Say Hello to Pam..

Yep its that time again folks, i’ve been out and about with my little notepad causing mischief amongst the folksy folk and today I want to introduce you to Pam. Lets sit back with a cuppa and cake (Pam would) and find out about the lady behind Averilpam.

How would you introduce yourself
I'm Pam Southernwood, aka averilpam

You make jewellery, bags and scarves, what do you enjoy making the most and why?
Well I could answer that question differently from time to time. at the moment I'm loving jewellery making and am feeling inspired to continue experimenting with different techniques etc. But spinning will always be a favourite, weaving is a way to use the lovely yarns that result - I'm pretty useless at knitting and crochet.

How would you describe your style?
That's a tricky one, I've found inspiration from many styles and eras. I think most of my jewellery is fairly classic but I'm starting to get a little more experimental and modern.

You've been interested in crafts all your life, how did you first get interested?
My mum used to make me clothes and I learnt to sew on her treadle sewing machine, making clothes for myself - mini skirts in the '60s! Sadly when she moved from her house into a granny flat with my sister, I didn't have room to take it. All through school art was my favourite subject and I did a year at art college age 17.

What was the very first craft you tried?
I learnt to weave when I lived, very briefly, with friends in a small crofters cottage in Scotland. A friend was a weaver and I used to go and watch her thread up her large floor loom and she taught me the basics. I obtained a small frame, and some wool and started doing some tapestry weaving. Several years later I was taught to spin and bought my first wheel. At one point I did have a large floor loom, but I moved around a lot and had to give it up. Since then I've stuck to small table looms.

Where can we buy your goodies?
I have a Folksy shop and a website too, I did set it up as a shop but wasn't selling anything so when sales started to take off on Folksy I moved all the stock from there to Folksy, now it just has a gallery with a selection of items, as well as a page about me, contact details, links etc.

When and where did you first start selling your goodies?
I used to sell to friends, and also made to order for friends, then I started to do some stalls with varying amounts of success. Then just over a year ago I found out about sites like Folksy and decided to set up shop. I had several shops to begin with but I just couldn't make enough stuff to stock them all adequately so I eventually decided to stick with Folksy. Mainly because it's British, and because it's well organised and the forums are so friendly. That's a big part for me, interacting with other craftspeople/artists is so important.

Do you have a blog we can follow you on?
Sadly no. I'd love to but I wouldn't want to do it unless I could do it justice and make it interesting which would involve a fair bit of time and energy. I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue and my energy is very limited. I need most of it for making things!

Any tips for those just learning to weave?
Mainly start simply - maybe make a small frame (or use an old picture frame without any glass.) Just wind wool round tightly to make a warp then experiment. Get some books out of the library, look online for tutorials then decide if you want to invest in a proper loom and decide what you want to be able to make in order to decide what size to get. The loom I use the most is an Ashford Knitters Loom - it's called that because you can use fairly thick wool in it - I use it for my homespun which I usually make too thick for the other loom I have - and it makes good scarves.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not crafting?
I love photography and my garden and I love to combine the two with visits to open gardens in the spring and summer. I love to meet up with friends for tea and cake in the afternoon!

What is your happiest memory?
Probably seeing each of my grandchildren for the first time would probably be the two happiest moments.

If you could have dinner with anyone (alive or dead) who would it be and why?
I think it would have to be Jane Austen - I just love her books!

If you could have one wish what would it be?
To see my grandchildren grow up and become a great-granny!

What is your favourite place and why?
This is something that keeps changing. My daughter lives in the USA, so wherever she lives becomes my favourite place!

Favourite movie?
Picnic at hanging rock.

You enjoy photography, what is your favourite photograph and why?
I have a few but I think my most favourite is one I took in Oregon, it's of the Columbia River Gorge from a lovely viewpoint. The mountains in the distance are in Washington State on the other side of the river. It was my first visit to the USA and we did lots of sightseeing, I fell in love with Oregon.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I was never sure, but just knew that I loved art and wanted to do art or photography.

And Finally.........

Tell us one thing we would not know about you?

Up until a few years ago I always had at least one dog, at one point two dogs and a cat and I really miss them.

Thanks Pam x

That's me signing out until Next Time..