About Me

My name is Bridget Aitchison and I am a professor, maker, and lifelong learner. I also happen to adore my three miniature dachshunds – Marcus, Hugo, and Polly. I was widowed when I was very young and had a toddler and a baby to raise on my own and support. So, I went to work part time, raised my daughters full time and desperately tried to finish my Doctorate of Creative Arts in Theatre for Social & Community Change, addressing youth suicide prevention. Those were tough years and that degree ended up taking 10 years to complete. That left me no time to craft things. Eventually I realised I had to do something to recharge in order to keep helping everyone else and I returned to crochet – something I had learned as a very young girl from my Aunt Sandy. I discovered there was a whole new world of creativity and technique that I had been unaware of before I had my children. I started designing my own creations in 2019 and the rest is history.

Now, my main creative domain is fibre arts – specifically crochet and weaving on my Saori, Inklet and Inkle Looms. I also knit (rarely) and spin wool (occassionally). In 2020, during the Victorian (Australia) covid-19 lockdowns, I added papercraft to my arsenal of ways to keep sane. Over the last couple of years I’ve dabbled in acrylic pouring, resin art, and working with clay. It’s that lifelong learner thing… I’m always game to try new things, including new crafts.

I’m also a career educator… I’m a Professor of Theatre Studies and have worked in universities for over 30 years… teaching is as much a part of who I am as what I do so it’s only natural that as I learn ways of making and creating, I want to pass that knowledge on to others. This is why I do tutorials for crochet and papercraft.

In 2022 I discovered Stampin’ Up! and started to learn all the techniques and tips I wish I had been able to learn during the lockdowns when I was teaching myself to make cards. I joined Stampin’ Up! as a demonstrator really just to get the personal discount (what we call a Hobby Demonstrator… yep, that’s a thing!). But because of my tutorials, some other people joined my team as Hobby Demonstrators and some started buying products from my SU shop. Because Creative Making is my hobby and not a job, I donate a healthy chunk of my profits from sales of crochet patterns or Stampin’ Up! products to Dachshund Rescue Australia, a charity I have supported (among others) for many years and where I got my very first dachshund many many years ago. I have adopted from them and fostered for them since.

This site was originally dedicated to sharing my crochet patterns as well as tutorial videos on different stitches, but as my interests expanded over the last couple of years, so has my blog. Blog posts are searchable based on what you’re interested in so make use of the search function to find the thing that’s your jam whether it be yarn, hook, paper, ink loom, or …. actual jam.

So welcome to Drunk Dog Creative. Pull up a chair, grab your favourite making tools, relax and come on a creative advenure with us!

Happy hooking (or inking….or weaving… or…whatever!),

Love,

Bridget A.

Why ‘Drunk Dog Creative’?

Where did “Drunk Dog” come from? I’m glad you asked! Originally my hobby blog was called Long Dog Wool because I mainly made things featuring dachshunds for other dachie lovers. However I did a couple of market stalls and people thought I was selling items crocheted with dog hair. Oops. So I needed a new name. One of the long dogs of Long Dog Wool was Roxy. She was my beautiful short hair chocolate dapple mini dachshund. I say was, because in October 2021, at 12 years old, she crossed the rainbow bridge. It was horrible to lose her and truthfully, I am still not over it. Anyways, the very tiny but mighty Roxy had a way of giving you the ’side eye’ that made you realise you were in deep trouble with her. But it also made her look like she was a bit drunk and trying to figure things out. That’s the official story. Of course, there may or may not have also been an incident where ’someone’ (not one of the family) got Roxy drunk while I was away on a business trip. I have never been so torn between a giggle and sheer anger in my life. Thankfully she was totally fine. Roxy ruled our hearts and our home so the name ‘Drunk Dog Creative’ is in honour of her.