Welcome to the winter solstice, an annual turning point of the natural world. If you’re unsure about what a solstice is, I recommend this article by Jonti Horner. I’m always encouraged when we reach the winter solstice – the shortest period of daylight of the calendar year – because I like to look towards the […]
Protecting my headspace
Stories are my thing. They can be constructed from my memories or recounted by other people. Stories can be spoken or written; based on facts or totally imaginary. It doesn’t matter how they come to me. Words, of course, are the basic building blocks of stories. I’m immersed in words every day, whether I’m reading, […]
Striking Streptocarpus
Now the cold weather has arrived, my attention has turned to my flowering indoor plants. Their blooms can be admired without having to venture out in the chilly winds. What a bonus! I have a collection of African violets that bloom all year round if I remember to feed them regularly. The plants are easily […]
Book review: Echo Lake
After recently divorced Rose McHugh leaves Sydney to start a new life in the Southern Highlands area, she finds a roll of film buried in her backyard. She has the film developed (I’m not sure many people would do that but she’s an historian and also nosy, which helps make her actions more believable), and […]
Newsletter: frost and cosiness
Hello! It’s early afternoon here and I’m gazing out my window at the cloudy sky and the trees moving in the wind. The weather app tells me it feels like 0.9 degrees outside so I won’t be venturing there. Yes, I’m a wuss. I like to stay cosy. We’ve had three frosts this month. Yesterday’s […]
The power of stories
For four years, I was Editor of an Australian quilt magazine. A few years after I left, the business was sold and the magazine subsequently shutdown. Until then, the magazine showcased a wide range of stories about the Australian patchwork and quilting community. I was proud of the hard work I put into nearly 50 […]
Smashed windflowers
Isn’t it frustrating when you look forward to particular plants flowering and then the weather spoils the occasion? That’s what happened with my Japanese windflowers. I love to see the blooms of my windflowers sway in the breeze. I have several patches of them throughout the garden and, when they are out of season, the […]
When a quilt is a challenge
The challenge was to make a quilt that measured 50 inches square. Sounds straightforward, right? No such luck – my quilt had other ideas. It simply did not want to be that size and fought me all the way. The quilt won. It has always been difficult for me to make a quilt to a […]
Creative inertia
This is nothing new to me. Creative inertia – a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged – usually occurs when I am overwhelmed or my subconscious is processing something. I don’t think it is a negative thing, at least not for me. It’s simply a part of life’s ebb and flow. I took […]
Newsletter: bulbs and projects
Hello Creative Dabblers! Welcome to this month’s newsletter. Quilts As usual, I have several hand piecing and appliqué projects on the go. I’ve also started hand quilting one quilt. I like having several pieces to work on. As someone who gets bored easily, the ability to choose which project I stitch each time is a […]