As I posted once before, I'm getting into a new hobby - book binding. Thus far I've only binded blank books with intent to figure out something interesting to go into the books later on. Recently I came across 2 of my old field notebooks and illustrations from the summer of July, 2000. That was when I took part in a fantastic Passports in Time (PIT) project, called 'Follow the Smoke. I decided my notes from that delightful and fulfilling adventure deserved to be combined and bound into a small book.
Pages from my 'soon-to-be-properly-bound' Book
First page from my 'PIT' diary
I gathered up all of my notes from the project out of notebooks and organized them. Then by chance I found a good method for binding them, via YouTube, i.e., America's classroom.
I decided I needed an introduction to what the book chronicled. After writing up my intro in pencil on one page, I went outside on my 2nd floor patio to spray the page with the stinky fixative (which prevents the pencil graphite from smearing).
I paused, looking up, and saw a pair of magnificent Bald Eagles. As they passed over my head, I called out, asking them to take blessings to my Mother, and to all of my recently deceased Aunts, Uncles and cousin. I'm sure the eagles will grant me that favor. I thought the sudden presence of the eagles, was a good omen for my new binding project. Omens don't get any better than soaring Bald Eagles.
A little Baldie aerial ballet
[UPDATE: The combined notes, illustrations and photos from Follow the Smoke is bound into a leather covered book. Sadly I have not mastered decorated, lettered covers so no cute front to my work. I guess that'll need another pair of Eagles overhead.
My favorite quote, from my favorite book is as follows:
“The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.”
I'm not sad, and I haven't been debased of late, but I've always hankered to learn book binding. A YouTube video on book binding entered the scene and now pieces of sketching paper have been cut - nay, shredded - then sewn into 'signatures' which were bundled up, and hand stitched into a bare bones book. Acid-free glue was liberally applied to the book spine, then was used to adhere bits of netting and linen strips to secure the bundles of paper.
Fledgling book, glued, stitched and read for linings, end-papers and such.
These first 2 books have leather covers. The leather was purchased as 'scraps' more than 2 decades ago. Sometimes I buy stuff now, and figure out what to do with years later. So at last the leather scraps have found their calling. The two photos of the black book was the first book I completed. It has a strap with a key at the end, that holds the journal shut. The strap and key can be wrapped in any old arrangement, though my favorite is the one to the right, which looks rather like a star, and is my favorite. The journal has two ribbon markers each with a tiny key at its end.
Did not come up with the 'key in a slot' idea on my own. I got the ideas from stuff on line. However, the cover has a flap, and a pop through slot for the key, and that was my own idea.
The 'end pages' in books I've made thus far, are composed of Etsy purchased hand made paper.
Unfinished book with cabochon
So... what the hell is the point of making one's own leather 'empty books'? Uh... Just wanted to get the feel of how books were once-upon-a-time hand-made. The feel of making one's own book is AWE-SOME. So far I've completed 2, and am working on a third, shown on the left. Love the butter soft leather, and metal clasps were fun to rivet onto the leather, and look so cool.
This 3rd journal is not complete as yet. The cover isn't even glued to the book as yet. There is an experimental agate cabochon poking through cut out leather. It looks rough and I'm not at all sure what to do to finesse it a bit. Well that's why all this is experimental, yeah?
Next I hope to master leather tooling so my leather covers can be imprinted with pictures, borders and such. I'll get there eventually, or so I hope.
Been absolutely ages since I went to a Woolverines meeting. Ok, more like 3 weeks, but if feels like ages. The hassle is just now I've had nothing to knit. My poncho project is held up while I struggle to get what's been knit so far 'blocked'. Ugh! Enough fussing. Today is the 14th Anniversary of the best yarn store in my area. It is called Babetta's Yarn & Gifts, and it is run, lock, stock & barista by Babetta. Today the Woolverines took a field trip to my end of town.
Gotta love a yarn store that has a coffee shop right there!
Lovely yarns, up one side of the shop and down the other
There was a lady, whom I don't believe is a Woolverine. She had a great poncho, that several many a Woolverine decided was a MUST HAVE. The poncho is now officially on my knitting queue.
The stunning grey poncho
There was a great group photo taken, ruined my me sitting in front with my brazil sized thighs and turkey waddles. Nope. Not putting it here.
After much shopping around Babettas, and everyone entering the contest for the door prizes, we petered out, to meet at Mirabelle's for a nice lunch.
I love Mirabelle's so I never go there. It's staff are friendly and all, don't get me wrong - it's just - there is nothing more dangerous for me than inexpensive eclairs, chocolate mousses, any number of incredibly well made, perfectly flaky & sweet pastries of every kind...and cookies... the cookies... and worse, all affordable!
Yeah. I do not need to make Mirabelle's a habit.
See the pastry displays on the left and in the rear ? *shudders & drools*
Lunch with the Woolverines was fun and the only strange bit was no knitting or crocheting took place. And afterwards, yes, some pastries made their way home with me. Shut up. You would have done the same. [UPDATE: I won, I won, I won! Several Woolverines won Babetta's door prizes and I was among the lucky. And bonus, I won a fingerless glove kit. I've started, unraveled and started umpteen fingerless gloves this past year, not finishing a single glove. I've made them in the past so I don't know what my problem is really. I guess this is a hint from the universe for me to quit messing around and get to knitting some mitts.
It was a long first day, traveling north of Fort Williams. There were lovely lochs to enjoy and only a few miles north of Fort Williams we were passing though the village of Corpach where I spotted signs. ROCKS, MINERALS - so I had to stop. The signs led to a yellow building. Near the building's entrance was miner's coal trolley up on an elevated bridge. We'd accidently arrived at the Treasures of the Earth, a local museum of sorts.
The Treasures of the Earth
After paying a somewhat substantial fee we toured the exhibits. There were many fabulous and massive minerals and fossils on display, from around the world.
A pillar sized Selenite crystal
The Devil's Toenails in want of a manipedi
There was main room, a sort of salute to Jurassic Park, with many fossils and dino-replicas.
The room echoed with broadcast jungle sounds
The Treasures of the Earth was interesting, and mostly miraculous because uncharacteristically I bought neither rocks nor minerals specimens as my luggage contains far too much ballast as it is.
As the day progressed there were many other diversions too. In the loch-side town of Arisaig. We found another even tinier museum.
Photo from Arisaig Museum website
This was the Arisaig Museum of Sea and Islands which had a lot of interesting curios to view and even touch. Lots of spinning and knitting things for fiber fanatics.
There were several vintage spinning wheels
Kiddie dyed homespun yarns
There were even things you could walk off with if you liked.
The museum itself was built upon a one-time smithy, and there was a nice exhibit explaining so.
Olde Village Smithy things
There were also natural history objects to examine.
A curious thrush's nest
Museum's View of Arisaig
Ila asked the visitor centre lady if there was a place we could shop for yarns. The lady got out a map, and pointed out our best bet, a crafts shop above a loch to Inverness Shire. With a sample of the local sweets in hand, we headed off for the crafts shop. There was loads to see along the drive....
a roadside Hooded Crow
We used the rental car's GPS and it took us away from the so-called highway, to cross under a tiny viaduct beyond which there was a man-made waterfall we didn't manage any photos of.
The detour to the back roads of Inverness
There were friendly locals along the way
Much of the roads had but a single lane. Every once in a bit a car would face us in a face off and one of us would back up to a passing spot.
Much of the road was one lane
Picturesque inlet on Loch Morar
We were dead certain that the GPS misunderstood our input and that we were on a beautiful, but nonetheless wild goose chase. We warily followed the GPS instructions uphill.
On our way uphill, over dale
When the GPS announced we had arrived, Ila and I were dead certain we were dead lost. But behold! We read a sign by the gate that confirmed the score: GPS, one. Ila and Claire, zero.
Notice how the weather in the day's photos changed on a dime
We walked up to the tidy little building that was the Crafts shop. No one was home, but we found the shop's mistress in the beautiful house right next door.
Loads of clean fleece
We'd been hoping for yarns, but the shop's true specialty was fleeces and other raw materials. The shop's mistress was an artisan and she had on hand many collected bits of flora - lichens, mushrooms and the lot - used for natural dyes.
Awesome assortment of wild picked fungi and galls
Naturally dyed fleece samples
There were samples of the fiber arts everywhere in the shop.
This shot of a window view from the shop, is just for pretty's sake
After the delightful shop visit during which the shop owner answered any and all queries, we departed, headed back down the hill. We were on our way back Fort Williams. I stopped to photograph a pair of Red-breasted Merganser, which are also found in the States.
Fun seeing 'my' local waterfowl also enjoy a trip to Scotland
Then, just after leaving the Mergansers, I looked over and OMG! I flipped. Totally lost my $h*t, And what did I see browsing peacefully nearby? SCOTTISH DEER!
Their ears are totally dinky in comparison to California's Mule Deer
I took the does for native Scottish Red Deer, but further investigation revealed these were the other native Scottish Deer species, Roe Deer. I won't go into the differences between the two here (lucky you, eh?). However, happy to report we did see some impressive and gorgeous Red Deer stags on our way back to the BnB. I drove us onto a rare-to-find driveway, but by by the time I got out of the car, the stags had fled. Still - today I saw Red and Roe Deer. *sooooo happy*
We got back to Fort Williams around dusk. We went to a little restaurant recommended to us, and there enjoyed fish and chips and other local fare. T'was a long, l-o-n-g day we had.
Here is a wee bit of the visit at the craft shop mentioned earlier in this post. Owner Deirdre and Ila conversed on their mutual fondness for Ikea, I bought the hand made wall hanging woven by Deirdre herself.
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