About

Hi! My name is Nicola, welcome to my Little Craft Room!

I started A Little Craft Room in March of 2020 when the world shut down, and I wanted a way to share my knitting and crochet and still find a way to connect with people. I’m honestly a little blown away by everything that has happened since, I never expected it to turn into what it is today!

My crafting history

I was taught to knit at around 6 years old, and I imagine I was something of a disappointment to two extraordinarily talented grandmothers. I could form the knit and purl stitches, but 6-year-old Nicola didn’t really see what the big deal was, and my knitting skills stayed at that for a good while. My mother is a seamstress specialising in wedding dress creation and alteration, so while the knitting didn’t progress much, she made sure I could wield a sewing needle and machine with relative confidence.

I took to cross-stitch quite happily and that was a casual hobby for several years, and then in 2014 I decided I wanted to try my hand at crochet (Pinterest has a lot to answer for). I received my first set of crochet hooks and a beginners book for Christmas that year, and within a few hours I knew this would become a significant part of my life.

After several years of crochet I felt the urge to try knitting again, and in 2018 I started to slowly refresh my memory and push myself to casting on and off. I now adore both crafts equally and usually like to have one of each on the go at any given time.

Becoming a designer

I didn’t really have a point where I decided I wanted to become a pattern designer, for me it happened very organically. I owned a hot water bottle without a cover, and had the idea of making my own. It turned out that even in that brief moment of decision, I had created an incredibly specific vision about what I wanted this cover to look like, and inevitably I was so picky about it that I couldn’t find a pattern I liked. It seemed like an obvious choice – if I knew so clearly what I wanted it to look like I should just make it exactly like that. The Morwenna Hot Water Bottle Cover was born, and I was so proud of it I decided to write it up as a pattern. A couple of friends agreed to test the pattern for me, and she was published in 2021.

Since then I’ve released several more crochet patterns and begun branching into knitting patterns as well. I particularly enjoy playing with interesting textures and stitch patterns, and it has been remarked several times that you have to really look to check which of my patterns are knitting and which are crochet!

My other life

As my main job, I’m a secondary science teacher, teaching biology, chemistry, and physics to GCSE level and biology at A-Level. I worked in schools for several years, however I had to leave traditional in-school teaching in 2023 as my health took an unfortunate turn. I love teaching and didn’t want that to be the end, so I began a private tutoring business and have been working as a science tutor ever since. I’m delighted that my health didn’t put an end to my teaching career, and I am extremely passionate about inspiring young people to pursue the sciences. I do miss teaching in schools, particularly the lab work and practical lessons, but on the other hand I now don’t need to risk assess 30 11-year-olds with fire and acid…

Personal

In my personal life, I live in the South West of England with my husband and our sweet rescue greyhound Penny. I am one of those people who has more hobbies than time, including reading, singing, baking, aerial hoop, D&D, and SCUBA diving. I regularly stream on Twitch and do my knitting/crochet live, as well as gaming streams and charity streams.