TARRAGON & THYME

One of the things I have learned to do over the years is have a go at things myself.  Initially I would see things to buy that I loved, but did not have the wherewithal to purchase.  I got fed up with this and out of necessity started to have a go at doing things myself which worked out a lot cheaper in the long run with a bit of careful planning and buying bits and putting them up a bit at a time (I am talking mainly of fabrics  here being bought at reduced prices or fabric recycled from clothing).  Ok so I didn't end up with what I had originally had my eye on per se, but I did end up with something similar and with individual pieces that no one else had.  Okay so it may not be quite perfect but that is all part and parcel of the charm of the piece and hey it meant I did not need to go without and it served to feed my creativity and practical needs but at a fraction of the costs.  This related to both food products and needlework/craft projects. I don't ...

Of all the crafts, patchwork is the one that I want to get my head round. I have had little goes at doing bits and bobs but the truth is I am not that good at measuring and cutting with a rotary cutter.  I don't have much room to play either, so am hoping that this is one of the crafts I will be able to get my head around once the craft room is up and running.  One day I would like to be able to make a proper bed quilt.  That's the dream as I love the colour and patterns and infinite combinations. The reality is that I know that I will have to start with little projects.  Whilst sorting a drawer out the other day I found some patchwork paraphernalia that I had bought at some point.  One of these is a diamond shape.  Funnily enough I saw a baby's pram set in the charity shop the other day that consisted of a star made of the diamond shapes.  So I may well start with some of these using some Christmas fabric to make some early decorations.  Will ...