Monday, September 7, 2009

Back to School

Well, my two month break is over, but I've been keeping busy with the craftiness. And I've already got an entry for Michelle's latest Crusade! A couple of things for it, actually.

Took a class with Tim Holtz this summer... Oh. My. GAWD. He's a total rockstar. I had so much fun! The class was on bookbinding and creating covers with embossed metal and of course Tim's own findings. In one afternoon, we learned a simple bookbinding stitch, metal embossing, the use of alcohol inks, and what the faun to do with all his little findings and details. This is what I took home, along with a head full of ideas:

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Since coming home, I've been doing a lot more stamping and paper art. Don't have much to show yet, but I'll give you a glimpse soon... :)

I've finished Ishbel, too, finally. I had to put it down for a little while sometimes, but I got it done!

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Extreme closeup!
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And I've had the chance to start the much-awaited Raven Shawl!
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That's just the first three colors, accomplished while I watched the Ravens vs. Jets pre-season game. Oooooh I'm so excited for football season!

And, it being Monday, it seems like a good time to show off my most recently spun yarn. Yep, I've been getting back to spinning! This is what I've done with Mountain Colors targhee in Copper Mountain:
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Spun on my Traveller, chain-plied for a good stripe effect.

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I've decided that targhee goes on my list of favorite fibers to spin. It might actually spin easier than merino. Definitely a good fiber to learn :)

So, more on the learning front, I'm finally taking a rare books librarianship class. It promises to be super hard, but I'm really looking forward to what I'm going to be learning this semester. It's going to cut down on my crafting time, that's for sure, but given certain financial restrictions I'll have to make a lot more Christmas presents this year, so I'll definitely be finding or making time to get some crafting in. Nevertheless, crafting must needs take a backseat to academia sometimes. We'll see how the trip goes...