What I've Been Reading

About a week ago my family and I went to the library. My husband went with TheBoy to find children's books he would be interested in and I walked to the adult reading section. Our main mission was to find a book on renter's rights to make sure we weren't being screwed over in our current living arrangement. There are tons of tiny things wrong with the house but we can live with most of it. Then there are things we are not sure we should have to. Mainly, our neighbors have recently created a fuss about one of the other rental houses and we just want to make sure we stay on the up and up.

Once we found the most recent Nolo book to cover our needs, I immediately went to browse the business and craft sections. (I swear they are so close that they should just be the crafty business section!) I found tons of books that I hope will be helpful but I was particularly surprised by finding Craft, Inc at the library. So I grabbed up a bunch of books and the Craft, Inc by Meg Mateo Ilasco and made my way to the check out.

As an adult I haven't been much of a reader. Occasionally I will grab book to read but I rarely finish them. However, I am happy to say that I sat down and read this book over a few days. I found the information useful for people in multiple crafts. I was seriously hesitant when I first heard of the book. (Keep in mind I am reading this a couple of years since it was issued. I tend to be a bit behind the times on my reading list.)

Overall I enjoyed the book. I think that it has great and easy to read advice for the small business craftperson. I admit, there was one or two subjects I skipped over but it was no more than 3-4 pages total. Definitely light, friendly reading that has helped me gain some perspective. I wish more craft books were this easy to digest.
(Of course, this post was 4 days in the making as I started May 10th and have suffered some bad writers block. Since then, I am almost through reading Made from Scratch by Jenna Woginrich.)

Sewing Adventures

(Ever notice I'm not much on titles... I should work on that.)

So Wednesday afternoon (after work to be precise) I had a chance to meet with my mother-in-law. I had been having trouble getting my cutie-patootie Hello Kitty branded sewing machine to work. I would thread the needle, try to sew, the thread would break. I would try the tension, the thread would break. Someone said, hold the thread when you start, I did. The thread would break. See a theme here?
So off to my mother in law's house. We get in, set up the machine and she threads it. Viola! It works. I mean, its like she had the magic touch or something. I felt silly but my husband assures me that she has like 50 yrs sewing experience. In reality, its just easier for some people then it is for others. I compared it to the difference in using a spinning wheel. I can sit down to any spinning wheel and produce a yarn. It might not be great, I might not like the wheel, but I know the mechanics and how it should work. In contrast, someone who has never spun their own yarn would have serious difficulties. The only difference I see here is that there are tons of self taught spinners who have posted all kinds of things to the web. With sewing, I think people take for granted the ease of access that people have to learn on there own. Thus, not as much easy access information for newbie sewing people on the web.
Well, then, whats a blog post without pictures.
This is my first little sewing piece. No frills, no pins, no patterns. I just wanted to make sure the sewing machine still ran once I got it back to my house. (It's very easy to transport. That's a bonus.)


I did know enough to do a double stitch on the top. That's me being fancy.

Oh and then to top it all off. My mother-in-law gifted me with some Singer sewing books that she was given a few years back. With 50 years sewing experience you don't really need them do you.


I think this should be fun for a little while .... or until I have to rethread the needle and/or bobbin. Whichever comes first.

Library Finds....Father Brown Shears his Sheep: A Yarn about Wool

I have to say this was perhaps the neatest find during our recent library outing. It's a little children's book about a farmer who decides to shear his sheep. His sheep however are none to happy about it. It is delightful to read and the pictures are true to the reality of spinning. (i.e. the spinning wheel picture is drawn accurately. It helps that the artist is a spinner as well.)



I really got a huge kick out of the fact that it was my husband who picked up the book. We grabbed the elevator from the third floor and he spotted it dead on. I was like, "neat" and preceded to get in the elevator. My husband preceded to tuck the book under his arm.
In short, all about shearing and carding and washing and spinning and (yes) knitting! Its just adorable and simple. Father Brown shears his Sheep is probably and great book for the times your 2-5 yr olds look at you like your crazy or wants to know where fiber comes from.