Whether you love it, loathe it, or are completely indifferent to it, it’s very hard not to notice that Valentine’s Day is soon to be upon us.  I’ll be honest, I am not a romantic, well not in the champagne, chocolate, candles and flowers sense. Don’t get me wrong, I love all of these things, (the first two possibly to excess!) but they have yet to make me swoon.  My first experience of someone being upset by the Valentine’s gift they had received was when I lived with my friend Liz.  Basically, her ex-boyfriend (guess she really didn’t like the gift) had given her a food processor for Valentine’s Day.  Liz had wanted one for ages and he decided this would be an ideal gift. To pragmatic me, this was a perfectly suitable and romantic gift. It showed he had listened, thought about what she would like and knew that she wanted.  To romantic Liz, however, although a great gift, it was just not the kind of gift you give someone for Valentine’s Day; a Valentines gift, she told me, should be full of whimsy, mystery and emotion. Her story left me with a completely flummoxed look on my face which only fuelled Liz’s frustration further. The more she tried to explain, the more I just didn’t get it.  Years on, I still don’t really understand and I’m still not an advocate of Valentine’s Day, but I do realise that everyone likes to feel special now and again.  How to make someone feel special? Well that’s different for everyone. I think for most people though, a gift that shows a unique understanding of that person or something that reflects a joke or shared moment between the two of you is always likely to be a winner. Having said that, maybe throw in some chocolates or champagne as well, just in case...

I have never been a great talker.  As a kid, if I thought I had done something to upset my Mum, I would write her a note (often elaborately decorated as only a 9 year old can) and leave it under her pillow for her to discover later when I was safely tucked away in bed.  As a teenager, I found music and the piano. If I was angry or upset, I would find a piece of music of an appropriate mood and play it until I felt better.  This progressed to composing my own music and the piece I am still most proud of resulted  from a shouting match with my older brother that saw me retreat to the piano in tears and saw him retreat to the shed.  One day, I moved away from the piano and lived in flats where pianos would not necessarily be welcome!  As such, I found myself turning to crafts; sewing, knitting, crocheting, drawing, origami, paper mâché, and quilting, if there was a book or a friend to show me how to do it, I would give it a try; and now there’s YouTube, the sky’s the limit!  Failure was common, and still is, but the comedy value of many of these failures in themselves give them value to me, some of what I have considered to be failures have still been passed in embarrassment to the person they were intended for and, despite my misgivings, have become cherished gifts.  Everything I make to this day continues to have a large amount of emotion invested in it; inspired by people I know and the moments we’ve shared.  I’ve gotten better at talking, but still to this day when I am overwhelmed with emotions and can’t find the words to express them adequately, I’ll make something. If I’m sad, going through the process of combining materials, patterns and colours I like makes me feel better;  if I’m happy and want to show my appreciation, I’ll make a gift inspired by that person.  It’s through making these gifts that I’ve developed the crafting skills that I now possess, it’s been a fun journey so far,  I’m always learning new skills and finding inspiration for new things to make.  If you’re thinking of trying to make something, give it a go, it can be very rewarding and cathartic!  Oh, and although I don’t have a piano any longer, I’m often found singing along to the radio whilst crafting away!

As the stall began to take shape, a few of the pre-market nerves began to disappear...people started to trickle in and lots of people stopped to compliment the display and say how much they liked the products. My lovely friend Kirsty helped me set the stall up and was followed throughout the day by a steady stream of friends coming along to provide me with much appreciated support. Things quietened down as Wimbledon began, but it was a fabulous day, filled with sunshine and friends and topped off by Andy Murray winning Wimbledon, result!

Today is my first market stall ever.  I am nervous and excited in equal measure and hoping that the sun we've been promised will shine, bringing with it lots of people to have a look and possibly purchase a couple of my products.  I am loving the dinosaur cushions that I have made and have avoided naming them all for fear of becoming too attached!  I'll update later to let you know how the market goes!