I’m Mary, the person behind the blither on this blog.

I live in the divinely eccentric Stroud, Gloucestershire, work for a well known conservation charity, and occasionally wash up in a particularly classy establishment. I’m married to the occasionally mentioned Husband, who is the reason that this blog is upright and functioning, and whose often seen hammering along the A46 by bicycle.

I started this blog to share some of the things I make, a bit of a life long habit, seeing as my mother taught me how to sew from a fairly young age (4, I think). Projects grew in complexity and size as I grew older, and latterly when I was living at home, some things were so large (a double bed quilt for example) that they were sometimes met with rolled eyes from my family as these projects took over the house, or at least the living room floor.

These days I have come to the conclusion that I make things as a means of marshaling my anxiety and depression into a corner and making it sit and stay. In making something I get lost in the usually simple and repetitive actions, and concentrating in following the pattern in hand. It fills up the majority of my head, the rest is often taken up with an audio drama or a film, creating a sense of peace and control. Sort of meditation with knitting needles and The Archers.

More recently I’ve been taking a simple skill (i.e. knitting) and use it in a interesting way (rugs made from old t-shirts and scraps of wool). I do make things more conventionally, just not very often. Living in a little 2 bed flat with Husband means that there is less living room to cover in making things mind you. I have also been experimenting with an old family cook book and making things with my Senior Section (and younger members of Girlguiding)

As well as crafting and generally making a mess at home, I help run Senior Section units in my local division, cycle places with Husband (sometimes by our tandem), collect books, garden in our mostly Cotswold-stone-beige yard, play board games, and have a small
brown rat by way of a mascot.