I have never been a great talker. As a kid, if I thought I had done something to upset my Mum, I would write her a note (often elaborately decorated as only a 9 year old can) and leave it under her pillow for her to discover later when I was safely tucked away in bed. As a teenager, I found music and the piano. If I was angry or upset, I would find a piece of music of an appropriate mood and play it until I felt better. This progressed to composing my own music and the piece I am still most proud of resulted from a shouting match with my older brother that saw me retreat to the piano in tears and saw him retreat to the shed. One day, I moved away from the piano and lived in flats where pianos would not necessarily be welcome! As such, I found myself turning to crafts; sewing, knitting, crocheting, drawing, origami, paper mâché, and quilting, if there was a book or a friend to show me how to do it, I would give it a try; and now there’s YouTube, the sky’s the limit! Failure was common, and still is, but the comedy value of many of these failures in themselves give them value to me, some of what I have considered to be failures have still been passed in embarrassment to the person they were intended for and, despite my misgivings, have become cherished gifts. Everything I make to this day continues to have a large amount of emotion invested in it; inspired by people I know and the moments we’ve shared. I’ve gotten better at talking, but still to this day when I am overwhelmed with emotions and can’t find the words to express them adequately, I’ll make something. If I’m sad, going through the process of combining materials, patterns and colours I like makes me feel better; if I’m happy and want to show my appreciation, I’ll make a gift inspired by that person. It’s through making these gifts that I’ve developed the crafting skills that I now possess, it’s been a fun journey so far, I’m always learning new skills and finding inspiration for new things to make. If you’re thinking of trying to make something, give it a go, it can be very rewarding and cathartic! Oh, and although I don’t have a piano any longer, I’m often found singing along to the radio whilst crafting away!
Stitched by Knight
I love fabrics, colours and making things. Combine these with a love of creating spaces that people enjoy being in, I decided to create a range of soft furnishings which may be customised to give that special little person in your life a place to retreat and be surrounded by things that reflect them. Archives
February 2014
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