About Us
Strings and Things Studio was created by Anne, Kaity, and Karin, as a place for us to explore the things we love and to be able to share them with you! The three of us met working at Anacapa Fine Yarns, which sadly closed in March of 2018. With the store closing and no where for us to continue to teach classes, we decided to make a space of our own!
Strings and Things Studio hosts classes on knitting and crocheting, but we will also be offering classes on other crafts. In our studio we will discover new passions, and we are looking forward to sharing them with you. If you have any ideas for classes, or crafts that you would love to learn, drop us a line and let us know!
Anne
I makes things appear that weren't there before. It is penance for when, at the tender age of five, I started to make family members disappear with the wave of a magic baton. Reeling from the guilt of beaming my older brother onto the roof (as my sincere and mischievous father and sister accused), I have been adding to the world as opposed to making things vanish. (My brother did re-materialize eventually.)
I am like any creatively driven person, completely unique: an educator, a risk taker, an innovator, a knitter, a crocheter, a weaver, jewelry designer and maker, an artist, a mom, and a wife. I have never met a process that I didn't want to immerse myself in and roll around in. I love color and challenging the viewer's perception of what color plays work out well. Most of all, I love the opportunity to share knowledge and discovery with willing learners. My greatest creative vices have been knitting, crocheting, beading, stitching (decorative and functional), printmaking, and writing. I can do anything I put my mind with a design aspect and I would like to help you bring your maker dreams into reality.
Email me at
stringsandthingsanne@gmail.com
Find me on Instagram and Ravelry
@anneland22
I've always had a love of hobbies and crafting, for as long as I can remember. My grandma instilled in me a love of needlework from a young age, and helped me cultivate my skills in sewing, knitting, crocheting, quilting, and more. With the basics I've learned from her, I expanded my skills, teaching myself whatever new hobby interested me.
Knitting is my one true passion, and I have been knitting since I was 16 years old. I also love to sew and quilt, and have been using sewing machine as long as I can remember. I also learned to crochet at a young age, and still enjoy the process.
Having worked and taught at a yarn store for many years, I have met so many amazing fellow yarn-lovers, and I am excited to be a part of their creative journeys. I can teach you what you need to learn, but what you do with the skills you learn from me is what I think is the most exciting!
Email me at stringsandthingskaity@gmail.com
Find me on Instagram and Ravelry @kaitybethcreates
Kaity
Karin
I come from a family of crafters--artisans in repurposing the discarded flotsam and jetsam of daily living, seeing and making treasures from it. Maybe it started with my grandmother in her childhood during the Great Depression. As long as I can remember, her fingers were never idle. When she wasn’t creating masterpieces of frosting as a cake baker, she always had tatting or crochet in her hands, and she usually had some craft to keep my over-active mind occupied. I never can look at popsicle sticks, egg-cartons, or that magical elixir (Elmer’s glue) that turned everyday items into log cabins or caterpillars, without wistful memories. Maybe it was my aunts, who each have their own creativity in needlework, or my uncle, who can dig raw clay from the earth and mold it into beautiful pieces of art.
From this legacy, I guess I’ve always loved to make stuff--it doesn’t matter what it is. I love to see bits from here or bobs from there, and I can envision how they might come together to make something new. This outlook guides me in my knitwear designing. You can find my work on Ravelry (karinknits designs) and in various publications such as Interweave Knits and Knitscene.
One thing that is clear when you meet me is that I’m always learning, eager to know the “next” thing. Sharing knowledge, teaching others, and guiding them to know new things, too, is just as exciting to me. I believe we can all learn anything, even at our own unique paces. That expression, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time,” is so true. I hope you’re hungry; let’s learn together!
Email me at
stringsandthingskarin@gmail.com
Find me on Instagram and Ravelry
@knitspinner805