The Devil Wears Red Leather.

This is a commission job that I just finished. It's a full leather copy of Ambrose Bierce's "Devil's Dictionary". The binding features double-core silk sewn headbands, a satin ribbon, and marbled endpapers & pastedowns. The text is printed on Via Felt paper - it's a 252 page book (63 sheets in 4-folio sections - last section is 3-folio) and the tooth on the paper is LOVELY.



I laid the whole thing out in order to get an 8" x 5" trim size to the total textblock. It worked out PERFECTLY - there's enough room to bring it in a little bit tighter if need be.

The binding itself was a bit harrowing - what with the weather here being a gazabillion degrees and sweaty and sticky, the dry-time for a lot of parts of the construction was severely hindered and/or delayed. Stamping the leather also proved to be a bit of a challenge - the type needed a LOT of shimming and some touching up.
Also, the time constraints for the project were pretty tight - I'm heading out of town for a bit, and I *was* just out of town for a bit, and the client needed it by the end of the month.

I'll be dropping it off tomorrow morning. I plan on doing another one for myself in the future, and I'd like to sell some copies of these books-in-sheets.

Oh, and knitting? I've got about 67 projects packed - hopefully I can complete at least ONE of them.

Looking Ahead

I started this in the car on the way out to the Finger Lakes. It's the Ulmus pattern (Rav link), using Cherry Tree Hill Possum yarn in "Natural" and SCF Teeswater in the "Racecourse" colorway, spun during the Tour de Fleece. It's a wonderful pattern - easy to memorize, and not too boring.

The Fall twistcollective has a ton of lovely patterns, and I'm hoping to make some headway in my stash by knitting up Argyle, Novak, and Cottage Garden. That's a whole lot of sweater, I know, but I haven't knit any sweaters in quite some time, and the cooler weather is on the horizon (I hope).

I'm heading to the printer this afternoon with the Devil's Dictionary in sheets - hoping to have it all done and ready to go out the door by the end of the week! Then on to....Alice, perhaps? Redoing Candide? We'll see.

Twos

I just returned from a whirlwind couple of days up at the Finger Lakes. A vacation on the lovely Keuka Lake, featuring boat tour and swimming, then over to Ithaca, where we drove around a whole bunch to familiarize ourselves with the different towns around there. It's quite lovely! The return journey was detoured somewhat with a trip to Cooperstown, home of the Baseball Hall of Fame (did you know it has been there since 1939?!?!? I didn't.) A lovely trip - great weather, great people, yet it is good to be back home. Of course, it is home in the middle of a heatwave, which sucks a bit. Oh well.

Just prior to leaving I took care of some marathon knitting:



This is my second Aeolian Shawl in the HelloYarn "Eat Your Greens" colorway. This used just shy of 700 yards of Wensleydale, and I had to change bead colors for the last 4 rows. It blocked out to the same size as the previous one.

I spun this up during the Tour de Fleece, and I wanted to preserve the color transition. I split the fiber up into 3 or 4 colors, but then I bundled those pieces together, lining up any darker or lighter ends so they would blend a bit more. Less striping. I'm pleased with how it came out - I feel like I have the warm and cool versions of this shawl now :)



I managed to actually use some of my commercial-made stash, as well! This is the Aestlight pattern, in Malabrigo Lace. It is so deliciously soft - it's that soft that you can barely feel because it is so delicate and lovely. Fast knit, easy knit, wonderful construction.

Meanwhile, on the needles now.....I'm between projects! I have some contract knitting, but other than that I think I need a break from lace. But its too hot to do much else!