Widgets

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to bring your attention to the new widgets on my blog. There's a great one from goodreads that shows all the books I've read or am currently reading. It's a wonderful site that allows you to organize your personal library into categories (read, to-read, currently reading, fiction, fantasy, etc...). If you haven't checked it out, I highly recommend it. It's a great way to keep organized if you like to read a lot and a great place to get ideas for new books you'd like to read.

I also have a widget for my shop at Etsy. Simply click on it and it'll take you straight to my shop!

Have a great weekend!

Ese's book - Part 3

Now that we've got the fabric dyed, our next step is to convert it into bookcloth. To do this you have to attach rice paper to the back or wrong side of the fabric using WonderUnder. The rice paper prevents the glue from seeping through the silk when applied to the book board. Take a look:




Once you've got your bookcloth, you attach it to the book board as you would with any other book. This book offers simple instructions on how to do that. Once you've attached the cloth to the board, secure your text block (which you sewed up while the fabric was dyeing) into the cover and place under a press. Voila! You've got yourself a custom made book. Here's the final product:



What do you think?

Ese's Book - Part 2

Today is part 2 of Ese's awesome book. :) Last night, I learned how to embed photo albums into my blog, so today's tutorial is a little flipbook. It goes through the pictures a bit fast, so don't hesitate to hit pause if you need more time to read the captions and look at the pictures. In the tutorial, I explain how to prepare your fabric for a second dye bath in order to yield a tortoise shell pattern. The result can be either subtle, as is the case here, or stunning (like Kristen's scarf) depending on how you choose your colors. I love this pattern. I think it's really beautiful.

Check it out!!

Ese's book - Part 1

I have a good friend named Ese. She loves tortoises. :) Her birthday is on March 12th and she's asked me to make her a thick journal with a cover that reminded her of tortoises. After giving it much thought, I felt it was only right to dye the book cloth myself. I started out with silk crepe, which I dyed using both Ecru and Bronze.

Although the water looks very dark, the color is actually very soft and warm.

After dyeing it the base color, I ironed it out dry to prepare it for the second dye job. See how beautiful it turned out? It's neat because the end paper I chose is almost identical in color and texture to the cloth. I think it'll turn out very beautiful.

Tomorrow I'll show you how I fold the cloth in preparation for the second dye bath (in black) and the end result, which will be the tortoise shell pattern.

Stay tuned!

Signs of spring

Fresh cut flowers are in the markets again, which means that spring is just around the corner. I can't wait! We haven't had a harsh winter here in Gloucester, but it has felt very long for some reason. I'm itching for the days to get longer and the breeze warmer. I'm also excited to see what perennials are in my garden.

I'm sure there will also be friends and family visiting this summer and lots of kayaking and beach picnics. It'll be nice to feel the hot sun on my skin again. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH :)