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Teacher Biographies 2009
Debra Bender is interested in lace making, quilting, sewing and needle-
work, folk art and watercolor painting. She lectures on lace history, lace
identification, and personal history/genealogy, and teaches classes/
workshops in lacemaking, needlework, and folk art painting. She is the
founding member of the Keystone Lace Guild, and member of the
International Old Lacers, Inc. and the Embroiderers’ Guild of America.
She is the owner of Half Moon Handwerks.
Jane Bigelow and her daughter, Jill, are the owners of A B-ewe-tiful De-
sign. They owned their own yarn shop for 5 years. They are now con-
centrating on designing and selling their own patterns. A knitting teacher
for 8 years, she has taught at Knitter’s Fantasy and Pgh. Knit & Crochet
as well as in her own store.
Alice Bish plays the viola to pay for her fiber addiction. She is also the
dyer behind Altobish Hand dyed yarns and rovings. Everyday Alice
wrestles with sight, touch and sound to bring harmony to her cluttered
world.
Gwen Bortner has been teaching knitting and designing knitwear since
the early 80’s. Her math background made designing and writing pat-
terns a natural extension of her love of fiber and knitting in particular.
But Gwen’s greatest passion is sharing her love of knitting with others
and helping knitters of all levels move to the next level of their hobby.
Leslie Broznak lives in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley near Winchester
Virginia. She has been knitting since 1979 and teaching for the past 10
years. There is nothing she enjoys more than seeing the spark of knit-
ting catch and develop in a new knitter. Around town she is known as
the Knitting lady since she is usually knitting in public or demonstrat-
ing spinning at various events. To further her fiber obsession she has
recently started to weave.
Joy Jannotti is a TKGA Master Knitter and enjoys sharing the tricks of
the trade. She belongs to Brookside Knits in Pottstown, PA.
Dotty Kurtz, an experienced knitter of more than 40 years, also teaches,
designs, spins, weaves, crochets and does many types of needlework.
She also repairs, alters and finishes knitting. Her knitting goes every-
where she does. Member TKGA and South Cumberland Fiber Guild.
Rae-Ann Lentz currently teach classes at the Colonial Yarn Shop in
Shiremanstown, PA and enjoy running and reading when not knitting..
Beth Lutz is the co-owner of Uncommon Threads in York PA. She has
been knitting since she was about 10 and also loves computer work and
numbers. With her husband she owns and raises alpacas on their farm
in Spring Grove, York county.
Angela Place has been knitting and crocheting for almost her entire life,
although she has only gotten serious about it in the past few years.
When she’s not busy chasing about after her husband or three sons,
Angela splits her time evenly between fiber fun & working for the Au-
tism Society of America. You can find her creations at
www.materialwhirled.com or visit her blog www.happyneedle.net
Mary-Anne Posenau hasn’t met a knitting technique she hasn’t liked (well,
maybe intarsia). She’s been knitting since the 80s, and believes that knit-
ting in public is a “good thing.” Mary-Anne is also a computer geek and
occasional college instructor, and has resided in three of the four states
that are commonwealths. She currently teaches knitting classes at Un-
common Threads in York, PA.
Jan Reinhardt is treasurer of KDO and has taught Aran, Fair Isle, and
lace at all but two of the KDO seminars. She is a spinner with the
Twisted Sisters Guild.
Merike Saarniit started knitting, crocheting, sewing, etc as a child. Her
Barbie dolls had quite the interesting wardrobes. Her parents came from
Estonia and she was raised Estonian-American. Merike teach workshops in
spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing at Stitches events (East, West, MidWest,
Camps), at John C. Campbell Folk School, and privately sponsored workshops.
Her schedule is on a page at www.Liisu.com. She is currently working on a
book for XRX.
Vita Simon is a retired Federal employee who spends her retirement
knitting—at home, working in an LYS, and teaching knitting.
Cynthia Spencer owns Stitch Your Art Out, a knitting and quilting store
near Penn State. She taught at Penn State for 20 years before starting
her store, and brought that love of teaching to the business. Her store
specializes in classes and always has something new going from begin-
ners through advanced levels. She loves showing people how to learn
new things about knitting.
Pat Shorten has been knitting all her life, and remember being taught by
my mother and grandmother. I love to knit socks as well as other gar-
ments and have taught classes at KDO, local knitting events and stores.
I have taught many of my friends to knit and enjoy teaching. I am a
Knitting Guild of America Master Knitter (Level II) and Past-Presi-
dent of the Mainline Knitting Guild. Professionally, I am an engineer-
ing designer for an environmental consulting firm.
Gladys Shue has crocheted since she was a child and learned to knit as an
adult. She has taught many classes of both. She is a charter member of
Colonial York Knitters Guild and is a past vice-president. She has taught
12 years at KDO.
Lisa Stuart is a life-long knitter. She has served as a past president ofthe
Main Line Knitting Guild and is currently a member of the Delco
KnitChicks. She has taught classes for the MLKG, the Knit Chicks, and
her local yarn shop, Finely Knitting in Swarthmore PA. She is also the
Webmaster for the KDO website.
Carla Sturgis is the owner of Delightful Ewe, a full-service yarn shop
located in Duncansville, PA. She is a member of TNNA, TKGA,
Knitaholics Unanimous (Blair County, PA knitting guild), Bedford Co
Guild of Craftsmen, PA Guild of Craftsmen. She is known by her
friends, family and customers as a “sockaholic”!
Jill Bigelow-Suttell is co-owner of A b-ewe-tiful Design along with her
mother, Jane. She is past president of the Wooly Wonders knitting guild.
Jill teaches at festivals and yarn shops around the Great Lakes area,
including Pgh Knit and Crochet Festival, Knitter’s Day Out, Knitter’s
Fantasy, and Ann Arbor Fiber Expo. Her designs have been published
by Knitty.com, Dark Horse Yarns, Schulana, and Cast On magazine.
Kay Thompson one of the originators of Knitters Day Out is a shop
owner in Salem Ohio. Was the pervious owner Colonial Yarn Shop
Camp Hill PA. A knitter since she was 10, Kay teaches classes in many
venues and is a Craft Yarn Council Master Knitter. Member Western
Reserve Knitting Guild, Witty Knitters, The National Needlework Assoc
JoAnne Trygg has sheep and angora rabbits and knits, spins and weaves.
She is Chairperson and Registrar for Knitters’ Day Out and a member
of Twisted Sisters spinning guild and Central PA Guild of Handweavers.
Susan Wolcott of Y2Knit manages the Y2Knit yarn shop in Funkstown,
MD. She is the co-author of YNotKnit, step-by-step instructions for
Continental knitting and Gifts2Knit. In addition to designing knitwear,
Susan teaches knitting in yarn shops, and at Y2Knit events, Stitches,
TKGA and TNNA.
Kathy Zimmerman is an accomplished knitter, teacher, and nationally-
recognized knitwear designer — is the owner of Kathy’s Kreations, a
yarn shop specializing in quality handknitting yarns and accessories.
Her designs have appeared in Knitter’s, Knit Simple, Interweave Knits
and Vogue Knitting magazines. Kathy is a freelance designer for Clas-
sic Elite Yarns, Fiber Trends, Reynolds Yarn, Kraemer Yarns and Nashua
Handknits. She is best known for her designs featuring textures and
cabled stitchwork patterns.