Meet the Designer
I can't remember a time when I wasn't making things, whether it was a scarf for my teddy or sculptures out of paper straws. Although I was proficient in all types of needlework, it was always crochet that was my favourite craft. In 2001 I tried knitting (for the umpteenth time), and for some reason this time it clicked. I've been knitting almost exclusively ever since.
After the first few months, I began to customise patterns and then to create my own. My first pattern, a beanie called "Bliss", was published in October 2005. Since then, I have been published extensively in Knitting, Simply Knitting, Knit Today, and in a charity booklet called Best Yarn Forward. I have also been a regular contributor to SlipKnot, the journal of the Knitting & Crochet Guild.
I live in County Durham, in north-east England, with my son and two cats. I have been severely affected by ME since 1997, although I try not to let this interfere with my creativity.
Meet the Cats
Tigger
Tigger came to live with us just after I became ill, as an eight-week-old kitten. He's very sociable and assumes that every visitor to the house has come to see him. He insists on knowing everything that's going on in the house, which means he gets fallen over and trodden on an awful lot, as well as surprising unwary visitors who take themselves off to the bathroom only to find two big green eyes peering at them from behind the laundry basket.
My son has an extensive gallery of Tigger Photos on his Flickr account.
Chloë
Chloë, on the other hand, came to us shortly after Tigger at the age of 6 (according to the vet's best guess). She had been thrown out of a car and needed a good home.
Ten years on she is still very timid, although she's finally starting to come out of her shell with regular visitors. She allows Tigger to be the boss until she gets bored, and then she pounces on him and reminds him that she is bigger, heavier, and older than he is.
She enjoys sleeping on pieces of knitting that are being blocked and, on one memorable occasion, actually threw up a hairball on one. Despite this I still love her dearly.