Joy Hurling (pictured right) certainly brings colour to our markets at Willunga and Goolwa with her bright beanies, and she is also part of a group of more than a thousand enthusiastic knitters across the nation putting more brightness into the lives of so many.
The group is Knit4Charities, an Australian-based association of dedicated knitters, crocheters, sewers and other crafters who give warm clothing and comforting items like blankets and toys to needy people.
“I have knitted all my life since my mum taught me when I was five or six,” Joy said. “To be able to give items beyond what I sell at the markets to the homeless and women’s shelters here gives me a lot of satisfaction.”
Joy, whose business is Nimble Knits, is so passionate about making beanies that she attended the 19th annual Alice Springs Beanie Festival mid-June, a community-based fun event created to sell beanies crocheted by Aboriginal women in remote communities. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal artists share their culture and exhibit together, and the festival is unique because of the incredible amount of community participation and the close ties with local Aboriginal organisations.
The aims of the festival have always been to develop Aboriginal women’s textiles, promote women’s culture and the beanie as a regional art form, plus promote handmade textile arts.
Joy has been presenting her fabulous work at our markets for the past 10 years, especially at the Willunga Quarry Market, Willunga’s first market established in 1986, on Aldinga Road on the second Saturday of each month from 9am-1pm. She has contributed so much time and effort into promoting and presenting this market, and it has certainly grown in popularity.
Apart from her beanies – “I just love knitting them in bright colours,” she says – Joy produces ponchos and tea cosies.
You can’t miss Joy at the markets – the colour brightens up a cold winter’s day.
Contact: nimbleknits@gmail.com; find Joy on Facebook.
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