Danns.co.uk

So... this is all very exciting!

I decided it was time to finally give in and start blogging, after slight pestering from my husband (Paul). Having never kept a blog, I shall ignore all common blogging etiquette and blag it from here... so I'm blagging at blogging, if you will.

My name is Sophie - hello! I am married to Paul (see writer of all other posts). We live in England (with many a-plan to move further afield at some point). I thought I would introduce myself and my hobbies a little, and ignore all feelings of this being self-obsessive (Paul has assured me that blogging about oneself is totally normal and does not, in fact, count as being self-absorbed).

So, my hobbies are rather vast and random though I believe they are currently back "in fashion", which is good to know.

My first and foremost hobby is film and anything film-related. I have an important distinction between "films" and "movies". "Movies" are the kind of thing spawned by Hollywood - basic plot, main-stream actors, hero, heroine, bad guy, whole kit and kaboodle. A "film" is something more artistic. It has to have thought and creativity. It needs to be considered more a work of art than just another piece of entertainment. I love both movies and films, but studying them is something I do in my spare time.

I haven't attended actual lectures on them since my A-level in film studies. I own somewhere in the region of 600+ DVDs, and I watch them as often as possible. My favourite genre is horror films (more "The Shining" than everyday slasher movies). My favourite 5 films would have to be: The Usual Suspects, Leon, Withail & I, Aliens, The Third Man, Edward Scissorhands, Festen, Dogville, American Beauty, Empire of the Sun and One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Ok, so that was more than 5, but I just can't narrow it down any more!

Right, so next hobby is: craft. Anything and everything crafty. Though that's not true because some I just can't get into. I have made a nice, organised, comprehensive list of all the crafts I do and how long I have been doing them for:

** Cross stitch - been doing this since I was 4 years old.
** Sewing - mainly clothes, with the occasional household item; been doing it since I was 11 years old.
** Knitting - have rediscovered this recently and have been doing it for a few months.
** Card-making - not a huge hobby, but do it occassionally; been doing it for a good few years.
** Scrapbooking - have recently decided to try this; have the materials but have not yet found time to start.
** Painting - not done so much of this but getting more into it as time goes by.
** Christmas craft - being a Christian, I tend to make lots of things (especially decorations or Christian-related craft) at Christmas-time.
** Cooking - ok, doesn't really count as 'craft', but enjoy trying my hand at mixing up recipes.
** Paper making - seems a logical next step as I use lots of paper in craft; am hoping to start on this soon, as it has only occured to me in the last couple of months.

I think that's most of the craft. I tend to do whatever comes along at the time. I am more specifically currently working on cross-stitch, knitting, painting and sewing projects. I am hoping to start scrapbooking once I have a spare minute (ie. after we finish installing our kitchen!). I am also interested in starting on a new project involving papier mache masks. I am still in the planning stage of this one, but I am hoping to incorporate lots of different types of decoration (painting, felt-tips, collage, etc) so I guess just watch this space!

Phew, that seems like a lot! In general, I am hoping to use this blog space to discuss my latest crafty projects, and show them step-by-step. I will have to borrow Paul's camera and take some photos of my crafts as I complete them. I will also hopefully slip in the odd film review. We went to see National Treasure 2 yesterday, but I don't think it was unusual enough to make any kind of interesting comment on.

Hope you enjoy reading about all that is going on. I welcome any suggestions or tips from fellow crafters, and am willing to offer any help to people who are interested.