Karen Klein, the owner of the Village Knitter, did not learn to knit until she was in her
mid-twenties. Inspired by her mother-in-law's poolside knitting group in Florida, she
returned home determined to learn. Enrolled in a New York City Adult-Ed class, she was
one of 24 students with only one instructor. "In other words, I taught myself" she says.
After several years of non-stop knitting, she began teaching others and designing her
own patterns. This led to her opening her first knitting shop on Long Island. Not only was
knitting far less popular in those days, but the demands of her young family took priority.
Eventually, she made the difficult decision to sell her growing shop and become a
full-time mom.
Approximately a dozen years later, Karen has returned to her first love and old
obsession. "I put down my knitting needles for a long time after selling my shop. It was
far too difficult and I was far too busy". In the ensuing years, she pursued many creative
endeavors, including teaching French; making herbal soap and selling it to Bed, Bath &
Beyond, HomeGoods and others; and even a bit of  free-lance food writing (followed by
several TV appearances, including the Food Network). "It's not that I have a short
attention span," she claims, "it's just that there are so many exciting, creative ways to
express oneself."
In recent years, the world of knitting has clearly exploded in popularity. Exciting new
yarns, patterns, tools and techniques are being introduced daily. "Perhaps with my first
shop, I was a bit ahead of my time. These days, I can barely sleep at night imagining all
the wonderful knitting possibilities out there. I can't wait each day to inspire both old and
new knitters alike".  
About Us
Karen (not knitting, as usual)
Many of you are already familiar with Karin Cotter (pronounced Car-IN, as in "is the car in
the garage?"). Karin loves knitting all kinds of things, but her specialties are scarves,
bags and socks, socks, socks. She is a children's librarian at the local public library,
where she does story time and craft sessions for kids of all ages. She is here Thursday
afternoons and is our gracious "hostess" for Open Knit Night. She also teaches a variety
of knitting classes. Did we mention that she loves to knit socks?
Perhaps you've already met our newest helper,  Roberta Weltmann. Not only has she
been knitting for many years but when she was a child her mom ran a yarn business out of
their home. A multi-talented dynamo, Roberta is also an interior decorator as well as a
former french teacher! Incredibly patient, she is also a natural instructor. If you've got ten
minutes, she'll grab a pair of needles and have you knitting in no time flat. Roberta can
usually be found at the Village Knitter on weekends. Drop in and say hello.