Pre-Rhinebeck Untangling: Explore Knitting Tours

This is the seventh in a series of blog posts featuring the fabulous sponsors of Indie Untangled, taking place on October 17, 2025, in person in Saugerties, NY, and online. Tickets are available and selling fast!

If you’ve been following Indie Untangled for a while, you know I’m all about traveling. Knitting- and yarn-related tours are especially meaningful to me because they offer a chance to experience a place through its craft community.

That’s exactly what Marny Kindness and Lynn Ruggieri of Explore Knitting Tours had in mind when they launched their company last year.

Tell me how Explore Knitting Tours came to be?

I’m Marny Kindness, and my business partner is Lynn Ruggieri. We first met at a local yarn shop in Rhode Island, where I was teaching a knitting class. We quickly bonded over our shared love of fiber arts and community.

Lynn had long dreamed of designing travel programs focused on her greatest passion, knitting. With her background in leading European tours, my experience teaching, and my tech-savviness with websites and social media, we realized we could create something special together.

After months of planning, Explore Knitting Tours was born: a travel experience that invites knitters to explore the world, deepen their craft, and build lifelong friendships.

For us, knitting is more than a hobby. It’s a way to connect with the world. As a women-owned small business, we create one-of-a-kind journeys that combine fiber arts, cultural exploration, and meaningful community. Our tours go beyond simple sightseeing. Imagine wandering medieval streets with a local guide, then settling into a sunny plaza with a cappuccino while learning new knitting techniques, before browsing for local fiber. Each trip blends private guided travel, small-group instruction, and unique cultural experiences.

Upcoming adventures will take knitters to England, Scotland, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Italy, and more. We’re also working on local New England retreats for 2026.

Who is behind Explore Knitting Tours?

Lynn is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Italy and splits her time between Rhode Island and Perugia, Umbria. As an accounting professor at a local university, she has also spent years leading student and adult travel programs across Europe. Her true passion is showing travelers the hidden gems of Italy: medieval towns, sweeping landscapes, and authentic cultural experiences far from the usual tourist stops. With her insider’s knowledge, every tour through Umbria feels like visiting a friend who knows all the best-kept secrets.

When Lynn isn’t guiding, she enjoys restoring antique dolls from the 1800s and early 1900s, often knitting delicate dresses for them. She’s a skilled hand and machine knitter, and also enjoys time with her granddaughter and her three dogs, who often “help” with her knitting.

I’m an artist, knitwear designer, and knitting instructor living in Rhode Island with my husband and two sons. I studied photography at Massachusetts College of Art and Design and have spent much of my career in exhibition management at art museums. Alongside my work in the arts, I have been teaching knitting for many years, helping my students unravel tricky mistakes, interpret patterns, and adapt designs to fit their style.

On Explore Knitting Tours, I bring my creativity to every trip. I design a group knitting project inspired by each destination, I teach techniques, and help knitters of all levels grow their skills. I also offer photography workshops, guiding knitters on how to beautifully capture their finished projects. I’m passionate about sustainability and also teach mending techniques to give garments longer lives. Outside of knitting, I love exploring local beaches, birdwatching on Rhode Island trails, visiting museums, and supporting my community through arts advocacy.

For those who have never been on an Explore Knitting Tour, can you explain how a trip works and what is included? How large are the tour groups that you travel with?

Our tours are intentionally small, usually with 15-18 attendees (and sometimes up to 24, depending on the location). This size allows us to offer the best of both worlds: enough knitters to create a lively, social atmosphere, but still small enough for personalized attention.

Each trip includes comfortable hotels, transportation during the tour, most meals, and admission to sites and museums, along with knitting classes and workshops. You’ll also enjoy guided sightseeing and cultural experiences, plus plenty of time for connection, laughter, and creativity.

One of the most rewarding parts of our tours is the community that forms along the way. Some travelers come with a friend, while others join solo. But within a few days, it’s common to see phone numbers exchanged, yarn stashes compared, and lifelong friendships taking root. It’s truly amazing how quickly a group of knitters from different places can feel like family. We even have repeat knitter attendees sign up for multiple trips.

You also work with yarn stores to plan trips! Can you explain how that works?

We do work with yarn shops and knitting groups to build custom trips designed specifically for their customers. If there’s a special excursion or activity a group wants to do, we make it happen. While we have our favorite “tried-and-true” places we love sharing with knitters, we also welcome customization to create the best possible experience for every group.

What has been your favorite knitting tour that you have been on?

One of the fun parts of running Explore Knitting Tours is that each destination feels special in its own way. But between the two of us, we do have our personal favorites.

Italy will always have Lynn’s heart. Since she lives part-time in Perugia, leading knitting tours there feels like inviting friends into her second home. She particularly loves its breathtaking architecture and welcoming people. On our Italy trips, knitters often say it feels less like a tour and more like an insider’s experience — because it is.

For me, nothing quite compares to Scotland. The charm of Edinburgh, with its winding streets and historic architecture, paired with the warmth of the people, makes it irresistible. Add in the stunning countryside dotted with sheep (and plenty of wool!), and you have a knitter’s dream.

Since you travel and knit, what is one knitting tool or supply you always have on hand?

Traveling with knitting definitely comes with its own quirks. Here are two of our tried-and-true travel hacks:

Scissors can be tricky to bring through airport security, but I always tuck a container of dental floss in my carry-on. The tiny built-in cutter slices yarn easily, and it passes through security with no issues.

Project bags with zippers or closures are a must. They keep your yarn secure and prevent the dreaded “ball of yarn rolling down the aisle” situation (not that this has ever happened to us, of course…).

What’s currently on your needles?

Lynn is working on adapting a cable sweater knit in the round to straight needles, and this is where her skills shine, while I’m working on a test knit sweater for Tori Knits NYC that launches this fall using an Italian Merino that I got while in Florence in 2024.