Liz Knapp, Guild President 2015 to 2017
In June, I featured the Guild’s Founders, Colleen Davis and Phyllis Bates. In recognition of their contribution to making our Guild what it is today, the spotlight for the next few months will be on several of our past presidents.
Liz Knapp, the outrageously outgoing Guild President from 2015 to 2017 now lives near her hometown in a Philadelphia suburb. A Navy spouse, she first came to San Diego in 2007. She left us for a tour in Italy, but when she returned, she dove right back into the Guild.
Here is her interview in her own words.
How long have you been part of the Guild and in what capacity?
I joined the Guild in 2007. I became an avid member who never missed a meeting. The best way to get to know other members more intimately was to work closely with them, so I volunteered for service positions. I served as Philanthropy coordinator and as Stash Sale coordinator from 2008-2010. I taught Members Teaching Members classes. I served as President from 2015-2017.
How and why did you join the Guild?
I met member Eileen Adler, a fellow transplant from NJ, in a continuing education knitting class. She invited me to attend a meeting and I joined on the spot. I found the general meetings to be full of other women who were encouraging, inspiring, and eager to share their time and experience. There was a lot of camaraderie among these women, and I wanted to experience that as well. While I moved frequently because of the Navy, knitting has always been a way to make new friends. The Guild gave me new friends and introduced me to new designers, teachers, and techniques.
Knitting Life: How long have you been knitting? How did you learn?
My mom taught me to knit (English style, with 10″ straight Susan Bates aluminum needles, size 8) in 1980. My grandmother helped me master cables. My college roommate taught me Continental knitting. I keep learning from other knitters, in Guild classes, online, in LYS groups, and at conventions.
What is your favorite type or style of knitting?
I prefer Continental over English, use circular needles for everything, and tend to have a loose tension. I like a mix of yarn weights and often have a few projects going at the same time. I prefer to knit with natural fibers, especially Merino, cashmere, and blends. I like 2-ply [lace weight] for lace projects, 3- and 4-ply [fingering weight] for stitch work like cables. I like colorwork but need more practice. I wish I was more proficient at crochet and sewing.
Non-knitting Life
Before retirement, I had full-time careers in newspaper advertising, conference planning, and corporate relocation. In Colorado in the 2000s, I worked part time in a yarn shop and was a sales rep for an alpaca farm and yarn mill. I taught fiber theory classes to yarn shop staff so they could sell smarter and empower their own customers. Now that I have a house with a yard, I like to play in the garden. I enjoy cooking and baking. I love to travel – by ship, plane, car – it doesn’t matter as long as I am exploring something new. I especially like wandering foreign cities while looking at architecture and gardens.
Where did you grow up? If not native, how did you end up in San Diego?
I was born and raised in the Philadelphia area. When I was a preschooler, my family lived in Puerto Rico and Pakistan for my father’s job. I attended Penn State, then enjoyed being a career woman in my 20s and 30s. I married a Navy sailor in 2002 and happily transitioned to part-time work. We lived in Virginia, Spain, Italy, and San Diego (twice). We retired and left San Diego at the end of 2019. Saying goodbye to the Guild was one of the hardest parts of the move. We moved back to the Philly area so we could be near family and purchase our first house. After all those years of moving, now my yarn stash has its own room!
— Tania Marshall
A few images of Liz Knapp from the Guild’s photo library:
