Our Knitting Artists
VIRGINIA
Virginia is a beautiful, open hearted woman who lights up the room wherever she goes. She throws herself into each and every task she takes on and she knits like a dream. She is an inspirational person who will happily and without hesitation, share or give away anything, if it adds to someone else's life.
Virginia grew up in a small rural area, in the Matabeleland province, in Zimbabwe. She received only very basic education, and lived through the horrors of government sanctioned genocide as a child. At the age of 18, she arrived in Johannesburg seeking employment as a domestic worker. She has been employed through the years, earning a minimal wage.
Virginia helps to support her three children and her two grandchildren.
ALICE
Alice is the self proclaimed, 'Gogo' (grandmother) of our knitters.
With meticulous attention to detail, she creates works of art with her needles and yarn. She has an amazing sense of humour, an infectious optimism and she can always elicit a smile from those around her.
Alice's childhood was spent in a rural village in the Transkei, helping to look after her many siblings, doing household chores, tending cattle and
erratically attending school.
She works part time as a cleaner in Johannesburg, and supplements her
meagre income with money earned using her impressive knitting skills.
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MARGARET
Margaret is an amazingly talented knitter and crocheter,
(apparently that really is the term for someone who crochets)
Margaret grew up in a rural village, Shithuve, in Limpopo, South Africa.
She received only very basic education and left school at the age of 15
to start working to help support her family.
She currently works as a security guard in Johannesburg, for a very low wage. After hours, in between caring for her children and her grandchildren,
she knits for Quillan Studio and she also crochets beautiful and creative amagurumi animals which she sells outside a local church on Sundays.
The knitting and crocheting are a satisfying outlet for her creative streak and the extra income goes a long way to help her make ends meet.