Felines, Quilts, and Books Wrapped Into One: A Third Night of Chanukah Giveaway

A little housekeeping:
Night 1 (Fabric) winner: Katie, who wrote, "I grew up in Virginia Beach, about 20 minutes away from the beach and was very much a beach bum in the summers. I went to college in middle Virginia, about 3 hours away from the ocean. For christmas my freshman year my mom got me a beach-in-a-box, which is a little plastic tray with sand, a mini umbrella, mini chair, mini beachball, mini flip flops, and mini seashells. It was a great gift cause I would always be by the beach. And now 8 years later I still have it on a shelf to remind me of the beach."

Night 2 (Rugelach) winner: Sarah, who wrote, "Two years ago, my refrigerator died on Thanksgiving day. Luckily, I live in Minnesota, where it is cold. We put everything for the meal outside and hoped for the best. Luckily, we were able to eat and no one got sick." Sarah, please email me as I don't have any contact info for you.

Night 3: Cats on Quilts Giveaway
My siblings and I always received at least a few books for Chanukah. I continue to love books -- reading them, cradling them, paging through them, looking at them on my shelves, and relaxing on the couch with them....which is good since much of my daily live revolves around reading books.

If you're looking for books to give friends or family this year, here are a few suggestions. If someone on your gift-giving list loves reading history (or non-fiction in general), Kevin Boyle's Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil Rights, and Murder in the Jazz Age is a rich, rewarding, and important read about a murder trial in Detroit in the 1920s.

If someone on your gift-giving list is more interested in fictitious crime or, like me, consumes good thrillers like candy, then Barry Eisler's John Rain series is fast-paced, suspenseful, and, from what I understand, contains accurate descriptions of Tokyo's cityscape (minus the actual crime part). Start with Rain Fall and proceed in the series from there.

And for kids, there is of course The Goat-Faced Girl, which I reviewed here.

There were quite a few cat lovers among the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway commenters. I have an extra copy of Cats on Quilts that I'd like to offer to one of my readers. This is more of a mini-coffee table book than a novel, but it contains some great images, neat quilts, and reflections of cats over a long period of time. I'm happy to send the book to you or as a gift to the person of your choice, so if you know someone who would like it, you can enter on their behalf.

To enter:

• Offer a book suggestion of your own in the comment section. 
• Winner will be selected randomly tomorrow night.
• Please make sure to leave contact info -- through your blogger account or an email address in your comment
  

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The Goat-Faced Girl

It's not often that I get to plug a children's book created by someone I know well, but a good friend of mine from college has happily provided me with such an opportunity. The Goat-Faced Girl updates and reinterprets a classic Italian folktale, offering a non-preachy lesson in the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of hard work. Written by Leah Marinsky Sharpe and illustrated by Jane Marinsky (a mother-daughter pair), the book wittily winds its way through the forest and the palace.

The foundling raised by a lizard-sorceress appears destined for the perfect life of princess sloth, until her wise mother intervenes. Torn from a world of lazy luxury, the would-be princess doth protest; yet through a series of trials emanating from the transformation into the "goat-faced girl," the wisdom of her mother prevails and, moreover, reveals the importance and power of hard work and self-reliance.

From the opening lines on, the book invokes, mimics, and drolly engages classic folklore motifs and language: "Once upon a time, long ago and far away, a baby was left in the forest. This event wasn't so strange in itself, for lost children appeared in this particular forest every third Thursday. But this foundling was an infant girl who was far too young for quests, unable to understand talking animals, and even too young to interest the witch in the gingerbread house." Of course, the baby can't rest in the forest for long, and along comes a lizard to save the day. But the forest residents -- which must, the gingerbread reference implies, include at least a few gossipy old hags -- can only look on in wonder as the lizard rescues the child and spares the animals "a tripping hazard" that leads the group "not to interfere with the lizard's plans." Raised by a magical lizard, Isabella grows and approaches adolescence and maturity with but one flaw: laziness.

To see how the lizard mother helps transform Isabella into more than a lazy young woman attracted to an equally lazy Prince Rupert, read the book! Leah first told and refined this tale while babysitting, and its sophisticated yet clear prose shows the strength of time-tested modern story-telling. Accompanied by rich illustrations, The Goat-Faced Girl is a visual and linguistic treat. Jane Marinsky's illustrations are vivid and detailed, offering much to delight in, linger over, and savor.

Find it at your local bookstore, library, or online here. For less than $12 (on Amazon, anyways), it will make an excellent holiday and/or birthday gift.

Update: Go here for the book-signing events calendar and here to see Jane Marinsky's website.

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Stop Drop & Roll

From fire safety to quilting...I learned this weekend that I won a copy of Heather Mulder Peterson's new book Stop, Drop, and Roll.

I'm particularly excited about the Buttercup design, previewed here.

In other news, I realize I desperately need to update the blogroll over on the right. Maybe this week...along with a variety of works-in-progress that range from a paper to a few quilts.

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Black and Red and Blue All Over?

This one and his awesome owner are coming tonight.

Until then, Must. Finish. Paper.

But, wait, I got this book in the mail yesterday (thank you mom!) and this one too (thank you me!). Craft ideas are on the edge of explosion in my head. If I stay on task (see paper, above), Sunday can be a grand old crafting day.

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Last-Minute Projects

Every time I go into a bookstore and look in their crafts section, I end up poring over Joelle Hoverson's Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts. As soon as feasible I will buy it for myself, and not just because my high school French name was Joelle or because Hoverson knows how to appropriately use a hyphen in "last-minute" though those attributes are much appreciated.

image from Purl

What stands out to me about this book is that it offers both beginning and advanced crafters idea, options, and well-written instructions. The chapters are divided by the estimated time for the project. While I'm sure it will take some people less time and others more time, overall the time frames seem accurate and doable to me, even for those who are less experienced. In fact, I think it serves as an excellent intro to patchwork/quilting book. You may still need to look elsewhere for instructions of binding, but the color wheel, the suggested projects, and, above all, the commitment to do-able projects makes it a great option for someone just starting out. In addition, I like that Hoverson is ok with bending rules. There are no absolutes in this book, no sense that if you don't pin something with 80 pins it will necessarily fall apart, no message that something must be perfect.

Go and check it out. Your local library may have, your local bookstores probably have it, and you can of course order it online. If you're seeking online options, you can buy it directly from Joelle Hoverson at Purl, her Soho store; it's also available online at amazon. If you want to learn more, check out the Purl blog, the purl bee (knitters, clearly, are welcome there). If you'd like to see some of the projects people have made based on the book, check out this flickr group.

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Fun and Funky Coasters

Last spring I wandered into Anthology expecting to peruse the selection, lust after some beautiful handmade paper, and ask the owners if they would be interested in selling my belts. About an hour later, I walked out of Anthology with these:

A huge box of these new treats had just arrived and I couldn't help but paw through the options. What a great idea -- take images from classic children's books and make coasters out of them. The upper left coast, with a smirking Max from Where the Wild Things Are, tempted me first, and I figured that if one is going to buy coasters, one needs a set, not a single item. So I bought 4 of them. I'm sure my sister, lover of all things Curious George, would happily take those two from me, were she ever to visit me up in the great cold eastern Midwest. But I digress.

The more I looked at the coasters, the more I realized that making them was well within my abilities. (It turns out ceramic tile is fragile and I sort of broke one; that incident served as another push to make more.) With some tile, some books, some glue, and some felt circles, I could generate an infinite supply of coasters for every occasion. Despite my enjoyment of domestic activities like baking and quilt-making, I am not and do not ever aspire to be Martha Stewart. Thus, there would be no Halloween, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, July 4th ensemble. Rather, children's books and funky, modern paper would rule.

I found an ample supply of tiles at the local ReUse Center, where I also trolled for books. I'm not sure if the extensive collection of Barbie, Finding Nemo, and Flintstones books is good or bad -- good because people relinquish the crap easily or bad because they buy them in the first place. Finding higher quality books (yes, I am a snob when it comes to reading; blame my reading teacher mother) required more persistence and dust-inhalation. My surveying informs me that people seem to keep copies of Miss Rumphius, Corduroy, Where the Wild Things Are, and Eric Carle illustrated books. I also realized that some books, though illustrated, are not well-suited for coasters. Caps for Sale and Blueberries for Sale were disappointments in that regard. However, I found a nice copy of The House at Pooh Corner, Curious George Goes to the Zoo, and Dandelion (by Don Freeman, the author and illustrator of Corduroy). The latter may reside in my collection of children's book rather than transmogrify into coasters, but we'll see.


Cutting apart the book was, admittedly, a bit traumatic. But I recovered from the admonitions echoing in my head that one should not deface or harm books. The end result in this case is worth it, I would argue. I did realize, though, that the illustrations in The House at Pooh Corner are a little sparse, in that they use a lot of white space. Nevertheless, I thought they rose to the challenge and make a nice set.

I also played with some paper I had to make these matching pairs.

I think the only substantial difference between my coasters and the ones I bought is that the purchased ones appear to have been dipped in high gloss varnish while I painted varnish onto mine. You can see the textured look this yields in the bottom-left coaster above (right where the flash hits it).

This was a fun (and quick!) project that I will definitely do again. If there's a book you'd like to see in coaster form, leave a comment. I'm thinking a series of book covers could be interesting -- The Great Gatsby through the years of publication, for example. I'll also try and write up a tutorial so you can make them at home.

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An Envelope Book for Claire & Michael

My friends Claire and Michael are getting married at the end of October, and they will be getting their gifts in shifts. The first part, an envelope book, was inspired by several envelope books I saw in crafty boutiques this summer. What is an envelope book, you may wonder? At the most basic level it's several envelopes bound together into book form. Usually the envelopes are about 5 x 7 or 9 x 11, but I suppose you could make one with standard mailing envelopes. An envelope books provides a designated place to keep photos and mementos together that can be taken out and savored when you want. In this way, it allows one to tell multiple versions or layers of stories -- one of its best qualities says the historian-in-training.

I've made a few books before (i.e., community books) and even took a book-making class once. Which is all to say, I know how to use binder clips and a bookbinder's awl to poke holes in a stack of pages, thread a needle, and use that threaded needle to create a very basic binding. Yep, bookbinder's awls are fun to use.

Back to the book at hand, I found 5 dark grey, linen envelopes at the Zen Buddhist Temple's annual sale in August. Thus 5 envelopes plus front and back covers would comprise the book. I chose to embellish each envelope with three alliterative words that I hope reflect their upcoming nuptials and the partnership they will build together. Putting my decorative paper collection to work, I created different designs for each envelope that, I think, make it more fun to flip through. Here it is, page-by-page:

Front Cover:
I made the cover in Illustrator, my first (and very fun) foray into this Adobe product. It's so nice to use a program that (unlike Word, ahem) gives you control over spacing of text and images by the millimeter (or less). Their wedding invitation uses purple and green which is why I used those colors here. On the left side you can see my modified Japanese bookbinding technique. I used regular purple thread taken from my assortment of quilting spools.

Front Inside Cover:

My note to Claire & Michael. Claire and I became roommates soon after she met Michael and, as a result, I had the privilege of watching their cross-country relationship grow and eventually turn into a same-city relationship. The note also explains the purpose of the book -- whether private or public, I hope that the items collected in this book spark conversation, memories, and reminiscing for years to come.

Rejoice, Relish, Remember

Laugh, Love, Listen

Share, Savor, Strengthen

Collaborate, Cultivate, Celebrate

Trust, Treasure, Transmit

Back Inside Cover:
There was something about this color that reminded me of Claire, even though all the greens she wears are a much deeper hue of this shade of green.

Back Cover:
This is "Bronte" paper from American Crafts Bookshelf Collection. At one point I thought about designing the whole book around this paper, but I didn't have enough other paper that coordinated with it that I really liked, so I abandoned that plan but still used it as the back cover, as it picks up on the light purple I used on the front cover.

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Community Books

Another peek into past crafty activities...


A couple months ago, my current roommate mused out loud that for someone who is not a baby person, I'm pretty good at making gifts for them when they are born and remembering to give something to the older siblings as well. As for the latter, I can thank my mom, as she was always good at remembering the other children (that may be a function of being the oldest, as I too remember wanting to open presents when my younger siblings got things they couldn't even unwrap themselves). As for the former, baby quilts are fun to make precisely because they are small and relatively quick. They are very doable quilting projects, ones for which the path does not seem to wind its way through never-never land.

Yet as grateful as I know new parents are for baby gifts, it has always seemed to me that the parents are left out. After all, it's their life that changes most dramatically the instant they have a live baby for whom to care. I wanted to find a way to give them a gift, one that would aid them with the transition and also (this is the selfish part) keep them planted in my friend-group as people who still have adult, childless/free friends.

My solution was something I call "community books." These books hold small cards that serve as IOUs for things like dinners delivered to their house, babysitting, movie night at their convenience, help with laundry or other household chores. They also contain gift certificates -- to movies, restaurants, and other outings as well as for a massage for the new mom. For the two I've created thus far, I rounded up about 15 other people to contribute one service and $10 per person.

I know it's hard to see in the pictures, but the second page includes a note that explains the book and the last page has an index with all of the services and gift certificates. The recipients of the first book asked if they had to give the IOU coupon back to the giver, and my answer was "of course not." The giver knows what he or she has donated, and all the recipients need to do is call or email. The book's coupons just facilitate the process.

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