I have a new blog! Please consider this one now discontinued. Thanks! :)

The Bookbinding Team will be hosting an online trunk show at the Etsy Virtual Labs tonight June 2nd at 9PM EST.

We will be showcasing some handpicked creations through images and even via webcam so you can get a more up close and personal look at our books on Etsy. The creators will also be presenting why their shop (and themselves!) are unique, and you will have the opportunity to meet with them and ask questions in a session after the showcasing. There will also be some sales and giveaways, so this is definitely an event you don't want to miss!

A list of participating members:

yellowcraftychick
usefulbooks
thecraftykitten
kupokiley
myhandboundbooks
flurrsprite
kristincrane
yatsu
thisisbexx
ladyartisan

We hope to see you there!

So we (still) had leftover rice and beans from last week's burrito-making extravaganza. (Still!) Since they were nearing the very end of their edible lives, I decided I'd better do something with them to make a little more palatable. (They taste fine, but I've looked at them so often in the past week that I just couldn't fathom eating them the way they were!) I grabbed a can of tomato paste from the cupboard, some water, combined everything with some of those delicious pickled peppers and some chili powder and made a delightful, chili-like pot of...um...something. It's really tasty anyway, especially with some cheese on top, and I knew that if I didn't do something with the beans and rice they were just going to get thrown out. And I hate wasting food.

So now I'm sitting here nibbling on my...chili?...watching my kittens sleep, listening to the birds outside and thinking about maybe making some tortillas. Because there's very little better than a homemade tortilla, even when it's made by a white girl from Maine like me!

I didn't mention it a week or so ago when I tried my pickled garlic for the first time and it was delicious. I made it last fall and it is so, so yummy. I also made pickled peppers last fall, which I just now popped open for the first time. They. Are. So. Good. Seriously. I am terribly impressed with myself.

The boy and I had been buying lots of frozen burritos at Costco and we figured we could make them ourselves, so today I am home with a bunch of tortillas, some soaking black beans, a jar of homemade jalapenos, a rice recipe ready to go, and some cheese. We'll see how the end results turn out!

In other home canning news, I made strawberry jam last weekend. Mmm. If only other kinds of berries were as cheap and plentiful as the strawberries... I know I'm going to have to do something with peaches in the next couple weeks, but I miss the time I spent in Oregon when all kinds of berries grew abundantly. So abundantly that uncountable bushes and vines and trees were considered more like weeds than food-bearing plants. It was amazing. Ah, well. I can't complain - the tomatoes are in the ground, the peppers are waiting for new pots and the herbs are happy.

Now if only we could have chickens...

My peeps and I are having another sale! Here's the official announcement:

As part of the Bookbinding Street Team's World Book Day celebration,
some of the members are participating in a sale from Wednesday, April
23rd to Saturday, April 26th. Check out the list of shops below and
the discounts they are having!

ladyartisan: 15% off
lapaperie: 10% off
bluevalentinepress: free s&h + gift
subu: 10% off paper items
yellowcraftychick: 10% off <--That's me!
yatsu: free s&h
usefulbooks: 10% off
thisibexx: 10% off
myhandboundbooks: bogo 25% off
scodioli: free s&h
kristincrane: 10% off
kupokiley: 10% off
thecraftykitten: 10% off
flurrsprite: 15% off
uniquelycovered: 10% off
repaper: 10% off
moonbindery: 10% off selected items
artkitten: 20% off books + free s&h
bibliophile: 20% off

Get on it fast, 'cause it ends on Saturday!

I went to the Sunset Valley Farmer's Market yesterday for the first time in a very long time and came home with some wonderful goodies - flavored cheese spreads, fresh sweet onions, potato rolls, multi-colored eggs and fresh non-homogenized milk! I was super excited about the milk because I've heard that fresh milk is amazing. While this stuff was pasteurized (they can't legally sell it if it isn't) at least it was fresher than the regular stuff we usually buy and non-homogenized too. (Shake that cream, baby!) I had a little glass of it last night and it was really good. Smooth, creamy and delicious. No weird tastes. Mmm! And, I can't wait to cook up my fresh sweet onions with some tiny golden potatoes and maybe some peas in butter. Best. Simple. Meal. Ever. Seriously.

And fresh knitting too! I am about to finish my very first sweater, which is turning out quite nicely and which I hope, um, fits. (I really think it will, unless I gain horrendous amounts of weight in the next few days...) I've decided that I need to finish the project I'm currently working on, knitting-wise, before I start something new. Or, well, at least a couple of them. (I have four projects currently in the works, and I just keep bookmarking more!) Next to finish are my hedgerow socks with beautiful Sundara yarn. I've already made one...I just have to get the other one underway!

I managed to drag myself out of bed at a reasonable time. I then proceeded to the couch where I enjoyed some all-natural marshmallow cereal and some quality Flickr time. The boy left for work. Then I made a list. I like lists. Lists help me see what I really have to do. Otherwise my impending tasks and deadlines float around in the mush I call a brain and only sporadically make it to the outside world. So. A list. With little boxes to check off every satisfying task as it was completed. I wrote letters. I prepared my student loan deferment forms. (Ugh.) I wrote postcards. I did laundry and dishes and sweeping and cleaned the fishbowl. I ate lunch. I varnished some moo album tins and varnished them again and soon will go varnish them...you guessed it...again. I processed kitten photos. I changed the ink in my printer. I sat on my couch in front of my front door and breathed in the delightful cool air.

It has been a good day. Now, it's time for asparagus risotto!

I love photography. I love taking photos, I love processing them, I love having them printed and framing them. I love everything about it. I would love to make a living in photography.

Anyway, I have this one friend that I have a lot of photos of. Some were planned, some are just candids. Anyway, she has posted a bunch of them on the internet after re-processing them without asking me first. (Or even telling me.) It bothers me. Am I being overly sensitive?

Here's why I think it shouldn't bother me:
- They're photos of her. Why shouldn't she edit them?
- It's not like I'm making any money off them.
- The editing (mostly) looks just fine. Maybe not what I would have done, but they don't (usually) look worse.

Here's why it really does bother me:
- They're my photos. Why should she edit them without my permission?
- It is technically illegal. (Copyright!)
- I feel violated. Like I wrote and published a book and then she tore out the last chapter, replaced it with her own and put it back on the shelf without telling me. Or like I did a painting of a meadow and she painted a tree into it then hung it back up.

I think I'm going to ask her not to do it anymore tomorrow when we have dinner. I don't want her to take it the wrong way...but I really want her to know that it bothers me.

It bothers me in part because of this particular circumstance and in part because of the commonplace-ness of it all. Most of my friends just don't seem to get it that you can't just download someone's photo off the internet and re-edit it to suit you before you put it back up. (I mean, you can, but that doesn't make it right. And this coming from a huge fan of LOLcats... *sigh*) I even know someone who will do it for printed materials that will be used in her workplace!

I'm all for copyright reform and free use of information, but I'm also really into respect for other people's works. Meh. *shrug*

Every time I look down at the little mail icon on my computer and I see two messages where just a few minutes before there were none, I always hope it's an Etsy sale! (They tend to come in groups of two - one email from Etsy that I sold something and another from Paypal that the person paid.) Sure enough, just a few minutes ago, I sold my charity MOO album! Yay! So off it goes, to a lovely New Zealander.

The Bookbinding Etsy Street Team is hosting a charity event in support of global literacy. Search for items on Etsy tagged with "bestbooks" and "charity" to see some of our offerings. Thank you for your support of this noble cause!

You can find out more about this charity event on our blog.
Learn more about H.E.L.P. International.

100% of the profits from the sale of these books will be donated. I'm offering up this lovely little MOO album!

This little salmon colored paper covered album filled with nice, thick white pages would just love to come home to you, lovingly hold your MOO cards and celebrate literacy! Oh yes.

Plenty of time to sit a click refresh until Sundara's sock yarns are updated! And...success! I will soon be the proud owner of 1 beautiful skein of "Marina over Icicles." Which will then be turned into a lovely pair of Hedgerow socks. Oh, the delight! I've paid and everything...now I just need to wait for the mail...

It may seem odd that I have been talking all about knitting lately and nothing about making books and things, which is, after all, what I do to make a little extra money. Well, with having the flu and everything, I haven't had the energy to get up and work on anything that doesn't involve lying on the couch in a semi-reclined state moving as little as possible. So. Lots of knitting (and even that tired me out sometimes!) and lots of movie-watching and lots of internet-ing. But...I did make some nice new photo albums last week that I just need to finish up. They are very cute and will be going in ye olde Etsy shoppe as soon as I get enough energy to finish them! Woo!

It doesn't resemble lettuce in any way, shape or form. (Unless you count the fact that I'm using green yarn...?)

Regardless, it's very pretty. It's from this pattern (.pdf link here) that I found via Ravelry. I'm using Colinette Jitterbug yarn in a yummy dark green/medium green. It's 100% merino wool. (If I remember correctly...) Anyway, I'll be knitting on this one for a good long time because it has a terribly involved pattern (at least for me!) and loads of yarn overs and crazy things going on. It's not difficult exactly, it just requires my almost-full attention when I'm working on it. Hopefully I'll finish it before it gets too warm to wear it!

I made the mittens. I am so terribly proud of my very first non-rectangular knitting project. (Well, technically the second - last year, I made a hat. But it was really about as close to a rectangle as you could get and still, um, not actually be...uh...a rectangle. Right. 'Cause that made sense.)

Mittens!

Yay! Next up: a lacy scarf, ooooh!

OK, this is what I originally logged in to post. :) I get so easily distracted...

I have started new knitting projects! Finally. I've been meaning to get more advanced than various sized rectangles for some time now, but I finally got to the yarn store (Hill Country Weavers) and bought some delicious yarns. Mmm. I will surely post pics later...as long as I remember... ;)

It's this project that I've started. I'll update later on how it's going after I get a little further... I've only just begun, but so far it's fun and challenging! (I've never knit anything round before!)

OK, I logged in to post something else entirely...but this question caught my eye so I figured I'd answer. ;)

Those who know me will already know my answer...BOTH! Well, more behind than in front, but as long as I'm behind I might as well photograph myself, right?

So here we go! I am going to knit this as my next knitting project. It's not supposed to be very difficult, so I hope it goes well for me! I am no pro knitter, by any means!

It's been a busy week! I've moved! We now live about ten miles northwest of where we lived before and it has made our lives SO much more enjoyable! Now I understand why people pay for location... But anyway, that is why I've been a little absent from the online world the past week or so... ;) But I've been keeping quite busy in my crafty ways and I wanted to let everyone know that the merry folks of BEST (the Bookbinding Etsy Street Team, of which I am a part!) are having a sale this week! Until next Friday, December 14th, visit these shops for some nifty discounts on beautiful books and paper goods!

Flurrsprite
Roska
Yatsu
Subu
DecklededgeBindery
YellowcraftyChick
Arrrt
Moonbindery
KupoKiley
MyHandboundBooks
Temno
TheCraftyKitten
RePaper
JennysBooks
LadyArtisan
Jellygnite
Tomoebookarts
Scodioli
MoonlightBindery
LifeStoriesBooks
ThisisBexx
LostmyMarbles
DevilsParadise
LolaLuv

I used my extra days off this past week to A) eat lots of food and B) make loads of books. I am very proud. I managed to complete all the stuff I had preemptively listed in my Etsy shop, as well as a bunch of teeny matchbook books, two coptic bound journals (and two more almost done) and three custom orders! Also, these very cute little recycled notebooks which I just love, even if nobody else does...

Now I gotta get crackin' on some more stuff! Moving this week sure is a pain...it means I have to stock up, since I probably won't be able to make anything for a little while... Boo.

I have some holiday cards in the Super-Duper Holiday Card Competition and I would totally love it you folks out there bought some! $1 for every pack sold goes to charity! Yeah! Feel good about that purchase. And you should order soon...because the judging ends on Dec. 1 and the shipping might take a bit! You want to have them in time to actually send for Christmas, now don't you! :)

A little preview:



And some instructions on how to order:
1) Go here: http://www.moo.com/holidaycardcompetition/
2) Read to your heart's content (optional)
3) Click "Start making holiday cards"
4) In the little search box near the upper right ("Search by Flickr name" is what it says right now...but they keep changing it...) type in "bo"
5) Wait a couple seconds
6) Click "bookgrl" when the list of names pops up. It'll load all my images into the little scrolling area. (There should be 6.)
7) Pick your cards!
8) Follow MOO instructions from here...
9) Forward to everyone you know and tell them to buy lots and lots and lots of cards! Now! :)

I have been knitting wrong all my life. Or at least as long as I've been knitting in my adult life. I learned to knit as a kid, and then didn't knit for years and then re-learned a few years ago. Apparently, I re-learned (or learned!) wrong. It always worked just fine, but I knew it wasn't quite right... Anyway, since I've decided to get more ambitious about my knitting, I decided it was a good time to correct my technique. It wasn't difficult to correct, but it feels....weird. And it looks ever so slightly different. I'll let you know how it goes...

And happy thanksgiving!