She didn't want it anyway. I was about 7 years old and learned to knit by following the tutorials included in the kit. My mother had taught me to crochet before that.

Since then I've been knitting and crocheting for myself, friends and family. It's relaxing and I can do it while watching scary documentaries about the universe destroying itself. My hobby has also gone as far as becoming the subject of my master thesis. I graduated as a furniture designer in 2011 and my thesis was about using knitted fabric as upholstery.

The idea for selling something handmade began with plain boredom. I'm not the type of person who would be able to sit around doing nothing, and I began to feel that I was already making too many things for myself. All that extra knitting energy had to go somewhere.

I design the patterns for all my items myself and draw inspiration from old vintage patterns. It may not show as vintage style, it's more like applying good old techniques to what appeals to me right now. Besides selling finished knits, I also write knitting patterns for small accessories and home decor items. My pattern shop is on Ravelry, and it's called MaireKnits.

The name of my shop, Mairea, comes from my grandmother Maire, who used to knit new socks for me, my siblings and cousins every winter. I want to pass on the warmth.