Who's behind My Dear Poppet?

Hi, I'm Angi, and I'm the mum and knitter behind My Dear Poppet. I live in Berlin with my lovely husband and my three wonderful little children. You can usually find me at the playground, the knitting needles peeking out of the nappy bag, coffee cup in one hand, knitting needles in the other.

What My Dear Poppet means:

We are an English-German family, and not a day goes by without calling our children Poppet, an old English nickname for "little darling," just like our English grandmothers and great-grandmothers. My Dear Poppet means "my dear little treasure." If I were to write a letter to my children, it would begin with those three words.

How My Dear Poppet came about:

It was 2019 when I made the very first patterns. I was pregnant with my second child, my little daughter.

I grew up surrounded by handcrafts, creative minds, and entrepreneurial spirits. My grandmother, sister, and father had a huge influence on me, as they were always creating. I often stayed overnight at my grandmother's and watched her spin yarn and knit all kinds of clothing. We grandchildren received socks, gloves, and sweaters with horses, cats, and motorcycles on them. My own father started his first business at a very young age, and it was from him that I learned my understanding of problem-solving and the willingness to take calculated risks that goes into running your own business. And last but not least, my sister sprinkled her artistic fairy dust on me, sharing in all the different kinds of artistic expressions she discovered during our youth. This passion still connects us today.

When I began to knit:

When I was pregnant with my first child in 2017, and he wasn't born until two weeks (!!) after his due date, I spent a lot of time in the hospital with endless CTG scans. I still remember the couch there very well. It was very comfortable, but I also struggled with some anxiety and nervousness. There, on that couch, I knitted my very first baby blanket. The midwife joked, "He won't come until his blanket is finished."

The blanket never got finished, but knitting gave me a way to calm my nerves and look forward to my very first child. While the needles clacked, my mind wandered, and, quite incidentally, something beautiful was created in my hands.

When he was a baby, I knitted for him from head to toe, making hats, jackets, and even trousers for him. Most of the time, I just started knitting without a pattern. Only later did I realize the value of well-written instructions that guide you step by step through the process and guarantee a good fit.

Why children’s knitting is more than just a hobby for me:

Knitting for my children is like wrapping them in my deepest embrace. Knowing they are wrapped in natural fibers, shaped by my own hands, reassures me that a small part of me is still wrapped around them, even when I can't be with them.