On Erika’s instigation and under her guidance, the Patons brand revisited their patterns and yarns archive and created two new ranges – Fairytale for babies and Princess for toddlers. This is one example of Erika’s instinctive understanding of where the mood within crafts is moving and how this can be exploited.

The profile of knitting and other crafts has never been higher than it is now, and Erika has played a major role in this renaissance – she is seen by many as a knitting guru for her creativity, knowledge and vision.  Crochet Workshop is Erika’s fourteenth book to be published by Quadrille.  Her previous knitting titles include: New Knits, Baby Bloom, Classic, Glamour, Classic at Home, Glamour at Home, Men’s Knits, Natural Nursery Knits, Simple Knitting and, most recently, Keep Calm and Cast On.  She has previously written two crochet books, Simple Crochet and Essential Crochet and published a book on beading, Beads & Buttons, a collection of 20 simple jewellery projects to instruct and inspire.

In an exciting new developement for 2011, Erika has launched her own range of hand knit yarns.  Erika designs and sources all their yarn ranges, working with spinners and yarn designers on technical specifications and selecting the colour palettes.