Social. Crafty. Positive. Hardworking.
As someone who has enjoy knitting and crocheting face to face in one or other of the groups around Canberra or admiring and getting inspiration from the Facebook page I am grateful to Amy that she did a knitting course to learn how to do this properly and that she decided to stay in Canberra.
Amy is a talented knitted and crocheter who alternates her craft activities or her wrists and thumbs ache, hurt even. ‘One of the things about growing old’ she tells me. I am not sure just how old Amy is but from where I am standing she looks youthful. Sitting in a cafe in Dickson sipping her green tea, her red curls bouncing as she talks, she looks a picture of health. She is generous with her time and her the things she tells me.
Amy’s nana taught her how to knit one winter in Western Australia. The same project, a scarfe, was brought out each winter over about 5 years, until it was finished. It was not until she got to Canberra she learnt how to knit properly, completing a course, paid for by her husband. She wanted to learn how to do it the right way.
To really bed down her new knowledge and to able to share the highs and lows of knitting she started a Meet Up group in Canberra her recently adopted home. The group attracted a number of people who also wanted to share their knowledge, learn new techniques and get inspiration from others. The group did and still do cater for all abilities, all personalities and forms of knitting and crochet. Amy learnt that having one consistent person at the Meet Ups each time helped to grow the group. It was not until Meet Up introduced a fee that the online version moved to Facebook. ‘I created my own village’ Amy tells me. She also admits that it took a while to get there, but the group(s) are all populated with friendly, kind and supportive people who have craft as a focus in their lives. No one insists on the social aspect; you can be as anonymous or present as you want. Sometimes just sitting among other people who enjoy what you do is enough. ‘The being sociable is optional’.
Amy moved to Canberra with a boyfriend. He got a job with the government. ‘I did not even know where Canberra was’ she tells me. He was the only person she knew when she first arrived. Her family did not want her to go. An older relative gave her some advice about ‘liveing your own life’ which she heard. It was a leap of faith. She had a job too. The relationship did not last but Amy’s love of Canberra did. When the two of them parted company the people she had met at her work jumped in offering a place to stay for a while until she got on her feet. She did not have to ask for assistance; it was offered. She gave Canberra three months without her partner. A community gathered around her when she needed it.
The best work I have seen of Amy’s was a teal dress made of cotton. Shaped, long and lacy. Amy dismisses this as when she entered it in the Canberra Show it did not win a prize and got ‘negative comments’. The best work Amy thinks she has done was for a family member, her Nana. A shawl made of 2 ply with some lace work. When finished she vowed never to work with 2ply again as it is so slow, a pledge she has honoured. Her Nana both loved the shawl and appreciated the time, work and effort that had gone into it. She showed it off to anyone who would look. Amy comments, ‘it takes another crafter to appreciate handmade work. It is only someone who makes things who knows how much effort goes into anything’. She is not wrong.
Amy knits and crochets around her other commitments; work, parenting, volunteering and all the things that go with a household. Finding time for everything can be a challenge but we agree that people who have hobbies have an extra dimension and layer in their lives. People who just work have only their work as a focus, but people who craft or have another life encompassing hobby, have work as a just one part of their lives. Crafting balances out life.
Once Amy owned her own place her mother passed on some of her treasured possessions; wooden elephants. Amy brought as many as she could back from her visit, leaving just a couple with her mum. Each of the elephants has a story that was passed on with the gift. Just like articles made by hand, treasured possessions mean nothing without the story.
We end our time together with her telling me how much time she is volunteering to the Canberra Show this year. She wants to find out about the judging, how the judges operate, what they look for and hopes this will inform her own knitting and crochet for the future. Tips and tricks are always appreciated. Like many good crafters Amy looks for ways to improve, extend what she does and be inspired by others.
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