Slow down and smell the library books...

People often remark that I seem to fit a lot into life.  Maybe it looks that way from the outside - I write a blog, produce a podcast, write for a newsletter company, make art, make hand-made goods to sell, work as a midwife, raise two kids and run a houseboathold - but I always feel as if I could do more, be more efficient, stop sitting around, stop losing myself in social media...I'm sure you've had those feelings too at some point.

In an attempt to be the person I want to be, I can get really caught up in the 'busy' syndrome, and I realise that that has some big downfalls.  This was brought home to me the other day when I was in my local library.  

I'm a big fan of public libraries.  It starts with fond memories from when I was a kid.  The family loading into the van on Saturday mornings, going to the library and being allowed to browse and bring home five books each (there were six kids and two parents, that's a lot of books and I'm guessing we all had to carry our own!).

Photo from Pixabay

The library was a favourite place of mine in primary school too.  Mrs Hammond, the librarian, was a kind, gentle woman who let kids help with the library tasks and I enjoyed books so much that I was a librarian at high school for a year or two as well.  

The Wellington public library was an amazing place when I was working at my first job in the city.  It had a great cafe where I'd meet my sisters for a coffee and then find a couple of books to take home.  It was always a warm refuge from the sometimes vicious Wellington weather and I spent many happy hours among the shelves there.

Back to the present day, and busy Me makes use of the on-line library catalogue.  I'll search for the books I want for the kids or myself, request them and then run in and grab them when I'm in town checking off my errand list.  I use the audio book service to download and listen to audio books when I'm multitasking and I use the after hours return slot when I'm on my way to work.

But I don't 'enjoy' the library anymore.  I don't go in with time to spare and browse and sit and soak in the knowledge and run my finger along book spines and flick through a book at random.  And I realised how much I missed that when I did it the other day by accident.  I went in to find a couple of books for my son and then I looked at my watch, realised I had a spare 30 minutes and so headed upstairs to the non-fiction section with no set plan or checklist or even an idea of what I was looking for.

And here is what I came home with:

The Unburnt Egg by Brian Gill - stories from a museum curator, 

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman - fiction I had been recommended for my 12 year old son, 

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson - more recommended fiction for my boy,

Living Wild by Bear Grylls - I thought this might appeal to my son, who is into hunting and sticks and fires and outdoors in a big way,

Dracopedia by William O'Connor - this one is for me!  A guide to drawing dragons.  I'm thinking of making another dragon quilt,

Making Pop-Ups and Novelty Cards by Trish Phillips and Ann Montanaro - one for my 9 year old daughter who loves crafty things,

Weta Workshop by Luke Hawker - Weta is New Zealand's amazing design and special effects studio and workshop that (among other achievements) did the costuming and digital characters for The Lord of the Rings movie.  My daughter thinks she might like to work there so this book seemed appropriate!

And lastly, Possum on a Cold Tin Roof by Charlie Janes - hunting and bushcraft adventures and mishaps written by a good keen kiwi bloke with a sense of humour.  This is for my husband who doesn't read much, but I think I picked right.....

I took this sneaky picture of him reading this afternoon. Don't tell him!

The other thing I came home with was satisfaction.  I had found books to appeal to everyone.  I had let the library work it's magic and turn up gems that I wouldn't have found electronically.  And I had enjoyed myself.  That's what the 'busy' syndrome can do if I let it take over.  It can suck the pleasure out of life because I'm so busy trying to cram in everything I 'should' be doing that I forget to have fun while I'm doing it.

So here's to libraries, and here's to slowing down and smelling the pages!

For the love of books

I thought I'd share a few of the books that are gracing my bedside table at the moment.  

I've been searching for ways to capture light in my art and when I opened this book at my library I had to take it home.  Louis Comfort Tiffany - Masterpieces of Art, by Susie Hodge, describes the life and work of Louis Tiffany and then has pages and pages of images of his beautiful works in mainly stained glass.

I knew about Tiffany glass and lamps of course, but to see a whole collection of them in one book was eye-opening and inspiring.  If I can do just a little of what he does I'll be happy.

Te Hao Nui - The Great Catch.  Edited by Fiona McKergow and Kerry Taylor with photography by Michael Hall.   This is an intriguing book about the museum collection at Te Manawa, Palmerston North.  There are some delightful objects that have a history you'd never guess at.

And this pendant is just so beautiful.

This book was another in my search for light in my own work.  Light and Landscape, the New Zealand photographs of Andris Apse.  It is just glorious, page after page of wonderful photographs - sigh.  

Do you use books like these for inspiration?  

The Whiny Sniffler

Head colds always get me down.  They sap my energy and leave me wanting to do nothing but read.  (Unlike my crazy daughter who always seems to have boundless supplies of go-go juice!).  And read is about all I've been doing lately (The Liveship Trader series by Robin Hobb if anyone is interested, sci-fi fantasy escapism at it's best).  And I'm just managing to keep the house from drowning in chaos.

Maybe I'm languishing because I know that when I'm better I have painting to do.  Lots of painting!  I know I should be really happy that my studio is all but done, but instead I have a whiny monologue running in my head.  "It's going to take ages.  Can't we hire someone?  I don't really know how to paint a room."  Moan, moan, moan!  I need to kick myself in the butt and just get going.

Then I need to source a laundry bench, the floor needs to be sanded and varnished, the bathroom needs to be painted and my boy's bedroom wall needs to be painted.

And then it's ALL DONE!

Books to bury your nose in.

I've given up reading novels.  Well, I've put it on hold till I have gained the skill of self-control (snort!).  I just can't put a novel down until it's done.  Instead, I'm picking up books that you can delve into for a few minutes here and there and enjoy.

So what am I reading looking at?

The Hobbit by J R R Tolkien.  This one I am actually reading, in sections, to my boy at bedtime.  He in enthralled.  And I'm rapidly running out of pages.  Any suggestions for our next read?

The Diary of a Farmer's Wife 1796-1797.  This is a reading one too.  But as it's a diary and written in ye olde style English, it was put downable.  Interesting to read, not sure if it's genuine or a well done fake.

Twelve by Twelve.  The International Art Quilt Challenge.  Now this is a fantastic find.  Lusciously and generously photographed, this book is a round up of a collaborative challenge.  Twelve art quilters, making twelve 12" x 12" quilts.  Each artist took turns picking a theme and it was fascinating to see the different interpretations.  Each month features one quilt in depth and profiles the art quilter who made it.  This is well worth a read and has entertained and inspired me.

1000 Artisan Textiles. Sandra Salamony and Gina M. Brown.  This one is a great find too.  Page after page of rich colour, fantastic shapes, texture and design.  There are five sections; wearable art and couture, fashion accessories, soft furnishings and vessels, tapestries and display art and art quilts.  The only beef I have with it is that the only information shared under each was the name of the maker.  The title, size and materials were all in a directory at the back, awkward to keep flipping back and forth.

The Crafting of Narnia by Weta Workshop.  This one I picked up for my boy and he has loved looking through it.  The illustrations are enchanting and incredibly detailed.  I was taken with it too and enjoyed flicking through it.  I can't say I read too much of the text, but it is well worth it as a picture book.

The other two in the stack are:

The Quilt.  Beauty in Fabric and Thread by Marie Salazar.  Again, lovely pictures.  But published in 1997, some of the quilts are a bit dated.  Interesting to see style progression though.

And The Nude by Giovanni Civardi.  This is the odd one out!  I borrowed this from the library to help me with a quilt I'm planning. 

So what books are on your nightstand?

Calico Christmas

I need a medal.  I visited Calico Christmas, the exhibition of the Auckland Patchworkers and Quilters Guild with many, many merchant stalls and I did not come home with a single skerrick of fabric...but I did come home with this book.  (And if anyone knows where my camera is, please let me know.  So image borrowed from Amazon!  And no you can't click to look inside.)

I've seen it advertised in a magazine before and thought I'd like to have it as my interest in eco-friendly quilting grows.  Then after I flicked through it at the Minerva stall, I just couldn't leave without it.  The most vibrant and luscious photography adorns its pages and it's full of ideas and recipes for natural dyes.  I can't wait to get started. 

I forgot to take my camera to Calico Christmas (and now it's MIA) so used my cell phone instead.  Problem:  I can't get the pics from camera to computer.  So if you want to have a lookey at some, go here to Leann's blog.  She's a little more organised than me!

I've been absent for a few days. I got lost. I do that occasionally. Lost in a book. I will read and read and read and read and take the book to the laundry with me and try and fill the washing machine one handed.

Now I don't profess to be a book critic. I don't belong to a book club and I don't spend time analysing the themes etc. (Hey, I don't have time to analyse themes - I'm READING!). But this book grabbed me - not immediately - but in the end, so thoroughly, that I stayed up to midnight last night finishing it.

"I know this much is true" by Wally Lamb

I don't like to recommend books to anyone - tastes differ so much. But if you're going on a long holiday (it's about 900 pages odd), maybe pack this one.

I've also been thinking about some remodelling - a blogovation if you like. Back when I started this blog I called it "The Slightly Mad Quilt Lady" for no better reason than it popped into my head (it might have something to do with all the night shifts I was doing). But I've found out I can change the name, and seeing as this blog's content is about 80% Windyhill Farm life and 10% Quilting and 10% Rabbiting On, I thought maybe I should change the name. What do you think?

Plus I'm not really Slightly Mad.

Truly.