When the swallows came and I was banished away from my Makery into the garden to weed and weed and weed and suchlike, I became possessed of the idea that I should like to make a fabric book and, throughout those months of heatwave and gardening and painting, I preserved my sanity with pondering its pages and construction and even, on rare occasions, a little Summer stitching. The book includes a bit of everything, really. Some stitching, some vintage linens, some applique, some transfers, some cross stitch…Some, you may have seen before and some I’ve not shown.
I had it in mind that it would be nice to finish it by the time the swallows left on their long journey to Africa but during these past few weeks the skies have been filling each evening with clouds of these swift little birds darting and diving and swooping and, sometimes, alighting for a moment on the telephone wires.
And now they are gone leaving us earth-bound creatures with duller, emptier skies to prepare for Winter and brace ourselves against the growing dark and cold.
And reminding me that time for Summer stitching is quickly coming to an end and my book is still loose-leaf in the most literal sense. I would love to get this finished by the end of the month as May Day to Halloween seems, to me anyway, a good timescale for the making of a Summer Stitching book. But I’m not sure that is manageable. So, this month, my goal is to have the pages finished to a stage to be sewn into the cover, after which I think I will probably embellish a little more.
In the meantime, I will be linking this post with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal October Linkup and Whims and Fancies for Wandering Camera. Last year I linked with Soma when I achieved a lifetime ambition to capture a swallow with my camera and, although they may not be much to look at, the swallow photos in this post were an equal challenge!
Good luck with your October goals :)
Janine @ Rainbow Hare
RAINBOW HARE 
TextileRanger
Oh, I love this! I love the peek of the embroidered vegetable garden. I am looking forward to seeing how this all comes together. I have something similar planned for our “Improv” challenge with the Endeavourers, and I need to start working on it!!
LikeLike
Sue Palmer
Well done on the swallow photos, they move so fast they are hard to catch! You book is looking wonderful.
LikeLike
Kim Sharman
I too cannot wait to see this beautiful book of yours, Janine. The peek of some of those pages is a bit of a tease. =) Love the cute little house with the washing hanging on the line. How very clever of you to capture those swallows with your camera.
LikeLike
Carol DeLater
It looks like a wonderful book of thoughts and ideas. Your stitching of the house and winter scene are cute. I have never seen a Swallow. Not even a Barn Swallow. This is my favorite month. I love Halloween and can’t wait till the 1st to put out my scaries and Day of the Dead. It’s hard to believe it is October.
xx, Carol
LikeLike
Patty
What a unique project! Thanks for linking up with Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal and good luck with your project!
LikeLike
nettyg
I’ve come from Maria’s blog and will come again, your projects are charming. I wanted to ask…..the quote on your stitchery withe house and the washing line…..is that attributable to someone and copyrighted? I’d love to put it on a prayer flag for a friend’s 70th.
And I think I’ll be coming to link for Yarn on Sunday…..a lovely idea to show our yarn related activities.
Nanette
LikeLike
soma @ whimsandfancies.com
The photos are wonderful, made me think of soft pastel paintings. You were very successful with teasing us and enticing us to see more of your book. It will be lovely, I can tell already.
Thank you so much for linking up on Wandering Camera.
-Soma
LikeLike
Su-sieee! Mac
That’s a cool project! :-)
LikeLike
Benta
Planning projects is a great way to lose yourself when you’re doing sone5hing – and what a great project!!
LikeLike