Blog

Now that the hustle and bustle of December has died down and the post-holiday winter doldrums have commenced, I’m trying to focus on organizing my space and hopefully decluttering it a bit. The shop takes up a large part of my personal space, so it’s rather snug. I hadn’t planned on reorganizing the bookshelves, but they caught my eye while I was going through some papers. It had been some years since I had done a full scale book sorting, and now that I’m no longer obliged to keep large portions of the French literary canon, it was time. I’m...

For some reason, which now escapes me, I decided to work up a pattern for a wallet. Since I don't particularly care for wallets without some form of closure, I designed it as a snap wallet. I added a small snap pocket inside for good measure. Voici mon prototype numéro 1: I clearly needed to get a different interfacing, and while I thought I had left enough room on the bottom for the snap, I didn't. Putting in a snap piece in the bottom would make the bottom card slot unusable, at least for cards. Thus, I went out and...

Today we're looking at a bit of local history. While most books, movies, lesson plans, and enthusiasts focus on the Civil War as it was fought in the eastern United States; the war also extended into the western territories. In February 1862, over 5500 Union and Confederate troops fought near Fort Craig - not far from Socorro, New Mexico - in what became known as the Battle of Valverde. Teacher, author, and New Mexico native Jennifer Bohnhoff is seeking to shine some light on this neglected part of Civil War history and to make the Civil War more relevant to...

If you live in Albuquerque or are just visiting, come see us at the Oso Canyon Artfest! I will be in room 2 (I believe it's near the parking lot entrance) at the table with the fabric tree forest. I will be selling book weights, stuffed fabric Christmas trees, viola and violin shoulder rest bags, and an assorted of other Dragon in Knots products.   The Artfest will be held Saturday, November 5th from 9 AM to 3 PM at the Bear Canyon Senior Center (4645 Pitt St NE) in Albuquerque. Click here for a map. There will be 70+...

HWÆT, WE GAR-DEna in geardagum, þeodcyninga þrym gefrunon, hu ða æþelingas ellen fremedon! Great news! Beowulf is now online. Both the Old English text and various Modern English translations have been online for years, but now, thanks to the British Library, budding medievalists can read straight from the original manuscript without ever leaving home. This is an excellent resource for enthusiasts who don't have access to a facsimile. The Beowulf poem appears in Cotton MS Vitellius A XV. This manuscript, one of the four manuscripts that compromises the majority of Old English poetry, contains other Old English works, such as...