Shira Blumenthal is the Brand Ambassador for Lion Brand Yarns, and a fifth generation member of the brand-founding family. Shira travels the country to spread her anti-bullying campaign, #HatNotHate, and stars in the YouTube series Tea with Shira.

Vogue Knitting Knitterviews

Shira Blumenthal talks Lion Brand, #HatNotHate, and celebrity knit nights.

 Taiu Landra, along with mother Maie and daughter Kersti, is the owner and creative voice of Koigu Wool Designs. For decades, Koigu has supplied top-quality handpainted merino yarn and exquisite knitting designs to consumers across North America. Its unique, rich palette, as glorious as a painter's has ignited a passion for color and quality in the knitting world. 

Taiu Landra talks Koigu, breed-specific yarns, and remembering your chemistry.

Norther Ireland-born Maggie Jackson has been in the knitting business for over forty years with MaggiKnits, specializing in designer knitting kits and mainly natural yarns designed with her own signature look.

Maggie Jackson talks holes, The Troubles, and murder mysteries.

Debbie Bliss has spent over 30 years building an international yarn and design brand. She is recognised for her classic and contemporary designs and use of bold and beautiful colour palettes. Her yarn is adored by a loving community of knitters. Debbie cares deeply about creating pattern collections that complement the qualities of each yarn she works with and designs which flatter all body types. She is also the most published knitwear designer, with over 35 books, 20 booklets and her own magazine and was recently awarded with an MBE in the Queen’s 2015 Birthday Honours List for her services to hand knitting and the craft industry.

Debbie Bliss talks knitting to fit, seed stitch, and Prince Charles.

Erika Knight is a renowned knitwear designer and respected consultant to the yarn and fashion industry. Erika has a unique interpretation of craft: her mission is to simplify and communicate her insight and passion for knitting and crochet with accessible yet enticing projects in order to inspire everyone to experiment and, above all, enjoy crafting. The author of numerous acclaimed knitting and crochet books, Erika has lectured at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, as well as leading art institutions and universities.

Erika Knight talks New Romantic, knitting on trains, and nettles.

Laura Zander is the co-owner of leading online yarn and fabric retailer Jimmy Beans Wool. Laura and her husband Doug quit their dot-com jobs in San Francisco and founded the company in Lake Tahoe, and it has been named one of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in the US. She has been invited to the White House for a forum addressing the American Jobs Act, where Jimmy Beans Wool was recognized as a notable Nevada business.

Laura Zander talks Jimmy Beans Wool, software engineering, and smart watches.

Sandy Black is a professor of fashion and textile design and technology at the London College of Fashion. She curated the touring exhibition The New Knitting and is the author of numerous publications including Knitwear in Fashion, Fashioning Fabrics, and Eco-Chic: The Fashion Paradox. She is the founder and coeditor of the journal Fashion Practice: The Journal of Design, Creative Process & the Fashion Industry. 

Sandy Black talks fashion, technology, and Cats the Musical.

Nicky Epstein is a prolific designer who goes from high fashion to whimsical fun with great ease and an innovative thinker that embellishes traditional knitting techniques and creates new, revolutionary ones. She has authored numerous bestselling and award-winning books, in both fashion and resource  genres, that are “must haves” in knitters’ libraries. You can find her kits and samples for sale at www.nickyepstein.etsy.com.

Nicky Epstein talks embellishment, books, and how The Rockettes missed out.

Margaret Stove is a leading expert of hand knitted superfine lace. Examples of her work are found in many galleries and private collections throughout the world. A passion for knitting and later designing lace led Stove to explore techniques for spinning lace yarns. Stove teaches lace knitting and spinning internationally, and her line of New Zealand Merino lace yarn and patterns are distributed in the United States and throughout the world.  

Margaret Stove talks lace shawls, New Zealand, and Diana, Princess of Wales.

Julie Weisenberger is an internationally renowned knitwear designer and teacher known for her elegant, modern fashion sense and her unique commonsense method to knitting tailored, seamless sweaters that are as enjoyable to make as they are comfortable and flattering to wear.  

Julie Weisenberger talks tools, tailoring, and how to stay motivated through chocolate.

Scandinavians Arne Nerjordet and Carlos Zachrison are highly regarded designers, textile artists, and authors. They are best known for their original, colorful, and visually striking designs as well as their craft books. Their work is highly influenced by their Scandinavian background and their everyday life in rural Norway. 

Arne & Carlos talk Space Invaders, innovation, and life in a Norwegian railway station.

Alice Starmore is a Scottish artist, designer and internationally renowned author. She was born on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis into a family of Gaelic-speaking crofter-fishermen, and this culture and the natural landscape of her home have greatly influenced her work. 

Alice Starmore talks the Hebrides, multi-tasking yarn and the fantastical.

Brandi is a self-taught knitwear designer specializing in natural handmade goods for all genders. She is all about intricate construction, shaping techniques, and creating classic, wearable pieces with pops of color. She sells original, ready-made knitwear, detailed how-to knitting pattern books, and shares her journey as a small business owner through curriculum development and teaching. She also works full-time as a coordinator at the Park Slope Food Coop. She is a one-woman show, always on a learning curve and in a happy hustle.

Brandi Harper talks Brooklyn, minimalism, and her signature crochet finishing.

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, and her latest, Geo Knits: 10 Lessons and Projects for Knitting Stripes, Chevrons, Triangles, Polka Dots and More is set to become one as well. 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.

Mary Jane Mucklestone talks Fair Isle, fashion and the allure of the Shetland Islands.

Hamilton’s artistic career began when she started selling her creations in her mid-teens. A true multi-crafter, she is proficient at embroidery, macramé and crochet but finally settled on handknitting at the age of 22. After a design and hand knit career in New York, she moved to Sweden, eventually opening a yarn store. To date Cornelia has written 15 pattern books for knitting and written numerous articles on the history of knitting in Sweden. She now divides her time between Sweden and America, giving workshops and lectures at trade shows and retreats and marketing her yarn line, Heaven's Hand.

Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton talks adventure, Sweden, and egotistical fibers.

For the last few decades there's been a revolution in the knitting world, and we go behind the scenes to gain insight into what inspired and motivated the knitting superstars who were part of this exciting time. Join us every two weeks on Vogue Knitting Knitterviews as we interview the influencers who contributed to making the knitosphere what it is today. Brought to you by Penguin Random House Audio: “Listen while you knit."