Home Sweet Porch

So, I discovered a soft spot on my front porch this summer. It's always something like that with an old house. The discussion with the contractor had begun several years ago, because I already knew that the front stairs needed to be reversed. They pointed away from the driveway. Not terribly useful. They were also in very bad shape. The soft spot was just the thing I needed for an excuse to get the front porch done up right.

Here we have the new front porch, stairs primly leading into the driveway. We built out over the former stairs, so the porch is larger than it was, and much more functional. I actually got some Christmas decorations up this year, and if I could take a photo in the dark I would put that up, too. The horizontal ropes of greens are lit! Too bad you can't really see the wreath on the door.

Next year, I may try for real greenery, but this year I just consider it good to have something on the porch!

DA WINNAH! (among many others)

That's right, folks, I earned this web badge-- I completed all 50,000 words and WON the NaNoWriMo challenge!

It was grueling, it was hard work, it was exhilarating, it was buns-to-chair. And I DID it. Whew!

Do I have a novel on my hands? Erm. Well, not YET, anyway. What I have is 50,000 more words on "paper" than I have ever had before. Plenty of words to edit.

I had a story to tell, and I told it. Now it's off to do the Happy Dance!

December is for editing.

10K to go

No photo today. It wouldn't be pretty. The photo would show me, semi-dressed (robe over jeans!), hunched over the laptop at my dining room table, which is cluttered with mail and the remains of other projects. A coffee cup. A bottle of water. A banana peel, but I'm not writing slapstick. Somewhere in the middle, a lovely little vase with some purple flowers.

40,837 words is a lot of words. But my storytelling ended, at least with the viewpoint character, at 37,000 words. I'm having to adopt a new character whose viewpoint may enrich the story. The ship stalled in the water, but at least it didn't sink! Last night I got a new shot of energy from my Writing Buddy, who suggested a challenge: 2,000 more words by noon today. I did them late last night! I wrote Writing Buddy, "you spurred me on to great heights, where I am dizzily surveying the surrounding territory and wondering if I dare jump off." So it is possible. If I stop to think about it, I scare myself. I have to slog on, regardless of emotion. Just write!

I feel as if the last 10K is the hardest, because. . . well, just because. I shot my wad, the Yellow Fever took those it was going to take, and the baby was born. What more can I ask?

I know. 10,000 more words.

Halfway, Whee!

See this? It's proof that I have officially, emphatically and euphorically passed the Halfway Point of NaNoWriMo-- National Novel Writing Month.

The premise is simple. You're a winner if you sign up on NaNoWriMo and then write a 50,000 word novel by November 30th. Can you lose? NO. You can only not win. The only prize is braggin' rights and a banner for your web page.

Halfway there means I have only another 25,000 words to write before I win. I'm already three days ahead of schedule. I think I can do this thing. I think I can! I think I can!

Friends will be curious about my so-called novel. First, you're not likely to have to read it soon. It's in a very rough draft. No editing is allowed during NaNoWriMo. The plot grew on my family tree: one couple lost five- yes five- children within eight days of one another. In the middle, the poor mom gave birth to the youngest child. If I can't milk some drama from that, I'm hopeless as an author.

In 1799, yet another Yellow Fever epidemic scoured the Philadelphia area. My ancestors didn't live far from there, so my research suggests that the children died of Yellow Fever. But how did the family cope? The mother couldn't have done much for the children. The story is seen through the eyes of one of the surviving children, all of whom had to make the effort to help their family.

Halfway there. Every day I look at my fingers and wonder what more will come from them as I type. I've already been surprised at half the family moving and a threatening stranger. Somewhere in the next 25,000 words there must be an answer hiding! Stay tuned.

And, later this evening. 26,197 words! I'm shooting to get another day ahead.

Castle in the Mountains

The Adult Ed hiking class went to a castle in the mountains last Tuesday. Up San Marcos Pass we trundled, til just before the suspension bridge over the canyon. Then a couple of miles on good road, and another half mile on a not-so good road. Parking was limited but at least available.

Looking back toward Santa Barbara, the ocean was covered with a uniform layer of fog (weathermanese, "marine layer." No kidding.). The so-called trail to Castle Ruinous (aka Knapp Castle) was wide, and had in fact been a Model T-era driveway. We enjoyed the many native plants along the way, and of course I took photos. My favorite is a view of the castle on its promentary seen through the rust-colored clusters of California Buckwheat.

Click to biggify!

The beautiful home burned in the 1940s. The native rock foundations survived. The fireplaces, window surrounds, and chimneys survived. They are what make the ruin so scenic. Since all are stone, it makes the ruin appear like a ruined castle. The archways which formed the fireplaces are perfect for framing shots of the valley beyond. You can see Lake Cachuma (pale blue) and the Santa Ynez river way below.

Two massive fireplaces provide arched frames for interesting photos. Three huge picture window frames provide the rest. The area must have been the living room. Below is same fireplace, looking back toward the hill and trail.

The shade of these young oak trees provides a look at the eastern fireplace. It had what appears to be a bread baking oven in the stone next to it.

In the nineteenth century, this would have been considered a "romantic" ruin. People would tour it, as we did; artists would draw and paint it; and young girls would invent romantic stories of the tragedies that caused it to fall into ruin.

I hope to get back there at sunset some time. The ruin faces west, and the views ought to be spectacular. A short hike, but well worth it.

And finally. My new BFF is this hiking stick, perfect for uneven terrain. One of my hiking buddies found it and knew I wanted one. I took it home, cut off about nine inches, and covered the handle area in leather. A pair of colorful shoelaces provided a braided handle, and a ty-wrap its attachment. It is local hardwood: Greenbark Ceonothus, a tall brushy shrub which bears lovely flowers in the spring. It is sometimes called "Mountain Lilac." I'm delighted!

Baltimorean: it's a press, not a place

So a couple of years ago I purchased this little press, sight unseen. I trust the friend who had it. But things are busy, and I didn't get around to ordering up new rollers, which it needed. They usually do. A few weeks ago I ordered my rollers, trucks, and cores (the bar the roller is cast on) from Tarheel Roller. They came this week, and I made the decision to print the very last job this press ever printed.

The press is a Baltimorean No. 2, which it proclaims in the platen casting. Proabably made before 1890, it was once highly decorated, with gold pinstriping. The cast scrollwork front and back was gilt, too. What matters is how well it prints, and that is nicely indeed. Some photos will do right here. As always, click to biggify any of them:

Baltimorean inked for printing

 

Baltimorean's last printing job before moving to California

Baltimorean's first job for Three Toad and APA- you can see the

type on the left; the rollers; and the printed card on the platen.

I'm sure you can imagine how pleased I am with this new toy. It is bigger than the little "Chicago" No. 9 I have, and much better made. I suspect that this press will be with me a long, long time. It is the perfect retirement-size press: big enough to print many sorts of things but small enough to move easily to a bookshelf location. I'd have to limit my type selection, but this would be an admirable solution.

I am not planning on downsizing any time soon, though. I just got the Vandercook and haven't had the 10x15 C&P very long. Those are big presses, so I don't plan on moving with them on hand!

Happy November First. Amazing how the year has whizzed by. In case I don't get to it later, I'll wish you a Happy Thanksgiving, too. I am very grateful for a wonderful milestone year.

October Sky

   I wasn't working on a press today, but managed to get to a potluck at church. Glanced out an open door and saw this gorgeousness. The Bible says the glory of the Lord is greater than we can imagine. Greater than this wonderful sunset. Wow.
     Took my breath away.

(Click to biggify)

A Shelf In Need

I took this shot in February, and it's the last thing I photographed before misplacing my camera. Fortunately, I was in the mood to replace it anyway! I just found the camera, 8 months later. It'll go back in my purse for backup duty. You can see the main gear of my press (in back), the delivery board, and the metal cup which holds the feed board-- but not the feed board. When I had to place my 10x15 C&P very close to the wall, I also had to give up the use of its handy swing-out feed board. Press placement was not optional-- in a small space there isn't much choice. So I had to make myself a shelf to serve as feed board.

    Not being much of a carpenter, I used a soft pine board I had on hand. I placed hinges so it can fold up against the wall when necessary-- the shelf supports you can see underneath it are not attached to the shelf itself. They only support it when it is down and in use. I'm happy to have a working feed board. The guide for the electrical cords keeps them well away from the main gear when the press is running. It's just a cheap light duty spring.

     What other kind of pencil should be neatly arranged in its own little hole at Three Toad Press?

Home from the Wayzegoose

Not as many photos to decorate our westward journey, and just a couple of stories. I was disappointed to learn that contrary to custom at the Wayzegoose, there was no informal APA picnic planned for Sunday. After saying goodbye to Rachel, Dave and I drove over to Old Threshers' to see if we could help in any way, but the guys had gotten up early and everything was done. We ended up heading on out.

We stopped at one interesting rest stop in Iowa, which I didn't think to photograph. It fascinated me to learn that Iowa rest stops all have wifi-- evidently for truckers, but what a great concept! This rest stop also had some really nice architecture, a beautiful childrens play area, and a native plant area. Makes most of our California rest stops look rather sad. It'll be interesting to see how the two near Camp Roberts on 101 will turn out once they are finished.

Since we were traveling on Sunday afternoon and evening, there was little traffic and we whizzed through Des Moines and west. We got to North Platte around 9, and searched for a hotel further from the freeway. That worked: we got one with wifi, breakfast, and which cost less. It was shabby but clean.

As on our eastward trek, the second day was the most interesting. Once more we were traveling through Wyoming. This time, as we approached the Continental Divide, it began to drizzle. The temperature began to drop, from the 40s into the 30s. Then the rain turned kind of slushy, as if it were soft hail. Temps dropped to 28, and the next thing we knew, we were staring in disbelief at snow-- falling sideways! The snow seemed as if it were so dry it wasn't sticking to the windshield, and it blew around on the road as if it were sand. The nearby trees began to take on powdered sugar, and I dragged out my camera.

The AAA "Triptic" proclaims this pass as the Snowy Range Pass. Ya think? We were just delighted that the snow, even though blown sideways, was falling gently, and we ran out of it in less than an hour. It was delightful to look at, but without chains we would not have wanted to see more of it. A gas stop and a truck stop lunch of hearty stew was just what we needed!

After being snewed on, we got into open territory after crossing the Continental Divide again. I began to notice patches of pink flowers alongside the road, so we stopped for a driver change and flower photo. The flowers grow in low bunches, and I'm not sure if the darker pink ones are the immature ones and the whiter ones the buds, or vice versa. They are definitely the same plant, which has almost a succulent feel to it. Very pretty.

 

There aren't too many big towns from the Snowy Range to Salt Lake City; we didn't begin to look for a dinner stop until we were over the border into Utah. But it seemed the few towns along the road had no restaurants. Finally, close to 7:30 PM, we stopped at a little town whose (only) restaurant name should have been memorable- but it escapes me (was it Cindy's?). It proudly proclaimed itself famous "since 1930" for its fried chicken. Normally I avoid anything fried, but there we were-- and it smelled heavenly. Well worth it. They skin the chicken, and the coating is crisp, delicate and not greasy. Just right!

Once again we drove straight through Salt Lake City to avoid commute traffic the next day. This time we found ourselves near the airport, with no indication of any motels past it. We ended up at a Super 8. Generally those aren't luxurious, but this one has to compete with business and airport customers, so it was really nice. A full breakfast was offered. There was a pool and exercise room, but of course we didn't take time to use them. I'd definitely stay there again though.

Final day-- we didn't get too far away from Salt Lake City until we stopped at a rest stop. We hadn't seen this area by daylight, and it was the Bonneville Salt Flats. That was fun to explore. They are brilliant white, and the salt is --surprisingly-- as hard as concrete! An interpretive sign lets you know that you cannot see the end from the beginning of the 7-mile long test track, due to the curvature of the earth. Amazing sight. Just for scale: that stick figure is my tall friend Dave, dwarfed by the landscape.

Of course, once we left Bonneville, there wasn't much scenery to enjoy. We did pause in Lovelock and went through their museum-- and found a printing exhibit! Sadly, it was set up and just left; there are no interpreters to use what might be an effective working shop. But the museum was good- lots of variety, including mineral exhibits.

On the way home, our drive was enlightened by some of Mark's purchases- bound volumes of the Inland Printer,  a printing publication for many years. The passenger would comb through the thick volumes and read amusing excerpts to the driver. One article was entitled "The Composing Stick as Paintbrush," and the design photographed below was its illustration:

Composed completely of hand set type pieces, I think it makes an appropriately letterpress tailpiece for this last installment about our cross-country drive to the 2009 APA Wayzegoose. TypOgraphic!

Wayzegoose in Iowa, part 2

Friday of the Wayzegoose was more fun-- roaming around, looking at what people were setting up to sell on Saturday (and in some cases, buying right then!), examining the other huge machines on the premises. Steam tractors are huge! We also got a train ride, late in the day. The small press pictured in yesterday's entry was hooked up to an actual gas engine by a long belt. Steve Ault, one of the steam guys, was feeding a job for a good part of the afternoon.

A Miehle "Pony" newspaper press loomed large in my eyes. Used during special events, it can produce a really big broadside.

The highlight of the day was the huge (another word for impossibly big? giant? colossal?) Babcock -- a newspaper press about 100 years old. It runs on steam, and the volunteers print an actual newspaper on it during the Old Threshers' Reunion.

The steam to power the press is piped over from a boiler next door, and regulated by this machine in the corner. You'll pardon me for not knowing its name: there was no formal introduction. I was stuck at my table most of the day.

There aren't any photos of the Saturday morning sale, and for good reason: we were all too busy! Suffice it to say that Ink in Tubes did fairly well, and I sold a whole lot of things I had cleaned out of my shop. Then I went right out and spent what I earned.


The sale ended at noon; after a short lunch break the Dave show began. For those of you unfamiliar with APA tradition, we have an auction on the Saturday afternoon of our Wayzegoose. Dave Peat and Dave Churchman run it, with a lot of other volunteers keeping track of the action so vendors and buyers all go home happy. Dave and Dave put on quite a show-- they know each item they auction, explain its use, tell stories, nag and cajole bidders, and generally have fun. One item was a lithographed artwork, and I got pressed into service as spokesmodel, err, non-spokesmodel. That's Dave Churchman on the left, Dave Peat on the right. I'm hidden behind Dave Peat's arm. Thanks to Rachel Scott for this shot.

 During the Auction, Dave (Robison) had been busy consolidating his Multigraph trove. A purchase plus a bunch of freebies equaled a whole lot of packing. "Trust me," sez he, "I grew up packing burros for Sierra hikes." Then Mark Barbour comes up. "By the way, I bought a few things for the Museum, but I'm flying home. Is it OK with you to add them to your car?" "Talk to Dave," I replied. "If there's room, fine!" So I get out to the car after the auction. Push the Magic Button and up flies the trunk. I had to laugh.

If the car had gills, it would be stuffed right up to them. Approximately 85% of that stuff is _not_ mine! I won't show the photo, but the middle seats were full, too. We barely had room for luggage and icebox on the way home.
 
   At the banquet, we got a shot of the five Californian. That's Dave Robison, myself, Barry Schrader (in front, now of Illinois), Mark Barbour, Allen Stump, & caboose.

 Once again, a good time was had by all!

[Note printers' frustration setting in: utter inability to control widows & orphans in the clunky layout of this blog software! Even the "preview" doesn't match the final posted version.]

Wayzegoose in Iowa- September slightly out of place

It was an ambitious plan. I wanted to drive to the APA Wayzegoose in Iowa. I had only flown, when the Wayzegoose was in Parts East. But I've always wanted to drive across country. First, I had to find a driving buddy; someone whose driving I could trust, who would be good company, and who would enjoy the Wayzegoose. Fortunately, my friend Dave qualifies on all counts. He surprised me by being able to come, day job notwithstanding.

We got from San Jose to Salt Lake City in the first day! When we stopped to think about it, it really wasn't a huge accomplishment-- just 2 drivers doing about the same milage they're used to, switching off as each tired. It felt very good to have that day end, though!  A forgettable hotel in Salt Lake City provided shelter-- on the east side of the City. My theory: a big city draws commuters. We were leaving in the morning. We may as well leave in a direction in which commuters did NOT want to go! We were outgoing as they were incoming. It worked. Day one was a no-photo day. Nevada is boring, and we drove through Utah as the sun was going down.

Day two brought a pleasant surprise in Ft. Bridger, Wyoming. This historic park and reconstruction of Jim Bridger's fort (and a later military fort) was a major and early stop on the Oregon Trail. I got to see some of the wagon ruts (now softened by 100+ years of rain), and we both enjoyed the interpretation about the Trail and

later years. My ancestors must have seen Ft. Bridger in 1852, the year they crossed the plains. Great-grandfather Francis Reasoner drove the oxen, and his father, Rev. John Stout Reasoner, the horse team. This day warrants a photo. After Ft. Bridger, it rained like crazy-- enough to slow us down to about 40 mph. Sheets of rain with lightening to spice it up! Then it went away.

In Laramie, we had a rogue Pearl spotting-- in a just-closed for the day print shop. I noticed the flywheel in the window, alerted Dave, who was driving, and wheeee, around the block we zipped, to park in the lot and peer in at her. It was raining a bit, and as we craned our necks for a better view, the owner came from the back shop and looked quizzically at us. When we gesticulated in the direction of the Pearl, the owner opened the door and we had a nice conversation about the press and where to get supplies for it. The owner told us she'd bought the business to get the Pearl, and hoped to fit her up and use her. Some of the original trim shows in this photo, important to me since I have two Pearls to restore and repaint!

That evening we drove as far as North Platte, Nebraska, arriving late. The Motel 6 did _not_ have wifi; this is less forgivable than, say, no pool.  Guess I'm getting spoiled.

Day 3 was highlighted by our quick stop at the only surviving Pony Express building-- at least, to hear them tell it -- a little log building in Nebraska just east of North Platte. On and on we drove, through Des Moines and almost to Cedar Rapids, arriving in Mt. Pleasant about 8 PM. Met up with my roommate Rachel Scott and had a nice evening visit before retiring.

Denmark, Iowa, is not far from Mt. Pleasant, so after arriving at Old Threshers' museum and unloading our "stuff" for the sale on Saturday we visited Larry Raid's place for a look at where he holds Linotype University. It was a surprise to see it isn't quite as big as I expected. Larry has plans for a small town at his place, if he ever gets enough businesses to move in.  Very ambitious! Lots of fun poking around at all the waiting Linotypes. Dave is one of the few people I know who would find the lone Multigraph in a huge warehouse of Linotype hulks.

I'm trying to determine how to explain Old Threshers. Imagine a huge campus with many very large warehouses on it. Now imagine them all full-- of *restored* farm machinery. One such warehouse has a large print shop inside of it. I think about half a dozen Linotypes, a full size newspaper press, several large proof presses and another several platen presses share the space with type cabinets line up on the walls. A large railed-off walkway describes an L through the exhibit. The amazing thing is that none of this is crowded-- even though the print shop is only a small part of its warehouse!

All the farm equipment runs on steam, as does the newspaper press. Totally awesome. In addition, a steam locomotive pulls a train around the grounds! I'm told that thousands of people attend their annual event. Our group was small-- under 100 for the Wayzegoose, and possibly as many as 200 for the printers' swap meet and sale on Saturday. But what a great time we all had!

Break: Stay tuned :)

The Big Vandercook Caper

This just in: A larger Vandercook, swapping out the smaller No. 1 for a No. 3. Today, the second stage of my Vandercook move took place. [For those of you waiting to hear about the Wayzegoose, please forgive the diversion. Tomorrow is another day!]

First stage I did not see: Mark Barbour of the International Printing Museum moved my "new" No. 3 from Orange County to the International Printing Museum in LA County, where I worked at cleaning the "back" side-- which I will never see again, now that the press is against the wall of my composing room (aka shed!).

Second stage was today. Mark loaded up the No. 3 and hit the road for Santa Barbara (about 120 miles from the Museum), arriving at my home about 2:00.

First step of the move was to move the little Vandercook No. 1 proof press out to the driveway. Bye-bye, little Vandy! Mark and the pallet jack rolled little Vandy over 4x8 sheets of 3/4 inch plywood alongside my garage to the asphalt driveway, then down to the trailer.


Then, the big job: jacking up the big No. 3 and rolling it along the same route: down the driveway to the garage, turn left, turn right, and down the plywood road back to the composing room. A bit of an extra push/pull, and No. 3 was inside, where Mark manipulated the pallet jack perfectly and got No. 3 placed. Hello, big Vandercook!

A few more photos are at http://tinyurl.com/yc54kh5. All that's left to do is to clean her "near" side and re-attach the feed board. Then let 'er roll!

Moving right along, Summer's over already!

I didn't expect to become this far behind in posting, but it has been a busy and productive summer. June saw not only the miniature book workshop but the cat shelter work and my young cousin's graduation from Cal Poly (go, Kristina!), which was a thrill. In July I began planning my trip to the APA Wayzegoose in Iowa in mid-September. This involved printing for two keepsake bundles (Ladies of Letterpress did an Old Maid deck, and Paul Moxon organized a 100th anniversary Vandercook bundle).

My dreaded-but-ordinary birthday came and went. One of those "ending in 0" birthdays, but nothing happened! Not only did the sky not fall, neither did I. The most that happened was that a dear friend shanghai'd me to a nail parlour and I got the "Spa" toenail/foot massage treatment. What fun! Then we drove to Lompoc for a Proper Tea, allowing my Alien Feet to follow me there. And a good time was had by all, including the feet.

I also went to inspect a Vandercook printing press. It's about twice as big as the one currently in the Composing Room. I don't know why, but I decided to adopt the bigger one and sell the littler one. I measured carefully and I *do* have room. In a manner of speaking.

Today I went into the Composing Room (aka "shed") and cleaned it out in preparation for the Big move-in. Tomorrow morning my contractor's "guys" will place the type cabinet seen way in the back (empty) on top of the cabinet in the front/right of the photo. Then, I will add the mountain of typecases seen on the left of the photo. It'll be all ready for the Big Vandercook Exchange at 1 PM. You can see the "little" Vandercook on the right. Its replacement will be much larger!

I'll write about the Wayzegoose in the next edition. It deserves its own entry.

Deerie me, who's this?

I volunteer at the county cat shelter (ASAP), where we care for needy animals of the feline persuasion (commercial: Please consider adopting an adult cat! They get overlooked when kittens are available).

The other day, though, a rescue worker came through to show us her new foster critter-- who is definitely not a cat! But oooh, so cute- about 2 days old in this photo.


This lucky little guy will go to an open range shelter in the back country to grow big and strong; after deer hunting season is over he/she will be ready for release. Go, deerie! Have a great life!

Books 5 & 6 Make a Pair

Someday, when my baby grandchildren are old enough to enjoy books, they will each have a miniature book made by Grandma. These two are bound in the traditional manner by being sewn, backed, and cased in as are bigger casebound books. They are covered in origami paper; the flyleaves are marbled in the European tradition. How appropriate for these precious babies: they are of both Japanese and European ancestry.

These books have no text yet. Grandma is still considering whether to write the stories herself, or write stories the children tell her as they grow up!

The Fourth Book

And here we have yet another book- a structure invented by Peter Thomas called a scrolling book. He says he got the idea from the process of scrolling to read all the words on a single computer screen. A member of my Adult Ed bookbinding class gave me the nice cover paper; the flowers are slightly embossed.



For the content of this book I took a long strip of thin paper and printed some of the Kate Greenaway "mignionettes" (child figures) on it, leaving space between them to add text. I have not written the story yet that will go with them. The scroll should have more closely fit its container. As it is now, the scroll does not hold itself back from unrolling. Still, it's an interesting form and I am pleased with the little images and the way they fit the format.

Book the Third

Book three is another accordian book. Since accordian books want to spring open, this one, too, has a band closure. It will be imprinted with the book title, as will the book itself.



The working title is "Florecita mi Bonita," in honor of Miss Flora, my elderly purring teddybear. This time, the accordians are nested. Black "Paper doll" cats leap across the pages.



I know approximately what the text will be, but I have not yet added it to this little book.

Second Book

Book two is "Ocean." It is an accordian book whose covers I have not yet foil stamped. The wavy band holding it closed is cut from book cloth. Only one end of the accordian is anchored; the loose end has a panel to pull out the text.





Pulled out text is two-sided. The first is marbled paper whose edges reminded me of waves breaking; the torn bottom edge represents the meeting of ocean and sand. The second side is my brief handwritten poem about the colors I see in the ocean near home.

Bookaholic

Yep. It's true. There is nothing like a book for me. Technophile that I may be, I can't snuggle up with a kindle and be happy. But give me a cat (or two) and a good book, and I'm a champion napper, err.... reader!

So now you know why this little bookshelf is beginning to fill.

I made all of these miniature books in one weekend- a workshop at the International Printing Museum (Carson, CA) with Peter Thomas of Santa Cruz. Despite my binding & repair of full size books, I took the class with an eye to having some fun, and fun it was indeed. I'll have to do subsequent posts to show them all off. The shorthand version of the weekend was that Peter, who is internationally known as a book artist, papermaker, and binder, is also a teacher extraordinaire. He leads workshops with humor, serious discussions about the future of the book and print, tales of his learning curve, and ukelele serenades. Each of us in the workshop had no trouble keeping up, from the beginner sitting next to me to the experienced printer/binder on my other side. The pacing was great and our output of learning samples impressive.




This one is the travel journal, designed to fit into a shirt pocket as a small souvenir collector- pockets on each page of it, with room to write notes. I think two views of it are enough for the first post. I hope to have time tomorrow to add the other books.

Travel journal open:



I wonder what delights will fill this when I've actually travelled with it!

Custom Ts for Valentines

'Way back in September my son & his wife had darling, but premature, twins. They've spent that time growing and getting healthy. I printed these shirts for them for Valentines' Day, but they were not quite big enough to fill them out. Now, however, they fit nicely. I'm delighted to have permission to post their photo wearing letterpress-printed t-shirts. Grandma designed them using a rubber stamp, mounted type-high, and some new type from M&H in San Francisco. Ink in Tubes supplied the bestest, reddest printing ink, perfect for shirties for these much-loved little babies!