I was curious to learn crochet at an early age because I saw my maternal grandmother and great-aunt making quilts and other things. I learnt the basic stitches from them.
Later, around the age of 15, I learned to knit with one of my parents’ neighbours. I made my first jumper then. I was always curious to learn other handicrafts. I learnt sewing, Arraiolos, made macramé bracelets, made various paintings in cross stitch, half stitch and embroidery. With the pandemic, I learnt about the amigurumi technique, which comes from Japan and involves knitting or crocheting dolls similar to soft toys. I’ve been testing and adapting various patterns and have managed to create some original dolls.
I’m very pleased with the positive reactions to my work, the detail and the quality of the threads. I work with cotton from Portuguese brands. And then I thought I’d go further and relate this technique to my Algarve roots.
I’m currently developing and imagining pieces of some Algarvian symbols. I’d like to contribute a little to the preservation and promotion of regional handicrafts and arouse people’s interest in them.