I'm a geek for everything - at the moment it's knitting, but in the past it's been chemistry, horticulture and before that, singing and playing my 'cello.
As a child I was a big fan of Blue Peter and am the proud owner of 3 Blue Peter Badges. My friends tell me this is their favourite fact about me! I have a normal badge for a letter I sent in, a green environment badge following another letter, and finally a silver badge from my appearance on the show in 1987. Like I said, I am a bit of a geek!
I have a PhD in chemistry from the University of Nottingham, and when I worked as a teacher, I was known throughout the school as the one who made the fume hood glass shatter when carrying out a thermite reaction. Secondary students like nothing better than a science teacher who explodes things...
Following a move to Somerset, I retrained in horticulture and worked as a National Trust volunteer and then staff at Stourhead. I still enjoy gardening, and particularly growing fruit and veg.
I took my first steps into knitting as a profession in December 2008, when I was appointed Technical Editor on The Knitter. I worked there from Issue 2 to 28, before leaving to work as a freelance Technical Editor and occasional knitwear designer.
I blog about things that interest me. Mostly it's knitting, but I also post regularly about sewing projects, cooking and gardening.
I live in Frome, in the south-west of the UK with my long-suffering husband and luckily-not-interested-in-yarn cats, Ollie and Ginge.