Tuesday 12 October 2010

Another Page.

Another page for my book - as you can see it's Nettle this time. I have used similar techniques for this page as I did with the others. Only two more to do and then comes the 'make or break' bit of assembling everything and I haven't even thought of a design for the cover. I probably do things the wrong way round, but my books always seem to end up fatter than I expect so the cover has to be made last.

The initial letter looks more defined in reality than it does here. The professional photographers who do the pictures for textile books are so clever and know how it should be done. I am always in a rush so it's no wonder my pics aren't very good.

Thank goodness plants don't have limbs or faces, I can't draw those but I can just about manage a leaf or two.


The weather has been glorious for the past few days and we actually sat in the garden at the weekend, with a cuppa. The seritogstigma wilmottiana (I hope that's the right spelling) is looking lovely. Those flowers are a really intense blue, almost as blue as a Morning Glory.


I cut all the hardy geraniums down not so long ago and they are rewarding me with a fresh crop of flowers. Again, this one is much more intense and a really gorgeous magenta.

And this one is a pretty pale lilac but not as washed out as it appears here. The leaves have a lovely shape too.


I was about to empty this large pot a little while back, when I noticed all these new flowers and fruits forming. One of them actually shows signs of ripening so I have put the pot in the greenhouse in the hope that we might have a second crop of strawberries. They have been very worthwhile but the annoying thing is that I can't remember their name and have lost the marker. Hopefully it might be somewhere under all that foliage. All the pelargoniums are repotted and tucked up in the greenhouse too, and I shall be on my guard this winter if it gets very cold again - I lost a lot last year because the metal door became frozen shut for about 4 days and everything rotted through lack of ventilation. It doesn't seem any time at all since last spring when I was taking out the sheets of bubble wrap for insulation and now it's time to put it all back again.





11 comments:

Julie said...

I have just had a wonderful time catching up on your beautiful book. It will be something to cherish in the future.

Robin Mac said...

Heather, your photography is fine, these pages are just as gorgeous as the previous ones. Most of the manuals I have read about making books say to make the cover last - probably for the reason you said - you don't know how thick the book will really be. I can't begin to imagine having to put everything in the greenhouse and use bubblewrap for insulation - I am more often trying to keep things cool! Cheers, Robin

Carol Q said...

lovely gorgeous pages Heather. I'm with you on making the cover last. I never seem to be able to plan or work out dimensions beforehand, just make it up as I go. I envy all these people who plan and have sketch books.

Gina said...

I do love that nettle page (beautiful drawing!) It's going to be a gorgeous book Heather. Thanks as always for your lovely comments on my blog.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Heather, I desperately want to see that book ' in the flesh' - it looks so interesting.

Heather said...

Oh - you lovely people are so good for me! Thankyou for your kind comments.

Ro Bruhn said...

Your pages are divine and your stitching is exquisite, so much work involved. I have a book that I bought recently, that has some beautiful work in it, it's called 'Celtic, viking & Anglo-saxon Embroidery by Jan Messent. You may know it already, it's become one of my favourite books.

Maureen said...

Love the nettle page Heather, it'll be a lovely book!!

Raph G. Neckmann said...

Hello again Heather! What a beautiful book you have there - I love your Nettle page. It looks so intricate and delightful.

It sounds a good idea to do the cover last, so there is enough room for all the pages. I should do the same when I make a fruit pie - I always do too much filling so that it needs more pastry, and then I have to find nextra dishes!

Anonymous said...

completely and utterly beautiful, a joy to see.

WendyK said...

Your book is going to be fabulous, woulkd love to see it in the flesh ( my hand)