Meet the designer: Amanda Berry

Name: Amanda Berry

Speciality: Toys

Blog: www.fluffandfuzzknitting.wordpress.com

Favourite yarn: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (I always stock up when it is on sale)

Guilty pleasure: Cadbury Creme Eggs! 

Tea or coffee: Ooh, tea when I am knitting, coffee to get me up in the morning!

Favourite song: A-ha, Take on Me (I was a child of the 80s, it had the best video ever, and I am still in love with Morten Harket)

Perfect day: I would be in New York, my favourite city and the place where I got married. I would visit Central Park Zoo in the morning, have lunch in Little Italy, head to Purl Soho in the afternoon, and spend the evening having a picnic in Battery Park.

Knitting since: My Mum taught me the basics when I was about six or seven… so about 30 years (oh gosh!) But it was very much an “on-off” affair until about five years ago when I was seriously bitten by the knitting bug again, and then started knitting in every spare minute! The internet played a big part, and has changed knitting: it is so easy now to find helpful tutorials and videos on YouTube if you get stuck. It has made knitting so much more accessible to knitters of all ages and abilities. And with getting knitting magazines straight to your phone or tablet, knitting really is moving with the times.

First knitting project: A really wobbly scarf for my teddy bear when I was a girl, it was a really long scarf as I didn’t know how to cast off!

Best knitting memory: Knitting on a train (I often KIP – knit in public) and then giving an impromptu knitting lesson to a fellow passenger.

Best knitting tip: Knitting isn’t a race! I like to take my time, especially when it comes to finishing. Sometimes you can be under pressure to finish a project, and that can take the enjoyment out of it. But take your time and enjoy it, cherish every step, take on new challenges, and if you start hating a project - put it down and move onto something else for a while. This is a hobby, it should be fun!

Favourite pattern designed for Let’s Knit: I think it would be Gabriella Angel - I was knitting her in the summer, so it was really hard to get into the Christmas spirit. But I put on a few Christmas playlists to get me into the festive spirit in July and that helped!

Lace, cables or colourwork: Colourwork

If I could knit for anyone, I would knit… Alfred Hitchcock a flock of birds; or a new scarf for Doctor Who.

Projects usually in progress: At least three! And usually one more that lingers unfinished for about a year…

Biggest knitting disaster: Too many to mention! But probably making a teddy bear in fluorescent green for a friend’s St Patrick’s Day present which looked so scary I had to bin it! I still shudder just thinking about it.

I will be celebrating Yarn Shop Day by… I am hoping to find a local store that is participating, and really just look forward to meeting some local knitters again! Knitters natter better!