Tag, I'm it!

Barbara of Moon Bindery stopped by and tagged me, the rules are:

Link to the the tagger, list 7 random book facts about yourself, and tag 7 more friends...well lets get started:

1. I don't keep a journal, I've tried a few times but I'm awful at it. I make beautiful books that I almost never use.
2. The books of mine that I do use I use for everyday things, shopping lists, to do's, reminders, phone numbers, ect. Who says beautiful books need to be filled with beautiful words?
3. I don't read for pleasure very often, I get too wrapped up in a good book and I put everything else on hold to finish the book. Which gets me in to trouble.
4. I put post-it's in my books..... as an ex-librarian I know it's bad, I know the glue leaves acid marks (I've seen lots of them) but I just can't help it they are just so handy for flipping back and forth!
5. I can't read hardcover books with the dust jackets on, and I can't stand watching other people use dust jackets as bookmarks.
6. I try to avoid buying paperbacks because I feel bad when I see the crease line on the front cover.
7. I'm left handed and hate using 3 ring binders or spiral bound books as they are constantly in my way.

I'm gonna tag Billie, Ali, Iris, Rachel, Jackie, Emily, and I'll cheat for my last one and tag Rhonda. It's cheating because Barbara has already done so, so hopefully she's already hard at work on the questions!

How to use a paper knife

A very long time ago I promised my good friend Billie that I would show her how I use my paper knife to get a rough or deckled edge on my signatures. This is my first time using my camera for video so be kind!

It is a little dark, which is funny because my studio is very bright as I don't like to sew in the dark.

I know in my last post I promised you pictures of a new Celtic Weave book but I didn't get that photographed today.... I've been so excited about a trade I was working that I lost track of time! The results of that trade will be a spanky new wallet for me!
I love, love, the work that Sally of Dogwoodlane produces. This is my second wallet and third purchase from her. Each of my purchases have been custom orders and I'm always surprised how lightning fast she is! I'm replacing my old wallet not because it's fallen apart but because I've treated it poorly- aka it's a stained mess and washing it has proved fruitless....

She's getting a fantastic new leather journal for her half of the trade. I used my favorite brown/yellow leather with the blue hand waxed linen thread. This journal also features the rough edge of the leather that I just love. It's a 7x7" square so she can both journal and store photos in it. I hope she loves it as much as I love my wallet!

Home, but not quite setteled

It's been a week since I arrived back in my apartment from the subarctic cold of Germany. The trip was fantastic, I could go on and on about all the cool things in German culture that we had here but I'll spare all of you. I took a million pictures (well at least almost 2 gigs worth...) and I'll share a few of the book themed images with you!
Both of these images happen to be from the same cathedral in Bamberg. The cathedral is also home to the famous Bamberger Reiter or Bamberg Rider, which I somehow did not manage to photograph.

The last week has been spent trying to readjust my sleep schedule and frantically finish my application for grad school. I'm in full freakout mode now because my file is showing that my letters of recommendation and transcripts have not been received and they are due in a matter of days. I'll be up early tomorrow making frantic phone calls trying to figure out what I can do as I know they were sent in a long time ago.

I'm happy with the finished product of my book, I'm not sure if I will get it back or not, but I hope I do. I went with the covers I had posted awhile back and put the same purple paper without any printing for the inside covers. Each section has the same tape screened on the bottom right cover, it's 9 sections with the tape at 3 different angles repeated 3 times. I put bright orange eyelets in each hole on the cover and I think they tie the book together really well. The only thing I wish I had was purple thread instead of black for the stitching but not much I can do about that given my local resources.

School is off to a good start and work has slowed down dramatically so I'm working a lot less now. Hopefully that means I'll have time to post on a more regular basis. I have another Celtic Weave that I have finished but it's not been photographed yet, so look for that later in the week!