Busy busy busy. That's how it's been for me and the family these last few months, leaving very little time or energy for anything crafty. Although I did discover some ready-made book blocks at Falkiners which will make bookbinding much faster and with a neater result. Whilst I enjoy the sewing of sections, my tools are a bit basic to get an accurate and tidy finish. This way I can concentrate on different coverings and hopefully get some more sold and maybe, just maybe one day I'll be able to get a decent guillotine.
Photos to follow of the two completed books. (When I get some time to photograph them.)
Whilst January was a write off due to illness, March and some of April is going the same way, this time because I've managed to fracture my wrist and possibly a bone in my foot. Consequently I have a cast on my arm and a deeply uncool cyber-gran style support boot to wear on my foot. As both are on the same (right) side, I can't have crutches and getting about is somewhat interesting! And I'm right handed. So any craftiness is restricted to my head until the bones fix. It has also meant missing out on a secret birthday trip to Venice that my lovely husband had arranged :( thankfully we have managed to rearrange it for May in time for our 12th anniversary. As it's no longer a secret, I've been able to do a spot of related window shopping and came across these rather beautiful looking guide books by Phaidon *wallpaper city guides and these Moleskine city notebooks. Suitably stylish don't you think? I decided after much deliberation to sell the Gocco. It is a brilliantly fun machine but my artistic talents aren't really suited to printmaking and I could really use the money to invest in a bookbinding press and cutting plough. It's already gone to a good home and I didn't lose out too much money-wise. So for the moment I'm in full on book making mode. Today a Twitter pal posted a link to some amazing wrapping papers on this siteLagomdesign.co.uk - I've fallen in love with the map ones and have ordered a selection with an eye to making some book sets. Thanks @Mockduck http://mockduck.livejournal.com for sharing the link. Meantime, back to resting my broken limbs, and dreaming up new projects to get stuck into once I'm mended.
Well blow me down if January hasn't been a total right off. Me and the kids have had various illnesses which have kept us all running on empty. Thankfully (touching wood and crossing fingers) we're all fully recovered and raring to go. Following on from the foxy stole, I started a badger one back in late November which was then put aside whilst December festivities took over. I finally got around to finishing him off over the last couple of weekends and here he is! I almost like him more than foxy... the domed buttons reflect the light which gives him a cute glint in his eyes. He's now been listed on Etsy should you be interested in buying him. Link here Something else which I've done recently is finally bought a Gocco printing machine. All the way from Japan, these little machines were so popular that about a third of all households had one at one point. However with the accessibility of home computing and printers, the company decided to stop making them some years ago - Riso continued to make the peripherals eg inks, screens and bulbs for a year or two after but then stopped production altogether. More information on Gocco can be found here: http://www.savegocco.com/ and an easy to follow tutorial here: http://www.thesmallobject.com/tutorials/GoccoTutorial.html Ebay often has the machines and accessories available, but remember to factor in your customs charges (approx £30 from Japan) on top of the actual cost and postage. My first attempt at printing was a greetings card (just in time for Valentine's Day) and it came out pretty well. I used way too much ink and ran out of cards to print on, and the design was a bit too fiddly to print without any smudgy bits, however, I learnt an awful lot. I'm busy dreaming up my next design and have bought some thermal screen to experiment with... no doubt I will talk about the ups and downs here. Next up will have to be a book. It feels as if I've abandoned my bookbinding of late and I'm itching to get going on a couple of new projects. It'll be interesting to see when I can find time as it's a pretty hectic month coming up. But where there's a will, there's a way!
* Make at least one book a month * Make some of the sock animals in my lovely Christmas book * Make a start on the recipe book * Sell some books! * Make some hand marbled paper * Use up stuff to hand rather than buying new :) * Rebind an old bookHappy New Year!
Did it! Inspired by this and riffing off this knitting pattern, I made my knitted fox stole. Using Artesano Aran wool (50% Alpaca/50% wool) for the head, body and tail and Rowan Kid Silk Haze in Cream for the tip of his tail, I knitted from the tail end up to the head. The legs and ears were knitted separately and sewn on afterwards. Green 'cat' eyes, a faceted black button for his nose and some black leather thonging for the whiskers completed his face, then a couple layers of wadding were covered with a russet polyester lining. It fastens with a large fabric hook & eye under the nose and at the top of his tail. Voila!
Now I'm waiting for a suitably chilly day so I can show him off properly.
My latest A6 books. The cream one uses a gorgeous embroidered silk which has raised velvet flowers on it - a fabric which I've had prepared for months. The other one uses a piece of pretty vintage fabric I picked up at an antiques place in Lewes. Not sure of its age, possibly 30's?
I've also photographed them in their presentation boxes (not by me, but recycled ones from Tiny Box Company) ready for putting on Etsy very soon...Inspired by the very lovely local shop Purl I've been dabbling in a bit of basic knitting. It's not something which I feel naturally inclined towards but every now and again, a project demands the knitting sticks and not the sewing needles, and my latest side project is to knit a fox stole. Probably way too ambitious but I have the wool and the needles and have even researched some slightly more interesting stitches to experiment with. The rest I'll make up as I go along! Pictures will be posted if it works out :)
My first paid commission was to make an A6 casebound (hardback) book. It was designed to look like a young woman's diary from 1921 for use as a prop in a 1920's live roleplaying game.
If time had permitted, I would have handwritten the text, however we used an Edwardian script font which worked well (and would be easier to read for the players). Planning the printing schedule was interesting! As it was to be bound in several sections, it was a little more complex than normal, (I usually make blank notebooks) however after a bit of head scratching and sketching out a paper plan, we got there. Then it just needed binding, and this set/slideshow documents the many processes involved in doing so.
To read the description for each picture, select full screen (the button to the bottom right of the screen) then 'Show Info' at the top right).
I've been lusting after Cassie's beautiful prints for some time now, although it was always going to be difficult to choose from such a gorgeous and ever-growing body of work. So when we moved into our new home it was the perfect opportunity to treat ourselves to one or two. I'm glad we waited, as just as I was about to make the tricky choice, two mini collections were added to her Etsy shop. 9 prints measuring 4" x 4" in each collection - it was too good to miss out on! I ordered the Fair and Floral sets and am over the moon with them.
Square frames would have suited them perfectly but I struggled to find anything which looked right, in the end we opted for some white 5" x 7" frames and had some mounts made up from Moonshine Framing to fit them. All that's left to do now is hang them up! We've decided to put the Fair collection in the children's bedroom - my 5 year old daughter is enchanted by the images (which makes a welcome change from the usual Disneyfied pink that she favours) and the Floral collection will probably grace our bedroom. If you like vintage style, quirky yet pretty images, then Cassia is your girl. She also has another Etsy shop 'Lola's Room' where you will find equally delicious images. What's not to like?
Ok, so I haven't been blogging much recently, or even making many books, but I have spent a lot of time thinking about new projects and how to incorporate new materials and techniques. I'm fascinated by miniature things and managed to rustle up this small but perfectly formed super-mini notebook! I've promised it to my daughter once it's been photographed and blogged - so Min, it's all yours darling :) Next up I'm planning to rebind an old Enid Blyton book, just waiting to find the right fabric and if that's successful I have a copy of Brideshead Revisited to recover. Other plans include experimental spine bindings using leather thonging and working out how to make larger scale books given the limitation of tools I have (I didn't make the 2nd round of the Bring it on Britain awards sadly). On a recent trip to Lewes I came across some lovely vintage fabric from c1940s so there's another project right there! Finding time to play has been tricky - summer holidays and Mama time do not go hand in hand. However Miss Minna is back at school (although we are homeschooling 4 afternoons a week, until a place at the local infant school becomes available) and Mr Pickle has started nursery for a couple of sessions a week, leaving me with a little time of my own. My aim is to produce at least 2 different types of notebook before Christmas, and if I can get my website functioning in the next couple of months, I may even get to sell a few :) And instead of just rattling on about me and my plans, I have to mention the lovely Suw who has been teaching herself how to bind books. Not only has she produced some lovely books, but she is now writing a book 'Argleton' (she blogs about it here and here) which she plans to bind, and has been fully funded by Kickstarter. Awesome work!
Yes I've been very remiss in keeping the blog up to date, however moving house with 2 small kids has kept me busy in other ways. It has meant my bookmaking output has also been diminished, with only a solitary one being made for my sister's birthday. It came out really well, but my head is obviously not quite back in the zone as I completely forgot to photograph it. Ho hum. And so (and this is related I promise) that brings me on to the Bring it on Britain Awards.
"Wall's is on the hunt for Bring it on Brits! enter what your crazy past time needs, get rated by your mates, the Judge's Shortlist will be announced from the top rated, then the public votes for the winners. We'll then award the most voted with a cash fund up to £5000"
I've entered and asked for £800 which would buy me a lovely wooden laying press (and would save me pressing boards with heavy books), a cutting plough for trimming the book block - I currently use a craft knife and scalpel which is hard on my fingers and doesn't always give the neatest result, a decent work desk instead of hunching over the coffee table and finally a push to get my website up and running.
These tools would help me speed up the making process, whilst still remaining totally handmade. If I was lucky enough to be awarded some money, I could push myself hard to make a small business out of making books. I've got so many ideas kicking around in my head, but being constrained by tools and time (not to mention the kids!) means they never get much further.
