I recently caught up with the wonderful Eva Christie from Eva Christie Hand Knitting (you remember the Perth Yarn Bomb I'm sure... There are still little bursts of colour round lamposts to make you smile!). This week though, the chat was all about her new project to help people create unique, wearable pieces of art.
And when I say people, I mean you, me and all the other folks who'd never have thought it possible.
Eva specialises in creating hand-knitted contemporary accessories using traditional knittting and stitches. She tell sme she has always enjoyed being creative, and loves a whole variety of arts; knitting though, has been with Eva since her mum taughter her at the tender age of seven!
"I know some people think its an old fashioned thing to do, but I've never seen it as being lik ethat. Its more a way of life - a post apocalyptic life skill!
And it is her childhood memories of an idyllic life spent in the glens and sea lochs of the West Coast of Scotland that give Eva her inspiration for the beautiful accessories she creates today. I am a bit of a fan, with her fingerless mittens in ochre and oranges seeing me right up to May this year (and a few days in June!).
Eva primarily works with luxurious, natural, limited edition and vintage yarns all of which support her environmental values and commitment to the Slow Fashion movement. In the past few months she has stepped out from her desk, picked up her needles and made serious plans to turn her life-long passion into a business that can help others.
Her big, colourful plan is to guide people through creating these fantastic pieces of wearable art through theraputic knitting, workshops, knitting kits and yarn parties. She also consults on community art projects, and as I mentioned before, was the driving force for last year's
Perth Yarn Bomb. A never ending list of hand-stitched talents.
"I don't like to type-cast myself, or label myself particularly. I prefer to by judged by my actions towards others and by my the items I create. I set up Eva Christie Hand Knitting on a very small scale a few years ago, primarily as a way of funding what was then my hobby. I have a degenerative health problem, and in the last few years I have had to leave my full-time job.
i had to accept that I'm unlikely to be able to return to traditional 9-5 employment but at 34 I am nowhere near ready to give up on life! So, I decided to take hold of the situation and make my passion work for me. I am so excited to be sitting looking at my own creative business!"
Eva has a pop-up shop that gives people the opportunity to see her work and get an idea of how quality hand knitted products are created. She is collaborating with a couple of local sheep farmers and independent dyers to source her own wool which, as the home of the #PerthLoveFest, we LOVE!
"It's important to me to support other small scale artisans - and it's amazing that some of my knitting kits and accessories are purely Perthshire."
Eva will be hosting a series of pop up shops and workshops at Sub Rosa Patisserie & Coffee Lounge in South St Johns Place. The workshops start in July and will continue, one a month, until December. Find out more by visiting our Events Pages.
I plan to did out the needles she gifted me during the Yarn Bomb fun and get along for some relaxation and chat. I may see you there, clicking away while you wrap yourself up in Eva's gorgeous colourful dream.
Workshop One - 24th August - 30th August
Workshop One - 28th September - 4th October
Workshop One - 26th October - 1st November
Workshop One - 23rd November - 29th November
Workshop One - 14th December - 20th December
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