The old lady’s name is Grace Brett, 104 years old. She often wears a pair of reading glasses and can be considered the oldest street artist in the world. She and other elderly women over 60 formed a weaving team called Souter Stormers to knit sweaters for Scottish cities. This group of gray haired “angry shoemakers” may really be “angry”… because the streets have been occupied by their weaving works! Various colors of yarn were woven into imaginative patterns by them, and many people couldn’t resist the urge to take photos after passing by.
Imagine what it would feel like to live in such a city? When passing by these woven little things, one may unconsciously think of such a group of warm old ladies. As the oldest member of that group of old ladies, Grace is happy to knit sweaters for her city. “I hope that after seeing these ‘sweaters’, others will feel that this is a lovely city.” She was born in London in 1910 and initially worked as a telephone operator, also serving the royal family. At the age of 45, she lost her husband and later moved to Scotland.
Now she lives in a nursing home and often knits sweaters for her daughter, 6 grandchildren, and 14 great grandchildren. The origin of her action of knitting sweaters for the city this time began with weaving a few hanging yarn balls for a shop window. In an interview with Press and Journal, Grace said, “It’s really great to be able to decorate this city while also allowing me to enjoy the fun of weaving. However, I’m not quite satisfied with the current results.”
Grace’s daughter is also 74 years old. She said that the activity of knitting sweaters made her mother feel “useful” again. “My mother learned how to knit sweaters during her teenage years. Since then, her hands have never been idle, even when she goes to work by train, she has to knit something.”
When Grace was still a young mother, she knitted sweaters and shawls for many babies. Later, she began to weave small items such as bed sheets and tablecloths herself. When her daughter was in her thirties, Grace even personally knitted a dress for her. In the 1980s, Grace knitted blankets for the local hospital. Now, at the age of 104, she is beginning to weave her love into the corners of the city. A small town, an old lady, and a big ball of yarn, that may be a more heartwarming scene than love.
