Another Book Cover

I needed a gift for a Christmas Present Swap next week. How do you choose a gift when you don't know who the recipient will be? I came up with all sorts of ideas, which I rejected one by one. Although they're all female, the age ranges from 30 to nearly 60, includes two with food allergies, two who don't drink alcohol and one that I hardly know! So, I started searching the stash of sewing experiments that have been put aside, because I didn't know what to do with them at the time. I found the piece with threads and ribbons that I wove together. I couldn't remember when I made it, so checked the blog. September 2007! It's past time I did something with it. So I made a book cover, and matched it up with a gorgeous pen that I found in an Oxfam shop.
This is the back -

The book has occasional pages of purple batik paper, just to add some interest -

I hope the recipient likes it. I'm going to include a list of ideas for using the book. Here's what I have so far...

A diary (so you always have something sensational to read)
A place to write down that wonderful quote you just read (you just know you'll lose the scrap of paper)
A Gratitude Journal (write down three things each day that you are grateful for)
A place for your "To Do" lists
An Observation Journal (for that novel you've always wanted to write)
A sketchbook
A notebook (to write down the details of that great idea you just saw or heard about)

What would you use it for?

Eucalyptus Rhodantha

The rain that we had at the beginning of spring has triggered the flowering of some eucalypts in my Dad's garden. This is my favourite. It's such a scrappy looking tree normally, but when it flowers - Wow! The blossoms are huge, too. I've realised that I have no photos that show the scale, or the tree that they're attached to, so maybe that's an assignment for this weekend -


And this is how the blossom looks as it's emerging from under its cap...

Silk scraps

I've been working on this, on and off, for a while now. It's a good project to take to a Saturday embroidery meeting, because I can sit and chat without having to think too hard about what I'm doing. So I pulled it out last Saturday, when a free Saturday of mine coincided with a local group meeting. It's based on an Effie Mitrofanis project in Stitch magazine, although I've really only used that as a starting point. The silk is from a samples card that I picked up in a sale bin at a curtain shop years ago. I knew I'd use it one day...

It's a bit like these ribbons, which I've either bought at various times, or rescued from Christmas parcels over the years. I'm trying to find inspiration for this years' Christmas cards, because I really should get started on them. I have a couple of ideas about how I'd like to use them. Now I just have to play a bit to find out whether my vague ideas will translate into something achievable!

Indian Inspiration

A recent trip to Sydney to attend a conference resulted in catching an end of season cold that turned into an infection. That's why the blog has been neglected for the last few weeks.

However, I'm quite recovered now and thought I'd share my Sydney purchase with you. These quilts, made from old Indian embroideries which have been cut up and joined together have become fairly common, I know. However, I've looked at lots and thought they were either uninspiring, too expensive or that the colours just weren't appealing. This one, however, caught my eye. The price was right, I loved the colours (yes, it's mostly blue!), and I keep finding bits of inspiration in the many tiny pieces of embroidery.

I still need to find a good way to hang it, so couldn't get a photo of the whole quilt. However, it's the detail that appealed to me, and that's what I wanted to share. So, here it is -

Inspiration

It's really no wonder that peacock feathers have been used as design inspiration in so many ways by so many artists. I found some being sold at a Farmers' Market recently, so bought a bunch to put in a vase. I love noticing the way that the colours and metallic sheen change during the day as the light changes...

Favourite Books - The List

Angus and Roberstson Bookshops have recently released a list of 100 favourite books, based on a survey of their customers. Ruth published it on her blog. I was mostly amazed at the number of books I didn't like at all which made it to the list.

Ruth has now issued a challenge to other bloggers to list their fifty favourite books. It started me thinking. So here is my eclectic list. It is listed alphabetically by author. It contains books I loved as a child, books that changed my way of thinking as I grew up, books that always cheer me up, books that taught me something. What they all have in common is that they are in my library, because I regard them as "keepers" - books that I have re-read and will continue to re-read (yes, even the children's books!). And I know I have cheated and listed trilogies and series as single books. What the heck. It's my list, after all! There are also many books in my library that didn't make it to the list, so it's probably given me a starting point for doing some culling, too.

What's your list? I'm always looking for another book to fall in love with.

Douglas Adams- Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (and the rest of the series)

Isaac Asimov- The Foundation Trilogy

Jean M. Auel - Clan of the Cave Bear

Jane Austen- Emma

Jane Austen- Pride and Prejudice

H.E. Bates- The Darling Buds of May

Enid Blyton - The Enchanted Wood

Emily Bronte- Wuthering Heights

Geraldine Brooks- Year of Wonders

Lois McMaster Bujold- The Warrior’s Apprentice (and the other Vorkosigan books)

Jung Chang- Wild Swans

Agatha Christie- The Mysterious Affair at Styles (and lots of her others)

Wilkie Collins- The Moonstone

Elizabeth David- An Omelette and a Glass of Wine

Patrick Dennis- Auntie Mame

Charles Dickens- David Copperfield

Charles Dickens- Oliver Twist

Isak Dinesen- Out of Africa

R.F. Delderfield- The Swann Saga (series)

Arthur Conan Doyle- Sherlock Holmes stories

Gerald Durrell- My Family and Other Animals

Victoria Finlay- Colour

Ken Follett - Pillars of the Earth

Jostein Gaarder- Sophie’s World

Paul Gallico - The Silent Miaow

John Galsworthy- The Forsyte Saga (series)

Mrs Aeneas Gunn- We of the Never Never

Frances Moore Lappe-Diet for a Small Planet

Harper Lee- To Kill a Mockingbird

C.S. Lewis- Chronicles of Narnia (series)

Astrid Lindgren – Pippi Longstocking

Gavin Maxwell- Ring of Bright Water

James A. Michener- Hawaii

Mary Norton- The Borrowers

John O’Grady- They’re a Weird Mob

George Orwell- Animal Farm

Marcel Pagnol- Jean de Florette

Edward Rutherfurd- Sarum

Vikram Seth- A Suitable Boy

Clifford Simak- City

Joahanna Spyri- Heidi

Mary Stewart- Merlin Trilogy

Amy Tan- The Kitchen God’s Wife

Flora Thompson- Lark Rise to Candleford

J.R.R. Tolkien- The Hobbit

J.R.R. Tolkien- Lord of the Rings Trilogy

H.G. Wells - The Sleeper Awakes

Margaret Visser- Much Depends on Dinner

Evelyn Waugh- The Loved One

John Wyndham- Day of the Triffids

Playing again

The newly painted, carpeted and totally re-arranged lounge room needed some cushions, preferably blue. While searching for blue fabrics, I came across a piece I made a while ago for a challenge, then decided I didn't like it and didn't know what to do with it. So,I played with it some more, and made it into a cushion.

It contains a mixture of fabrics and threads,beads and both hand and machine stitching. I quite like it now.

Here's a close-up of a section -