Welcome to the eighth in my Three Questions series, where I ask makers about their creative practices. I’ve admired Cathy’s ceramics from afar for ages, especially those featuring motifs from crafty pursuits. With their clever designs and delicate colouring, they are things of beauty. I’m so pleased to be able to feature her work here. […]
Welcome
Hello! I’m Erica Spinks and I’m so pleased you are here.
Welcome to readers who have followed me from my Creative Dabbling blog and to all of you who have just found me.
I write mostly about gardening, reading, writing, quilt making and creativity.
My book of the month: April 2021
I wish I’d discovered this book when it was published in 2019. That was a busy and stressful year for me so I guess that’s why I missed it. But now I’ve read it and wow – it is the most astonishingly poignant story I have read in a long time. Immediately I started reading […]
Weekend reading
We’ve had one complete week of constant rain (294 mm) followed by a week of gloriously sunny days. Of course, it would have been better if the rain had been spread out but weather systems don’t work like that, do they? Many plants in my garden drowned. That means plenty of tidying up to do […]
In my garden column: March 2021
I’m starting to write my April gardening column for our local newspaper. I checked to see what I’d written in my March column and realised I hadn’t shared it here. Can’t let that happen, so here it is, complete with newspaper creases. This time, I’m looking through seed catalogues. What seeds are you planting for […]
Brenda Gael Smith: three questions
Welcome to the seventh in my Three Questions series, where I ask makers about their creative practices. I met Brenda through QuiltNSW, a state-wide groups that aims to promote the art and craft of patchwork and quilting. Since then, we have worked together on various projects for that group and enjoyed ‘creative excursions’ to further our exposure […]
Weekend reading
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks. My garden club is meeting again and so is my quilting group, so I’m enjoying meeting new people with common interests and getting involved. The state government suspended our local council and replaced it with an interim administrator, initially for three months. There’s been lots of rain and […]
My book of the month: March 2021
It always intrigues me when an author takes facts – in this case, that Elizabeth Macarthur was the wife of John Macarthur and they both emigrated to New South Wales in the early days of the colony – and applies the ‘what if’ question. In this case, Kate Grenville asks: what if Elizabeth had written […]
Celebrating women
It’s International Women’s Day. We are strong but we are not unbreakable. Let’s celebrate all the women who have gone before us, all those around us today, and all those in the future. We rock! Detail of my Goddess Roseus quilt. Foil and hand stitching on silk paper.
Weekend reading
What a satisfactory week! It’s been sunny every day and that’s helped my dahlia flowers unfurl their petals. I’ll write more on that later and show you some photos. I’m so glad I planted these glorious blooms. The sunshine cheered my spirits this week. The leaves on the deciduous trees in my garden are changing […]
Japanese Anemones
Japanese Anemones are such pretty plants to have in my garden. With their long stems and delicate flowers that ripple in the breeze, it’s easy to see why they are known as Windflowers. I have a pot of pink ones, that I brought with me from my previous garden but haven’t yet transplanted into the […]