The Beginning

Well here I am.  About to start blogging...

I am not sure how this is going to turn out or what to expect – or even if anyone will read this (apart from Mum and Dad.)..so I think I will just see what happens and how this thing evolves.  If people want to read it that’s great and if not then it can be my online diary and chronicle my “craft evolution”.

Those of you who know me know that I love food.  Pretty much everything about food – eating it, cooking it, reading about it and definitely thinking about it.  I don’t claim to be the best cook in the world but I am a good cook and I love it.  So over a few bottles of wine and a nice dinner at the Matterhorn in Wellington earlier this year my friend Steph suggested that I should start a blog about food.  At the time we thought this was a great idea - an idea which was pretty much forgotten as the last sip of wine went down.   Fast forward a good few months to last weekend when Steph visited and a large portion of the weekend revolved around food - this jogged my memory of that slightly sloshy conversation and spurred me to be here now.

But I have decided that this blog is not just going to be about food – hence the name “my craft evolution”.

 Since arriving in Sydney with Craig in early May I have had the urge to become more crafty (and not just like a fox).  I always had crafty tendencies but had a bit of a problem staying motivated and focused (I think that was what my report cards at school used to say – so at least I am consistent).  Thanks to this lack of follow through, the biggest projects I finished were a couple of knitted scarves which I was proud of but were not really that impressive.

So here we are in Sydney starting our new life and so far it is great – my sister is here, good weather, good food, GREAT coffee and good beaches – (so it’s pretty rubbish really...) 

One of the things however about leaving London was that I left my fantastic friends – friends who I could drop in on whenever I felt like a chat or some dinner or anything really.  Of course they are still my fantastic friends but unfortunately there is a great big puddle between us now and it is not as easy to pop in for a cup of tea and a piece of gluten free brownie.  So I find myself with some more time on my hands and the need to find some like minded buddies to share this time with (I will get back on topic in a minute don’t worry).

 One of the ways I thought might be a good opportunity to meet new people was at a “stitch and bitch” club,  I know that there were a few of these around London that used to meet in pubs for a couple of pints whilst knitting a pair of booties or whatever.  I had often thought about attending one of these to improve my knitting skills but never quite got round to it (too busy popping in to visit those fantastic friends probably).  So I was out for dinner in Sydney with a friend of my good friend Lucy  and she mentioned that she was going to a stitch and bitch in a couple of weeks and would I like to come.  How cool is that – exactly what I was looking for and this had the added bonus that I would at least know someone and I was sure that her friends would all be as nice as she was.

Following the stitch and bitch day I have been completely inspired and motivated to become more crafty and creative – so much so that I purchased a new sewing machine last week and I have signed up to a cake decorating course at a community college (see my first frangipani flower below!).

So I am intending this blog to be a mixture of my “craft evolution” and my foodie experiences, whether they be at home, at a restaurant or just in my mind.   Hopefully it will be little bit interesting and amusing and you will like it J