Tips for Collecting Materials: look out for oddments of yarn, beads, fabric scraps, pieces of card, string and anything which could be useful. Build up your own 'stash'. This will be really handy, because you'll always have something to use when the creative urge strikes! Friends, relatives and neighbours might be sorting out oddments left over from knitting projects, broken strings of beads, fabric from dressmaking or whatever....see if they'll 'throw' them in your direction! Keep an eye open for bargains in the shops and at the market, where 'remnants' and 'oddballs' are often very cheap. Check your local charity (thrift) shops whenever you're passing. Organise your stash according to colour to save time and make it easy to find just what you want. See-through plastic stacking boxes are an inexpensive and convenient way to store your bargains and finds.

Equipment: Someone at home may have equipment which you can borrow, otherwise look for knitting needles and crochet hooks in charity shops and yard/car-boot sales. Check out adverts in local papers and shop windows-you might be lucky enough to spot a spinning wheel or table loom! It may be possible to improvise : a drop spindle can be made from a pencil stuck into a lump of modelling clay or a small potato.

Patterns and Inspiration: There are lots of yarn textile (knitting and crochet) sites on the internet. Some sites display the work of an individual textile artist, whilst others belong to groups or organisations. It's worth visiting them to see how other people work - you'll be amazed by the range of styles, designs, yarns, colours and techniques which are used. Many sites have free patterns, especially for gifts to make, and seasonal decorations. It's a good idea to print off patterns which you really want, as the sites are updated and the free patterns changed quite often. Why not store your patterns in a ring-binder, using see-through plastic pockets? Try making a sketch or writing a brief description if you see an idea which you think you could adapt - you don't have to produce a brilliant piece of art - just something which will jog your memory when you look at it, and remind you of what you saw. Keep these in your ring-binder, too.