I have been taking photos for Michael to work on for his Garden-thru-the-year book. This is anemone blanda atrocaerulea of which we have many. It seeds itself round the garden and pops up everywhere - like our cyclamens but unless absolutely necessary, neither of them are ever weeded up.  The flowers are about an inch across.

Michael has pages of paintings of cyclamen coum but has moved on to these anemones. He was quizzing me about how the book would be bound. I want to do this book in various forms of Coptic binding. I would like to try some of the more complicated bindings. Also Coptic binding allows the book to open flat so he could have a painting across two pages. And then I could use guard pages which would allow a little text but not much.

This is an example. This is my journal for designing books in. The guard section has start dates and what I did finally. The following pages contain design ideas. This is the start of 'Sir Patrick Spens'.

But  I must not be deflected into starting in earnest on that book. I have just made a horrible discovery. I joined a Complex Weavers Study Group last September and though that I had a year to practice in and then in September 2011 I would have to produce some samples to share around. Well I was wrong. Delivery date for the first lot is May 1st. I have designed what I want to weave but it needs 24 shafts which means the Megado. But the Megado is waiting for the next warp to be tied to the ghost warp and woven (6 yards of it) and I have not finished dyeing the warp yet. That has become this afternoon's job. And I would like to use the ghost warp a third time. Oh dearie, dearie me.

The only saving grace is that the samples are only a sideline for this weaving. I intend to use the main part as  an entry to a Midlands Textile Forum Exhibition in September. 

Must go and get on!!!!