The Needles Excellency

I Hate Borders Online

2009-11-24T15:28:00.001+11:00

I am NEVER using Borders Online again. I've been waiting for this book to be published. They had it available. Said 7-10 days delivery which means it's coming from the USA. I factored that in and figured it would still be quicker than getting it from instore.

It is now 26 days later and I still don't have the book. I've sent a couple of emails and no response. I rang the help line to ask how it was posted, normal mail or Air Mail and the person, while friendly, was no help at all. I explained that Normal mail from the USA involved a boat and the Pacific Ocean, so the promised delivery time was not realistic. I am sooooo annoyed, next time I'm ordering from Galaxy.

Horn Spines

2009-11-23T18:54:00.002+11:00

Horn Spines, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

These are the horn spines for my vellum exemplars. They are just short of A6 height. All are the same size, I took the photo at an angle so the grain of the horn would show up. They will have holes drilled in them and attached as spine support.

And boy, was it hot yesterday. Two straight days of 40C. I was checking the weather for tomorrw at 7pm, it was still 37C!! And we haven't got to the hot part of the year yet. Lucky I like this weather.

A6 Kraft Notebooks

2009-11-22T18:52:00.000+11:00

A6 Kraft Notebooks, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

I made these up as just quick and easy projects. A6 in size, with Kraft card covers with stamping, rubons or die cuts on the covers. Sewn with 3 hole pamphlet sewing with coloured waxed linen thread. Normal photocopy paper for the pages. I also made some A7 and A4.

Back

2009-11-10T11:11:00.002+11:00

I've been pretty slack about posting lately. Last week was pretty full on and I haven't been doing much embroidery stuff.

I have had a couple of family history breakthroughs, which is good. I'm writing up all the research I've done on one of the four main branches of my family. I want to send something to all the members from that branch, as that is the branch with the most people around and kicking. Once I've done the write up, that will help me identify holes that I need to do more research on.

And I am doing National Novel Writing Month. I'm a bit behind on my word count. I had hoped to catch up on the weekend but I had a shocking headache all saturday, so by the time I'd caught up on things I didn't get to start writing until the late afternoon. And I managed to knock out just over 2000 words last night. If I can keep going a few hundred over the daily quota and have a big session this weekend, I should be able to get myself back on track. I'm enjoying it. I'm a bit out of practice on putting that many words to the page but the benefit of writing fiction is you don't need to reference anything!

Notebooks

2009-10-15T14:04:00.001+11:00

Notebooks, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

Not much sewing or bookbinding going on. Recovering from the Spring War spree. I've started tidying up the workareas so I should be right to do something productive on the weekend.

I found an online shop that sells all sorts of notebook goodness.

* Moleskine
* O-Check
* Clairefontaine

Cleopatra Worship Day

2009-10-05T14:46:00.000+11:00

I promised Cleopatra that since I'd been away for most of the long weekend that today was worship her day. We started with a good half hour of brushing and patting. Followed by some steak strips for breakfast and then a walk outside. Then we decided Mum was annoying and sat out in the cat run for a few hours. Then once Mum was settled into working on a project for someone else that needed to be done today, "we" came inside and sat in the middle of the project. After sufficient attention I was able to get back to work. So she had a nice attention day and I got a cuddle that night as reward.

I had planned on tidying up all the mess I'd made getting ready for Spring War but that all sounded too hard, so spent the afternoon on the computer doing genealogy research.

Spring War Sunday

2009-10-04T14:39:00.000+11:00

I woke up really late this morning and thought I'd stay home. Had a chat to Dad on the phone and finally got up around 10.30am. Then I decided that a day at home alone sounded pretty crap. The car was still packed, so all I needed to do was grab a new dress and head out. Before that though I finished making a book for Anton. I'd printed out a copy of "The Prince" and started make a 16th Century laced in binding for it. It was put on hold due to running out of time. So I took about half an hour to finish it off.

I got on site about lunch time. Gave the book to Anton, he liked it alot, which is good. A couple of other people commented so I think I will make some more.

Most of the rest of the day was spent hanging around and chatting. The weather was a bit better so we christened the skittles. They were fun.

Left site in daylight and this time nearly ran into about half a dozen kangaroos! At least these ones checked the road before crossing.

Spring War

2009-10-03T14:30:00.001+10:00

I packed up most of the stuff last night. I had the car packed in about 5 mins. Travelling light this year!

I headed out at 7.30am on the dot as planned. Filled up with petrol and headed out. Stopped at Maccas for breakfast and kept going. Very easy run. Only problem was within sight of the gate to the property where Spring War is held. Bloody great Grey Kangaroo came bounding across the road and scared the you know what out of me. It would have been a dead heat of who would win if I'd hit him.

Got on site just after breakfast, in time to set up for Market Day. It was great this year. As well as the usual locals we also had Alex the Potter, the Hornmaster, Asa and Contarina and some nice brass jewellery. All a first for Spring War (except for Asa and Contarina). I didn't spend all my money in one go, I was good.

I only sold three books, but I suppose that means I don't have to make as many for Festival! I handed out a few business cards so I might have some more sales a bit later on.

I did the Collegia in the afternoon. Had mostly young ones watching. I rushed through it a bit, so I will have to slow down a bit next time. But it meant everyone had time to do the make and take and for me to make a full long and chain stitch book during the hour.

After the collegia, the rest of the afternoon was just hanging around. We didn't get a chance to christen the skittles as it was raining too much. I was a bit late leaving the site so most of the drive home was in the dark and pouring rain, not fun.

All in all, a good time was had by me!

Notes for Collegia

2009-10-02T14:29:00.000+10:00

Spent as much time as I could today getting the notes for the collegia finished. I had to drop a few things, some due to time and some to not having enough information. I'm pretty happy with them as they stand now but they will be modified before I teach it again at Festival. I managed to get them done and printed for tomorrow.

Spring War Prep Continues

2009-10-01T14:26:00.000+10:00

I decided to have my flex today rather than Friday. Gives me time to work on handout and print tomorrow!

I went shopping to pick up a few things I needed (new shoes and a REALLY girly maxi dress!). Also needles, paper etc for collegia on the weekend. I had planned on doing some work on the notes and exemplars but by the time I got home I was exhausted. Did managed to do some sewing on exemplars but that was it.

Spring War Preparations

2009-09-30T11:41:00.003+10:00

My summer internal alarm clock is kicking in. Today was my lay day from the gym but I still woke up at 6.30am. So instead of sleeping in, I decided to get up and do some prep work for Spring War. I got all of the covers cut out from my exemplar books. I should be able to get at least half to a useful stage by the time my collegia is on on Saturday. It might be useful if some of them are only half constructed as this will let people see "inside" the construction. I will also cut and kit up some spares to be working on and use to demonstrate bits and pieces in the class. Gotta love a technique that can be done anywhere!

I also need to get the pages cut and hole punched for my freebie giveaways for the class. I already have the covers cut out. Also need to cut out buttons.

I will also do some of the quick and dirty vade mecums to sell. I'm thinking about $10 should be about right.

Duststorm

2009-09-23T08:39:00.003+10:00

Duststorm
Originally uploaded by Jane Stockton

I woke up this morning really early (which is annoying 'cause Wednesday is my layday from the gym when I get to have a sleep in!) and could tell that the duststorm had hit. This video was taken at 6.30am. By the time I got to work at 8am it was even darker, redder and thicker.

I think that the car washing places are going to make a fortune over the next few days.

Exemplar List

2009-09-19T17:59:00.002+10:00

I've spent the afternoon working out what I need to make for my list of bookbinding exemplars. I wasn't doing anything productive as far as getting them started. I think having the list will make things better. I have an example of all of the different styles of limp bindings, including a variety of clasps and spine types.

Medieval Anatomical Pop-Up Book

2009-09-15T10:29:00.002+10:00

This was too much fun to miss out on.

From Bookn3rd:

The world’s largest collection of sixteenth-century anatomical prints, or ‘fugitive sheets’ has been digitized and is available online, thanks to the Wellcome Library. There are nineteen prints with pop-up action allowing the reader to see different organ systems in the order of dissection. In this male and female set you can see both still images and video of the flaps being lifted—brilliant! (I do wish that more of the entries offered stills, since the video is cool but it’s hard to get a detailed view of the different layers.)

Embroidered Bookbindings from the Bodlein

2009-09-14T12:45:00.001+10:00

A new database to search at the Bodlien called LUNA. A collaboration between ARTstor and the Bodleian Library to produce 25,000 images from 35mm filmstrip negatives and positive slides. Material includes medieval and Renaissance illuminated manuscripts.

Embroidered bookbindings - http://bodley30.bodley.ox.ac.uk:8180/luna/servlet/view/search?q=embroidered&sort=Shelfmark%2Csort_order&search=Search

Cleopatra the Very Tired Cat

2009-09-09T09:19:00.004+10:00

Very Tired Cat, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

Cleo had had a very big day and was very tired.

Vade Mecum Closed

2009-09-03T14:56:00.002+10:00

Vade Mecum Closed, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

Vade Mecum were medieval notebooks. They hung from belts and were used by doctors to carry important reference materials with them when visiting the sick. I've made this one inspired by the style but using individual pages for a notebook. Not very authentic.

EDIT: I've now found evidence for this sort of loose leather cover. So there are really only two things about this not authentic. The individual pages and the button to keep it closed. So, about 80%. That's pretty good. I think I will make some of these for Spring War.

Vade Mecum Open

2009-09-03T14:53:00.000+10:00

Vade Mecum Open, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

Dune Binding Collage

2009-09-01T18:31:00.001+10:00

Dune Binding Collage, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

I wanted to have a book I could take with me to my SCA events but that wouldn't stick out. So I decided to rebind my copy of Dune in a way that would make it blend in a bit more. It is made using a medieval secondary tacketing method.

If you click on the image and go to Flickr, there are notes on the image to explain what I did.

This Is Spot

2009-08-31T09:38:00.002+10:00

Spot, originally uploaded by Jane Stockton.

When I looked up from making my breakfast on Sunday, this is what looked back at me. He's sitting on top of my BBQ. Meowing very loudly. His name is Spot, well, that is what I call him. I think he lives around the corner. He's well feed and healthy. He's not the cutest cat in the world, but it's hard to resist a cat who only wants pats. He started coming around a while ago. Very tentative at first. Now as soon as he spots me, he starts demanding pats! It's hard to resist. And not only is he pretty ugly, but as soon as you start patting, he gets really happy and starts drooling like you wouldn't believe!! It's actually easier to change after patting him than to try and keep dry. So on the weekends, he comes to visit and usally gets a pat or two or three.

Zutphen Infirmary Accounts - 16th Century

2009-08-24T09:32:00.007+10:00

I started on the first of my exemplars this weekend. The first one will be the Zutphen Infirmary Accounts covering the years 1536-1555. This is a great example of the limp binding technique as it doesn't even have a cover. It is a set of accounts, each year wrapped with a piece of recycled parchment and then bound to a leather strip. The strip is pre-punched to allow the addition of further accounts at a later time. Each section is attached to the leather by direct tacketing, using parchment strips.

I obviously don't have a heap of spare 14th century parchment lying around, so I found some pictures on the web and printed them out on cardstock. I then distressed the pages using a variety of methods. The backs were painted with a walnut ink mixture, just to tone down the plain white paper. I hacked at the edges of the pages with sandpaper and also sandpapered the page itself, just to get rid of the smoothness. I then crumpled the edges of the pages. I'm quite happy with how they turned out.

I am using plain 80gsm photocopy paper for the internal pages. I might go through and put some fake accounts in them at some stage, but only if I have plenty of time.

I pre-punched the two leather external supports. Each is 3" x 3 1/2", with the holes punched 1/4" apart. There are 13 sets of holes in each support.

I did a test run on the parchment strips. I cut a very thin strip, only 1/16" wide and put it in a tub of water to soak and soften up. After about 10 mins it was flexible enough to use. I was worried about it being too wet to put inside the quires of each section. But once I'd dried off the excess water, it wasn't that wet.

I need to get some more parchment scraps as I think this would probably use some sort of parchment reinforcement inside each quire.

I am waiting for some parchment scraps to arrive, once I've done the tacketing, I will post a picture.

Restoration of Books After the 1966 Florence Flood

2009-08-23T13:50:00.001+10:00

This is an old, but very interesting video about what was done to restore the huge collection of books, manuscripts and other works of art after the flooding of Florence in 1966.

Of particular interest from the bookbinding perspective is footage of Christopher Clarkson doing a limp vellum binding.

http://data.scl.utah.edu/fmi/xsl/stream/details.xsl?-recid=354&a::v=22y7a47E1i

Be warned, the opening sequence of hundreds, thousands of precious manuscripts covered in mud and thrown around on the floor can be distressing to the biblophile!

Embroidered Bookbindings

2009-08-11T09:31:00.002+10:00

Found these while looking for something completely different!

The castle of Christianitie by Lewis Evans (1568)

Preparing for Tocal

2009-07-15T10:32:00.002+10:00

Tocal Token Tourney is our big dress up event. So this week I started getting some stuff done in preparation. I took my blackwork shirt apart and washed it. Last night I sewed it back together. My ruff and cuff set are currently soaking. Tonight I will get them out and try and get them looking nice. I am going to try using some spray starch and hair dryer to get the unwrinkly.

I also took my black dress apart. I knew that I'd lost some weight but I didn't realise how much until I grabbed the front of it the last time I wore it and was able to get whole handful of loose fabric. So I've taken the bodice off from the skirt. It shouldn't take long to take it in, as long as I don't have to deconstruct too much, hopefully it will just be a matter of resewing the front edges and no messing with side seams. I also want to add a couple of shoulder rolls, as the silouette isn't quite right.

I also need to fix my arch brimmed hat. The crown got wreaked, but I have a spare, so it should just be a matter of swapping crowns out.

And finally, I am going to make a leather pouch for the winner of the tourney. If the past is anything to go by, nothing has been organised yet.

Woo Hoo!

2009-07-12T19:54:00.000+10:00

I just got my first sale on Etsy!! Woo hoo!!