Whitley Bay, Newcastle

classes: Tufting • Textiles

Hi, I'm Elaine and I am the proud owner of Liberty Lodge Crafts. I specialise in punch needle embroidery. I have crafted as long as I can remember and am always making or painting something.

I first started doing punch needle embroidery while working as a craft instuctor in a care home for disabled adults. I was struggling to find simple patterns that would be suitable for the girls to manage so started designing my own. During this time I was also undergoing treatment for breast cancer and found that doing punch needle embroidery helped me to relax and take my mind off the treatments. I found it simple enough not to be mentally demanding, but interesting enough for me to focus on. The girls that I taught also enjoyed learning a new craft that they could do with support.

I have always enjoyed craft fairs and have been making and selling things and attending fairs for years. I found that people kept asking me what I was doing as I sat at the side of my stall punching away so I made up a few kits before my next show and they sold before lunchtime.

So here I am 5 years later, having left the care home to do this full time. I am now free of cancer and have built up a small but thriving business which is still growing and I consider myself blessed that I have found something that I love to do that can pay the bills.

I now do the bigger craft fairs with a larger audience but still sit at the side of my stall punching away and encouraging people to have a go and have recently started doing in person workshops.

I love what I do and am never happier than when peoples curiousity draws them over to my stand so they can see for themselves what a lovely, simple and relaxing craft this is.

Classes