I’m a crafter. Some of my formative memories involve standing in stationery shops gazing at the rows of coloured paper, wishing I had enough pocket money to buy some. One of my best ever (maybe the best ever) Christmas presents I got was a stack of construction paper and some poster paints one year when I was around 9 years old.

I’m a dabbler. I can crochet a bit, paint a bit, draw a little, sew a tiny bit and make basic pop-ups. I have a huge collection of pop-up books, started by a chance encounter with Robert Sabuda (or at least a book of his). I had pored over friends’ copies of Fungus the Bogeyman many years before that though. I’m no expert at anything and that’s part of my problem. I love all crafts – reading about them, seeing them in action, and then partaking of them, sometimes.

A previous craft DIY project – many moons ago!

I’m a writer. I fell into writing as a profession and just left my favourite job ever doing just this. Writing is of course a craft in itself and something I enjoy hugely. But I have always liked to be rooted in the physical (I can cook a bit, bake a lot and garden a little. I love Ikea products – it’s grown-up LEGO to me, much to my husband’s great pleasure).

Now I would like to get good at just one thing (oh, okay, maybe two). Will this blog help me do that? I have no idea, but maybe it will help push me in that direction. I aim to have a lot of fun trying. And I’m kicking off with SEWING. In particular, sewing clothes. Like many women, I want clothes that FIT ME. I ain’t no 6ft clotheshorse. And I’d like them in wonderful, colourful, aesthetic fabric that I love.

Enough now. Let’s begin!