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Teacher, Designer and Blogger Kellie Nuss

Teacher, Designer and Blogger Kellie Nuss was our guest today on the Yarn Thing podcast with Marly Bird. It’s was a wonderful thing to get this busy, busy lady to make time for us in her busy, busy day.

IMG_3149-2We’re being redundant but it’s not an exaggeration. Married at 19, having 5 kids before age 30 (2 while hubby was in Law School) she says she got to a point where she just needed to get out of the house. She went to her local yarn store and begged to be allowed to help and became a Saturday Shop Girl at The Weaver’s Place. They noticed that she was great at helping customers with their tricky problems and had her start teaching. One of those at the shop sent her info to XRX Books to help at Stitches Expos, and in 2005 when it was in Atlantic City, which began her career teaching across the country.

At the events, she built relationships and one of those was with Gwen Bortner. They realized they had a harmony even though they seem different. Similar to the knit stitch which from a different angle is a purl but it’s still the same stitch, they each have a love of sharing their craft. They began blogging together with Two Sides — Two Points and in 2014 started an online subscription service, EduKnit which takes knitting up a level.

Kellie says she actually had a lesson in a girls group, like Brownies, but nobody else was as intrigued as she was and the lady never came back, so as a teenager she pursued it on her own. For instance, when she examined cables and realizing that they were just stitches that traded places. It wasn’t until much later that she found cable needles and realized their usefulness after having done without!

So when people would come into the shop, Kellie’s ability to read knitting and understanding the structure, the others in the shop would call her the Rain Man because she could figure things out so easily.

With Eduknit, Kellie shared that each month they try to find a topic and focus on that. For instance this month, they examined stranded knitting, first understanding how it works, then from each of their perspectives (does it have to be in the round), the third week brings in an expert (Beth Brown-Reinsel who we’ve met recently) and then close out the month with new patterns that are published through Ravelry, to try out the things they have been focusing on that month. Kellie says Gwen has been the teacher and Kellie has been the photographer. Then it gets sent to an editor and posted by their own Social Media assistant. The membership for a month is $10 or a for a year $100. This includes the patterns.

Kellie doesn’t really consider herself a designer, she has KN Craftsy Yarn Subcreated information materials as part of her class that includes a pattern to follow for her class. Kellie’s personal favorite knitting involves playing with color, as in Alice Starmore‘s work. (Ravelry link to her designer page).

One of the things that Kellie became good at was Yarn Substitution. Because yarns aren’t always available everywhere, she found that knowing the attributes of what IS available was helpful to people. Craftsy looked at Kellie’s work, her catalog and online presence and put together this class with Kellie so that we may all get Kellie’s expertise. With Yarn Substitution Made Easy she says, they get empowered!  The class includes a project where you experience yarns…. It is our opinion that this class and Sarah Peasley’s we spoke of last week on Getting Gauge (SWATCHING!) would work well together. (These are Marly’s Craftsy affiliate links.)

Kellie’s role in the yarn industry she hopes is as a cheerleader, that she is encouraging people to be creative, to relieve the stress we all experience in the society we live in.

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  1. laineyhf says:

    Thanks for this interview, I found it very interesting! I have to laugh at myself, I kept thinking that Kellie was saying ‘edgyknit.com’, not ‘eduknit.com’. No wonder I couldn’t find her website – my brain was feeling quite fluffy.

  2. Mona says:

    I found it interesting that Kellie figured out most of her knitting knowledge on her own. Her class on yarn substitution would be most helpful in case you don’t have any fluffy yarn.

  3. Erin says:

    I am forever running up against “wrong yarn for the project” problems. Often the yarn suggested in the pattern is too itchy for me, so I have to substitute. I like soft, fluffy yarns, but they don’t always work for every project I want to make. I usually just wing it, but it sounds like a better approach would be to look into Kellie’s class!

  4. Jenny says:

    Kellie’s Craftsy class sounds like a great idea. Yarn substitution seems like a bit of black magic. Not a fluffy class at all.

  5. Kathy M. says:

    I enjoyed this week’s podcast and learning more about another education opportunity. I love color knitting, but am new to it. I will have to check out Kellie’s website to check out what information is available.

    I would love to knit a nice fluffy sweater for winter that is fast approaching.

  6. Linda says:

    Thank you Marly & Kelly for this interview! Listening to Kelly inspired me to learn more and I headed straight over to her eduknit site. I’d like to be able to read MY knitting like Rain Man. I’ve had her yarn substitution class on my ” gotta take this class” list . Fluffy or cobweb – I can hardly wait to learn more yarn whispering from Kelly

  7. Melissa says:

    I don’t necessarily enjoy fluffy yarns, too much going on, and I’m slow anyway!! I’m very interested in the Craftsy class, that is information that could change the way someone chooses yarn for a project. I usually try to match the weight and content, but I’m never sure if that’s enough. Thanks for the podcast!

  8. Cindy says:

    My grandchildren love me to knit them anything with fluffy year, especially agora! Kellie’s Craftsy’s class sounds great.

  9. Laurie says:

    Yarn substitution is a serious problem for me! I find it easy to substitute for fluffy yarns, but things like linen and cotton (the fibers that change in the wash!) are a lot more problematic.

  10. Michelle says:

    Kellie’s class sounds like anything but fluffy! I could really use a good course on that exact topic. Nice interview ladies 🙂

  11. Heather says:

    Like other commenters, I hadn’t heard of “eduknit” before, but I’ll definitely check it out. The class on trading out yarn sounds great. I have lots of yarsn: fluffy, stringy, tough, soft. I have a lot that needs a dedicated project! Thanks for the interview today!

  12. Katelyn M says:

    Thanks for another great show. Kellie’s Craft class would be perfect for me! I typically don’t use the yarn in the pattern, just because I can’t always find it quickly, and it would be great to have more information to pick the right substitution. I wonder if Kellie talks about changing the weight of the yarn for a project, just incase you wanted to use fluffy yarn! Thanks again!

  13. Mary L. says:

    I’m going to check out eduknits right now. And, I have WAY too many fluffy yarns in my stash, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!

  14. Vicki Lynch says:

    I’ve found something new again thanks to your show! I’m going to check out eduknits. I’m knitting a mitered square blanket with fluffy yarn by Red Heart. I wouldn’t have tried it except for the sound endorsement of the company by Marly. I know if she’s involved, it’s got to be good. The colors of the Boutique Unforgettable are so rich and the yarn is soft and fluffy.

  15. Ramona says:

    This episode was amazing. I had never heard of eduknit before so I will definitely check that out. I’m also very interested in yarn substitution as many designers get gifted yarn or can buy at a substantial discount so the Suggested Yarn is often out of my budget and/or hard to find in Canada. My favourite fibre I’ve worked with so far is alpaca for a hot water bottle cozy – it was definitely fluffy!

  16. Jamie Grimshaw says:

    I Love Fluffy Yarn! Thanks for another great show. I am learning about so many great fiber artists by listening in to your show.

  17. Laura says:

    Will definitely be bookmarking eduknit for when life gets a little less fluffy. Moving half way around the world in February with 2 small kids and 2 large dogs. So for now I’m sticking to crochet so I can try to relax a little! Her craftsy class also sounds awesome. I kinda geek out on the math a little and like seeing what changing hook sizes and yarn weights do for a project. Unless its a fitted item. Then its all about the RIGHT gauge!

  18. Lisa Sauer says:

    I’ve taken many Stitches market session classes from Kellie over the years, and have learned so much from her! Looking forward to new classes from her in the future. (I have to say, working “fluffy” into a sentence is more difficult than I thought!)

  19. Suzanne says:

    This was not a fluffy episode! There were so many interesting points that you and Kellie brought up. I’d love to learn more from Kellie about yarn substitution. It’s a really important skill to have.

  20. Missy Schmidt says:

    Loved the podcast!!! It was lovely getting to know Kellie! And I loved that you referred to yourself as fluffy, Marly! That’s what I say about myself! Great minds! Lol!

  21. roseruffolo says:

    Kellie you are such an inspiration! I wish you all the best! I look forward to finding out more about you and your work.

    Not to get too “FLUFFY” but Marly you have such amazing, intelligent and inspirational guests on your show. Thank you for all that you do

Marly Bird

The One and Only, Marly

Marly is a knitwear and crochet designer (and yarn addict) that is here to help you learn how to knit and crochet in a way that's fun and approachable.

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