They say when opportunity knocks, you should always answer.

But what if, right when that knock comes, you get knocked down by a tragedy you never saw coming?

That’s what happened to Knit Star Jeanette Sloan right after filming her Beaded Colorwork masterclass for Season 6.

I caught up with Jeanette this past week, on the eve of us releasing her spectacular workshop from Season 6 as a standalone course called “Need To Bead.”

Sometimes, opportunity does knock a second time. 💕

“Knit Stars was such a fantastic opportunity,” Jeanette said. “And I felt really sad I couldn’t capitalize on it because my whole world basically fell apart right after.”

Jeanette lost the love of her life, her husband Sam, almost right after filming was complete.

“Sam was there on the day we filmed with the lovely crew. So for years, my memories of Knit Stars filming were tangled up in my grief,” she said.

“But now I’m in a much better place,” she added. And she’s thrilled her class is being released as a single workshop, so she can finally enjoy the process along with all of the new students who will discover the joy of Beaded Colorwork with Jeanette’s skilled tutelage.

“You don’t even have to bead the whole thing. You can just bead an edge and then embellish as little, or as much as you like.”

“I use a technique where you thread them on beforehand, so you don’t have to stop as you’re knitting to pick up a bead. You just pull the beads up when you need them, and push them away when you don’t.”

“I also don’t think it’s a technique that’s been particularly explored that deeply, and that’s part of why I get so excited about it.”

You can pick up Jeanette’s Beaded Colorwork masterclass, including her Knit Stars exclusive pattern called “Solace Cushion,” at the introductory price of just $47 here.

So what has Jeanette been up to lately?

Well for starters, last year she was awarded the British Empire Medal in recognition of her career as a knitwear designer and her efforts to make the fiber space more inclusive, diverse, and welcoming for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC).

And although she’s “supposed to be taking a year off to settle into my new home,” she’s hardly sitting still…

“I’m doing some freelance design, getting back into BIPOC In Fiber, and consulting with companies that are looking to incorporate more EDI (Equality Diversion and Inclusion) into their businesses,” she said.

For those who may not know, BIPOC In Fiber is a website and resource portal founded by Jeanette that’s designed to amplify and celebrate the work of BIPOC working in the fiber industry. It has a robust directory where you can search by name, location or discipline, for everything from a writer or tech editor to makers of bags and stitch markers.

Jeanette also dropped a hint that there *might* be some exciting new merch coming to the BIPOC In Fiber site soon. She and teammate Alyson Chu will be launching the new merchandise at a brand-new fiber festival called Woolly Good Gathering in Edinburgh, Scotland on April 26-27. If you can’t make the event, be sure to bookmark the BIPOC In Fiber site here.

Since filming her Knit Stars workshop at her previous home in Brighton and Hove, England, Jeanette has moved to Bristol (near Wales). “It’s a really cool city,” she said. “So many music venues, arts venues, and the food culture is fantastic. Sam and I had talked about moving here because my sister has lived here for years. She was such a huge support after losing our mum, and then Sam. Moving felt like the right thing to do and as soon as I made the decision to move, everything came together so quickly.”

As a form of self-care, Jeanette recently started a second Instagram account called @makenurturenest to document “entering a new chapter while mindfully reading, resting, cooking, crafting & soaking up the culture in a new hometown.”

“I really wanted to get back to all kinds of making. I started taking jewelry-making classes with a jeweler friend soon after Sam died. I found that I like working with silver and now I make jewelry when I can. I’ve made gifts for Lorna (Hamilton-Brown) and Felix (Ford) from solid silver, some inset with stones. I’ve been making rings, earrings, and bookmarks….”

“And I’ve started doing upholstery because I came across a chair on a website for free. And it’s a beautiful old-fashioned button-back bedroom chair without a seat. So I’m learning to reupholster. I went to my first class a couple of weeks ago and made a gorgeous velvet footstool,” she said.

“So all of this stuff I’ll be putting on my @makenurturenest Instagram. Because I didn’t want to clutter up my business Instagram. I wanted to have something purely about me, making and cooking food and making jewelry, and doing upholstery and gardening.”

And once she’s fully settled in at home, there *might* be a book in the making…

“I’ve actually got bags of swatches I played around with from when I filmed with Knit Stars and was having all these ideas and thinking there’s a book in this!” So let’s just say watch this space.

To keep in touch with Jeanette and her world:
Join her newsletter list here.
Follow her on Instagram @jeanettesloan and @makenurturenest

xoxo,

It’s the final week…

After this, it’s all getting packed up, and shipped to me for future prizes and/or donated…

Shop our remaining inventory at 75% off here.

Still lots of Loops Luxe Chunky in blue and perfectly pink! Stock up for a sweater, or make Casapinka’s amazing Powder Wrap for 75% off. The kit was originally $134 and now it’s just $33!

“My parents are from Barbados, and there’s this very Bajan thing called Pickle,” Jeanette shared. “It originated in this dish called Souse which is made with a pickled pig’s head, which is so disgusting. When we were kids we hated Souse but we loved the pickle – which is cucumber, parsley, white onion, Encona West Indian hot pepper sauce (or Tobasco), salt, lemon, or lime juice.”

“You just allow it to steep and it tastes fantastic with barbecue chicken. You can ramp it up and make it as hot as you can take it!”

Mum’s Bajan Cucumber Pickle
“This is my version of my Mum’s Bajan (Barbadian) cucumber pickle which I’ve been eating for as long as I can remember. It takes only minutes to prepare, keeps for up to 5 days in the fridge, and goes well with cheese, roast / fried / barbecued meats like chicken or pork, and Bajan fishcakes. In fact, anything that could benefit from a touch of freshness to cut through rich flavours.

The Encona Original Hot Sauce was Mum’s ‘go-to’ for the kick but if you can’t find it, Tobasco works just as well. If you like it with less kick, use less than a tablespoon, for more heat, simply add more until it’s the right balance for you.

Ingredients:

• 1 x large cucumber
• 1 x small red onion
• 2 x tablespoons of cold water
• Juice of 1 lime
• ¾ teaspoon of fine sea salt
• 1/2 – 1 tablespoon of Encona Original to Pepper Sauce

Instructions

1. Wash and finely slice the cucumber and onion and place both in a medium sized mixing bowl along with the cold water.
2. Now add in the rest of the ingredients and give it a good stir to mix.
3. Have a taste. The flavour should be a lovely balance of saltiness, acidity and heat.
4. Add in more salt / lime / hot sauce until it’s right for you then transfer to a lidded container and leave to infuse for at least an hour then enjoy!