I learnt to knit as a child. My grandmother lived in Rotherham and she didn't have a television, so when we went to stay with her, she used to teach us different crafts. I have always loved all crafts, so loved being taught new skills, and soon picked up knitting, crocheting, sewing, quilting and many other popular crafts.

As I grew up I crafted for fun and made things for myself and for gifts, but my knitting skills really improved when I had children. I would change patterns for children and babies clothing to create one off jumpers, cardies and baby blankets.

It wasn't until my thirties that I started designing tea cosies.

I had got caught up in the tea party fashion of the time when I bought a beautiful bone china cup and saucer set from a local bazaar. I loved inviting my friends around for tea and cakes and a good natter. Of course when your cups are only small, it’s essential to keep the teapot hot to keep the second cup of heat as hot as the first, and so I knitted myself a couple of tea cosies for the job. I had looked around on the internet and not found a tea cosy that I liked enough to knit. They were a bit old fashioned and all a bit samey. I designed and knitted the Robin tea cosy and the Bluetit tea cosy, (which are available to buy on my website). I thought I’d better knit two, one for wearing and one for washing; I’m always very practical.

My friends loved the tea cosies and asked me to make them one of the other of the two birds. And that got me thinking… Not to make tea cosies for sale, because although I love knitting, I don’t get much pleasure in knitting the same thing more than half a dozen times. (I find many people are the same) But it did make me think that maybe other people would get pleasure in knitting my tea cosies from my knitting patterns.

I wanted to create tea cosies that were unusual and unique. Tea cosies that spoke about peoples personalities, tea cosies that were talking points that related to their owners, and t