February 20, 2009 at 6:19 pm
· Filed under bookbinding
In my last post I mentioned that I’d made a book for Bryan and I to write letters to each other. I got the idea from my friend Laura who had a made a book so that she and another friend could exchange letters in book form. Her book was so cool with paintings and drawings that I decided that was perfect for Bryan and I.
After his quick (surprise) visit a few weeks ago, I knew I had to make the book and send it off to him. That Sunday I worked all afternoon binding and casing (gluing the cover on) the book, along with casing my reading journal.
This letter writing book was an experiment in several ways – doing a multiple needle stitching binding while having only one needle on hand, using fancy handmade paper that’s several different papers laid together to form one sheet and also doing corner coverings.
It turned out better than I expected and I was in complete awe of the book when I was finished. I don’t know how many times I would look at it while it was drying just to make sure that the paper hadn’t rippled or that there were any glue spots.
Yesterday when Bryan received it in the mail, he called me and left me a message about how beautiful the book was. Then I knew that it wasn’t just me, he loved it too.
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February 18, 2009 at 10:20 pm
· Filed under bookbinding, EZ, family, films, kitties, knitting, school
It’s been a while. I’ve been trying to keep myself busy with class work, work, volunteering and reading. Classes started on January 20 with Young Adult Literature and Storytelling. It’s been a good start to a final semester. But I’ve had a hard time keeping myself motivated while living alone. I just find so many ways to distract myself.
To add to it all, life has been feeling a little off-kilter lately. When I lived by myself (before I moved in with Bryan) I thought of myself as an independent woman with momentary lapses at times. After I got married, I still considered myself pretty strong and pretty independent until last month. I think it’s learning to live alone again while also having your spouse five hundred miles away. I was sort of dreading Valentine’s Day but it was fine. I saw Coraline a second time with knitting friends and pampered myself with a haircut. Bryan definitely made up for not being here.
Bianca definitely enjoyed the flowers too.
Between the time Bryan moved and the beginning of classes, I knit quite a lot on Bryan’s Saddle Shoulder cardigan. When he left at the beginning of January, I had about four and a half inches finished and I’m at nearly 16 inches. Then I have the pleasure of figuring out the sleeves and where in the pattern to start them so they will meet up perfectly with the body.
After seven winters of my cute fall colors flower hat, I decided it was time for a bit of a change. I saw the cover of Boutique Knits and sadly our library didn’t own it until just last week. So I figured out my own version of the cloche on the cover. It was a lot of trial and error as I only had about 115 yards to work with. I reknit it several times before I was happy with it. One problem was I ran out of yarn and the hat was just too big.
A couple of weeks ago I decided it was finally time to case a book that I bound this past fall. It’s my new reading journal and once it was dry, I quickly started to fill it with all of the books I’ve read since I finished my last reading journal. I also bound and cased a book for Bryan and I to write letters in to each other. He hasn’t received it yet and I want him to receive it in the mail before I post photos of the book. I have to admit I think it’s the most beautiful book I’ve ever made.
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