Laura is one of the incredible knitters behind the beautiful knitwear and accessories here at BB and we wanted to take a moment to turn the spotlight on her and her incredible knitting talent.
Laura said in a recent chat to our founder Emily ‘I’ve been knitting since I was about 6 years old. I started when I had a really bad cold and was stuck in bed with nothing to do. My mum taught me the basics, and I spent a good few years just knitting squares for a giant patchwork blanket I'd envisioned that never actually came to be. Strangely I do still have many of the squares - I keep finding them tucked away in old bags of clothes and books!’
When we asked her what she loved about knitting Laura responded, ‘I love the peace of knitting and as I'm a pretty anxious person, I find the repetition and counting quite soothing, but I do also love the challenge of picturing a finished piece and interpreting it into a pattern, something I've been doing more often recently. My granny was diagnosed with dementia a few years ago and I started to look into things that can be preventive measures as you get older. To my surprise, knitting and crochet were some of the most widely suggested ideas. Since then I've been taking part in the Dementia UK November knitting challenge each year, to help raise money for aiding families who have been affected by dementia.’ Across instagram we have been spreading the word of the benefits of picking up a hobby like knitting for your mental health and your long term health too!
We wanted to know what Laura’s favourite project was ‘the project I've enjoyed most so far was probably a Ghibli inspired 'Calcifer' jumper I made for my daughter as a surprise last Christmas. It was a really fun project that taught me a few new techniques but was definitely worth all of the hard work!’
Laura doesn’t really have a favourite stitch although she does love the texture you get from a nice moss stitch, one of which we love in BB knitwear too but Laura does have a favourite technique, Japanese Cable and Lace knitting. It's incredibly intricate with some complicated designs. Currently Laura is working her way through the Japanese Stitch Bible making scarves. Laura said ‘I've a few crazy projects on the go, like knitted armour and a medieval dress. Hopefully I will finish them and they won't get shoved into the box of shame!’
Laura is a complete yarn lover and as she’s got older, she’s found that collecting yarn is as much a hobby as the knitting itself!
Come and explore her beautiful work on both her website and instagram! We are so honoured to have Laura as part of BB core!