Legacy
14th July 2023
In a recent issue of Country Style Magazine, an article titled ‘Woven with Love’ caught our attention, so we read on with interest. The article opened with the recollection Anna Brand has of her grandmothers always knitting.
‘As they aged and their hands deteriorated, the knits changed, but it didn’t alter the love that went into every stitch.’
Whilst Anna grew up on a farm with mixed merino sheep in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Anna found her career niche in neonatal intensive care and started working in the ‘big smoke’ at a hospital in Melbourne. It was here that knitting wove its way back into Anna’s life.
‘Premature babies and sick newborns in the NICU would get so cold, whether during transport from another hospital or just being out for cuddles that armies of amazing knitters donated the tiniest beanies, cardigans and booties.’
After Anna welcomed her first daughter into her life, she stepped away from her NICU role and returned to farm life alongside her husband who worked in rural Western Victoria. It was here the idea for ‘The Woolly Brand’ was sparked.
Building on both the legacy of her grandmothers’ knitting and the time she spent surrounded by merino sheep growing up, Anna launched a company that makes high quality knitted pieces for infants and children. The irony of this career change is not lost on Anna as she closed the article by saying, ‘At times as a child I just wished for a new ‘cool’ piece of clothing, not another knitted piece. Yet, as an adult, I understand how lucky I was. I appreciate them so much more and look back with nostalgia.’
As we read about Anna’s journey from recipient, to user, to creator of things crafted with needle and thread, we couldn’t help but consider not only those whose legacy we inherit, but the legacy we’re creating for the next generation as we hope to instill the same passion for all things stitching that we hold so tightly.
Where did our love of needle and thread originate? Are we planting seeds of stitching that will bear fruit in generations to come?
We’d love to hear about your legacy of needle and thread, either where it came from or how you’re leaving an inheritance for the next generation. Email your story to news@inspirationsstudios.com, we can’t wait to share in your journey.
