Profile

E. J. (Joy) Slayton learned to knit from her grandmother at age 9. Her serious involvement with knitting and designing came after encountering Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Busy Knitter series on PBS. Since then, she has studied under Elizabeth and her daughter, Meg Swansen, Nancy Bush, Lily Chin, Sally Mehlville, Mary Walker Phillips, and Alice Starmore, as well as Paula Simmons and other well-known instructors.

Joy’s designs have appeared in many publications, including Vogue Knitting, Knit ‘N Style, Knitter’s, Creative Knitting, Knitting World, Knitting Digest and Crafting Traditions. Brown Sheep Company and Plymouth Yarn Company have featured her designs in numerous pattern collections, including “Serendipity Tweed Cardigan” for Brown Sheep, which also appeared on the runway of the fashion show at TNNA in June 2007.

She shares a home in the Missouri Ozarks with her husband (almost 48 years and counting), 1 dog, 2 cats and way too much stash, and publishes her own line of booklets and stand-alone patterns, Joyknits designs, including Ribbing – Plain & Fancy, which can be found on her website, www.joyknits.com