I clearly remember my 7th summer of life,
when Mom taught me to knit at Grampy’s home on Squam Lake in Holderness, NH. We were sitting in Adirondack chairs on the flagstone patio overlooking the steps to grass, fern, birch trees, sand and two docks on the lake. Two straight wooden needles and a carefully wound ball of heather green yarn from Revere Knitting Mills, I was ready to create a scarf. The process always looked so easy watching Mom’s hands.
Learning to hold those two wooden sticks, position the strand of yarn (over/under/over) the first 3 fingers of my right hand seemed daunting…then came the “how to knit a stitch”?! Mom said once I learned to knit and purl I could knit anything. It all seemed magical. Mom’s calm voice and patient way of teaching, still echoes in my mind when I pick up needles to knit, create, design, or teach.
Knitting intermittently entertained me during childhood, teen, and college years. As a young Mom and RN, knitting became a portable lifeline to cherished moments of self creation and sanity. The juxtaposition of caring for my young, beautiful, healthy, playful daughter, contrasted with the ICU patient chatting one minute—then cardiac arresting the next minute, beckoned a bit of “time out” and knitting answered. Knitting became a haven for my creative, calming and reflective space. Playing with colors, yarn textures, patterns always fascinated me and combining these elements, became a passion.
Birch Tree Knits grew from a desire to share the knitting experience, and a bit of relaxation by teaching people how to knit in the midst of the pandemic. As I taught, I found myself wanting to create clear and easy to follow patterns to help my students in their effort to build their knitting skills. My knitting friend, Kristin, encouraged me to design a few hats for her shop, and that’s how it all started!
My designs usually originate from memories of time spent with family, images that catch my eye while hanging out in nature, often in New England, or a yarn sparks my inspiration! Once I started designing, I fully realized the complexity of my endeavor… creating patterns that may look intricate, are actually straightforward, interesting, relaxing, and playful. Thank goodness for my tech editor and grading guru, Annie B. Lin; we started teaching together years ago at our LYS and became great friends ~ it’s such a joy to work with her! I’ve grown along the way, and I’m thoroughly enjoying the process of being able to share patterns, which I enjoy knitting and wearing, and hope you will too!
About Birches…
“Birches” by Robert Frost has been a favorite poem of mine for a long time. The themes of reaching beyond the earth, looking for freedom only to realize, “Earth’s the right place for love” resonates with me. To me, birches speak about the wisdom that we gain with age, and the need to make our home a home for all. Knitting provides an opportunity to take a bit of time to breathe, play, and create.