Back to the books!

If you live in or around Des Moines, you may have heard of the book sale: the Planned Parenthood book sale, which happens twice a year (April & October) and just happens to be one of the best book sales in the country.  It's one of my favorite events and where I find many of my best books for creating journals.  Since the Downtown Des Moines Farmers' Market starts on May 7 (I'm scheduled for opening day--always a great time!), I was waiting in line to get in the door yesterday.  Waitied in line in some very cold rain and little ice pellets....but of course it was worth it.  Thought you might like to see some of what I grabbed:

I love my Nancy Drews.  It's a treat to find some of the old blue ones without their dust jackets.  None of these are in collectible condition--perfect to make into journals.  

I haven't ever made a Charlie Brown journal before so these will be something new for me.  

This will obviously make the perfect journal for someone.  Victorian novels often have very amusing titles. 

Old typing and shorthand manuals are some of my very favorites to make into journals.  It's been quite a while since I've had an old typing book.  The typing books make perfect spiral sketchpads, while the shorthand books are just the right size for a journal to fit in your purse.  

I'll share more in the next month before opening day of the market.  If you're able to visit the market, you'll see some of the books pictured here transformed into journals.  Time to get to work! 

Nancy gets a new look.

So, I made another Nancy Drew quilt.  Imagine that!  This is number 3, but quite different than the other two.

The Nancy and magnifying glass squares are from the Moda charm pack; I haven't used the red and black ones in my other quilts because they just didn't go with the blue & yellow color scheme.  But obviously I couldn't let those little charms go to waste.  Here's a closer look at a block:

Every quilt presents its own challenge; in this case, it was trying to line up the sashing.

I managed to get it done though and I am proud of this one.  The back looks like this:

I was going to do the back totally in the funky floral print but--I was a little bit short.  What can I say, my system of measuring (guesstimating) doesn't always quite work out.  But I kind of like to do something a little quirky with the back of my quilts anyway, so I'm totally okay with this.  The finished quilt measures 46.5 inches wide by 51 inches long; big enough for a lap quilt or throw, but small enough to hang on a wall for display.  I tried a new batting this time, a bamboo & organic cotton blend.  Super-duper soft!  And it was the kind that isn't supposed to require any basting, but as I do not have a very trusting nature, I confess I did baste just a little before I quilted it (with red Aurifil--love that thread!). 

This is my tenth finished quilt.  I'm really glad I got over my fear of sewing machines. 

A Whole New Nancy!

I've been playing with fabric a lot these days.  Especially Nancy Drew fabric, once I discovered there was such a thing.  You can imagine my excitement. 

A couple of months ago I decided I was going to teach myself to quilt.  The problem with this is that quilting is, of course, in essence, sewing--which has never been a talent of mine.  But I was determined.  I love quilts.  Love them.  And for a very long time, I have wanted to make them. 

I started small, with a little table-topper about the size of a large placemat.  I sewed the whole thing by hand.  It turned out pretty good, as long as you just look at the front.  Then I started making blocks for a nine-patch.  Really BIG nine patch blocks.  I quickly realized that piecing them by hand would take me the rest of my life.  I am not that patient.  Luckily, I bought an adorable used sewing machine from a friend.  A pale blue Kenmore Mini Ultra.  Which is surely not intended for sewing big quilts, but I've been using it for just that purpose.  The Nancy quilt was fairly easy to quilt, since it is a much more manageable size(31 inches wide by 39 inches long). 

I suspected that fabric was probably just as addictive, if not more so, than paper, and it turns out I was right about this.  I admit that I get overwhelmed by all the choices available.  The Nancy quilt was easier to design because I used the charm pack (by Moda Fabrics) to design it so it saved me lots of time and effort as far as rotary cutting.  It was rather like putting a puzzle together.  I would also like to mention that I bought my Nancy fabric from Fat Quarter Shop and was totally impressed with the quick shipping: I ordered it on a Tuesday afternoon and it arrived in my mailbox Thursday morning.  I will definitely order from them again!  You can check out their sweet selection of fabric at: www.FatQuarterShop.com. 

I have some Nancy fabric left over and I'm already having fun playing with those leftovers.  If my experiments turn out as I hope, I'll share.  If not, I'll just order more fabric! 

The Nancy quilt will get put to use as part of my show display, so if you're a craft-show shopper in Des Moines, you can come visit Nancy and I in person, if you like.  We'd love to see you. 

Market Day preview: Fancy Nancys

A week ago I shipped a box full of journals to White Rabbit Gallery in Iowa City (you should definitely check it out when you're in I.C., you can find it at 109 South Linn or online at www.whiterabbitgallery.com.  It's a haven of handmade goodness.), which depleted most of my inventory, so I've been busy making more this week.  With the first Market Day coming up on May 5, I will stay busy. 

I have made a lot of Nancy Notebooks in the past three years.  They were one of the first things I made when I started making journals back in 2009, and I still love making them.  Because I love Nancy Drew.  I have loved her for about thirty years.  When I was about seven years old or so, my mom used to drop me off at the public library in Knoxville so she could grocery shop in peace.  That probably sounds like bad parenting, but it really wasn't.  For one thing, way back then, in a small town, it was totally safe to leave an exceptionally well-behaved 7-year-old such as myself alone at the library.  And it was totally okay with the children's librarian, Miss Viner, who was always able to tell my mother that I sat and read quietly the entire time.  True story! 

The Nancy Drew books were, as I recall, on the bottom shelf.  The Knoxville library had an excellent children's collection, so I was able to read my way through most of the Nancys.  They were the older editions, with the blue tweed covers, rather than the picture covers, which is what I like to use to make journals.  I adore the picture-cover Nancys.  Nancy is always smartly dressed and ready for any adventure.  She knows how to fly a plane, change a flat, and she always looks good doing it.  Is it any wonder that my main career aspiration as a child was to be a detective? 

But I digress (actually, I do that often, and well!).  Here are a couple of Nancys I just finished up.  I love using velvet paper whenever possible.  I'm a tactile person and velvet paper just can't be beat. 

I've probably made at least a dozen journals from various editions of The Secret of the Old Clock.  I think the cover with Nancy in the green dress is my favorite, because then I can use this awesome green velvet paper for the inside covers:

I remembered these ledger envelopes that I've had and it occurred to me that it would make a sweet little pocket for this journal.  And it did. 

Here's the inside of the Crooked Bannister journal.  I love the bright pink cover and the fact that it has a robot on the cover as well.  And I love the velvet and metallic floral paper inside:

This journal has two pockets, on in the front and one in the back. 

My photos don't do the papers justice, but you get the idea.  I am really looking forward to the Planned Parenthood book sale next week to see what Nancys I can get my hands on.