MY NEW HOBBY

I've got a new hobby.

Well, I say that but only time will tell whether my new activity makes the transition from obsession to hobby. At the moment, if I'm honest, it's still pretty much in the obsession stage but, knowing myself as I do, I can kind of spot the tell tale signs of a sticker.

You're dying to know what it is aren't you? I could keep you there, suspended in irritating ignorance for another paragraph or so but I won't. I'm just slightly reluctant to type its name in case it does turn out to be a flash in the pan kind of thing resulting in my failure to stick at it being writ large across the internet.

But in for a penny and all that. It's quilting. Stop sniggering. I can hear you from here. In fact, and I'm not defending myself here, I've always loved quilts, marvelling at the detail and the amount of work that goes into them. I even had a dalliance with the hobby a few years back but abandoned my efforts as being too fiddly at a time when my life already made complicated by the requirements of small children.

So, when a six weeks beginners' course popped up on Facebook it caught my eye. I mentioned it to a friend and before we knew it we had 'fat quarters' of fabric, flat headed pins and lots of cereal boxes cut into squares of various shapes. Then followed five weeks of cutting, pressing, sewing, chatting and cursing with the net result that I have almost finished my first effort. ( See below for proof.)

Of course, me being me, a small sampler quilt a metre square was not enough and before I knew it I had committed myself to making a double quilt each for all four of the children. I know. Madness! But with that promise came purchasing opportunities. Fabric, obviously. There is an almost overwhelming selection to choose from. Then, there are books that I must have - hundreds of books to choose from each promising to be the only one I'll ever need. And now gadgetry. Scissors just won't do it. I clearly need a self healing cutting board (honestly. You cut into it and it fixes itself!) and an elaborate pizza cutter- like affair to make cutting out endless fabric shapes a breeze.

All I have to do now is maintain my interest long enough to make my purchases worthwhile. This will be a challenge. I do have a variety of previous crafting obsessions hidden, skeleton-like in my cupboards. Well, one cupboard in particular as it goes. I shall begin quilt one tomorrow. It is a simple, vintage-looking affair with fabric and design chosen by my eldest daughter. And I have two years until she anticipates leaving home to go to university so that gives me plenty of time to get it finished. Watch this space!