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I was slated to move countries and change jobs in the middle of March 2020 - which proved to be… interesting timing. I moved to the UK (almost made it to London…) from Dublin, Ireland 3 days before Ireland went into lockdown due to COVID-19. When we arrived, we stayed with my in-laws in the countryside outside of London, because we were unable to look at/ move into a flat. I felt lucky to have family nearby, but incredibly isolated. I’ve moved country before, but normally when that happens I throw myself into all the activities - volunteering, knitting circles, meeting up with folks from work, pub crawls… things that make me feel connected to the place and make new friends. None of that was a thing, and at the heaviest point of lockdown we were only allowed to leave the house once a day for exercise.

My husband, Peter, to try to take my mind off things, got me two books: British Tree Guide by Owen Johnson & David More, and Britain’s Trees: A Treasury of Traditions, Superstitions, Remedies and Literature by Jo Woolf. My in-laws flat is right near a woodland so I spent my spring with my books in the woods. Really milking that “exercise” aspect of my daily walks identifying trees. Learning about the way trees go from bare gray wood, to blooming floral masterpieces, to lush green umbrellas. I learned about the unique shapes of leaves, could identify which trees were apocalypse friendly (e.g. medicinal), and explored the local folklore about Ash and Oak trees.

This time in my life, probably like many of you, was really heavy with anxiety and worry and bad news - it was also some of my most introspective and slow. I would never ordinarily have given myself the time to learn + look at something as seemingly un-productive as trees, and I am really glad I did. It helped me feel connected to Britain through its folklore, and landscape, and resources, and (though it sounds wanky) the passage of time… and not feeling so stuck. I may not have made any new human friends but I had my trees.
We finally moved into our own flat, but I’ve been visiting my tree friends in the parks around us. We spent a ‘local vacation’ later that summer by visiting Exmoor National park, where we stayed at an air BnB. In it, there were tons of great coffee table books and local guides, among these, was Around the World in 80 Trees by Johnathan Drori, which was the initial spark for this collection.

I’ve had the privilege and a lot of luck to move around the world because I married someone who is not where I’m from (Western NY, USA), and because I have a pretty flexible skillset (I work in data as my day job). Because of this, I have the honor of being friends with some absolutely amazing people from all around. Many of them ex-pats like me, but locals as well.

This collection is a love letter to my friends, and to the trees. People may have complex relationships with the places they grow up, but trees play an important role in that environment and experience. I wanted to explore that to learn more about the world, my friends, and the trees. This project will be ongoing, but for each design there will be a story: about the tree, about the place it comes from, and about my friends. Expect one pattern a month, either crochet or knit, with part of the proceeds going to the local area or tree it’s inspired by. This collection was made possible by LoveCrafts and I will be updating this page as the patterns launch.

I hope you love it!

x Katie

March: The Willow, A Dancer’s Shrug
April: The Olive, A Tote
May: The Lilac, A Pullover Sweater

The Tree Collection ‘21-’22