My mind keeps turning to all the large projects I have planned for this year (the garden once big earth works finished, quilts for the kids’ beds and so on), but the increasing pressure of revision means I really can’t allow myself to be distracted in that way. Valentine’s day, however, presents me with a perfect excuse for bit of a small-scale creativity, as I always make something for the girls. These felt brooches are two of the three I made for them last year.

The third is attached to something I can’t lay my hands on. As you can see, they are pretty basic. The felt was left over from some Christmas decorations and it took around half an hour to make all three. I cut the hearts freehand, stuck them together with Copydex and then quickly stitched here and there, using the buttons and brooch fixings to hold everything firmly in case the glue gave out later. I’d forgotten all about making them until this morning, even though I see them everyday on my daughters’ coats and hats. So the challenge is to come up with something just as simple and that will also prove as popular. I have a couple of ideas, and I’ll post something later when I know what I am doing.