I have designed and made things since I was a child I made clothes and bags for myself, and I have a patchwork under my bed that I started when I was small that I have never finished. I have tried countless crafts with varying results and enjoyed most of them, except knitting, I find no joy in knitting. No matter where I travelled on my creative way I have always gone back to sewing. 

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If you have unusual taste and a small income nice things can be out of reach. I have always used my skills to create things both for myself and as gifts for friends and family.  I am inspired by the art of others, the good and the bad. I go to exhibitions and fairs all over the place and if I can afford to buy something I like then I will but I often just take away ideas.  Sometimes I like the idea or the shape of something but if there are loose threads or badly finished edges I might be inspired to do something similar but make a better job of it.  I am also inspired by nature, I take a lot of photographs of flowers and plants, I particularly like spirals.  I also like Japanese design, I like kimono particularly, I have lots of books and a few items of vintage Japanese clothing.

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When I make something for someone else I try to use colours that they like, think about the kind of events they might go to, the kind of clothes they wear or something that they are into.  I want what I make to be individual, and creative, something someone would be really pleased to receive.

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I like to enter competitions.  I find them useful if you have the urge to make something but don't know what to do.  A competition will give you a brief to work from, it's fun to try and think of something different from the norm.  One of the reasons my Great Fire quilt won is because of the colours I chose.  I didn't want to use orange and red so I chose colours that fitted my inspiration picture, with the border to represent the stone and gold of the monument in London.

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I use a lot of recycled fabrics and items, I love charity shops and always keep a look out for leather clothes, fabrics and jewellery that I can take apart.  Charity shops also have equipment, I have got embroidery frames, reels of silk thread, shape punches and unwanted cross stitch kits are great for threads.  Sometimes just the colour or pattern of a cheap treasure can inspire a project.  Ebay is also great for bargains, it's brilliant for leather, if I need a large piece I always look there. The fish leather I use is from a Canadian company called Sealeatherwear.com, I bought a job lot years ago its great stuff, really hard wearing and nice to work with.  I also keep left over fabrics and leathers from projects, it's amazing how even a small piece of something can be useful in something else.