She is a Jane Austen loving knitter who picked up the needles in 2004 and has not set them down since. She loves lace knitting, spinning, knitting with handspun, and creating new things to make.
When she is not holding the needles, she can be found hiking, camping, paddling, snowshoeing, enjoying musical theatre, and making up new things to stitch. In her real life grown up job, she is the Artistic Director at MadCAP (Madison Creative Arts Program), a school of the arts in Madison, WI, where she lives in a cottage in the woods in the city with her husband, piano, and lots and lots of wool.
Kirsti has been published in Spin Off Magazine, Jane Austen Knits 2011, and is self publishing her first book in 2012.
Marna Johanson Abutaha is the little sister.
Despite being the little sister, Marna is taller and stronger than Kirsti, but that’s OK. She is an avid reader, knitter, and all around artist. She hand paints silk and is looking forward to getting into painting both yarn and wool for spinning. Marna is easily adaptable to a variety of crafts and taught herself crochet, tatting, jewelry making, and wire working.
When she is not pursuing her artistic endeavors, she is a therapist and data analysist in Columbus, Ohio. Kirsti is glad someone likes to do that, because it’s an important job…but not one she wants to do.
Kirsti and Marna enjoy travelling together, and don’t get to do it nearly enough. They also enjoy shared artistic endeavors and are great cheerleaders for one another. Oh, and they are sisters in real life, too.