Painted Paper by Artist Alisa Golden

So over the weekend I stumbled across Painted Paper by Alisa Golden. I had a 40% off coupon that expired that day, and I was despairing of a worthy use. Well, soon as I saw this, I knew my coupon would not go to waste!

Alisa Golden is an actual book artist! Yes, a real book artist, not just a crafty person making books! Now, I'm all for getting as many people as possible hooked on bookmaking, starting with kids if I get my way. That way, we get them hooked early... And to be honest, most of my books are more craft than art. Non-artists have contributed some brilliant ideas, so I really value their participation in the book and paper arts community, too.

But I need the art approach to books! There are way, WAY too few books like that, and most of them are very binding and form-oriented. I love finding new ways to bind (oh, do I love it), but I need more help with the content side of things.

And that's what I found here! It's art, no doubt about it. Alisa Golden uses paint and inks to create beautiful works of art on paper that she then turns into books, either as cover material or, more often, as a base for letterpress pages. (I can see great ways to incorporate this into my art journal, too...)

Did I mention the letterpress? Yes, she's a letterpress artist! So for each technique--and throughout the book--she shows finished books she has created through her imprint. With each technique, she shows one of her books which makes prominent use of it. Then, she has excellent instructions, and shows you what she created with the page you just saw her make. (Well, saw through photos, of course, but you know what I mean!) Talk about inspirational!

But wait: there's more! The last part of the book features binding techniques--very awesome techniques at that. She also features several book forms from some of the more prominent binding books and manuals, and tells you which form it is! Is that not awesome?

I'm in the middle of a move, so I can't really play right now. But I cannot wait to get my new workspace set up: I'll have more room than I've ever had, and since my balcony is on the fourth floor, I can dry papers on my deck without it being an eyesore.

I'm not even packing this book. It's going to the new apartment with my "too precious to pack" craft stuff, in the car with me!

Lace Shawl Envy

My mother-in-law bought Victorian Lace Today for me as a Christmas present, and then took me to Needle Nook in Decatur to buy some yarn.

I picked out some beautifully soft 100% merino in black, laceweight of course. I'm going to start with one of the simpler shawls, so I can get an FO sooner. But my REAL goal is this absolutely gorgeous hexagon shawl, which I intend to make in dark red. It's huge, though: it takes eight skeins of Kid Silk Haze, and it's knit on size 5 or so needles. I think it's five feet across, or something crazy like that.

It will take me a lifetime to finish it, but I really want it. <3

Gothy Scribbling Shawl is finished!

I finished my Scribbling Shawl from Mason-Dixon knitting about a week and a half ago. I love the colors: dark red and black.

Then again, I always love those colors. But it was fun. I did drop a stitch about halfway through, so I have to figure out what to do about that. I also snagged it, but that will be a very straightforward fix, if a bit time-consuming.

I used Lang Venezia for the red and Doucier et Soie for the black. Both behaved themselves very well. :)

See more progress on: knit a shawl