In what decade were you born?
I’m an early 70’s baby 🙂

Where are you from, and what brought you to London?
I’m from Southern Italy, from a town called Taranto, in Puglia, which has become a very popular destination among British people, but was totally unknown when I arrived in London in 2005.We came here for my husband’s job, he is a University professor.

How and when did you learn to knit?
I learnt to knit as a child, when I was 8 and I had Measles so I had to stay in bed for quite a few days. I learnt from my mum and my grandmother but the true knitter in the family, the person that always had a project on was my untie Mina. She’s my mum’s elder sister. Her knitting was amazing and run through her needle so fast. I was mesmerised! I was told, in one of the stories of my childhood that she used to knit socks and vests for the entire family during the war, only using old umbrellas sticks as needles. She was only 12, imagine that!

What was your first project?
A jumper for one of my Barbies which ended up having one short sleeve and one very long one, ahah!

Have you ever had a complete knitting disaster?
I started knitting a coatigan for my eldest just before she was born…I gave away the yarn last month…she is 23. I think that I started it a couple of times, but never really liked the yarn or the colour (yellow, but not in a nice shade I suppose!)

What is the project you are most proud of?
I have more than one, I think: Between Petals Pullover, by Teti Lutsak. I knitted it for myself, but my eldest claimed it as she loved it so much as soon a finished knitting it! I used Garthenor No 1 and Hillesvåg Tinde :). Aloft shawl by Bekah Knits, from 52 Weeks of Shawls – it’s a huge lace shawl, with very little instructions and only a chart to knit from, so it wasn’t the easiest to work out! It was a sample knit and I don’t own it, but still very proud of it and of managing not only the chart, but the 500 plus stitches on the needles!I am also very proud of all my projects knitted with Nutiden unspun yarn.

A moment of epiphany?
When I worked out how to read the chart of Aloft Shawl

What does Knit With Attitude mean to you (as a shop or an idea or both, you choose)?
I discovered KWA during the pandemic, via the virtual knit nights, and these soon became a regular appointment, unmissable as they helped me feel less isolated. They became a very important part of my world and contributed to my revived passion for knitting. And when the shop reopened and I could visit, that too became more and more part of my knitting world, constantly nourishing my passion for ethically produced wool and expanding the relationship with the knitting community.

What is your role in the shop – and when can we find you there?
I am the Saturday shop manager…and you can find me there on Saturdays :)!

What is the best thing about working in a yarn shop?
Spending time with the yarn and imagining all the new projects I could knit and when new yarn populates the shelves, it’s really fun! But mainly talking and advising customers, in particular those who want to learn more, know more and ask many questions (the good ones!). 

What is the worst thing?
I cannot think of one…or maybe, not being able to buy everything in it, ahah! Jokes apart, sometimes customers can be a bit demanding, but I am fine with challenges.

If you were to choose only one – what would be your favourite yarn in the shop?
Easy question – it’s Hillesvåg 

What are you currently working on, and why did you choose this project?
I have just finished Hilpu Tea, a test knit for Meiju, a Finnish designer (I don’t have the pictures of the FO, but I have attached a couple of the WIP). and I am test knitting a hat for the new upcoming publication of John Arbon Textiles, it’s a secret test. I do a lot of test knitting, but I’m usually attracted by the intricacy of a pattern, I like lace and originally constructed yokes or motifs, and I like a challenge. I mainly knit sweaters and shawls, and sometimes hats.