Workshop: Secret Belgian Binding with Rhonda Miller

In the end of May I took a bookbinding workshop with Rhonda Miller of My Handbound Books from Nova Scotia.  She taught a class called The Secret Belgian Binding at the Morgan Conservatory in Cleveland.  The class was very interesting, and it was fun learning a new book structure.

I learned that the "secret Belgian" binding is Belgian, but not actually a secret.  The creator of the structure prefers to call it the Criss-Cross Binding... But in America, the other name stuck.  The book uses three pieces of book board and is sewn in two parts.

We started the class by folding signatures, and sewing together the textblock.  Then we covered the boards with decorative paper.  While the boards were drying, we sewed a practice card for the second part of the binding.

I am so glad we practiced the second sewing before attaching the textblock!  It was pretty tricky to keep all the parts of the book in the right place during the sewing process.  The "criss-cross" part comes from sewing back and forth over the spine piece at each set of holes along the spine.  I really enjoyed the class and I'm definitely going to make more books like this in the future!

Springtime Folded Book- Art Book 3/14

This month I have been experimenting with folded book structures beyond the basic accordion fold.  One of the new techniques I tried is called the Turkish Map Fold.  It is a fold that can be done from both square and rectangular pieces of paper, and opens up to reveal the entire piece of paper.

I made this Springtime Folded book from two square pieces of paper.  I started by decorating the flat pieces of paper with image transfer, colored pencil, and a quote about spring by Ruth Stout.  Once the decorations were done, I folded each piece into a Turkish Map fold.

Next, I cut one long piece of book board to fit beneath the two folded pieces, and two smaller pieces of book board for each side of the front cover.  Then I glued the boards to decorative papers, leaving space for the front covers to hinge open, and attached ribbon closures.  Finally, I glued down the top and bottom sections of each folded piece to the finished covers.

After finishing the book, I thought it would be nice to have a matching box to put it in.  I've been getting more into box making recently, so it was also a great opportunity to practice what I learned in the cartonage workshop I took last summer.

The box has a tray for the book and a hinged case that wraps around the tray and ties shut.  I made the entire box by hand using scraps of book board, patience, and a little bit of math.  This book and box are number 3 out of 14 Art Books in 2014.

Paradise Fibers Yarn Club: February

I've been done with this project for a while, but was waiting to get the January yarn club finished and posted first.  The Paradise Fibers Yarn Club for February was a skein of Mountain Colors Merino Ribbon in the colorway Harmony Aspen.  The colors in this one are absolutely gorgeous!  It is a really subtle blend of tan, blue, and green.  Also, remember how I said there was only one of the Mountain Colors novelty yarns I would consider using again?  This yarn was it, and it is much nicer to work with on its own (away from the weird fuzzy yarns.)

I decided to make a little shrug for spring and summer.  I found an easy pattern on Ravelry from the book One-Skein Wonders that was perfect.  It worked up fairly quickly and didn't have any seaming or grafting.  I added several rows beyond what was called for in the pattern (or else it would have been super short.)  This is the kind of pattern that can be extended until you run out of yarn.

Overall, I enjoyed working with the Merino Ribbon yarn.  The color was perfect and it made a nice light fabric.  I would probably buy this yarn again for a summer sweater, or other warm weather knitting.

Paradise Fibers Yarn Club: January

I have been participating in the Paradise Fibers yarn club since last summer.  The yarn for January was Mountain Colors Twizzle in the color Evening Star.  It is a lovely worsted weight Merino wool with a strand of silk plied in.  The silk adds a lovely pop of color to the yarn.  Evening Star is a black and purple base with orange and blue accents.

Since black and purple are my cousin's favorite colors, I decided to make a triangular scarf for her as a birthday gift.  I used the Ashton Shawlette pattern that I made for myself in the fall.  Unfortunately I didn't check the yardage before I started, so I ran out of yarn less than a week before the project deadline!  So I ordered a second skein and finished it later.

I had to keep setting this project aside for other things (like yarn club projects for February and March, and both of my big ice skating competitions this year...) but I finally finished the shawl over the weekend and got it blocked.  Now that this is done, I can post about the other yarn club projects I finished in the meantime!

The Solar System- Art Book 2/14

My latest art book is an accordion book of the Solar System with a matching clamshell box.  This is art book 2 of 14 for my 14 in 2014 Challenge.

This book is a follow up to the Astronomer's Alphabet and the Aurora Borealis books I made back in 2012.  The accordion is a lovely navy blue cardstock with a different part of the solar system on each panel.  The book starts with the Sun, and ends with Pluto.  (I know Pluto isn't technically a planet anymore, but I still consider it to be part of our Solar System.)

I started by folding the accordion, and using pencil to draw the outline of each planet.  Then I painted each planet using several layers of acrylic paint.  I referenced photos from NASA to try and get an accurate representation of each planet.  Then I added dots of white paint for the stars.  Finally, I wrote the name of each planet at the bottom of the page.

This was my first time making a custom clamshell box for an art book.  I found a very useful tutorial about how to get the measurements correct, and combined that with my previous box making experience.

Since this book is the same size as the Aurora Borealis book, I made a box for each of them at the same time.  Both books are going to be part of an exhibition in April.

Knit Colorwork Socks

Earlier this month I finished knitting the colorwork project I started last year.  I know it seems like a really long time to spend on a pair of socks... But I finished the first sock and started the second one right before summer hit.  The whole project got set aside in my "works in progress" basket by the couch, and it just took me a while to get back to it.

The pattern is called Christmas Sock in Fabel by Drops Design.  I started the project on a whim to have something to work on during a Valentine's craft show, and also because I had new yarn I really, really wanted to use.  I combined a teal "main color" with a blue/orange/red "contrasting color" instead of the traditional red and white or other solid color combination.  I wanted to experiment using a self-striping yarn and a solid for colorwork, and I'm definitely pleased with the results.

The finished socks are warm and squishy, but still thin enough to fit inside a pair of boots or shoes.  But somehow, I managed to make the second sock slightly larger than the first...?  Oh well, that's what I get for waiting a year between socks.  On to my next project!

Making Skating Costumes

When I'm not knitting, binding books, or blogging I am usually out on the ice practicing ice dancing.  Last year I competed for the first time at the US Figure Skating Adult National Championships with my ice dancing partner.  This year we competed at the sectionals competition in Cleveland in early March, and are getting ready for Adult Nationals again in April.  I needed a new competition dress (or two) this year, but they are expensive and difficult to find locally.  So, I did like any good crafter and made the costumes myself!

Old wrap skirt I used as a pattern

For the competition I need one outfit for the choreographed free dance with my partner, and a second outfit for the pattern dances with my partner and my solo pattern dances.  I decided to use part of an old costume for the free dance and make a wrap skirt to go over it.  For the pattern dances I made another wrap skirt and bought a plain leotard to go with it.  I actually got enough fabric for two different wrap skirts to go with the plain leotard.

Cutting out the fabric

I bought fabric and flat back rhinestones from Carol's Fabric Shop in Brunswick, OH.  It is a tiny fabric store that carries tons of stretchy dance and skating fabrics, and is the only store in the Cleveland area with a decent selection of skating fabric.  I based my new skirts off an old wrap skirt I had from my old synchronized skating team practice uniform.  I needed the skirts to be "dance length" which means to the knee- so I had to add some length compared to the old skirt.

Once I had everything cut out, I went to my sewing machine and did a lettuce edge for the hem.  That is when the material has a wavy, curly edge instead of a normal hem.  It is a simple and attractive hem for stretchy fabric.  Basically all you do is stretch the fabric while sewing a dense zig-zag stitch.  Then I took a long strip of fabric and sewed it to the top for the waistband.  The waistband needed to have extra length so it could wrap around my waist and tie together on one side.

Finally, I took the leotard and glued on a line of rhinestones.  This was my first time stoning a dress, and I think it went rather well.  Only one minor glue spot on the fabric.  However, next time I would not put the stones over the elastic edge.  I accidentally killed most of the stretch on the neckline because of how many stones I added.  Before the next competition I plan to add another row of smaller stones below the bigger ones.  I am also planning on sewing the third skirt- a black fabric with a wavy, glittery pattern of blue and white dots.

The whole ordeal still ended up costing around $125, but I now have three different outfits I can use for skating competitions.  By comparison, one off-the-rack skating dress without stones could have easily run me $200 or more.  Hooray for being able to do-it-yourself!