Today I’m sharing details of Jetsam, a quilt I made some years ago. It was an interesting experiment, combining fabric I had hand dyed with knitted pieces and plenty of hand stitching to hold it together. This is the fabric and the selection of threads I used for stitching. I chose green and blue shades […]
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.
I’d love to hear from you, so please leave a comment on any of my posts if anything resonates with you.
Why I go to author talks
People who write books that are published – aka ‘authors’ – usually have to work hard to spread the word about their books. It is hard work, performing in front of an audience whose members may or may not have read the current book. Thankfully, I’ve never been in this situation because I’ve never written […]
Here’s how to read my newsletters
“This weekly newsletter is written by me, Erica Spinks, so I can share stories about books, gardens, quilts and other interests with you.“ These are words from the footer of my weekly newsletters and, hopefully, gives you an idea of what to expect. I write a newsletter each Sunday and, if you subscribe, it will […]
Book review: An A-List for Death
Poppy McGowan returns in this sequel to Digging Up Dirt (which I reviewed last year). I’ve been eagerly waiting for this! Poppy is a TV researcher who is happiest behind the scenes. When a photograph of her with rock god Nathan Castle pops up on celebrity gossip sites, she’s not happy about the media feeding […]
Autumn mist and fog
It takes a long time to get used to local weather patterns. I’ve lived most of my life in Sydney and know how the weather works there; what to expect from a southerly buster, when the humidity is worst, and the direction of storm paths. The key to learning different weather patterns is observation and […]
I think it drowned
Sometimes, plants die, seemingly inexplicably. I always accept this as part of the cycle of life; some plants have longer lives than others. I usually enjoy the beauty or usefulness of a plant without worrying about its longevity. It is sad, though, when a plant dies for no obvious reason. It’s even sadder when I […]
Leaves and more leaves
It’s autumn here and there are fallen leaves throughout my garden. When I rediscovered this small quilt in my quilt cupboard today, it reminded me of the season. I fused hand-dyed leaf shapes to the purple background and machine quilted curved lines to indicate breeze. It’s a simple quilt yet it really captures the autumn […]
In her garden
I’ve always loved magazines and I’ve always loved gardens. Combine the two and I’m yours! This is the cover of a beautiful new magazine from the stable of Stampington & Company, publishers of other creative titles. It’s actually a spin-off from In Her Studio magazine and contains stories, photographs and projects about women and their […]
Museum of broken relationships
I discovered the most extraordinary place last week – the Museum of Broken Relationships. It was a chance discovery – you know how we all get diverted when following links on the internet – and I had never heard of it. Yes, it’s a real thing! Lulah Ellender wrote an essay about it here. There […]
Book review: The Beautiful Words
Sylvie is a lover of words and a collector of stories, only she has lost her own. She has no words for a night at a lighthouse that changed the relationship between her and her best friend and soulmate, Kase. What happened to rip them apart 23 years ago? When Kase invites Sylvie to the […]