have Your Say!

I have a couple of questions that I'd love your opinions on .... feel free to respond to any or all ... :)

To set the scene .... if you've followed Touch And Sew for a while you have probably noticed that I enjoy writing! It's basically been "what I do" for most of my working life .... I've written long boring plans and studies for local and national government transport departments; those of you who've known me even longer than my blog may remember that I co-founded and was contributing editor for a music magazine called Splinter .... a gorgeous glossy affair that made it into many independent record stores and even local Borders branches; following that I did music reviews for Atlanta music Guide .... and on top of that I just plain enjoy writing my own poetry and prose!

So I was thinking how I can build up some useful writing examples to help me hopefully get employed in a writing / editing role next year after all my transplant cutting and pasting processes are done and I'm back on my feet! ... and since I read a lot too I am thinking a book review blog would be pretty perfect!

So, questions:

1. What do you think of that idea?
2. Based on other blogs that might do this, what do you think of things like the Amazon adverts that people can click on to buy the books you review? .... Do they annoy, do you just ignore them, or do you even click on them sometimes?
3. if you are also an avid reader, would you like to contribute reviews of books you've read (your choice of what you read and/or review!) .... anything from short snapshot reviews (100 to 200 words) up to more substantial reviews (500 words or so) .... and by answering this it's no commitment to contributing .... feel free to opt in or out based on how many people eventually follow the blog!

That's it, those are the questions I'd love your thoughts on! .... Just to add I'm thinking I'll be reviewing all kinds of books, from modern fiction to classics, books on crafts and quilting through to science and poetry .... I have a vary varied consumption of the written word and that variety will be reflected in the reviews! ... that's also why I'd really love it if anybody wants to write reviews too .... that's far better than listening to me all the time ;)

Finally, feel free to comment any other thoughts or ideas that spring to your mind .... however warped and twisted (your ideas i mean .... I *know* your minds are very warped and twisted!)

Thanks! ... Giles

Playing Hookie

Today was my mobility lesson in which we've been popping into Abergavenny on the little local bus service ... we've found useful places like the library and the bank, and today it was the turn of the wool / craft shop! :)

Inspired by Lisa from In The Boon Docks relating how she found a cushioned crochet hook to be really comfortable to use …so I asked about them in the shop and tried out what they had.

They did have the cushioned variety, but only in packs of 3 for £15, which seemed rather a lot for learning with! …however they did have something similar …a hook made from ash wood that is very comfortable to hold, so I got one! :)

As you'll see i also got some nice pale blue yarn …this is also kind of a recommendation from Lisa because she mentioned that cotton yarn could be unknotted easily …I figured that would be handy when you're just starting out, so I picked some nice cotton yarn in the shop while I was there.

So all in all a productive mobility lesson! …The learning crochet will have to wait a little while as I need a voltage converter to charge up my book player in order to listen to the audiobook I have on learning to crochet …I'm a little intrigued how easy it'll be to learn without being able to see pictures, but I am assuming they wouldn't have made an audiobook for the blind if it wasn't possible to follow along without sight! .

So, what do y'all think I should try to make first? …(no prizes for sugesting a knot!)

Meet Horace Turnbull

Here he is, my pet spider! His name is Horace, he has 2 huge orange eyes, 2 orange legs, a big orange smile and is yellow tie-dye at the front and blue tie-dye at the back! He is the first thing I ever sewed and this year was his 28th birthday!

Talking of spiders, if you've never seen the BBC cartoon Spider! you really need to …I'm sure it'll be on YouTube!

Quilt Kitty

I discovered there's a fantastic competition going on for the real quilters ... this is my entry, a photo of Maggie helping to make a quilt ... who am I kidding, she makes the quilts, I just get in the way!

(I think this is the photo ... I didn't name my file so well!) ... here's the link to the competition on Lilypad Quilting

…so go on, head over and enter your cat, dog, budgie or frog in the competition!

…and Maggie says she'll be delighted to have your votes in the People's Choice category …since she's currently stuck over the Atlantic waiting for the summer embargo on flights to end so she can fly to the UK I think she deserves your vote :) …

Gee up!

I waas doing some background reading about book publishing and small preses ... and I came across a fascinating blog article about binding your own books ... seriously high quality saddle stitched books like you'd get in a bookstore ... I was amazed that it is definitely do-able in the comfort of your own home! ... I'm not planning this for my booklet this time, but I definitely might give this a go one day ... for the craft-minded (that's everyone reading this blog!) it sounds like a lot of fun and a fantastic sense of accomplishment!

If you fancy a read the article is here: http://nomediakings.org/doityourself/doityourself_book_press.html

Tomorrow is my mobility lesson ... a repeat of the last 2 weeks going into Abergavenny on the bus ... except this week we're going as far as the wool shop :)

As for my booklet ... I've been very productive and the Kindle version is finished all bar the cover (which needs a photo) and any added extras that might make the booklet easier to navigate or more appealing to potential purchasers ... the hard copy version is almost sorted too which just leaves the research into getting it printed ... i'll post more when I've got the cover sorted!

This all takes me back to the fun of co-fouding my own real glossy music magazine, almost 7 years ago now ... my how the publishing world has changed since then ... but how wonderful it felt to be on real store shelves, in places like Borders and those truly independent music stores ... there's a lot to be said for being indie :)