In a nutshell, I’m a technique freak and a skill junkie. I collect knitting techniques and skills like other people collect patterns and yarn.

Teaching is an excuse to go collecting: I get to spend time researching sock heels, mitten thumbs, cast-ons, disaster recovery techniques, seamless sweater construction styles, or whatever. And then I get to teach. I love watching the little light bulbs go off, as students grasp a new idea.

A classroom isn’t the only teaching option. Charts Made Simple teaches knitters how to read charts—and better yet, how to make the most of them.

My current obsession is Stitch-Maps.com, a website for viewing and creating grid-free charts called “stitch maps.”

You can check out the site itself, or its Ravelry group.

No surprise here: I also collect stitch patterns. Sometimes they turn into designs. Mostly they wait while I find the time to turn them into designs.