Made with LOVE

Three women tell us how they enjoy getting crafty at Christmas

- GILLIAN HARVEY

Wherever they are in the world, my kids will get their special stocking fillers

Author Clare Marchant, 65, lives in Norfolk with her husband Des, 65.

As my friends open their tiny packages, they all dissolve into laughter. The crocheted pigs in blankets are a real hit and I hope my dear friends know that they are made with love.

My mum Shelagh was a knitwear designer, and she taught me to knit and crochet at the age of five. When my children were little, I'd make cardigans and blankets, and I crocheted a special blanket for Mum when she died in 2023. But usually I now stick to smaller jobs - half-finished jumpers make me feel under pressure.

When my children Dominic, now 43, Tobias, 41, Laura, 36, Beth, 34, Imogen, 30, and Gregor, 20, were born, I began to knit little animals for their Christmas stockings. Over 40 years on, I'm still making them; to my kids they've become a festive staple. As Tobias and Beth now live in Australia, I don't see them at Christmas.

But wherever they are in the world, they'll get their stocking fillers in time for the big day.

In recent years, I've also begun to make my crocheted gifts for some special friends. Since becoming an author in 2020, I've become close with four other writers locally. We call ourselves the 'famous five', and attend events and signings together. Crocheting gifts for them is my way of saying they are like family.

I'm now making around 30 items each year - a few for each of my loved ones. Once I get going with a new pattern, I can make one and a half each evening - and luckily, I enjoy the process.