Mittens in a bowl

Cats sleep in the strangest places, all tucked in and snuggly-like in boxes or baskets with firm boundaries. It must help them feel secure. This bowl can be found holding miscellaneous craft leftovers (during projects). Kids toss keys in there, wallets, and from time to time even gloves, since it is right by the door of our family room/library. It sits atop my bookbinding sewing frame that Hubster made for me, which looks pretty cute with a bowl-full of mittens on it!

Javamom

Finishing Press

Made for me today by Hubster aka Dread Pirate Sparsebeard :-) Isn't he just the greatest? He needs to put a finish on it, but it is basically finished. That's a good thing for a "finishing press." Ha ha.

My New Bookpress!

This press is Hubby's first press (and a very good one, actually). He plans to make a bigger one for use with multiple books.

I have a bookpress! I have a bookpress!

I wish I could post a picture for you all to see what hubby made in the woodshop today, but the kids have taken the digital cameras with them to camp. I'll try to post a photo this weekend.

This first attempt is a small press that will work for standard or smaller books, or even for pressing hand-made paper. It was a warm-up for a larger one he wants to make next; one that will nip or press multiple books at one time.

I'm just so happy about getting my bookbinding home workshop all ready to go that I can hardly get started quickly enough. I've been working on a special journal book for a graduate, but other than that, I have two real binding jobs lined up already: one restoration and re-case and one binding project pages into a hardcover, handbound book. I'm off to purchase a few supplies!

Javamom

Sweet project!

Hubby's latest project in the woodshop. Remember, we call him The Candyman!

Guitar Project

guitar project

This is a better view of hubby's guitar building project: The back, fingerboard and neck/headstock

Guitars and Literature

guitar building after American Lit. Class

For some of you who have asked or wondered about Hubby's latest project ~ He is building a guitar from scratch. You can see the top piece (on the left), the neck/headstock, and the back and sides (on the right). His is the official classroom for the "guitar club" in the high school where he teaches.

Dream jobs

Home made mandolins

Today's sermon at church began with the phrase "What would your dream job be?" A local hs dad (on our church's drama team) made a tape of many of our church members answering this question, young and old alike. It ranged from ideas such as "being an archeologist and getting paid handsomely for it," "being on the mission field" to "being a princess."

Above, you'll see pictures of what my hubby loves to do in his free time, rather a scarce commodity. His dream job is being a luthier. He loves being a teacher, but lutherie uses a different part of the brain, and can be done in relative silence.

That's the way it is for me and bookbinding. My dream job, after motherhood, is to be a book conservator/restoration"ist" and bookbinder. It is a little scarey sometimes, knowing that pasting or gluing something a little off will mess up a job, or some other such mistake. One can't be fainthearted! You have to know when a lot of "pressing" is good and when too much pressure is a bad thing that can ruin the structure of a book or cloth. Aye!!!

Maybe I'll remember it all...

In the meantime, it is still fun to be able to at least work toward the dream...not for the money, but for the satisfaction and of a new skill learned or mistake(s) corrected.

I don't know how much I held my breath today getting the text block of my Elder Poets vintage book "problem child" back in its case. It is a problem child in part because it is a "quarto" so the print of this gorgeous book is going in the wrong grain direction. Argh. I will be much more careful of just such a problem before I buy it in the future. I don't mind spending $10 or less on such a problem book, that I plan to use in our homeschool or read for myself, or give as a gift. I spent good money on this one several years back, before I knew any better.

My second dream job is to be a happy grandma someday.

What is your dream job?