The Melbourne heatwave has struck and so the studio sits... awaiting my return. The light-filled, once domestic space is situated above a shop in the high street with an enclosed verandah facing north - a perfect spot in winter, but very uncomfortable in the height of summer. Below are photos of the work space, filled with my collection of needlework made by the hands of anonymous others, along with other related paraphernalia both collected and gifted. On the table lies a current work on paper, still in the planning stage - extracted reproductions of exquisite botanical drawings by the late Adam Forster (1850-1928). Interspersed are close ups of my studio inspiration table - an antique Vietnamese silk bird collected in France with a Sydney Harbour Bridge doily bought in a local 2nd hand shop; two of my treasured natural history books; an Australiana koala doily with an antique lace hankie from Paris and the remains of an antique silk dragon from China.