Lucy Neatby is one of my favorite knitting designers.  I tend to the small projects, so her sock patterns have been a favorite over the years.  They can be challenging, but Lucy does a wonderful  job of simplifying instructions for what at first looks very complex.  Best of all–her patterns have no mistakes in them!  I’ve taken one intarsia class from her through my knitting guild several years ago.  Intarsia is  not a favorite technique for me, but Lucy is a great teacher.  Plus it is way cool that a knitting teacher bucks the stereotypes so completely.  Lucy used to do a lot of knitting when she was in the merchant marine.  She taught our class wearing one green shoe and one hot pink one (yes, she had another almost identical pair–the mates–at home).  According to her website photo, her hair is currently bright pink with purple highlights.  Some day I hope to join one of her knitting adventure retreats.  I’m thinking one of her Nova Scotia trips would be excellent.  Never been to Nova Scotia.