We are incredibly honored to work with Adile and are excited to share her creations with you. Adile has an incredibly strong work ethic, steady hand and open heart. As we say in Turkish, ellerinize sağlık (may your hands always be healthy), Adile! We love working with you.
Q: Can you tell us a little more about who you are and where you are from?
My name is Adile Belet and I was born in Şanlıurfa, Türkiye. My father was a civil servant so we moved to Denizli and then to Manisa when I was 6 months old. When I was 2 years old my father passed away, and we moved again to Izmir which is where I grew up.
Q: When and why did you start weaving, how did you learn?
I started knitting when I was 10 years old. At that time, my mother wanted us to learn how to do many things, so that we would have more opportunities in the future. I used to knit with my mother and sister, and learned new techniques while practicing with them.
Q: Have you been knitting your whole life?
When I was 18 I got married and then I had two children. After I had children, I starting knitting baby clothes and blankets for them. I also knitted many things and gave them as gifts to family and friends. As my children grew up, knitting lost popularity and I stopped knitting. After I had my children, I worked a variety of jobs; I worked as a garment worker, took care of children, did cleaning, and then started working as a cook, so there wasn’t much time for knitting.
One day, about 5-6 years ago, I visited my childhood friend. She showed me many bags she had learned to knit through a knitting course that she took. With her, I became enthusiastic again and was in search of a hobby. I returned to knitting in my spare time.
Q: Why is knitting important to you?
Knitting sometimes feels like a mental therapy; when you get away from the situations of the moment and focus only on the current task, you forget about external factors for a while. It’s a great release for me.
Q: Which type of bags do you like to knit the most?
I generally like to knit beach bags, city bags and clutch model bags.
