My earliest memories of a deep relationship with fibre arts come from my paternal Irish grandmother, Margaret Isabelle Patterson, affectionately known as Belle. Granny taught me and my sisters to knit, crochet, sew, and hook rugs. For many years I had to place dreams of creating my own weaving/fibre arts studio on a shelf while working and creating a home for my family in Richmond, BC, and had only scattered moments for spinning, weaving, sewing, and knitting.

Many years and adventures later, and now as a widow, retired to the beautiful paradise of Sandy Hook in Sechelt, BC, my dreams have survived their shelf life. Having built a beautiful new cottage, I now have a lovely separate weaving studio where I can finally step forward and take a rightful place in my tribe of fibre artists along with the Sunshine Coast Spinners and Weavers Guild and our Fibreshed project.

Now as a grandmother myself, I think of Granny each time I use my hands to create something beautiful, and this is why I call my home and weaving studio La Belle Cottage.