Category Archives: books

I ruined it

Posted on by
9

I was so confident with my little binding machine that I decided to turn my knitting book into a wire bound book.

This book is where I keep all the information about my knitting projects. It’s the record of the pattern, yarn, needle size, date, stitch and row counts, and anything else that relates to the project.

It will be perfect when I want to keep the page open to a certain spot.

In my most cocky voice inside my head I said to myself, ” You’re a genius, Patti. An absolute genius! You can do this!”

I grabbed my knitting book and started right in.

I clamped the book to the worktable.

I “should” have noticed that I wrote close to the inside edge of the book before I started with the saw to cut off the spine. In fact I should have just cut the book apart with a craft knife and not the saw.

Realizing my mistake, I kept right on going. The book was already cut and there was nothing I could do about that.

I covered the front and back covers and punched away to get the holes for the wire comb…forgetting to readjust the machine for the back cover. The holes didn’t line up.

I looked around for an old book that I could take apart to redo the covers. No luck.

So I did the next best (that’s debatable) and flipped the covers around and punch the other edge.

That didn’t work out so well but the at least one side of the punched front cover matched one side of the back cover. I finished binding the book and decided to rethink my choices when trying this genius (NOT) idea again. The cover is bigger than the pages but the pages are too low and almost stick out at the bottom.

The book is ruined and a major mess but I can still make out most of my notes.

The one bright spot is that the rest of the book will be great!

Patti nona

Another book binding project

Posted on by
2

I love this little Zutter Bind It All O-wire binding machine (No affiliate). It’s small but powerful. It punched through a heavy book cover, a flexible plastic ruler, and one to several sheets of paper perfectly. How-to video here.

As long as I had it out, I decided to bind my sewing machine manual and add an index to it. I don’t know why some manuals include an index and why some think you can find what you’re looking for in the table of contents. Sure it took me awhile to find everything with the appropriate page numbers and organize it but now it’s done and easy to find exactly what I need.

I used a heavy card stock for the front and back covers and cut out the “title” in the front. I didn’t quite get the hole in the right spot but it’s good enough for me. (Unless my perfectionist self decides otherwise.)

The original manual is larger than letter sized paper so scanned it into my computer so I could resize it.

I included some Notes pages to the back in case I need to add anything..

Now when I need to find out how to make a buttonhole, I don’t have to scan the TOC. It’s right there in the index.

Patti nona

Book Club Journal

Posted on by
6

I have friends that keep a notebook of all the books they’ve read. I kind of wish I had started that years ago. I get most of my books online through the library. Fortunately I can look through my history there and see what I’ve read but those are only the ones I read in the last 12-13 years.

Since joining the Book Club I fee/think/need to keep a record of the books and a brief description of the books we’ve read along with some discussion questions or points that meant something to me.

I like writing on lined paper, specifically graph paper. (That’s the architect wanna-be in me.) I bought ten of these notebooks before I retired and only have two or three left. I use one for my knitting projects. The only thing I don’t like is that they are bound in a way that they don’t lay flat when opened.

Solution: Clamp the book shut. Take a hack saw to the spine and cut it off. Trim the cover and cut pages with a paper cutter or craft knife. Use a special comb-binding machine to make a wire-bound book. Recover the cover (optional). Assemble the book.

Voila!!

I should add some pockets to the inside covers to stash notes. An elastic band to hold it together would be a good idea, too.

I had some plastic rulers from a now renamed bank that I cut down and made into a moveable bookmark.

Book Club

Posted on by
6

I was meeting a walking buddy neighbor one morning in June for a short walk. She had her left knee replaced earlier this year and needed to walk with someone (who could call for help if needed). We met another neighbor, Denise, in front of my house who was also walking but in the opposite direction.

She asked both of us if we liked to read. Me: yes, yes, YES. My friend, not so much. She told us about a book club in our development that was in need or members. We exchanged phone numbers and a few details and went on our way.

I texted Dee a few days later and said I was very interested. The next meeting was the week of our anniversary party and I didn’t have time to read the book nor participate in the discussion.

There are only four of us and another 2-3 people would be better but we will make do for now.

We read Where the Sky Begins by Rhys Bowen in July (Denise’s selection), The Briar Club by Kate Quinn in August (Barbara’s selection) and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak in September (my selection). October’s book is When Crickets Cry by Charles Martin (Paula’s selection).

I like this group of women and the selections so far. They don’t read sci-fi, romance or horror books and that’s just fine with me.

We meet from 1-3:00 in the afternoon and discussed the book at the first meeting that I went to then had snacks. For the second and third ones we snacked first then talked about the book. I didn’t start the discussion soon enough for my book as we hurried through it before we ran out of time.

Book Club spread minus the carrot and celery sticks.

For my snacks I served chicken salad in mini croissants, potato chips, celery and carrot sticks with dip, chocolates, and a rustic apple pie with ice cream. Drinks were iced tea and/or water.

Have you read any good (or bad) books lately?

Patti