What's in Your Handbag?

Simmone Howell asks what I have in my handbag, and I respond:

This is actually my standby handbag. My proper one is bigger, but the zip is broken and it is off being fixed.

Contents (clockwise from top left):

-Moleskine notebook, for writing thoughts

-wallet

-One Big Damn Puzzler, which is so far a very entertaining read

-glasses case (containing reading glasses)

-two pens, one pink for signing, one with a sekrit USB stick in the middle.

-smartcard for access to work.

-Asproclear

-iPhone earbuds (the iPhone itself is being used to take the photo)

-lipstick (salmon) and lipgloss (something Japanese and pink)

-pink Raybans

-20c in change

-book of stamps

-keys

-earphone splitter thing in case Michael and I both want to listen to something.

What's in YOUR handbag? (or manbag)

New face for Scatterheart

This is the new Australian cover for Scatterheart. Isn't it pretty?

No-brain creative

I've just spent a whole week working on my book. It's totally mentally exhausting, so by about 4pm, I still have plenty of energy, but don't want to use my brain. And that's why I love craft. I'm currently 44 squares into a 440 square queen size string quilt. I got the idea from here, and if you're interested there's also a tutorial. It's a very easy pattern to follow, and requires almost no measuring, which is awesome. Here's some in progress pics:

Strips are sewn to a 5" square of phonebook paper.

Then all the raggedy bits are trimmed.

Four squares together make a DIAMOND.

This is what I've done so far, all laid out.

I also baked on Sunday, to celebrate the awesome that is the Winter Lolympics. Curling! Skeleton! Mogul! Such hilarious (and totally dangerous) sports. Anyway. I made wintry Canadian critters:

And one special one for Mj because it was Valentine's Day, and I appear to be getting soft in my old age:

Snails

One of the characters in my WIP is fascinated by insects, and knows all manner of trivia about them. I was telling some of this trivia to my dad today, and he pressed Snail, by Peter Williams into my hand. And I'm sure you don't think a book about snails could ever be interesting, but let me share the first paragraph with you, and we'll see if you change your mind.

So attached was the author Patricia Highsmith to snails that they became her constant travelling companions. Secreted in a large handbag or, in the case of travel abroad, carefully positioned under each breast, they provided her with comfort and companionship in what she perceived to be a hostile world.

It just gets better from there.