Lisa was taught knitting by her mother at a young age.  In college, she spent a year studyig in Spain and France.  There, her Spanish host mother re-taught her to knit but without a pattern.  She simply would drape the sweater over Lisa's body like a mannequin to decide where decreases should go.  Then in France, Lisa noticed a young Norwegian sitting in back of class knitting daily.  This Norwegian never used a pattern and rarely looked down at her work.  This is where the idea of knitting without a pattern became embedded.  After taking designing classes and upgrading her yarn stash, Lisa became a designer. 4 years later, she became a knitting instructor at a local yarn shop in Gig Harbor and began self-publishing her designs. Lisa is now on her third publication with Leisure Arts.  When Lisa isn't drinking tea and knitting, she's either gardening, cooking or teaching these skills to her 2 daughters.