First post

Here goes…

I've been making things for as long as I can remember. There's something about the self-reliance of making an item that really appeals to me. As a child, I would spend hours constructing toys from egg boxes and old squeezy bottles, covering them in fabric and paint. As a teenager, being able to knit my own jumpers, make clothes, or alter jumble sale finds meant I could increase my wardrobe at will, regardless of my meagre budget. (Mind you, looking back at some of my photos, a little restraint on the DIY front wouldn't have gone amiss!). But as I've got older the enjoyment has become more about the simple pleasure of making something, with no actual end use in mind that I find so relaxing and therapeutic. 


For this reason, my favourite thing to make has to be quilts (although I'm often distracted and find myself picking up knitting needles instead). I love everything about the process, from the selection of fabrics, to the cutting and piecing together of different shapes and seeing an overall pattern emerge-my preference being for the abstract, rather than pictorial. Finally, I love the process of quilting itself, (preferably by hand, on a quilt-as-you-go basis)it results in such a lovely textured and tactile surface. Unlike so much else in life quilts don't provide an instant fix that quickly dissipates, they take time to create, and, this provides a space for contemplation.


I'm in awe of all the great quilters out there and am a novice by comparison (albeit an enthusiastic one). But we all have to start somewhere, and, as I progress and discover new quilting styles and techniques I would like to share them and hopefully learn from anyone who cares to read my blog. And, while I do love quilting and patchwork, these pages will feature knitting and other crafts too.


How often to post is as yet a mystery to me: some bloggers seem to do so on a daily basis, others only when they have something new to say. I've yet to find which camp I'll fall in to.