We have a huge craft store not far from us. I find it a very frustrating place as they seem to specialise in fancy items I don't need & can't afford. It's all geared to ladies with time & money to spare who want to buy ready-made things to "finish" themselves, not to people who need glue, scissors, thread and other basics, and they have put out of business all the small specialist shops who could get hold of things for me, or knew what I was talking about, even when I didn't! People don't seem to make things from scratch any more, but from kits, and I wonder how many basic ideas & techniques have already been lost? I asked for some macrame cord the other day; no-one knew what I meant...

So I thought I'd do some pages with basic instructions for things anyone can create for themselves, using easily available "ingredients", and pass on some useful links to specialist sites. Click on the thumbnail pictures for detailed instructions. I'll add more as I go along; if you have any original ideas or patterns you'd like to pass on, please email them through to me!