On my online workbook this week: Haerfest

Dear

This week's inspiration is taking a few cuttings before most of the wildness of autumn begins.

My tip for this week is about making everything comfortable in a woven design. Weaving in design details is a great way to give everything support and slightly “tame” a wild and natural design. But it also means you can not always foresee where the stem will fall in a weave and you can catch or damage leaves or foliage as you weave them.

When you first add the stem your focus should be on placing the flower heads where you want them so that the stem ends still reaches the water below. Then right at the end when all the weaving is done go back over the entire design and untangle and release all the leaves and stems that look squished. This might also mean that you have to remove leaves that are too close together or got caught while weaving it. You might even have to cut out any damaged foliage.

And if you have tendrils give them something to cling onto as they climb. Look the design over and see if you can design nature back in. How would this have grown if it did grow in this way?

It is such a small detail and rather time consuming to do but it makes a huge difference. If everything in your design is flourishing we feel it when we look at the design. Even flower buds. See the pictures above. Make sure the flowers and buds are not caught in a “this might be drooping” position. Lift them over stems rather than under.

Enjoy!

Every good wish,

Christine