Quince and Quire

Tiny book tutorial, part two; plus sneaky giveaway

You will recall that we were working on making one of these small books. The red rose paper pictured above is one of my favorite covers.

Let us now work on preparing and sewing the inner gathering, or signature, of paper. 

 
 
This part may seem self-evident. The important point to note is that you want to take your paper, starting with small scraps if you are making the 2 by 2 1/2 inch book, and fold several sheets together, at the same time. That is, don't fold each sheet and then nest the sheets--they won't fit together well. 

I took five sheets of paper and folded them in half. I used a bone folder to get a nice crisp fold. I then trimmed the head, tail and fore edges of the paper so that I had a straight, clean edge. The final dimensions of my paper, when folded, were approximately 2 inches by 2/14 inches.

If you want your end pages (which are the sheets that will be glued to the inside of the book's cover: look at the red rose book above and you see the plain red paper peeking from the back cover) to be a different color than the rest of the pages, then the colored sheet of paper should be the outermost page that you fold in your gathering. (I chose to use white for the demonstration book in this tutorial). In other words, the end pages will be sewn with the other pages, then glued later.

Take your awl and make three holes along the inner fold of your gathering, through all the sheets of paper. Make one hole in the center, as shown, and then make one near the top and bottom (the head and tail) of the pages. You don't have to measure with a ruler; just make it look even. 

Thread an embroidery needle, but do not put a knot at the end of your thread. (You won't need much thread; I have much more than I need in the picture above. Ten inches for a book this size will give you plenty of room to sew.) Begin on the outside of your book, in the middle hole, and pull the needle through to the inside.

Take your needle and sew through the bottom hole from interior to exterior.

Go back through the exterior center hole (the one you began with). Yes, it will seem a bit crowded. 

From the inside, sew through the top hole from interior to exterior. You will now have both ends of your thread on the outside of the gathering, ready to tie in a knot. You have sewn in a figure eight pattern.

If you want this book to be an ornament, leave enough thread to tie a loop for hanging.

You can see I tied my thread so that the knot falls in the center of the spine. For an ornament, it is nicer to tie the knot so that it is more toward the top, or head, of the book, so that when it hangs the book is more upright. 

Next, it's time to glue your end pages to the interior of the book boards that your prepared in part one of this tutorial. Brush glue on the outermost page of your gathering, as shown in the photo above. Glue within 1/16th of an inch to the spine.      

Brush glue on the interior, uncovered side of the book board.

Next, carefully place the glued-up end page on the glued-up book board, then smooth down with the bone folder. 

Repeat these steps with the other side: Brush glue on the end page; brush glue on the book cover; carefully place the end page on top of the book cover; smooth with a bone folder and gently straighten if things get crooked. 

It is okay if the spine of your gathering (where your sewing shows) extends a bit beyond the book covers.

Cut a few scraps of parchment paper a little bit larger than the dimensions of your book. Place the parchment paper between the end papers that you just glued to boards and the rest of the book. Put your book under weight for a day or two so that it dries without warping.

Here's another example of what the finished book will look like, this time with green hand-marbled cover paper. 

Are you still with me after such a long tutorial? 

If you have made it to this point, then maybe you will leave a comment--and in return I will choose two people to receive one of these little books as a new year's gift. Think of the tiny resolutions you can write! The giant wish list in tiny pages! The mini magnum opus waiting for your pen! Don't be shy: you have a very good chance of winning this. And with that, I wish you a delightful weekend. I'll close comments on Tuesday, 22 December, at 10pm.

Holiday cheer from a new friend

Look what came in the mail from my Holiday Traditions Exchange partner! The lovely Lillian of Domestic Simplicity sent a thoughtful and festive package filled with cheer. It arrived just when I needed it, in the midst of a hectic and tiring day. You can see she sent not one, but four recipes; a jar of bath salts (as well as tea and chocolate); and the beautiful cross stitch. I love the delicacy of her work--and of course I love the message, too! 

I think Lillian's package of thoughtful gifts achieved the mission of restoring genuine seasonal cheer in our mass-market-saturated culture. Thanks, Lillian.

Tiny book tutorial, part one

Today I have the first of what I think will be a three-part tutorial to make small books. These books can function on their own, or you can make them into ornaments by simply leaving a tail of thread from which to hang them.

The entire tutorial relies on bookbinding terminology, of course; I'll teach you what I can through photos and explanations, and at the end I'll give you resources for further exploration. These little books are not hard to make, but there are many steps.

This first part of the tutorial looks at how to cover boards with decorative paper. 

These are the supplies you will need for the entire project:

• Book board or museum board
• Decorative papers (heavy-weight origami or stationery weight printed papers, etc.)
• Plain paper for the interior, of good quality
• Linen bookbinding thread
• Embroidery needle
• Awl
• Bone folder
• White glue
• Glue brush
• Utility knife 
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Cutting mat
• Parchment paper

If you can't find some of the more unusual supplies at your local craft store (book board, bone folder, awl, linen thread, etc), they can be purchased at Talas. I am telling you this rather than making a link from each supply to Talas. (I also want you to know I am not being paid by Talas to tell you this. They have no idea who I am. I just like to shop there because I trust the quality and service.)

If you aren't trying to make an archival, for-the-ages book, you can relax a bit about supplies and just use what is on hand. You can use thread that isn't linen, paper that might be headed for the recycling bin, and so forth. 

So here is my book board, which is a dense, stable board that bookbinders use. Do you see the green lines? Those mark the grain of the board. Paper products have a grain, which is simply the way most of the fibers line up. If you bend a sheet of paper, it bends more easily in one direction (with the grain) than the other (against the grain). The same is true of any sort of paper board. For this project, you want the grain of your board to run the long way, with what will be the "spine" of the book. I marked mine so I wouldn't forget which way the grain runs.

Cut two boards to the following size: 2 inches by 2 1/2 inches. I took a utility knife with a sharp blade and used my ruler as a straight edge. I made several slow careful cuts until I made my way all the way through the book board.

Next, cut the paper that will cover the board. Do you see how mine is curling in the photo above? That shows you the grain: it curls with the grain. I want the grain of my paper to be going in the same direction as the grain of my book board; for this project, that means both things should have the grain running parallel to the longer dimension of the book.

I had some more vintage printed paper on hand. I cut my paper so that it was about 3/8 of an inch larger in all directions than my book board. (Which makes the size of the paper--oh! I can't do math when I'm tired!--let's see, 2 3/4 inches by 3 1/4 inches, I hope.)

Put some glue in a dish. An old yogurt lid will work fine. Choose a brush that you will not use for any other purpose except to glue. 

Glue up your board. Don't use too much or you'll have a big mess. You can put a light coat of glue on the "wrong side" of your paper, too, but keep in mind paper tends to stretch, swell and go crazy when it gets glued up. Give it a minute to relax before you try to adhere the paper to the board.

Once you've got glue on the board and paper, put the board on the paper, center it so you have even overhang of paper at the edges, and smooth the two together with your hands. Do the same to your second board, then let them sit under weight for a few minutes. 

Next, miter your corners. Don't cut the paper all the way to the pointy corner of the board. Leave about an eighth of an inch.  
 
Start with the longer sides of your board (what will be the spine and fore edge of your book) and glue up those overhanging flaps of paper. Gently fold them around the back of the board. Take your bone folder and gently crimp down at the mitered corner, as shown in the photo above. You can just use your finger if you don't have a bone folder. The goal is to get a tidy corner that isn't lumpy. 

Once you've done that, glue up the shorter sides of your board (what will become the head and tail of your book) and gently fold them around the back of the board.

You can see the back of the covered board in this picture. I took my bone folder and worked on smoothing the paper down to make sure the glue adhered well and didn't leave any bubbles or lumps. 

You now have two very small, decoratively-covered pieces of book board. (The back of each board is still unfinished, as in the photo with the bone folder above.) The boards need to sit under weight overnight before you continue with the project. Put them between pieces of parchment paper so that any residual glue does not cause them to stick to other things while they dry.

I'll show you how to sew up your tiny 'text block" in the next post.

Giveaway: winner

My random number generator selected number 27.

Marianne Wille will receive the beautiful felt heart! 

Thanks to everyone for leaving a comment!

It's time

The cookies are ready to be iced . . . 

. . . the three is decorated with our homemade ornaments, as well as German-made and Swedish-made ornaments from my husband's childhood . . .

. . . the Nutcracker suite is ready to be played; the Nutcracker book is ready to be read; and the house is ready for many petite ballerinas to arrive for a pre-performance party!

And if we peek into the guest room, we see that Aunt Pearl's biscuit quilt . . .

. . . is ready for visions of sugarplums. 

And don't forget that today is the last day to enter the giveaway for this beautiful felt heart ornament from FeltSewGood!
 
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! 

 
 

Pen pals

My daughter received her first letter from her art pen pal. Thrilling! Over the moon thrilling! Rip-the-envelope-open thrilling! We loved the delicate pencil drawing that you see above. 

We signed up for my daughter's pen pal through the Artful Parent, where Jean organized some 200 kids into pairs. Such a great idea! 

In other topics, there seems to be interest in the little book ornaments that I posted. I'll have a tutorial up for you next week, after we are through with the annual madness that is the Nutcracker: oh, parties, dresses, and ballet are consuming us!

Evening fire

Wind snap. Cold snap. The light inside: brittle fire, like Zion. The surprise of heat in shadow.

Book Ornaments

I've been working on book ornaments. These wee volumes are 2 x 2 1/2 inches. I made the hardback covers with vintage Italian printed papers, and with hand-marbled papers. Little luxuries, ready to be mailed to friends near and far. If anyone expresses interest, I will put up a tutorial. The books are simple to make, though there are several steps.

Giveaway: Upcycled beauty from FeltSewGood

What are a few of our favorite things here at Quince & Quire? 

Let's see: deep, intense colors; soft natural fibers; delicate, intricate patterns; folkloric motifs; handmade excellence; beauty and utility working in harmony.

In short: the work of Cheryl Patterson of FeltSewGood. 

Cheryl is a talented sewist and craftswoman from Indiana. I happened upon her shop about one year ago, when I purchased the ochre heart ornament pictured above. (You can see that since then, my heart ornament collection has grown by two!) I was so taken with the quality of Cheryl's work that I ordered one of her handbags, a merino wool aubergine "Jasper" shoulder bag. I was thrilled with it as well: beautifully styled, carefully lined, expertly sewn. Best of all, each lovely item was made from thrifted, upcycled wool sweaters. 

Cheryl spoke with me a little bit about her work and her shop, FeltSewGood. 

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I live in central Indiana with my husband and three Burmese cats. Of course I love sewing, and almost any kind of crafting, but also cooking and gardening. And I love scouting for antiques, and flea market and thrift shop treasures, which fits right in with making my FeltSewGood items from upcycled wool. 

Your sewing skills are impeccable. How did you learn?

My maternal Grandmother was a sewing teacher, so I started early asking for a needle and thread to try to hand sew doll clothes. We didn't live in the same city as my grandparents, and I didn't get to spend a lot of time sewing with her, but I always liked that we had that in common. I have taken a few sewing classes over the years and I'm of the age when we took sewing in "Home Education" in the 8th grade!

Has there been anyone in your life who served as an inspiration or mentor in your craft?

My Grandmother.

Your items are made from reclaimed felted wool. What do you enjoy most about working with upcycled materials?

I love the challenge of finding the materials and then coming up with just the right use for each sweater or item of clothing. Since I work with mostly found "as is" items, I don't have much control over the color, texture or how much an item shrinks when "felted," but to me that's the fun part!

I am delighted to tell you that Cheryl has kindly offered a heart ornament, pictured above, as a giveaway. It is crafted from red and green felted wool, with hand-embroidered designs and a vintage button. Just leave a comment at the end of this post by 11pm EST Friday, December 11th. I'll choose the winner at random. If you'd like, tell us in your comment how you re-use or upcycle materials in your crafting. Thanks, Cheryl!

*

In addition, I hope you will all consider contributing a handmade ornament of your own to a very special project that Nicole, of the lovely blog GardenMama, has started. Please visit her new site, The Wellness Tree, to read about and support a remarkable woman who is battling breast cancer. 

Giveaway? Monday!

The plan was to have a nice fat giveaway, of things made by me, posted here today. But my little son is sick and feverish and I spent yesterday rocking and holding him rather than photographing stuff. I'm sure you understand.

The good news is that I have a very special guest to feature on Monday, and she has a gorgeous surprise to offer as a giveaway. So do come back then! I can't wait to show you. We'll save a giveaway of my stuff for the following week.

I hope you all have a good weekend!

Recycled ribbon spool ornaments

I have been saving empty ribbon spools, liking their shape but not knowing what to do with them. Then, feeling original, I thought I'd make ornaments. Surely no one has ever done that before! Well, as I discovered after I completed my project, of course they have, and you'll find all sorts of fun versions if you type "ribbon spool ornament" into Google. I think the simplicity of my version is a good choice if you want to make these with kids--and it gives you a way to use old holiday cards you've saved. (You do save them, don't you? Tell me I'm not the only one). 

Apparently I do not ever recycle cards; that one on top came from my friend Sloan in 2004. My daughter had a great time going through the stacks and choosing images for our ornaments; her taste, like that of my great aunties, runs toward the glittery, as you shall see. 

In addition to old holiday cards and empty ribbon spools, you need a few tools. Scissors and glue are fine; you might also want a rotary cutter and a compass cutter, which cuts a perfect circle. You'll need a cutting mat beneath the rotary and compass cutters, of course.

So here I am demonstrating the compass cutter with one of the images my daughter chose. How about that glitter! (You could also trace the spool onto your card and cut it out with scissors--no need for a compass).

Once you've cut out your circles, simply glue them to each side of the spool. On most of our ornaments we chose a fancy image for one side and plain colored card stock for the other. 

We cut a thin strip of paper and adhered it to the spool where the ribbon used to be, and then tied a length of ribbon on top to hang the ornament.

One of these just may make its way to my Holiday Traditions Exchange partner!

December pleasures

We're only a few days into the month, but we're enjoying the sensory gifts of the season: I've got the wood stove humming along day and night; we've savored several pomegranates; the house is bedecked and bespangled (more photos of that another day); and today I had to use my library card to scrape ice from the car windshield for the first time this season. Time to find the real ice scraper! (That last photo is another page from the fun calendar by ilee papergoods. I need to get a new one for 2010!)

Thank you all for your thoughtful comments yesterday. In the midst of a busy week it is so nice to connect with other readers and parents, people like you all who understand the delicate balance of trying to live a creative life, with and for our children.

And by the way, I've put up a few new places for you to visit in my Weekly Favorites sidebar.

Learning from Advent

You've seen them. The advent calendars, in all styles, handmade and store bought. Paper, fabric, felt, metal. Mittens, buckets, windows, boxes: all the wonderful ways we count down the days to Christmas, whether that day is secular or religious in our homes.

I've been meaning to make an heirloom advent calendar for several years. I keep searching, but I haven't found the perfect project. It has to be perfect, of course, because the holiday is all about perfection--isn't it?

My daughter announced that she was going to make an advent calendar. She was tired of waiting for me to do it. We've been talking about what Christmas means, and why people celebrate it--beyond decorations and presents and candy canes. Her knowledge grows a bit more nuanced each year. This year, with growing interest in baby Jesus, she was eager to mark each day. 

She took a piece of paper and asked me to draw squares. Okay, I told her, I'll do it tonight when I have time.

No, Mama, do it now.

But I need to measure, and think about it, and plan, I replied.

No, Mama. Just draw boxes for me.

So I quickly sketched some wonky squares on paper. She took the paper, chose three crayons, and got to work. It took maybe ten minutes. She didn't think long about any of the pictures. She just drew, for the enjoyment of the process and in anticipation of the result: her own calendar. 

What did I see? In the beginning, small and fairly tidy pictures. One quarter of the way through it, she added green lines between boxes, just because. Her pictures got bigger, a little messier, more exuberant. She made a few gnomes, just for fun. The images didn't fit in the boxes any more.

The small shadows in my mind whispered. The art doesn't fit in the box! How will we make little flaps to cover each image? Why can't she be neat and color in the lines like other kids her age?  

Then I considered my thoughts in dismay. What did I just think? Her art doesn't fit in a box? She doesn't follow the lines? In other words, she likes to be free and joyful in her creations. Do I really have a problem with that?

No.

And what are we really celebrating? The birth of a child. The revival of light. The renewal and longing of a season, a season that endures in our hearts. Can I not find joy in the accomplishments of my own child, who brings so much light to my life, without comparing her to any other child? Can I not understand the gifts she presents me each day? Surely I am not the one who needs to be taught what authentic creation means.

Or maybe I am. 

Forest folklore for two

The little guy turned himself into a two-year-old this weekend. We celebrated in foresty style, though the stencils for decorations changed a bit from the party invitation. The kraft paper table runner was great: cute, practical (I taped it to the underside of the table so the small guy couldn't rip it off) and ready for the kids to draw on post-party. 

We hung vintage felt mushrooms that my husband's mother made years ago, along with paper birds, hearts, and greenery. 

BIg sister set up a celebration in Gnome Land, complete with acorn cake. 

It's good to be two, says Little Brother! 
 
 
 

Thankful . . .

. . . for pretty little things, like this reproduction of a vintage cookie mold, from House on the Hill.

. . . for the last days of mild weather.

. . . for good food with good friends.

. . . for the last bursts of gold.

. . . for vintage photos, newly digitized, of my husband as a boy. 

. . . for a surprise box of books from that same husband: traveling on business, he found time to seek out volumes on Blake, illuminated books, and poetry, and mail them to me. And I'm even more thankful for his surprising last-minute return home for the holiday!
 
Wishing you all a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow!