From macrame to crochet and pipe cleaner products, Sarah Mesquita simply enjoys working with her hands and picking up new skills
CHRISTINE MACHADO
It was during the COVID-19 pandemic that Sarah Mesquita went down the “crafter’s rabbit hole”. “Everyone was using online tools to teach and learn during the lockdown, and I realised I could learn something new too,” she shares.
Mesquita began with experimenting with macrame before then branching out to crochet. “Picking up crochet was a very random decision, but I think I decided I wanted to learn the art because it was something that was going to occupy less space – for the raw materials or for my works-in-progress (WIP),” she says. “Also, my mum has been crocheting all her life, I remember growing up seeing, touching and feeling all her creations and always being in awe of the fact that a single continuous strand of thread could weave art. I never got to learn the skill from her though. But now, I love that I can discuss the different stitches and show off the stuff I make to her.”
Later intrigued by the piper cleaner crafts that many others were doing online, she decided to try it herself. “The flowers were the only thing that I wanted to learn to make, mostly because of how close in looks you can make them to actual flowers,” she says. While she did do an online class for this skill, she realised in the end that she didn’t really need it.
As more and more people in her family and friend circle began pushing her to sell her works, Mesquita went on to begin ‘She Knots a Lot’.
“I went back and forth on so many names. But I knew I wanted to pay homage to Our Lady, hence the blue in my logo. Around the same time I heard about Our Lady, Undoer of Knots, so I thought I had to at least use the word “knots” in the business name,” she shares. “The rest of it came together simply because I knew I would be knotting a lot.”
Currently, Mesquita’s macrame products include coasters, keychains, and small wall hangings. In crochet she does plushies, coasters, scrunchies and baby blankets. “I have only a few pipe cleaner flowers and a bunch of snowflakes. These are mostly reserved for the Christmas holidays. I am all about Christmas! Eventually, I want to have more holiday themed stuff,” she says, adding that her favourite creations so far are the amigurumi bunny and the poinsettia flower made from pipe cleaners.
Most of the inspiration for her works comes from social media. “The Reddit communities are also fantastic for running ideas and getting insights on different things,” she states.
Clients can get in touch with her through Instagram and WhatsApp. “I take a limited number of orders per month, so that I am able to do justice and deliver them on time,” she says, adding that she does home deliveries only around her neighbourhood in Margao and Vasco. Otherwise, she mails the products via speed post.
But as a mother of two children and a lecturer, finding time to sit down with her crafts is not always easy. “But I look forward to those moments, where it’s the hook, the yarn and my bubble,” she says.
Another challenge, she faces is in terms of pricing. “Customers often hesitate to pay, because handmade products are expensive – but one has to understand that you are paying for the skill level and the artists’ time,” she says.
But she keeps at her crafts because of the sheer joy that working with her hands bring. “I have learned that there’s always going to be someone making something way better or prettier; but that doesn’t mean that what you’re doing isn’t good. And practice is extremely important,” she says.
Mesquita hopes to begin designing her own products and patterns in future and also get into creating
crochet wearables. “I also want to add more faith-based work in my shop because where would I be without giving recognition to God?”
