Sorry for the longer than anticipated blogging break. If you've read the last post, you can sort of guess that I've got a bad case of the seasonal depression. I'm really not enjoying this, the worst winter in several years, and to top it off, I caught like three colds in a row. So not a lot of happy, not a lot of printing, not a lot of blogging. You guys probably should be glad not to read my thoughts over the past month or two.
But maybe the tide is beginning to turn. I mean, I'm not delusional enough to think that winter is almost over or anything, but it's no longer completely dark when I leave work. That's something. And Monday it was in the fifties, pouring rain, yes, but a brief respite from the cold. The really big news is that I'm moving this weekend. I'm only going about three blocks, but I'll have a whole room for press stuff. Yes, I'm moving to heaven.
The other good thing to happen lately was that I inked up the press for the first time in over a month, and while I was printing I felt happier than I had in quite a while. That was an "aha!" moment, let me tell you. Sure, having the blahs means I only want to sit on the couch and stare at the TV, but doing that makes me more depressed. Printing on the other hand is activity and it cheers me up. I'm writing this down to remember because the last few weeks have been a horrible, lazy cycle.
I needed to print thank you cards for Christmas gifts, and I used some Linotype slugs that I got from Phil Ambrosi, venerable veteran of the Letpress listserv. I hadn't used them before and I just wanted to try a few of them out, so I arranged them all jumbled up together and then I thought, well how the hell do I lock this up? Long story short, I used the slug cutter that I'd gotten from Letterpress Things to cut all of my long leading to frame in between the slugs, and I used spacing material to fill in the lines with the slugs. They were cast on 12pt lines, so it was pretty easy to just grab from the 12pt spacing box. I really love that slug cutter - it makes lockups go much faster and provides great flexibility. My only issue with it is that I now need some really long leading, since I used everything I had (which wasn't much) for this lockup, and storage. I don't know where to put the lead I have now, and then once I've cut it into smaller pieces, it seems like there's even more to store.
Anyway, printing these was really great even though I put the chase in upside down and didn't notice until I had set the gauge pins and then had to redo them! I even had the time that night to put my "imprint" on the back of the cards, something I hadn't done before. I used Rives BFK paper and highly recommend it - it feels velvety and took a really nice impression, and I scored my cards with this thing called a "Scor-It" that I picked up on Ebay a while a ago. For small quantities, it works very well.
I printed way more of these than I needed, so I was thinking about jumping on the Etsy bandwagon and trying to sell a couple of them. We'll see what happens after the move. Speaking of, you won't hear from me until I'm all moved in, but I do plan to be back, blogging regularly after that, so knock on wood that the Pearl makes the move just as well as last time!
So nice to hear that you're feeling better, and back to printing! I love your blog - you should know that it was (and is) inspiration for my own letterpress adventures. Your trials and successes are learning tools for me, and for countless others I'm sure.
We exchanged emails awhile ago (we have Dave Churchman in common), and I invited you to my studio in Gowanus. I've since acquired a C&P 10x15, and the offer still stands. If you ever want to come give it a spin and talk letterpress you're more than welcome.
Welcome back!
Posted by: Kate | Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at 10:03 AM
Thanks Kate; that really means a lot to me. I definitely want to see your studio sometime - and try out that big press!
Congratulations on the move up; I sort of figured you's be wanting more than a Kelsey pretty soon.
After I'm moved in, I'll be sure to email you.
Posted by: Maggie | Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 10:46 PM
i am a secret blog stalker! and like kate, i love your blog too! just wanted to let you know that i'm out there reading and appreciating your blog too!
Posted by: debbie | Tuesday, February 02, 2010 at 02:54 PM
Oh Debbie! You guys are so nice!
I took a look at your blog too - good reading.
Maybe you'll be less of a "stalker" now that your blog is public - I never realized how awesome it is to comment until I got a couple on my posts. Of course, if you want to just be a silent reader (perhaps a preferred term over stalker!), that's cool too.
Posted by: Maggie | Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 10:20 PM
thanks! and yes, i will no longer be stalkerish, haha.. never knew how liberating it would feel to comment on blogs i adore! you'll be seeing much of me in the future! cheers to you on your new move!
Posted by: debbie | Tuesday, March 02, 2010 at 05:10 PM