Today I am absolutely thrilled to have a wonderful person I have been following for quite some time over for a visit on my virtual sofa - Libby @ Truly Myrtle
Welcome on Marigolds' Loft Libby, I hope you are comfortable :)
Please
tell us a bit about yourself and what drew you to your craft.
I’ve
been playing
with yarn since I was a small child after being taught to knit by my
grandmother. My mother knits everyday and I grew up with the idea
that this was a perfectly usual thing to do! I remember making up my
own stitch patterns and experimenting with colourwork when I was
about 11 or 12 but had no notion that this was what I was doing. I
knitted and sewed throughout my teens and early twenties but as my
legal career grew and I traveled, I experimented more with cooking
than crafts. It was with the birth of my first baby in my early
thirties that I rediscovered knitting and sewing and I haven’t
looked back. I began blogging about knitting and sewing in 2012 and
loved how many like-minded people I met from all over the world.
Slowly things have evolved and these days I live in New Zealand with
my husband and our four children aged 14 to 6 and enjoy designing
knitting patterns and making most of my own clothes.
First
you were a blogger and have since excelled at being a Podcaster. Why
did you want to podcast?
Thank
you! I really
enjoy podcasting -
maybe it’s because I enjoy talking! I’d been thinking about
podcasting for a while
before I plucked up the nerve to have a go. I thought it would be a
cool way to reach my followers - there’s something intimate about
speaking directly to people and I really enjoy talking about
knitting, sewing and all things crafty. I never run out of things to
say!
I
have been following your journey for a couple of years and have
watched you grow from strength to strength, what does the future hold
for Truly Myrtle?
It
has been
very fun journey. I started my blog with small children at home all
day long and slowly things have grown as
they’ve headed off to school. I’m not sure what the future holds
for Truly Myrtle, I have a million ideas at any one time, it’s
matter of working out what I can manage to do in the hours I have. I
do tend to be a little optimistic about what I can get accomplished,
so I’m forever chasing fun dreams. Right now I’m really enjoying
designing knitting patterns and I think I’ll be sticking to that
for a while yet!
What
does the Handmade Movement mean to you?
I’ve
always been a maker. My earliest
memories as a small
child involve yarn and glue and scissors and building things. My
parents are both avid makers and we mostly stayed home and made
things throughout my childhood.
Making things is as essential to me as breathing. So, the "handmade
movement" is a funny idea to me in some ways, because I’ve
always lived it. It feels very normal. What is exciting however is
that more people are getting involved - I love bumping into people
that enjoy talking about wool as much as I do or who are crazy
excited about the woodwork they’re doing in their shed. I adore
their passion.
Who
are you most inspired by and why?
Goodness
that’s a tough question. I find inspiration in all sorts of people.
I think I’m most inspired by
people that get on and do stuff and give all sorts of ideas a go.
People who achieve great things one little step at a time in amongst
day to day family life are hugely inspirational to me. I guess that’s
because that’s the kind of life I aspire to.
Where
do you feel most inspired to design?
Definitely
the car. There’s usually too many kids
squabbling while they’re getting ready for school to feel relaxed
in the shower. I should drive more often!
Your
designs are stunning (I have recently cast on your Mindful Shawl and am loving the pattern :)), will you be moving onto bigger
projects or is your niche hats and shawls? I for one would love to
see a Truly Myrtle Cardie :)
Ooh
I’m so excited to be moving to bigger projects! I am
determined to get to grips with garment design this year and I have
two garments that I really need to get finished and released. I have
always been a “cardigan” person so that’s definitely where I’m
headed.
What
is the one Craft tool you couldn't be without?
My
knitting needles. Lots of people claim to be able
to knit on pencils in the absence of needles. Not
me. I love my knitting needles, I’d wait for them.
Are
their designers/artists who have inspired you along the way?
I
majored in art history at University and was completely
swept away by a variety of artists from the modernist
movement. Their irreverence towards to the established
system and their determination to explore shape, colour and dimension
is thrilling.
What
are your inspirations right now?
I’m
hugely inspired
by the colours of New Zealand and the wild, untamed country around
me. The light here is intense and the colours are strong and alive.
There’s nothing wishy-washy about the New Zealand landscape. We
spent a couple of weeks camping in the Coromandel peninsula over the
summer and I’m pretty sure I designed a whole collection in my head
based on the colours and textures of the coastline!
If
you were granted 3 wishes, what would you wish for to advance the
Handmade Movement?
I’d
wish that
everyone would have a go. I firmly believe that creativity is inside
every single one of us. It’s just a matter of figuring out how you
enjoy being creative and feeling the confidence to have a go. I’m
delighted to see a slow return to handmade and crafts so I think my
wish might already be coming true. I’d also wish that people would
wake up to the realities of cheap high street clothing and that
they’d be a bigger focus on arts and crafts in schools.
Thank you so much for taking the time to come and have a little chat with me Libby, it has been an absolute pleasure to have you here.
Where can my readers find you on the web?
You can find me here:
You can find Libby's Podcast on her Website or on your podcast player under Truly Myrtle.
See you soon
x
P.S. If you are a podcaster that would like to come and chat with me, or would like me to watch/hear your podcast, feel free to contact me :)
