Joelle Leonard

Hi there & welcome, I’m Joelle, an artist, multicrafter, as well as cross-stitch and beginning knitwear designer. Since November 2022, I somehow was inspired to write and share short poems, musings and experiences I've been making which made me start to think of myself as a "recovering health and life explorer", too 😁 My journey: After 34 years of struggle to fit in, I left the corporate world as an accounting assistant in 2016 after severe burnout paired with deep depression. I re-discovered painting during nearly 6 months of rehab and took the leap to art school shortly afterward. As an art student, it felt totally exciting and exhilarating to learn how to paint and draw and discover so many other art techniques, such as sculpture and different printing techniques, too. I am still in awe and forever thankful for my experiences in a world I would never have dared even dream of entering before, as well as for meeting so many wonderful, inspiring people, teachers and fellow artists 🥰 As for crafting, as many of you out there of the same generation (50+), I learned to knit and crochet at a very young age, re-discovering and enhancing my skill levels in these lovely crafts since I came across Youtube in 2013. It was also on Youtube, that I stumbled on and learned how to cross-stitch in early 2020. Unsurprisingly I began to create and sell Cross-Stitch patterns based on my own artwork only weeks later. My Cross-Stitch Designs were initially only available on Etsy under the label "cnktdesigns". Today you'll find me on Etsy under "justbreatheandlisten" and elsewhere under "breathejustbreatheandlisten". All my Designs are still available in my Etsy shop, as it is where I got started selling my patterns. I uploaded my favourite patterns into my ko-fi shop, too. More will become available here soon-ish. In April 2022, I published my first knitting pattern on Ravelry. I did start a test-sock to write a first sock knitting pattern, which is still in the making though 😏 I started a Youtube Channel in 2013, initially under the name “crochet’n’knit tuts” (short for crochet and knitting tutorials) to share my learning experience and beginner tutorials in Tunisian Crochet. To add Cross-Stitch tutorials to my playlists, I renamed the channel into “cnktdesigns”, and just recently into "breathejustbreatheandlisten". If you like my content, you can support my work by making a donation here on ko-fi or have a peek into my shops 🤗 You can donate the amount of a "coffee" or even only 1€ if that's what you can and want to give. Any and even the smallest amount is really very much appreciated anytime 🥰 As a creator I am always very curious what others are creating. It's where we get our inspiration from, don't we? 😁 So, please do share what you are creating right now by commenting below this post or below any post here on my ko-fi page and shop 🤗 And, please don't hesitate to let me know what type of content/subject/pattern you'd particularly love to see on my page and in my shop or on my Youtube channel. Thanks for being here, Love, Joelle 🌸

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