Anne-Michelle Phelan,

Thread Softly Designs

My first pair of knitting needles came into my life at the tender age of six and that was it, I was enthralled! I had felt the spark of the magic that is turning a ball of yarn into something wearable and I was wasn’t going to stop.

That is, until I became a teenager and it wasn’t too cool to knit so my love got packed away for a little while. It wasn’t until my work took me back in the direction of textiles through weaving that I rediscovered the joy of yarn. Although my background is in Fine Art and Education, picking up my needles again I knew I’d felt my calling. So last year I decided that I was going to jump in with all my energy and go for it designing patterns.

I love places and skills that connect with the past, I live in a 200 year old farmhouse in rural Wexford and when I knit or crochet by the fire I feel a part of something that transcends generations. And yet times have changed and our lives have become fast, but anything worthwhile takes time and knitting and crochet help us slow the pace right back down (and you end up with something nice to wear at the end!). I split my time pretty evenly between crocheting and knitting and really do love them both (no favourites!).

Sustainable fashion, slow crafts and working with natural fibres in muted colours is important to me. Through my textile work I learned about plant and naturals dyes, the colours are amazing and all look great together so I think I’m just drawn to those hues now. My aim as a designer is to create modern, wearable and comfortable knitting and crochet items.

I’ve worked with Crochet Now and Simply Crochet magazines and you can find my patterns on Ravelry. To keep up to date with all yarny goings on you can follow me on Instagram.