Hi everyone! Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Varre (she/her) and I’m the newest member of the Knit with Attitude team, both in terms of how long I’ve been here and in terms of how long I’ve been knitting. I’m a South African born and raised (an 80s baby), but I moved to London 8 years ago. I was teaching secondary school Maths in Johannesburg at the time, and I knew that I wanted to explore the world a little bit more before I settled into life as a professional grump… I mean teacher. My original plan was to go teach Maths at international schools in Japan, but as happens, I met and fell for an Englishman at a family wedding, and so, after a couple of years of long distance, I relocated to London instead. That particular relationship didn’t pan out, but my love of London kept me here.
I was taught to knit as a young girl, but never attempted a project with it and it wasn’t anything more than the motions of a knit stitch, which didn’t seem to take hold in a young mind obsessed with dinosaurs. It wasn’t until 2021, in the break between lockdowns, that my partner’s 92-year-old nana reminded me how to knit and taught me how to purl and cast on. I had just come out, to myself as well as to most of my family and friends, as trans, and as a naturally anxious person, knitting became a balm (and a bit of an obsession).
Right at the beginning, I knew I didn’t want to knit a scarf, or any kind of beginner project. I took a trip into Knit with Attitude to find some yarn, and I was convinced by Susan to try knitting Hilja wrist warmers by Aleks Byrd, and thus, my first project was knit in the round, with some colour work and roosimine. It was a fantastic knit and set me on a spate of ambitious projects, my favourites of which are a brioche stitch hat (BriocheSis by Raina Kruus) and a lacework cowl (Yrisson by Skeinwalker). There were a lot of stumble but each one taught me a valuable skill/technique in error correction and made me more fearless for the next project. I highly recommend ambition and learning through mistakes!
Because of it’s central place in my beginnings as a knitter, Knit with Attitude has always held a special place for me, so when a job came up, I jumped at the opportunity to work here.
I’m currently working on a blanket with a simple lace pattern in a variegated green and purple yarn that I chose because it reminded me of the calathea plant. But I’ve already got my next three projects lined up (first of which is the Summer Light crop by Julie Knits in Paris using the gorgeous Black Elephant suri alpaca, which is probably my favourite yarn in the shop at the moment).
I’m ecstatic that Maya took a chance on me and I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you! I work Saturdays, so please come in and say hi.
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