Use Your Hands!

So, first post. As I'm clearly writing to myself at this point, I'll keep things short. Enjoy this while it lasts, brevity is certainly not the soul of my particular wit.

Basically I like to make stuff, create things, generally keep my twitching fingers busy, and I'll be blogging about that here. Knitting, sewing and playing the guitar are the main hobbies at the moment, but I'll throw in a little baking/cooking and DIY as occasion demands.

If you're fed up of mass-produced, plasticised, ethically dodgy products then why not make your own? Fed up of throwaway consumer culture (or perhaps, like me, you simply can't afford it) then opt out and get back to doing it yourself. Not only will you avoid the faux-pas of turning up to a party in the same outfit as someone else, but you can bask in the smug, guilt-free-glow of having done something to save the planet too. Recycling, reclaiming, reinventing - it's all good.

Always wanted to learn an instrument? Well pick one up for goodness sake! Teach yourself the guitar, piano, ukelele. Form a band. Write some songs. Reveal your emo-ridden angst or your country and western heartache to the world.

Been watching those endless programmes about how to grout your bathroom/install a garden deck/transform your living room into a replica of the Sistine Chapel? Have a go yourself and transform your space. Don't let Ikea fool you - a home cannot be flat-packed.

Determined to unleash your inner domestic goddess? It's not all preparing fudge brownies in a negligee to eat in a foam filled bath tub by candlelight you know - although I'm not saying it's a bad idea. Try out some local, seasonal produce; cook from scratch with stuff that didn't come in a vacuum pack and rediscover what food is supposed to taste like.

It's all about the handmade.