Knitting can introduce an urgency to life, a desire to wake each day to continue creating as row after row of yarn is transformed by the work of my own hands from the imagined into a tangible textile.

I am often led to rise before dawn, drawn by the lure of my current project and my impatience to see it grow.

It all began with face-cloths knitted in pale pastel cotton but which developed into little domestic works of art; contrasting colours, clashing colours, gorgeous colours that fade into a homely hand-made comfort.

I delight in making beautiful hand-knitted or crocheted items to be used for ordinary daily tasks: a string bag that makes carrying home the groceries that bit more pleasurable; a hand towel that you stop to admire each time you use it; the bathmat that gives you a little thrill each time you step on it.

Accessories used range from vintage buttons to natural fibres like cashmere or cotton and each item is my own unique design and is seldom repeated unless specifically commissioned.

I was taught to knit as a child by my mother. I now teach a group of teenagers to knit, both boys and girls, and love seeing how thrilled they are at learning a new skill, making something themselves, choosing colours for themselves and discussing projects with each other.

The seduction of yarn, the metamorphosis of yarn into stitches, the charm and mystery of discarded clothes, the way they evoke the wearer and hold their memory has led me to create drawings of garments both knitted and other.

Placed amidst a domestic setting the familiar stitches that I work with so often, translate into landscapes of shadow and light, curves and folds, and reveal abandoned or forgotten emotions.

Working in lead pencil rather than with colour seems to emphasize the contours and textures of a particular garment and also brings a certain stillness and silence to a setting, reminiscent of the tranquility of an empty room allowing thoughts to roam unhampered by another’s presence.

I have recently started working with colour but am aware that it may evoke a reaction in the viewer beyond that conveyed by the image.

Gloria Hunniford announces Julia's drawing, Waiting, as an award winner at the Society of Women Artists 2009 event.