pink rabbits

This is my granddaughter looking at some board books I bought for her - Counting and Colours by Finnish illustrator and designer Aino-Maija Metsola. See more of her work here. We love these books. We love the brilliant colours and funny drawings and there are loads of flaps to lift and close.

1 to 20

Children's picture books have become a regular item on my library (and credit) card now that I'm a grandma. These lovely illustrations are from 1 to 20, animals aplenty by Katie Viggers. I love that she's included one of my favourite animals - the capybara.

And today, for the first time, I saw Peppa Pig on TV. Isn't it great? I love Daddy Pig's voice. And all that giggling from Peppa and George.

take out

There are things about my neighbourhood that I really like. I love the idea behind these two street book exchanges. They're just sweetly decorated cupboards really - one on the edge of a park and the other in someone's garden. The idea is you "take one out, put one in" and not necessarily at the same time. I don't know if the libraries are monitored in any way but I have noticed there never seems to be a shortage of books and there are always different books so maybe it just works. Nice.

Reading: The New York dog by Rachael Hale McKenna. This is a collection of photos of dogs living in New York City. Best quote - "One of the great things about having a dog in the city is that it encourages you to socialize. You can meet interesting people for about five minutes, which is a nice chunk of time." William Wegman (artist)

oi oi oi

I've been on a wee holiday in Sydney where I visited one of my favourite bookshops, Kinokuniya in George Street. Kinokuniya first opened in Japan in 1927 and has over 80 stores worldwide. The Sydney store opened in 1996. I'm going to 'like' it on FaceBook - because I do! It's a wonderful bookstore with a huge selection, a great atmosphere and helpful, knowledgeable, friendly staff. But, even better, there is a large Japanese section with the biggest range of Japanese craft books you will ever see. I limited myself to just one purchase - an embroidery book called Heart warming life series #375. It's also available here from Stitchbird and online from Kinokuniya.

The photos are from the book and I especially like the first two designed by Mika Hirasa. It's like she's taken her needle and thread and simply drawn on the cloth. But everything in the book is cute and, even though it's written in Japanese, it's well illustrated so it's fairly easy to follow along and work out. 

Pat and the gentle arts

My darling Pat died last month. He was almost 18. He was such an affectionate cat and I miss him terribly. Just thinking about him makes me weepy.

from 'The gentle art of domesticity' by Jane Brocket

from 'The gentle art of knitting' by Jane Brocket

So... I have let myself become absorbed in Jane Brocket's books:

• The gentle art of domesticity
• The gentle art of quiltmaking and
  
• The gentle art of knitting

I can't recommend these books enough. Not only are the photos beautiful and the projects desirable but her writing is inspirational. And I love her 'give-it-a-go' attitude.
I want to buy and possess all of her books, give up work and embrace domesticity.
See more of Jane Brocket here.