Thursday, February 21, 2013

Away, but not really!

As my title states,
I've been away (from the blog)
but not really away at all.
We've been home and trust me,
I've kept busy.
Here's the book I completed on Tuesday.


 Of course, I couldn't have done it without 
the help of my friend Claudia.
The covers were made several months ago,
and I've been busy painting the pages 
over the past few weeks.
I love to just throw paint at paper -
don't you?


The binding is a 2-Needle Coptic.
I really love the look of it,
and I'm slowly but surely learning to love
the process!
The cover is very sturdy,
so it's a challenge to sew through.


The signatures are wrapped with a lovely 
red-orange paper that has some gold threads running through it.
Claudia calls these little papers 'shorties',
which tickles me.
(I'm sure there's another more professional name,
but I don't remember it!)

I dyed a number of skeins of perle coton for the stitching,
discharged several,
overdyed a couple,
and these were the finalists:


I finally settled on the variegated green,
which I love.

I've also been knitting up a storm!
This is my Hannah Fettig Featherweight Cardigan:


I finished its second sleeve the other night,
having taught myself how to knit in the round
on two circular needles!
Boy, is that ever a lot smoother than using dpns!

So, in the above image, I've just picked up 
all of the stitches around the fronts, sleeves, and 
neck edges.
I'm on the home stretch, with only a few more inches to knit!
WooHoo!
In the meantime, I've finished a pair of mittens for C,
started another sweater for myself,
and put the first few rows on a baby sweater for 
a friend's new granddaughter.

Our daughter, son-in-law, and two grand cherubs
were here visiting for several days.
We had a marvelous time!

peace


9 comments:

Cate Rose said...

Nice book, Judy! Say, India F. is going to be in Eugene, OR in October...I'm taking her Wayfarer's Wanderbook workshop on Oct 9 & 10. There's still a couple spaces left. If you're interested, let me know and I'll forward the flyer to you. Or, contact Eugene Textile Center directly. Although these workshops are not listed on their website. xo

deanna7trees said...

love your book and the color of the peek at your sweater. i will get to serious book making one day. can't fit it in right now even though i've purchased a couple of 'how to' books.

Nat Palaskas said...

I just love your Coptic binding book. I too love that Coptic binding technique. I love the way you attached the covers on to the signatures. I will try that next time I make a book - Glad you enjoyed family visit - Hugs Nat

Jeannie said...

Your book is beautiful! I love the way the "shorties" accentuate the cover and the threads are beautiful. I am going to have to check out the two circular needle instructions. I have never enjoyed dpns. Love the color of your sweater. Have a wonderful weekend. xo

Carol said...

Your book looks lovely, Judy! Coptic is such fun to do. Your pages look gorgeous, maybe another photo sometime. You are so busy with all your activities but I bet having the grand cherubs there was truly wonderful. xox

Eva Hagbjärn said...

Lovely, beautiful book. Wish I had your drive and energy.

Kram

Linda’s Textiles said...

You have been busy - with great results! The book looks gorgeous - love the binding & lovely threads.

Anonymous said...

Could you show some photos of the individual pages in the book? I would love to see the different painted papers.

Judy said...

Dear Anonymous,

I will do so in a couple of days. The book and I are not together at the present time.

Thanks for dropping by & leaving a comment!

peace!