till human voices wake us...

So far, so good: the book block has been sewn for a couple days now and I did not lose any fingers to the guillotine

I don’t have appropriately goffik endpapers but what I DO have is red (maybe red’s like roses?? Or maybe it’s a POOOOOOOL OF BLOOOOOD!! Pouring one out for you Enoby, you’d have loved the rwby intro) and I’ve also got this:

But when fabric and paper refuse to cooperate, they get squished by the Get Along sock

Here is the book block sandwich. Hoping the glue in the mesh will hold the endpaper to the previous page.

Put the sandwich in another sandwich

And letting it cook for a little bit.

So now it’s time to prepare for brain surgery

I have already failed at using a metallic for a headband, so I figure, maybe I’ve learned something and can try again.

Went looking for some other thread to use as a second color and found a black that formerly belonged to a dearly departed family friend, who I am not sure I could have ever explained this project to

Image description: a goddamn mess

SO I decided to cheat. With the help of a very tolerant housemate, I wrapped the thread around the twine on its own:

(Phone camera won’t focus that close but you get the idea)

And then sewed it on.

Reader, I didn’t got this.

Previously I had tried doing a shiny one unassisted: experiments included taping the twine to the table on one end and clamping it on the other (didn’t work) and holding it between my toes (did work, but my core is not strong enough to keep holding my feet at the correct height. It was after this I tried the one color, but that’s when my housemate got up for a bathroom break and she kindly held the twine for me

On a related note, I always thought metal thimbles were far inferior to rubber ones because you lose the dexterity and grippiness. Turns out, when you REALLY need one is when you’re pushing a needle through 4 sheets of paper and some glue, bc a rubber thimble won’t do much to help with that. Enter, the thimble armor:

That’s a strip of fabric with dried glue on it. Works wonders. Reminded me of cloth armor and how people who recreated it had trouble cutting into it with a table saw or something

In theory the cricut maker can cut chipboard. I’ve never tried. We are finding out if it can make successful pentagrams. It’s been going for five minutes and is 1% done so I think it’ll be a while.

I didn’t have the type of grippy mat you’re supposed to so I just… taped it down with extra tape. Fingers crossed?

Meanwhile the spine is enjoying its time with the mull under the Get Along Sock. Or it will be if it knows what’s good for it >.<

(Pictured without sock)

Pentagram is 39% done, but the book isnt naked anymore:

It’s back in the squisher

And we’re no longer naked!! While that’s pressing, I am going to find out if I can use iron-on vinyl on chip board. Because I think what we need here

Completely failed to line up the iron on properly so now the pentagram gets an extra dimensional look

This might be one of the worst things I’ve ever done

I also glued the feathers upside down

The fishnets are on!! (Or as close as I could find.)

First I tried to glue it down on the inside under the endpapers, which technically worked but was very messy and I didn’t want to do it 6 times. So then I went for tape:

Which worked on one cover but not on the other.

So, one side is taped, and one side is tied together:

So this has been a fun process

The front monstrosity decoration is on, and getting squished.

Sharpie to the rescue!!!

More or less

Next I shall continue to bend feathers backwards and gluing them down. Started this last night with PVA but I might switch to gorilla glue again

I only have one binder clip (I swear I used to have two so who knows where it went) so I’m gonna have to glue them down three inches at a time

Back under the sock to try and get these bits flattened down. I should have done this first BEFORE I tried to glue them to the back. So now I know next time I try to glue feathers around a spine.

The Sock might be nearing the end of its days, but it has served us here, more or less

Last step: gluing down the endpapers, which will cover the mess on the back of the covers in the same way that you can cover a crumbling cake with frosting. I.e. it’s probably going to be obvious there’s something under there but everyone is gonna be too distracted by the Horrors to notice.

So here we go:

And then it’s back to the Fezzik the book press for a few hours of squishing.

Thank you all for accompanying me on– or at least tolerating– this journey. (And, in one person’s case, the mess on the floor.) More pictures are here

because if you think the outside is nuts

i’ve been thinking about her almost every single hour i can’t forget the sound of her heartbeat all around

Me: “Don’t say it.”

My Brain:

I did it, Eve. Don’t you mean, “We did it”? Yeah, but mostly me.

HOLLIDAY GRAINGER and ANNA PAQUIN

The Craft (1996)