Interview with Brenda Fowler who creates knitted post box toppers in Chessington, Surrey.
How did you think of the idea of starting it in the first place?
I started it in lockdown, and the first one I did was just a rainbow and put thank you NHS on it. They stayed up for ages and it was only in November that year that I changed it up and put poppies on it for Remembrance Day. Then it led to Christmas, and I crocheted some lights around it. Gradually I started changing it once a month putting something relevant to the time.
What one was your favourite?
It would have been the dinosaur one or the one for the jubilee as it was not just me who liked it everyone did.
How long have you been crocheting and knitting for?
I have been knitting for my whole life, only recently have I tried to teach myself crocheting but it’s a lot harder for me has I hold the crochet hook awkwardly as I am so used to knitting.
How long do they take, and which was the longest one?
Depending on how many colours and how many I must sew together it varies but normally only one evening or two. As I have said I have been doing it my whole life, so it comes naturally for me, the hardest part isn’t making the individual characters it is putting them together which also takes longer.
The one I did when the Queen died got 63,000 views on Facebook. We have friends and family in Australia and Cyprus, so it just seemed to get shared everywhere. I had Radio Surrey phone me and I did a little interview with them. Also, ITV contacted me to have an interview but cancelled it the day before they were coming. A picture of my post-box hat appeared in a knitting magazine which I am very proud of.
Brenda's amazing creations always bring a smile to all that pass by and the neighbourhood await the new addition each month. A huge thank you to Brenda for all her hard work and joy she brings.
