Dear reader...
AS A CHILD, I was gifted a craft book by my favourite aunt. Even now, many years later, I regularly spend time immersing myself in its pages.
On the bookplate, there is a handwritten inscription wishing the 10-year-old me ‘many hours of enjoyment’, and as I thumb through the chapters, I still feel the anticipation I felt then at the variety of projects inside. There are heritage crafts, such as Jacobean crewel work and corn dolly making, alongside instructions for vibrant wall hangings and sunny latch-hooked rugs.
At the time, most of the crafts were beyond my childhood capabilities, but that did not prevent me from dreaming of the day when I would have both the skill and the materials to create them.
Sandwiched between batik and candle making, there is still a bookmark, cut from the front of a birthday card, marking the craft I coveted the most: decorated eggs.
Perhaps now is the time to have a go: spring is here, and they would be a seasonal addition to my mantelpiece.
Choosing a duck egg for its chalky white texture, I carefully pierce holes top and bottom and, after a few failed attempts, extract the egg from its shell. Cradling the shell in my hand, I consider its properties: fragility and strength in equal parts.
With small strokes of vibrant blue, I paint groups of petals surrounded by pointed green leaves. As it sinks into the surface, the paint becomes opaque, creating a delicate, watery effect. Securing a piece of thread with a tiny bead, I admire my work. It is ready to hang up... with all the others I plan to make.