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 :)

Squeeeee

My, this update is long overdue isn't it?! (that's definitely rhetorical!)

So, over the last 2 or so weeks I had some nice luck! First of all my 3rd place prize from Men Quilt Too competition arrived on the doorstep! It was this:

A lovely box full of Aurifil thread! I'm sure these will keep me going for about a year!!

And then, I was one of The Chosen over on Sarah (Narcoleptic in a Cupboard)'s blog! And my prize was this lovely book - Dare to be Square by Boo Davis http://tinyurl.com/c6j5aws . which is full of pictures, many of which I can see (or see enough of to get the idea! all the patterns are bold colours which means I can see the contrasts!) of quilt patterns using squares! ... I always knew it was hip to be a square, and this book proves it ... even if I am a little dodecahedral at the edges!

Talking of books... yesterday I went to Joanne's to look for something $10-or-less for the quilt club Secret Santa. The only restriction was no fabric! I found this book marked at $10, Free Motion Quilting, From Practice to Perfection (I think that's the title!).95 and thought it would be perfect! So when we got to the checkout it turned out to be $24!!!! now that's a pretty price for a book no matter how nice! But, I had a 50% off coupon so bought it anyway ...

Now I'm having second thoughts because it is a bit much value for the Secret Santa and I don't want to be not in-keeping with the other folk ... so I might take it back ... pennies are a bit tight, what with having to replace the Jeep a couple of weeks ago (and then the wheel bearings last week!), and with all the medical bills and Christmas coming up... I can't really afford to keep it no matter how much I'd like to. lol, but I shall try photographing it and OCRing the pages before I return it... whether that will work is anyone's guess, but it might!

Apart from that I'm afraid I haven't done much quilting ... I did get a new pack of the self-threading needles yesterday, and they do appear to be a lot sharper which is what I wanted, so maybe I'll have a productive week with my new needles :) ... I haven't forgotten that a couple of you asked about those needles and I did try to take a photo but without any success... but there is information on the web and this link ... and here is more general info for those who are visually-challenged or just find threading needles tricky! (apparently they are very good for burying your thread ends inside a quilt - when you finish with a piece of thread you don't knot it, which can create a noticeable lump- you just leave the end loose and then thread it onto one of these needles, and you can then sew it into the center of your quilt! ... or something like that ... Google it if you want instructions, there's lots of pages about it!)

Not the Sharpest Needle in the Pin Cushion

Recently Magpie Mimi said she felt dumb because her "broken" sewing machine seems to apparently be fine and so has sat unused for several weeks! She asked if anybody else had those moments of feeling a few sandwiches short of a picnic...

Boy howdy! For the last month I've been trying one of my blood pressure pills in patch form, so instead of 3 pills per day I could have a nice smooth constant delivery throughout the day. I've been dutifully applying these patches every Sunday, and I have to admit I've not really noticed any benefit. Nothing to make it worth paying for the patches since I still need the pills too.

But it came to the end of the month and I realised on Sunday just gone, that I was going to be out of patches. So I rummaged in the box in case there was a spare lurking inside... lo and behold! 4 spare patches!

So I read the box. Contents: 4 patches and 4 extra adhesive plasters (band aids for my US readers)... guess what I'd been wearing for the last month - the 4 adhesive tops!! Doh!

So yes, I wasn't feeling like the sharpest needle in the pin cushion!

But I perked up today when I discovered I'd won a copy of Sue Patten's book, "Quilting Possibilities...Freehand Filler Patterns... thanks to Pigtails and Quilts blog! ... see, you can tell I'm excited because I've actually made the blog references hyperlinks so you can just clicky click click over on to read their great blogs too!

Right, off for a bath and to listen to some of my book! Happy sewing :)

ReadingBetween the (Phone) Lines

It was my birthday a week-or-sew ago and I got a nice card from everyone at work, along with a $5 gift certificate for the Goodwill stores (a great source of bargain clothes!) ... and then I got asked to work the 1 to 10pm shift on Fridays... maybe the card was just to butter me up, what do you think?

Anyway, the phone lines are really quiet after 6pm on a Friday, which means I get eechance to listen to books! I read 106 pages of The Thoughtful Dresser: The Art of Adornment, the Pleasures of Shopping, and Why Clothes Matter by Linda Grant ... it's a good read, giving a little history of fashion luminaries like Chanel and Dior, and the reflections of ordinary people from World War 2 onwards.

Next week I shall take my quilting with me and make some inroads into resuming where I left off a couple of months ago!

I've also just finished reading  House of Versace: The Untold Story of Genius, Murder, and Survival (by Deborah Ball), which was also a good read, with lots of insight into the Versace family and the world of fashion! ... I believe there's a similar book about Gucci which I will read very soon!
And back in the world of bargains... my Versace shaving balm arrived yesterday and is pretty good! It's quite intense, but in a leafy woodland kind of scent which I like. I do prefer the more no-need-to-shout-about-it (on-your-face not in-your-face) refinement of my Hanae Mori balm, but the Versace is a nice contrast!
What fragrances are you all wearing this summer?
Oh yes, I'm also dipping into the book Don't Go To The Cosmetic Counter Without Me!