Stormy weather

All together now---"Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but inside it's so delightful, and we really don't even mind, because today we're going to bookbind".

The rain has put a stop to any plans we might have had to get our garden in order so I have been doing a spot of bookbinding. I bought some lovely old sage grey/green book cloth ages ago and it has been sitting looking at me from the corner of my room waiting for a bookbinding day. I wasn't quite sure what I would do with it, somehow it just took shape. I had some pre-cut pieces of board which I covered and backed with Khadi paper. I lined a third piece of cloth with a black, handmade paper which has little pink petals in the fibers, this piece formed the spine. I cut and folded the signatures to make a four sections which I sewed onto the spine with linen thread.

I love all the paraphernalia associated with bookbinding and have been slowly gathering bits and pieces of equipment over the years. Needles, linen thread, beeswax, bone folders, I simple cannot resist buying them when I get the chance as you can see if you click on the photographs.



You can see the finished book here.

The moon and our little star!

As you might have gathered by now, I have a bit of an obsession with the moon. I think that there is no more magical a sight than a full moon in a clear sky. The first time I ever looked at the moon through an ordinary pair of binoculars I was astounded at how very round it appeared! I love the way the moon appears to change its shape, sometimes a crescent, sometimes a half circle then a full circle. It has such a mystery and a majestic quality about it, the fact that a day on the moon lasts about two weeks, the fact that it has a dark side which we will never see, the way it influences the tides and possibly behavior, all add to its poetry and mystique.

I have been enjoying all the wonderful television and radio programs dedicated to the moon and in particular the moon landings. I am sure those of you who grew up in the sixties will have vivid memories of watching the moon landings on television. When I was little I used to visit a very old lady in her late nineties, she was appalled at the idea that men would land on the moon. She said that the moon was put there by God to light the way for lovers and it was folly to send space ships and rockets there. In the days before street lights a clear moonlight night afforded extra opportunities for “walking out” as she called it. She had memories of soldiers who were sent oversees to fight and who found solace in the fact that the moon that they could see was the same moon that their sweethearts could see at home.

When our children were little they loved to look at the moon, I think that was also one of the first words they said. “I see the moon, the moon sees me” was a favourite rhyme in our house and was the inspiration behind “White is the moon”. When our eldest son first learnt to talk he would say things like “look moon, see my kickerballer boots” I am not sure what the moon replied!

When I first started this blog I decided not to make it too personal and so I try to resist the temptation of posting family photo’s, however I am sure you will understand that some events are just too exciting not to mention. We joined the ranks of proud parents this week as we went to our youngest son’s graduation ceremony. Here is our “Sweet Baby James” all grown up and looking very smart in his new suit.

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A wise old owl sat in an oak,
The more he heard the less he spoke,
The less he spoke the more he heard,
Why aren't we like that wise old bird?

Anon.

Great excitement today, I just learnt that a product that I designed for my newly created Zazzle shop has been featured for a TBA award. This means that it will be featured as one of "Todays Best". In case your wondering, the owl image was put onto an organic tee shirt, you can follow the link in the side bar for a close up, I cannot fathom out how to post the image of the product from the site without using the flash panel.

How many hours do we use up trying to keep up with the cyberworld? emails, websites, blogs, twitters, whatever next?

Taking time to smell the roses.

July in my garden always induces a mild panic attack, especially when the weather is rainy and warm. These conditions make everything grow twice as fast as they should or so it seems. I try very hard to keep on top of things but somehow nature overwhelms me and all I can see are jobs to do, ivy to trim, weeds to deal with, roses to dead head, the list goes on.

We have had quite a few people to stay recently and they see things through very different eyes, most of them see a small but beautiful garden and are oblivious to the effort it takes to keep it at least halfway under control. I am now trying to enjoy my garden a little bit more and to let the weeds and black spot and overgrown hedges etc. etc., matter less!

The rose is one of my David Austin roses, which seem to thrive despite my neglect. I love their old fashioned, cabbage like appearance and wonderful smell. This one is named after the gardener “Geoff Hamilton”. The image is a photograph which has had filters applied to make it look like a painting. If you click on it you will see it in more detail.I think that it still looks like a photograph but the filter has softened it a little. Does it look like a photograph to you?

Work in progress.

I started this new collection of farm animal designs for Makower ages ago, well about ten months to be precise. The collection includes chickens, sheep, cows and pigs and an assortment of flowers such as poppies and buttercups. (definitely no giant hogweed!) I am told that this particular fabric design pictured here on my desk, has now been printed so I guess it is safe to show you.

The first photo shows the design in its early stages, that is the creative, fun part. Next comes the more challenging part, that of working out the repeat. The artwork also has to translate into eighteen colours, that may sound like a lot but they soon get used up trying to achieve shaded effects, for example, a leaf with four shades of green counts as four colours.

I am really looking forward to seeing what people do with the fabric, maybe I will even see some of it made up into a quilt on someone's blog one day soon!

Caution, scary plant!

The little field of “set aside” where Ted and I often walk is remarkable in that it supports so many different kinds of plant life. Most of these plants are common grasses, clovers, vetches etc, however, just look what we found last week. I am not sure if you will be able to judge the height of this plant from my photograph but it is almost certainly over twelve feet tall. My learned friend informed me that it is a Giant Hogweed, Apiaceae Umbelliferea, beautiful but very dangerous.

It is a member of the parsley and carrot family but can reach heights of twenty feet. The sap from this plant can cause severe burns to the skin so care must be taken when handling any part of it. Ted and I kept well clear!

Mug Monday.

Recently, whilst visiting other blogs I noticed that several people had participated in “Plate Friday” which was originally an idea started by Elizabeth from About New York. I rather lightheartedly suggested that this might be followed by Mug Monday, so here we are and hence this post.

As I am sure you can imagine, our house is full of mugs, samples mainly from the many designs that I have worked on over the years. We never have the need to actually buy new mugs so please forgive me if this post looks like a bit of shameless self-promotion (which of course it is!)

The mug that I have chosen to show you today is a sunflower design featuring my artwork. It consists of garden related motifs and it wraps around a fine bone china mug. The handle and interior also have design elements but unfortunately they don’t show up too well here. It is one of a series that I created for Hudson and Middleton. It is very difficult to photograph bone china as the surface is reflective and I found that natural light worked best, hence the garden shot complete with fly!

The mug has a lovely, stable base, which is wider at the top and the bottom than it is in the middle. I seem to remember that this shape has a name but I am afraid it has escaped my memory at present- could it be a parabola? One of the reasons that I like this mug above all others is because of its shape (which I didn't design). The three dimensional design process is something that fascinates me, although I don’t understand it entirely. As a surface pattern designer I find it impossible to think in three dimensions. I believe it is designed on a computer and then, this is the clever bit, the computer is linked to a machine which makes a three dimensional prototype. Isn’t that clever?


I often get asked how the artwork ends up on the china - I think some people believe that I hand paint each one. The design is first painted in watercolour onto paper in the usual way and careful consideration has to be given to the placing of the design elements within the shape of the decal or transfer. When the design has been approved the artwork is scanned on a high-resolution digital scanner to facilitate the production of the decal or printed transfer. In the case of this mug, the decal must wrap around a shape, which is rather unusual, a straightforward cylinder is much easier and it constantly amazes me how the factory manages to accomplish this seemingly impossible task. When the artwork and the mug are placed side by side it is almost impossible to fault the colour and detail in the reproduction. So many skilled people go into the manufacturing process; it is truly a team effort.

Several people have been asking where they can buy Hudson and Middleton mugs and I have been directing them to their online shop. Unfortunately the company cannot export them to the USA because of legislation relating to lead testing. It seems that this is an expensive operation and one, which the company finds difficult to offset, which seems a great shame to me. I have lived in the “pot bank” for most of my working life and have never come across a problem with lead contamination from well-produced, quality bone china.

And now, I am going to visit everyone else’s blogs to find out what they have chosen. If you would like to join me, here is a list of those who have expressed an interest in Mug Monday. Please forgive me if I have inadvertently left anyone out.

Sweet Tidings
Weaver of Grass
Art4Sol
Purple Podded Peas
Willow Manor
Moxey Musings
Raphs ramblings
My Irish Cottage
Coastcard
CJ Stitching and Blooms
Fairy Lanterns
One Pink Goose
City Views, Country Dreams
Beth Niquette
About New York
Merisi’s Vienna for beginners
A Thousand Clapping Hands
Crafty Green Poet
Daughter of the Golden West
All I ever wanted
poetikats invisible keepsakes
Raccoltodauntunno