Jacki teaches knitting online and in person in Bristol at her lovely yarn store, called No Frills Knitting.  She put her ETA grant to good use, upgrading her website and commissioning professional photos to showcase her designs.

She was awarded an ETA in November 2022 by the Alumnae Advisory Group who were impressed by the initiative she showed when setting up her knitting business while on maternity leave and by the fact that 10% of all sales goes to Bristol-based perinatal mental health charity Bluebell Care.

Jacki suffered from postnatal depression after the birth of her second son, exacerbated by the lockdowns, which began when he was seven months old. She was supported by Bluebell Care and credits them for helping her get through an incredibly difficult period: “I will be singing their praises for the rest of my life.” 

She adds: “Knitting and mental health are good bedfellows. I’ve long believed in the soothing power of knitting. I think it’s the combination of repetitive movement being enough to calm me down, with the sense of achievement from actually making something… So if I can help other women feel better by donating some of my sales, then I’m going to.”

Her easy-to-follow knitting patterns are professionally tech-edited and thoroughly test knitted before publication and are all size-inclusive with adult garment designs graded up to at least a 62in bust. Her classes aim to help knitters increase their confidence and learn new skills

Jacki concludes: “The ETA has been a huge help as I finally have a website and photos that reflect the amount of effort and work that I put into making high quality, professional patterns. I’m very grateful to LEH for the award and for believing in my small business!”

You can find out more about Jacki's knitting patterns and shop here:

Website: https://thewoollybadger.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewoollybadger

To see Jackie’s full ETA report, please click here: ETA 2022 report