Crafting with Cat Blog: Why did Cat get into crafting?

Crafting is a constant and important part of my life. It's a very mindful activity for me, when I can focus on what I'm doing and forget about the stresses and strains that are inevitable in modern life. 

I have been crafting since I was young. We had arts and crafts around us all the time as children. Mum made a lot of clothes for us when we were children, and as we got older she taught us how to knit and sew, both by hand and with a machine. During the 'revival' of lacemaking in the 1980s here in the UK, she went and learned how to make bobbin lace, which became a life-long passion for her and something else that she taught to her daughters.

When I left home to go to university, I didn't do as much crafting as there wasn't so much time, however I did find myself using my skills to mend clothes so that they lasted a bit longer. But of course when I was at home in holidays I would be doing cross-stitch and lace. As it got closer to exams I found myself wanting to take crafting back to university with me, as it helped me to relax. To this day I have a beautiful cross-stitch sampler in my living room that I was given for my 18th birthday - and was framed for my 21st when I finally finished it!

Another tradition that we had at home was that when someone we were close to got married or had a baby we would make a unique present to share with them. This is something that we all still do and there is no greater pleasure in life to see the reaction from someone that you have given a handmade present when they realise it's been made especially for them.

As the years have gone on I've carried on knitting, lacemaking, sewing, embroidery and I continue to learn more. During the COVID-19 quarantine period in 2020 I acquired a 'teach yourself' how to make sewn and hard bound notebooks. This was something I really enjoyed, and what to do with all of the books that I had made was really the catalyst behind me starting my store, and I'll talk about that a bit more in a future post. 

The items in my store reflect my favourite crafts and things that I thought people might like to receive as a gift. I hope that you agree!

See you next time

Catriona Marshall, 27 April 2024