What's in a name?

Dawn from As Sweet As Cinnamon is challenging everyone to tell her the reason for their blog name, where did it come from?  I thought I'd join in, especially as their is a Moda charm pack up for grabs!

So, here goes.  I may well have told you where my name came from before, I think it's perfectly self-explanatory, but as you all know, I'm long winded and love to waffle (when there isn't an opportunity for a rant) so here's the very long version of the story!  To break up the boredom, I'll add some pictures of Tiff, Harry, Colin and Ellis.

I did lots of crafts as a child and teenager, but then Uni got in the way (as in going out and getting drunk and watching lots of daytime TV) and I didn't make anything until I got back from Poland in 2003.  I started making cards.  A lot of card-makers have specific techniques they like to use - stamping, decoupage, paper piecing of the non-quilty variety... me, I liked 'em all.  I've always been fickle.  Years of card making lead to a little scrapbooking.  Christmas 2009 I bought a few Mouseloft cross stitch kits and made a few cross stitch Christmas cards.  I gave one to my mum and so, to encourage me, she bought me a large cross stitch kit. 



This little baby took me months and months and months, but I enjoyed having something to do in front of the telly.  I am incapable of sitting and watching TV without doing something else and as my craft room is on the top floor of our 3-story house and my husband, the sofa and the TV are on the ground-floor, this filled the time nicely rather than playing games on Facebook!!

Fast forward to April 2010.  I'd just got married and we went to Wales on our honeymoon due to a very selfish volcano in Iceland erupting a couple of days before the wedding meaning our dream tour of Vietnam had to be postponed.  We came across a few craft shops and I found myself poking around, seeing what else I could do besides make cards and cross stitch.  I bought a book on French beaded flowers.  I still haven't attempted one - I really should, that's just lazy!  We got home and I was just overcome with a massive urge to MAKE STUFF. 

I tried knitting again (taught to me by my grandma when I was little), making little handsewn felties, hand sewn lavendar sachets, beading, embroidery and even some hand appliqué.  In the summer of 2010, my mum taught me to sew on a sewing machine and then bought me my own machine for my birthday in the November. 

It still doesn't explain the name though does it?  Well, learning to knit again, learning to sew by hand, making jewellery, all my instructions came from books, the internet and blogs.  That's when I discovered blogs in fact.  I felt like I was a "crafter" as I didn't have just one discipline, nor did I intend to settle down into one craft for ever more, and an "apprentice" as I was learning from other, more experienced crafters. 

I'm happy to say, I still feel my blog name fits.  Since I started my blog at the end of August 2010, I've learnt to crochet, branched out in embroidery (the first attempts were kits), made more jewellery and become more confident in that, learnt all kinds of sewing skills, dipped my toe into the waters of quilting, learnt to felt, had a go at glass etching and tried needlepoint and Hardanger.  I don't intend to stop trying new crafts or new skills anytime soon!

Dawn, I hope that answers your question and that you managed to remain awake throughout!