The Backcountry Knitter started as a dream and became a reality in 2019. Sirena, founder and dyer, an outdoor enthusiast, combined her love for the fiber arts with her love of nature. 

Knitting is her passion, the mountains are her home. Sirena has lived in Utah for over 20 years; her hiking pack just isn't complete without her knitting projects. She loves everything yarn and wants to share it with everyone.

The Backcountry Knitter was featured in the Nomadic Knits issue twelve: Utah/Nevada magazine in 2022. Here's an excerpt about Sirena and her yarn business:

"Sirena's fiber journey started when she taught herself to knit at 16; her parents had bought her a beginner knitting kit from a bookstore, and once she got the hang of it, she couldn’t stop. After college, Sirena worked a typical 9 to 5 job as an assistant for a local small business. Not long after, she discovered the joy of hand-dyed yarn and got a second part-time job working at a local yarn shop. She loved talking to people about their projects and YARN, and she built many lasting yarnie relationships. In 2016, Sirena began a career in marketing while also dyeing yarn for fun in her kitchen. That fiber hobby grew into an obsession; she loved the process and started The Backcountry Knitter in 2019. Two years later, she made the decision to take it full time.

Developing colorways is Sirena’s favorite part of the process; she gets to take a blank canvas and make it into something beautiful. She pulls inspiration from nature, books, life, and outdoor adventures. She doesn’t always have a clear idea of what she wants to create, but once she gets the color palette, the creativity just flows, and will often lead to the exploration of new techniques and dyeing styles.

Sirena has always been crafty, but knitting has taken over her life, in a good way. Outside of that, she loves the outdoors: hiking, camping, and biking, specifically. Utah is the perfect place for outdoor adventures, with the mountains, red rocks, and fascinating geological history practically in her backyard in Salt Lake City. When she can combine her two passions, outdoor adventures and knitting, there’s no reining in her happiness. She also loves to read, mostly memoirs and mysteries, but rarely has time lately, so she’s switched to audiobooks, which she can play while working in the dye pots.

The name Backcountry Knitter came to be after a backpacking trip in the high Uintas. Her friends had made the plan to start in the early evening and arrive at their “spot” before dark. A supposedly quick four-mile hike turned into a nine-mile bushwhacking experience of climbing over deadfall through unmaintained trails, and they arrived well into the night. Having been led to underestimate the intensity of the hike, Sirena had packed in not one, but two shawl projects! Had she known, she would have carried just a sock project because every ounce counts. That night, filled with the pride of a challenge completed, Sirena found a beautiful knitting spot in a vast clearing, and used nothing but shooting stars for light. She designed her logo to symbolize that night under the stars. Knitting is her passion and the mountains are her home; there’s always a spot for a knitting project or two in her hiking pack."