2019-07-01_Simply_Knitting

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unravelfromthetopdowntotherib.Thehatwasabout50cmwide

andtookarounda weekofhardknitting.Duringfilming,thehatwas

unravelledrowbyrowandphotographedeverytime– it tookabout

12 hoursintotal,anddisappearedinlessthan 30 secondsinthead!

Whatvaluedoesknittingaddtoyourlife?

Knittingisn’tjustmywork– it’sbecomea waytoescapeandrelax.

Sincehavingtwobraintumoursremovedthreeyearsago,I findmy

mindracesa lot.Sotakingtimeouttoknitsomethingcompletely

unrelatedtoworkorthatisn’tlinkedtoa deadlineisreallyimportant

formyhealth.WhenI wasrecoveringfromthatsurgery,I realised

howmuchI missedtheprocessofmindfulmaking,soI startedmy

SLOANmadelabelofready-to-wearaccessories.It allowsmeto

exploretheprocessofmakinganitemwithoutthepressureofa

deadlineandexperimentwithdierenttechniquesif andwhenI like.

Whoinspiresyou?

I’velovedErikaKnight’sworkanddesignaestheticsinceI wasa

student,andI’mveryluckytohaveworkedwithherandtonow

countherasa friend.LornaHamilton-Brownisanartistwhosework

I’veadmiredsincemeetinghertwoyearsagowhensheinterviewed

meforherMAdissertation,BlackPeopleDoKnit.She’sincredibly

warm,withanamazingknowledgeofbothhandandmachine

knitting,andshehasinspiredmetobecomeinvolvedinhighlighting

thelackofpeopleofcolourintheknittingcommunity.

Doesyourhomereflectyourpassion?

I liveinHoveonthesouthcoastofEnglandwithmyhusband,Sam.

Wemovedherejusta fewweeksaftermybrainsurgeryandevery

timeI gofora walkalongtheseafront,whichisfiveminutesaway,

I feellikeI’monholiday.Therearen’thundredsofknitteditems

alloverthehouse,butyoucancertainlytellwheremyfavourite

knittingcornerisonthesofa.Myoceinthespareroomiswhere

I havea hugedeskcoveredinbooks,knittingneedles,shadecards,

magazines,notebooks,mydiaryandmybulletjournal.

Howdoyoukeepyourdesignsup-to-date?

Wow– I’msopleasedtohearyoudescribethemlikethat!WhenI

designI reallytrytocreatethingsthatI’dliketowearmyself,soI try

nottothinkintermsofwhat’sup-to-datebecause,I wanttostillbe

wearingthemformanyyearstocome.

Doyouthinkkeepinghand-knittingaliveis m a t?

Yes,I thinkit isincrediblyimportant.Weliveinsucha digitally

overloadedagewithtechnologycontrollingsomuchofourlives

thatsimple,butvital,handskillslikeknittingandsewingseemto

begettinglost.I knowfrompersonalexperiencethepositiveeect

knittinghashadonmyphysicalrecoverybymakingmeslowdown,

butthere’salsogrowingevidencethatit canhavea positiveeect

onmentalhealthtoo.I alsoworrythatwe’llsoonhavea generation

ofkidsthatexperiencesomuchvirtually,thattheycan’tperforma

simpletasklikesewona button.

Whatadvicecanyougivetonewknitters/designers?

Tonewknitters,I’dsaytakeyourtime.Everyonelearnsata dierent

rate,soif youdon’ttaketoa techniquestraightaway,don’tbeput

o– stickwithit.Buythebestyarnyoucanaordandvaluethe

timeyouspendknittingwithit.Tonewdesigners,I’dsaygettoknow

yourstrengthsanddesignwhatreallyrepresentsyouasa designer.

Beopentoworkingwithyarncompaniesandbrandswhoshareyour

valuesandwithwhomyoucanbuildstrongworkingrelationships.

Oh– anddon’tundermineyourconfidencebyconstantlycomparing

yourworkwiththatofyourpeers.

Whatareyourfutureplans?

SincewritingthearticleBlackPeopleDoKnitI’verealisedhow

importantit istohighlighttheworkofpeopleofcolourinthefibre

communitybecausethey’resounder-represented.I startedthePOC

(personofcolour)designersandcrafterslistonmyblog

http://www.jeanettesloan.wordpress.com,andamcurrentlyworkingon

turningit intoa stand-aloneresourcewhereeveryonecanfindtheir

workandalsobuyfinishedprojectsfromthem.I’malsoworking

ona numberofexcitingdesigncollaborationsbutcan’tgiveany

moredetailsthanthatjustyet.You’lljusthavetokeepaneyeonmy

Instagramfeedtofindoutmore!

GOOD READ

A wallof

inspiration

inJeanette’s

studio

Jeanette’sMaidaVale

drapedcardifromIssue

135 ofTheKnitter

Jeanette’s designs combine

elements of hand-embroidery,

beading and knitting

MOREINFO

VisitJeanette’swebsiteatwww.jeanettesloandesign.comorfollow

heronhersocialmediaplatforms:Instagram@jeanettesloan,

Twitter:@jeanettesloanandalsoFacebookJeanetteSloanDesign.

YoucanalsofindJeanetteonRavelry,justsearchforJetsy.

Jeanette’s working space
in her studio in Hove

Words by Colette Earley