Threads – spinning the web of time
Almost exactly a year ago I went into a shop called Quilters Corner, opposite the library in Evesham, Worcestershire. It was a wet Saturday in March 2018. I was attracted by a beautiful quilt hanging in the window. It was log cabin pattern, using a variety of dark green, rust and cream fabrics. As a former patchwork addict, it was like a magnet. However, more surprises were to come! Inside the shop I came face to face with a black and gold Naumann sewing machine similar to the one owned by my Great Grandmother and passed on to my mother on her marriage to my father. It was the machine I learned to sew on – with varying degrees of success!
I stood gazing at the machine as time span backwards, did a loop the loop and left my brain spinning. I left the shop, went to the nearest café and sat writing a torrent of ideas. A year later, the result is this book. So far, this book has exceeded any expectations I had. The book signing in Quilters Corner (held on a wet Thursday in early April) was an amazing event (photo of me with Charlie Gannon, owner of Quilters Corner). The book is selling well – I have a small following in Germany – and appears to be leading to other projects I would never have thought of doing. I am also researching another novel set in Liverpool and Belfast.
Several people told me not to bother with this project. I am so glad I disregarded their advice and just did it. 
The book is continuing to do sell well on Amazon and via my website www.writers-toolkit.co.uk
I’m developing some of the ideas as short stories. Never waste a good idea by only using it once!
Evesham Festival of Words photographer, Angela Fitch, and I have joined forces to produce a book of poems, recipes and images featuring some of the beautiful cafes in Evesham.