Crocheting her way to happiness

ONE stitch at a time, owner of Blossom Blankets Emma-Lee Winters has been crocheting her way through the pandemic.

A knitter since the age of 16, Ms Winters said it’s always been something she loved to do.

“I have cerebral palsy so sometimes I can’t walk, and I shake a lot so I started crocheting,” she said. “I learnt how to do granny squares from my grandma and from there got a bit obsessed.

“I shake a little bit so it’s annoying but I don’t find it hard because it’s calming.”

Although crocheting came naturally to her, Ms Winters said she hadn’t thought to turn it into a business until a friend of hers floated the idea.

“In the middle of 2019, a friend asked me if I could make some baby blankets, so I did and she said I needed to start selling them,” she said.

“A lot of friends and family were putting in their orders straight away.

“I didn’t become an official business until March this year and then the website came two or three weeks after, I did it all myself.”

Not only are her colourful creations beautiful to look at, Ms Winters takes great care to create Blossom Blanket’s with love using locally sold yarn where she can.

“A lot of my yarn is from the local store in Sebastopol, So Darn Special, Gayle has been really lovely,” she said.

“I take custom orders, I make orders to buy including things like ear warmers, shawls, face washers, make up removers and ear savers as well.

“All the ear savers are just using scraps and random buttons because I have a massive button collection and have become my biggest seller this year.”

What started as a hobby, Ms Winters said quickly became much more than that and even became a bit of a lifeline during lockdown.

“With COVID, crocheting has been a really good thing to keep myself busy and keep other people happy, I just love everything in yarn,” she said.

“For me, it started as a hobby, then a business and it might grow, who knows, I’m just doing what I love.”

To order a custom or current crochet piece, visit blossomblankets.com.au.