I am the sole designer and hand knitter at Niftyknits - it's all down to me and me alone.

One day back in 2009 I watched cute little meerkats in the TV show Meerkat Manor and thought to myself "I could knit one of those!"

I raided my stash for meerkat-colour-yarn , set to work and created a tiny seated meerkat. It took me a few more days before they could stand, but one morning I woke up with a lightbulb moment and the standing meerkat joined the range. A fellow Etsian suggested I add clothes - at first I said no, but soon changed my mind and now the costumed meerkats are just as popular, whether it's a well-known character or maybe you'd like a meerkat modeled on yourself?

I also design and knit other creatures, or what I call "not a meerkat". I think their secret is their cuteness, the character and humour that somehow shows - and of course, the fact that you just can't get them anywhere except from me!

I didn't start out planning to knit meerkats, however.

I've always knitted.

Clothes for my dolls with my grandmother back in the 60s.

Sweaters for my children and husband in the 70s and 80s, and then I stopped knitting during a busy period as a parent, studying for a degree and starting a new career as a primary teacher.

I took up knitting again as a stress-buster and began to write my own patterns. The day job got left behind, and one day I saw somebody on facebook showing off the meerkat she'd bought from me. Her friend asked her if she had knitted it...and her answer was that she'd bought it "from a professional meerkat knitter" - me!

From that day, I answer "What do you do?" by saying "I design and knit meerkats."

The rest is history. My meerkats now come in pretty much any costume you can think of (you name it, I'll knit it) and have been featured in a variety of magazines and even hit the big-time by going on national TV!

If you can't find the knitted critter of your dreams in my shop, feel free to suggest your own design - I haven't been beaten yet!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/niftyknits