This is the first novel by Salley Vickers I have read and, after finishing it, I am keen to read her others. It transported me to the Welsh Marches, that area along the border between Wales and England. Any writer who can evoke such a strong sense of place engages me. Hassie Days, an illustrator, […]
Welcome
Hello! I’m Erica Spinks and I’m glad you are here. I write mostly about gardening, reading, writing, quilt making and creativity.
Check out my ABOUT page to find out more. You can sign up for my Creative Dabbling newsletter here to be delivered to your inbox.
I’d love to hear from you, so please leave a comment on any of my posts if anything resonates with you.
The value of creating
Have you ever read something that forces you to immediately stop whatever you are doing? Like when a sentence hits you with force and make you wonder how that couldn’t possibly have occurred to you before? For me, it happened when I read a quote from Neil Gaiman. I’m a voracious reader. To me, reading […]
Newsletter: starting and ending
Hello Creative Dabblers! February passed by with a whoosh; I didn’t mean to miss the month’s newsletter but here we are now in March. Surprising. My new keyboard is behaving nicely. I do like a full-size keyboard with a number pad. None of those small or on-screen keypads for me. This one is connected, along […]
Book review: The seven skins of Esther Wilding
The seven skins of Esther Wilding is an astonishing novel; a novel of grief and self-discovery underpinned with shimmering layers of stories from Indigenous Australia and Scandinavia. After Esther’s sister Aura disappears in the sea near their hometown in Lutruwita Tasmania, Esther eventually realises she needs to embark on a journey to understand what had […]
Hand piecing in 2023
This year, I have started a new hand-piecing project to take with me to my quilt group sewing sessions. It’s a pattern called Marguerite by Marg Sampson-George and contains many interlocking pieces. Hand piecing has always been my favourite method of making quilts. I guess it’s because that’s the method I learned at my first […]
Clover – lucky or not?
On a walk around my neighbourhood, I notice there are spreading patches of clover throughout lawns and nature strips. I’m sure that they weren’t so widespread this time last year. Initially I thought this was a Bad Thing and not to be encouraged in my lawn but now I’m not so sure. Clover is an […]
Celebrating UFOs
Most quilters have Unfinished Objects (UFOs) stored in cupboards, boxes or under the bed. This is usually seen as a Bad Thing, but let’s stop this negative thinking right now, because it’s very draining and we don’t need that in our lives, do we? Let’s examine the positives of UFOs. The fact your UFO exists […]
It’s time to choose spring bulbs
Please reassure me that I’m not the only gardener who is excited when new plant catalogues arrive. The first of the spring catalogues arrived last month and they are bursting with temptations. Whether online or in print, the colourful photos always entice me to add more bulbs to my garden. I’ve been trying to decide […]
Revive: national cultural policy
What a relief it is to have a government that accepts and supports our Australian stories, past and present, no matter the format or medium. After many years of being ignored (and whittled down), creation and access to our stories is recognised as a critical part of a healthy society. Today the Australian Government launched […]
Newsletter: reality and productivity
Hello creative dabblers and thanks for reading (maybe that’s premature to assume you’ll continue reading since this is the first sentence). I hope, though, that you will carry on! I’m typing this with a keyboard that has certain keys sticking. It’s mildly annoying but it seems to give my keyboard a personality, as if it’s […]