This Time Last Year: Shakespeare on the Green

We went to see Macbeth on July 9, 2016 with my sister, cousin, and some Book Club friends:

And Centuries Later.... A New Whitman Novel

Isn't scholarly detective work COOL?

Or maybe I'm just a first-class nerd with the doctorate to prove it, but I thought this story was exciting.

A graduate student searching the archives of the Library of Congress discovered an anonymously published novel by Walt Whitman.  How did he know the novel was by Whitman if it is was published anonymously?  Read the New York Times article here to find out.

I worked on the Walt Whitman archive in graduate school at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  I bet my old colleagues were pretty excited by this news.

Book for Later

This book is on sewing using pillow cases, but it ends up being "how to make stuff without a lot of yardage."  Aprons and skirts are included, but I can see myself making more of the other stuff: hats, slippers, bracelets, and scarves.

Craft Challenge: Dozens of Ways to Repurpose a Pillowcase
by Suzanne Tourtillott

Currently Reading....

Secret Diplomacy: Espionage and Cryptography 1500-1815
by James Westfall Thompson and Saul K. Padover

It is fascinating stuff!  Can you imagine trying to break the cypher on a medieval document that could be in Latin, French, Italian, or who know what language?  And there is enough raw material for more than a few great novels and movies in here.

In fact, I am reading it as research for a book I'm writing someday.  (There are two others I want to write first, but I want to set them all in the same era, so I need to pick the right era.)  I already have my plot, but maybe I'll find a subplot or two....

Happy Birthday, J.R.R. Tolkien

Happy Birthday to a man who has given so many people so many hours of pleasure!

When I was doing research for my novel which includes a Tolkien-obsessed character, I came across the following in a collection of Tolkien's letters.  It is written to a German publisher and is dated 25 July 1938.  I thought it was simply marvelous.

Dear Sirs,

Thank you for your letter….  I regret that I am not clear as to what you intend by arisch.  I am not of Aryan extraction: that is Indo-Iranian; as far as I am aware none of my ancestors spoke Hindustani, Persian, Gypsy, or any related dialects.  But if I am to understand that you are inquiring whether I am of Jewish origin, I can only reply that I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people.  My great-great-grandfather came to England in the 18th century from Germany: the main part of my dissent is therefore purely English, and I am an English subject – which should be sufficient.  I have been accustomed, nonetheless, to regard my German name with pride, and continued to do so throughout the period of the late regrettable war, in which I served in the English army.  I cannot, however, forbear to comment that if impertinent and irrelevant inquiries of this sort are to become the rule in matters of literature, then the time is not far distant when a German name will no longer be a source of pride.

Your inquiry is doubtless made in order to comply with the laws of your own country, but that this should be held to apply to the subject of another state would be improper, even if it had (as it has not) any bearing whatsoever on the merits of my work or its suitability for publication, which it appears that satisfied herself without reference to my Abstammung.

I trust you will find this reply satisfactory, 

and remain yours faithfully,

J.R.R. Tolkien

Remind me

.... that when I someday publish a crafting book, I should make sure it has a fun, colorful cover:

Book Bag: Clothes, Crafts, and CRAZY cool!

The Curated Closet: A Simple System for Discovering Your Personal Style and Building Your Dream Wardrobe
by Anuschka Rees
265 pages

Normally, this kind of book isn't my thing.  I'm just not that into clothes.  But I liked this book because:
A) it was about breaking away from the endless consumerism of buying cheap, disposable clothes and following fads and
B) it took into account the fact that there are many, many different styles and personality types when it comes to clothing and
C) it had exercises to help put the theories in to practice.  (For example, take a photo of what you are wearing every day for two weeks and then analyze what you are wearing a lot and what you look good in.  How does how you want to look match up with how you actually look?)

I thought the book was very sensible, and I am going to recommend it to Arwen when she gets a little older.

Materially Crafted: A DIY Primer for the Design-Obsessed
by Victoria Hudgins (Creator of the blog A Subtle Revelry)
175 pages

I will let the author telling you what the book is about in her own words.

It always begins the same: We see a pretty photo, we click the link.  We read a post that starts with "melt the wax" and we freeze because we don't really know how to melt wax, what kind of wax to use, or where to buy the wax.

We then search "working with wax" online and, upon article after article of technical jargon that often contradicts itself, and is full of unrelated keywords and obnoxious ads.  We get discouraged, downhearted, and quickly put aside the original idea we has to be creative, to make something new and unique with their hands.  And we returned to scrolling through the pin boards, seeing great ideas and dreaming about accomplishing them someday.

Victoria covers the basics of these categories:

• spray paint
• plaster of Paris
• concrete
• paper
• thread
• wax
• would
• Clay
• glue
• fabric
• metal

She also has very simple projects included for each category.  There's some stuff I want to try, like the baskets woven from T-shirts and the concrete planters and the plaster of Paris/lace doily bowls.

Each section is not exhaustive – if you know a lot about what wood or fabric already, for example, you will find them pretty simple, but that is okay.  It's just enough to get someone started using each material.  And the projects are simple enough that you aren't going to get in over your head too much.

That's not the case at all for the next book, though.

Extraordinary Projects for Ordinary People: Do-It-Yourself Ideas from the People Who Actually Do Them
Edited by Noah Weinstein
465 Pages

This book represents the best (or the wackiest) of Intractablesl.com.

Most of these projects I couldn't do because they involved wires and programming something called an Arduino.

  But the cool factor is really high!

• flame-growing jack-o'-lantern
• Star Trek-style bedroom door
• solar-powered ray gun
• amphibious couch-bike
• tree climbing robot
• birdcage dress
• pocket laser engraver
• digital camera Halloween costume – that actually takes pictures
• bike jacket with turn signal
• bacon roses
• vacuum-cleaner bazooka
• solar-powered bicycle

Yes, the more I read the book the more nervous my husband got!  It has inspired me to want to turn our summer family reunion into a family events where we design and build a boat that can break down and fit in the back of a sedan.  I'd also like to make the next-and-bolts chocolate using a DIY silicone mold.

It really made me envy those people who have computers/electrical type of technical skills.  I need to get me some of those….

Currently Reading: Novel Interiors

Novel Interiors: Living in Enchanted Rooms Inspired by Literature
by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

I'll let you know what I think, other than the obvious: I wish I had thought of that!

Book Notes: Fabric and Mosaic

Some craft books just say "ink" or "paint" or "dye" or "glue."

I want to know what kind, what specific brand works best.

Here are two books that do just that.

Easy Mosaics for Your Home and Garden
by Sarah Donnelly

and

Fabric Surface Design: Painting, Stamping, Rubbing, Stenciling, Silk Screening, Resists, Image Transfer, Marbling, Crayons & Colored Pencils, Batik, Nature Prints, Monotype Printing
by Cheryl Rezendes

Book Bag

I just finished The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman, which I enjoyed very much.

Now I'm reading a collection of letters from a trip Agatha Christie took with her husband.  The book is called The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery.  It's a fascinating glimpse into the world of the English Empire and the 1920s.

Someday Project: Pine Needle Bowl

Isn't that cool?  And I'll bet it smells wonderful.  It's from By Hand: 25 Beautiful Objects to Make in the American Folk Art Tradition by Janice Eaton Kilby

Another Book for Later: Decorating Paper

There's a cool idea about bubbles and ink to decorate paper that I want to try:

Hand Decorating Paper
by Marie Browning

One-of-a-Kind Fantasy Furniture

Talk about back to nature!

It's from the book By Hand: 25 Beautiful Objects to Make in the American Folk Art Tradition by Janice Eaton Kilby.  She has a chapter titled "Rustic Craft with Trees, Twigs, and Bark.  (The book has 'How To' projects, but these are just examples of the genre.)

This cupboard immediately made me think it belonged in a hobbit hole.

The End

I finished writing a draft of a novel today.

It's a very drafty draft, but it is done.

Now I have to fill in all the brackets.  Whenever I don't have an idea I put in brackets, like this: [insert love letter with copious literary references] and then I keep on going.

Now I have to go back and fill in all the brackets.

But I'm still feeling happy that I finished it.  It is going to be a present for my sister Rachel.

My Book Bag

I enjoyed Death At Wentwater Court and I think I'll try to find some more books by Carola Dunn.

I picked up an old favorite with a happy sigh and snuggled into Georgette Heyer's The Foundling.

I think I might someday use some information from Fabergé Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia to use in a mystery novel.

Also for the someday list: Creative Cloth Doll Making: New Approaches for Using Fibers, Beads, Dyes, and Other Exciting Techniques.

It is a little dismaying how much is on my "someday" list....  I hate that feeling that I am waiting for life to start.....  Happily, we've got no plans at all for this weekend, so perhaps I'll get in a little play time....

Sunday Thoughts

If that which God himself chooses for you does not content you, from whom do you expect to obtain what you desire?
-- Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, S.J. Abandonment to Divine Providence

Book to Remember

Classic Paper Techniques for Greeting Cards & Gifts
by Alisa Harmless

I'm not really into making my own cards, but this book has a lot of techniques that I think I could use for other things.

I especially liked this paper manipulation technique that makes it appear as though the paper has been braided.

Books for Later

Here are some books I recently checked out.  Each has one or two techniques I liked.  I don’t have time to try them now, so I want to note them here.

Colored Pencil Collage: Nature Drawing and Painting for Mixed Media

By Kelly Hoerning

Beautiful color schemes, layering, and use of doilies.

Collage Couture: Techniques for Creating Fashionable Art

By Julie Nutting

One of my favorites!  It’s sort of fashion-meets-paper-dolls-meets-collage.  There’s also a great tutorial on drawing figures and faces.

Collage Discovery Workshop

Claudine Hellmuth

Making no-measure, simple bow frames from lath, plus inspiring pictures.

Pretty Little Things: Collage, Jewelry, Trinkets, Keepsakes

By Sally Jean Alexander

Lots of use of a soldering iron, except for one project.  Also, lots of use of glass.  I did like the “grab a slip of paper” collage project, wherein the papers said things like paint, smudge, magazine, photos, draw, etc.

Playing with Paper: Illuminating, Engineering, and Reimagining Paper Art

By Helen Hiebert

Lots of fun!  Someday I’d love to try the cardstock castle, the piano-hinge book and the pocket-book cover for holding a signature (out of fabric, I think).

Make Your Mark: Creative Ideas Using Markers, Paint Pens, Beach Pens, and More

By Lark Books

I liked the info on bleach pens, plus the tie-die markers-on-fabric projects.

Pintrest Perfect!

Flora Chang et al.

Love the one where you use a technique similar to making paper snowflakes for making paper flowers, plus some fun stuff under doodling, mixed media, and painted greeting cards.

College Discovery Workshop: Beyond the Unexpected

by Claudine Hellmuth

I would like to try some of her background techniques using dishwasher rinse aid, saran wrap, tape, tissue paper, and contact paper. 

Book of Note: Bibliocraft

This book was written by a librarian at the New York Metropolitan Library.  She collaborated with artists on projects wherein she would find books on whatever they were interested in -- 19th century children's book, typography, maps, bookplate, decorative bindings, etc.--and they would create projects inspired by the books.

The reason this book is cool is because she lists the Library of Congress subject headings for each topic, plus she provides the names of specialized digital collections.

BiblioCraft: The Modern Crafter’s Guide to Using Library Resources to Jumpstart Creative Projects
by Jessica Pigza

An Unknown Agatha

I recently finished a book by Agatha Christie that you probably haven't heard of.

It doesn't have Miss Marple or M. Hercule Poirot.  (That's probably why you haven't heard of it.)  And it's not a murder mystery, although it does involve a different kind of mystery.  It's about an international conspiracy, a wild journey, and a courageous woman who choses an adventure beyond her wildest dreams.

I really enjoyed it, so I'm noting it here:

Destination Unknown

by Agatha Christie