We all have hobbies or interests whether they are sporty or clever stuff. I have had hobbies and collections for many years. One that I feel has been with since childhood and is still with me now. I read many genres but not Barbara Cartland

I got really into cross stitch and enjoyed creating pictures with the little crosses……as I have never been able to draw. I have made cards and small pictures. Stitch a picture of David Tennant as the 10th Doctor for son no1 and a scene of the Tyne Bridge over the river for hubby.

When we lived in a village in Surrey and the kids were small…I put an advert in a Mother and Baby magazine asking for penpals or people who remembered me from school. One of the people who answered the advertisement was Sheila from Bridport who I still write to today and has become a very very dear friend who I love to bits. At one time I had over 70 plus penpals from all over the world. I remember an 80-year-old call Sing who lived in Hawaii. Others I have lost touch or maybe they have passed on ….Mary Lou from the USA. a lot of my pals were young mums and now we are grandmothers. So letter writing has been a big part of my life and the surrounding implements….stationery, notelets, pens, shops like The Works etc.

My Aunty Eva taught me to knit and I never stopped. I call myself a plain knitter and have never mastered fancy lacy complicated stuff or its sibling…crochet……hard for me to master. For a few years now I have been knitting hats, scarves and gloves for the homeless. also, knee blankets for them, which I take along to Guildford Action who get them to the homeless. When lockdown happened and the wool shops closed my lovely daughter in law ordered me wool from Amazon and I thought what project can I do, I thought I will knit nice scarves. I had a list of 12 of dear people. I decided 100 grams balls,40 stitches, moss stitch to the end of the ball. The first idea was maybe to stitch a ribbon border at each end ….but a very dear friend had rainbow motifs that I could stitch on and also rainbow pins and badges. The 12 in the list jumped to 46 which are all done but my tidy mind wanted a round number of 50….which I am enjoying giving/posting to people.

Do collections count as hobbies? Along with my letter writing, I have accumulated masses of stationery that I know I will never run out of in this lifetime. I got into adult colouring and have a pile of those books and masses of pens/felt tips. Blue glass which I keep in the bathroom. Owls of all sorts from ornaments, fluffy toys and pictures and cushions, I also collect pens and badges that I have pinned on scarves in the hall pinned on the wall

Just a bit of the clutter that is part of my home.