Knitting is my passion and has been so most of my life. My first exposure to it was from my mother. She died when I was eight and was sick for five years before that, so I have precious few memories of doing things with her. One of those memories, though, vivid to this day, is of sitting with her in our den and holding my hands up for her hank of yarn, so that she could wind it into a ball. I taught myself to knit soon after she died, and have been knitting ever since.
Did I dream up the yarn shop in Family Tree before I concocted the rest of the plot? Nope. The premise of the book came first, then the characters and their individual threads. But – a big but here – the yarn shop was what tied it all together for me. Scenes in the yarn shop were the gift I gave myself every few chapters. That shop was a haven for me, just as it was for my characters. We share a passion for knitting, those characters and I. We also share a need for comfort and warmth; my yarn shop offers both.
Working with Berroco in conceptualizing and designing the Family Tree patterns has been extraordinary. I love the yarns these patterns will call for, love the colors and the designs. I love knowing that this pattern book will live on just as long as my book. My dream is to make every one of the Family Tree items myself. My mother would have loved the idea of that!
Please enjoy my book, Family Tree, and the Berroco Family Tree patterns as well.
Truly yours,
Barbara Delinsky