No time to think

This week we had our first writers group since June. Nearly everyone had bought some work with them and the variety was amazing; poems, a chapter of a children’s book, a description of an alien girl and some comedy sketches. All good work. I’ve been working on a set of 3 poems but they weren’t ready in time for the meeting. Maybe for next time.

Then on Thursday I went to my 5th bookbinding evening class. More work on taking a book apart and getting ready to put it back together again. But Sarah also bought in a couple of books about ‘exposed spine sewing’ which I have borrowed. I’m hoping this will help me to prefect my Coptic sewing and give me some new ideas too.

Then yesterday I finally left my job as an Programme Administator. It was a bit of an odd day as I said good bye to people I’ve worked with for nearly 4 years to the day, only to move to a new building, maybe 100 yards away, to join the web team.
To be honest I haven’t had time to worry about the new job, as my first TMA for the Children’s Literature course is due in next Thursday!

Diploma in Literature and Creative Writing

Look what came in the post today!
It is a Diploma in Literature and Creative Writing and is the result of all the work I put into both Creative Writing courses. I’m very pleased.
If I get another one, it will be a degree certificate! I wonder if I’ll get that far?

Bookbinding Evening Class wk 4

This week at the bookbinding evening class I finished putting back together the small book I’ve been working on.
It is a book about different dog breeds, and while putting together the cover, Sarah showed me how to make an indent so that a photo, in this case from the original dust jacket, could be incorporated.
I used a dark green material to cover the book, and to be honest found it very similar to the thick wall papers that I normally use. I think I managed to create a good finish. The only thing stopping this being a well finished book is the spine ended up slightly wonky, meaning it doesn’t sit flat. Disappointing.
Sarah said she would bring in books next week about interesting stitching patterns. I look forward to having a good nose.

The Guildford Book Festival

The Guildford Book Festival starts today and goes on till 23rd October.
There is much going on as you can see from their website. But this year I think I will have to give it a miss as my OU course is already very full on, with a hell of a lot of reading needed and the first TMA deadline creeping closer. On top of this I start my new job on 25th and am franticly trying to get my current job ship shape for which ever poor soul takes it on. Time seems to be rushing past at a rate of knots.

Bookbinding Evening Class wk 3

I’ve always been bought up to believe that books are expensive and precious. I only normally buy books if I’ve read them before from the library, or borrowed from a friend, and have fallen in love.
So the idea of deliberately taking one of these books apart, when there is nothing wrong with it seems a crime to me. As I said in my last post a trip to a charity shop got me one small book to experiment on, and a trip to my local library a bigger book to work on. Don’t worry they sell old books!
This week I started putting my first small book back together again. In this case we were to use tapes to join the signatures to the covers and had to make holes round the tapes, before sewing the whole lot back together.
The joy of having two projects on the go at one time is that I can start taking the second book to pieces while I wait for Sarah to come back to show me what to do next.
I seem to be making a right mess of the second book, so would be very reluctant of doing this to a real old book. But then I guess if it was a real book that needed repairing it wouldn’t be stuck together as well as this one is.

Bookbinding Evening Class wk 2

This week I managed to finish my first book and make a start on the second. As the class it aimed more at repairing damaged books than starting from scratch the second book was found in a charity shop and I spent the last hour of the lesson taking it to bits so that I can put it back together next week. A brilliant way to see how books are made and how they work.
I also learnt this week that you can cut round the covering material of your book on the insides of the covers before sticking in your end pages to make a very neat finish, and that by using acetate (in this case the transparencies from an OHP) between your end pages and the signatures of your book when you are drying it, you stop the signatures getting wet and wrinkling. Both good things to take away with me.
But I still don’t understand why you wouldn’t cover the whole book in your base cover – in this case a green paper bag, and then put on your spine and corners. Sarah didn’t seem to know ever. A mystery I shall have to look further into.

Bookbinding Evening Class wk 1

Last night I went back to basics.
I joined the first of a 10 week bookbinding course at the local Adult Ed.
As our first project, we made a single signature hard covered book. I’ll post a photo once it’s finished – next week I hope.
The tutor, Sarah, seems very knowledgeable, but I’m undecided about the class at the moment.
I know most of the students had never done anything like this before, so starting at the beginning is a good idea. Also it means that after two weeks we will have a finished project to take home. A great way of keeping people motivated. But some of the things that I think are important – like not wasting material, or measuring things and being accurate, didn’t seem important to our tutor, while things like paper grain which I didn’t know anything about was of high importance according to Sarah.
Also in 2 hours I could have made a multi signature hard covered book, so it all seemed a bit slow.
But I will stick with it. I know there is so much about book binding that I don’t know, and in 10 weeks I can’t imagine the information I could collect. I think once we’ve done the 3 set projects to give us the skills we need, we’ll be able to carry on with our own projects – who knows what I might learn.

I believe you should be open to as many things as possible. Who knows where it might take you.

Change is in the Air

It’s been ages since I last posted anything and in that time things have changed a bit.
For starters I’ve just got myself a new job. Still working at the University, but moving away from the Department of Electronic Engineering and moving to the Web Team. Finally all my hard work learning about web design seems to have paid off. Not only that but it’s the next grade up. I start on 25th October and as usual I’m a mix of nerves and excitement.
Of course that means that everyone is asking me to ‘just do this before you go’, the brand new level 1 students arrive next week and the returning students the week after, and with a work load like that it doesn’t seem possible to think of making anything.
So it’s no surprise that I’ve booked myself on a book binding evening class at the local Adult Ed Centre which kicks off this week.
And on top of all that I’ve only a week or so until the start of the next OU course.
Thank heavens for a supportive partner and home delivery by Sainsbury’s.