We are all artists

This is an edited excerpt from my book, Craft Club Yarn, published by Hardie Grant Books.

It's a truth universally acknowledged that every human must be in want of a crafty project. I swear that's how the quote goes, right? Austen aside, I genuinely believe that each and every one of us was born with the capacity to create.

Since the dawn of time, humans have been hardwired to create. Whether it's cooking a hearty meal out of a bundle of gathered roots or transforming a bale of hay into a soft bed to sleep on. Every object ever made came from someone's creative imagination. And with a little practice and honing of skills, they were able to craft that idea into reality.

When you haven't picked up a paintbrush since school, it's hard to think of yourself as an artist bursting with creative ideas. Yet every single day, we take part in tiny creative acts – from choosing what we want to wear, to cooking a meal with what's available in the cupboard. These simple acts might not seem all that important, but they are proof of the inherent creative abilities we all hold within us.

Cast your mind back to when you were a child. Most of us have fond memories of scribbling away with crayons or making paper chains with coloured paper. The wonderfully simple fact is that these moments in your childhood had no literal purpose – we did them simply for the enjoyment of imagination. When we decorated our schoolbooks with curly writing and stickers, we weren't trying to collage a masterpiece for a gallery. We were simply indulging in our love for a particular shade of orange in our new glitter pen.

Craft Club Yarn is available to pre-order now – you'll find the link on the home page. I can't wait for you to read the rest.