheted lace being one of her favorites. Besides needlework, Cynthia also enjoys traveling, reading, baking bread, and working with children. Her large rowdy family keeps her quite busy too. You can reach her at Unwind Fiber Arts or on Facebook at Cynthia Coer Butcher, and Ravelry at Cynfulknits.
PHYLLIS CARLYLE
Retired Graphic Designer and Clothing Designer whose career highlights include creating custom bridals, pattern making, and designing many slides, signs, brochures and catalogs from 8-400 pages. Her main expertise is in pattern making and sewing garments, but she also creates original handknits, quilts, mosaics, jewelry and more. She has taken and edited thousands of product photographs. Her BS and MS in Textiles and Apparel included 3 semesters of weaving.
MEAGAN CONDON
Meagan Condon is an internationally published writer and fiber artist with extensive experience teaching the gentle and not so gentle art of making yarn. Her areas of focus are microscopy of fiber, breed studies, plant fibers, natural dyes, digital community, and the science behind textiles. She has written for Ply, Spin-Off, and The Wheel magazines. Since 2014, she has been teaching at fiber retreats and conferences across North America.
LYNN HAFNER
Lynn learned to knit as a child and picked it up again about 30 years ago. Currently, she works and teaches at The Studio Knitting and Needlepoint. She is a prolific knitter and all-around good person.
JENNIFER DALEY
Created by Jennifer Daley in 2005, Knitting Jenny celebrates creativity and colorful wool projects inspired by Fair Isle, Shetland, Scotland.
Since 2005, Jennifer Daley has been sharing her knitting journey on this Knitting Jenny website. In 2023, while living in Fair Isle, the most remote inhabited island in the UK, she launched The Knitting Jenny Pattern Series.
The launch had been long in development. During 1997-2022, she designed original knitting patterns for her own personal knitting pleasure, not as an entrepreneurial venture. So, the 2023 launch of The Knitting Jenny Pattern Series was especially meaningful as it represented the culmination of more than two decades of knitting and designing and sharing——and a pilgrimage to Shetland to study Fair Isle knitting.
EMMA FAHRLANDER
Emma Fahrlander, born and raised in the KC Metro, is a fiber artist, instructor, and writer. Her teaching career began as a teenager, helping younger Girl Scouts earn merit badges. In the (many) years since, she's taught fiber arts in local yarn shops, public schools, and regional shows. She shares her projects, expertise, and stories in her blog, FahrOut Fiber Adventures, which you can read at www.fahroutfiber.com.
CHERYL MURRAY
A lifelong knitter, Cheryl Murray is a CYCA-certified knitting instructor who has been teaching knitters of all levels in the Kansas City area & beyond for over 20 years. When not teaching, she has designed for publications & yarn companies, including Vogue Knitting, NORO Magazine, Cascade Yarns & Knitting Fever. Her favorite projects are Scandinavian stranded colorwork & Celtic cable designs. She lives in Lenexa, KS with her husband, Rick, and The Stash. You can find her on Ravelry, X/Twitter & Instagram as Prairieknits.
TAMMY TAYLOR
Tammy has always lived in a creative atmosphere where hand crafting and creating is a way of life. She has worked in many fiber/fabric mediums including painting on fabric to create specialized banners, but her interest in strings and colorful threads brought her to a special love of braiding. She is working to master string arts that include Nalbinding, Kumihimo, Ply-split braiding and Sprang. Always learning new techniques, she is especially happy when she is able to share her knowledge and encourage other people to learn these beautiful arts. Tammy lives in Oak Grove, MO.