Hello everyone! I was delighted to be asked by Jo to share my story with you.

I started whiteheartjayne about two years ago, after a friend of mine asked me why I kept giving away the baby blankets I was making for free! The name of my business came to me quite easily – it is a play on words to include my name and the home of Tottenham Hotspur, my favourite football team (White Hart Lane), in the part of London where my roots are.

The name also allowed me to use white hearts as part of my branding.

I am an older member of the Made By Mums community, in that I have three grown up sons and am now immersed in the joys of being a Granny. My sons are my greatest and proudest achievement and my grandson has brought joy into my life again, as well as providing me with a guinea pig for my crafting efforts!

A change of focus…

The focus of my work has recently changed from blue to pink, as Francis’s baby sister is due any day now and his new baby girl cousin is due in July.

Exciting times for a family where I was the last baby girl to arrive!

My crafting journey started when my Granny Angela took it upon herself to teach me to knit and crochet. She was Northern Irish, 4’10” and full of energy.

She was completely unfazed by the fact that I was left handed and had preferences for outrageous colour combinations even back then. She told me that crochet was a dying art and was adamant that the skill should be passed down through the family.

I intend to teach my grandchildren to crochet when they are old enough too.

A crafting passion rekindled

My love for crafting was rekindled recently when I had to take a step back from my long career as a teacher, following a nasty accident resulting in a badly broken leg.

I have found that knitting, crocheting and patchwork sewing have their own therapeutic and healing properties and give me a peace I have never known before.

As part of my recovery, I walk my little dog (slowly) through the Buckinghamshire countryside in the mornings and plan the day’s activities.

And today’s crafting forecast is…

Am I in a knitting mood, a crochet mood or a sewing mood? 🤔

Today, I knitted some booties and yesterday I worked on a Peter Rabbit Patchwork quilt for my granddaughters.

I wonder what mood I will be in tomorrow?