Yes, it's necessary for me to fully read the pages of the book yet again in their most recent (nearly final) incarnation, although I am finding relatively few spots that need marks for changes (a dramatic contrast from the last set of printouts).
What amazes me, though, is that no matter how many times I've worked with this material (and I lost track long, long ago), as it evolves I continue to find delight in it. Much of my joy now comes from the exquisite layout, and the images of the animals, which are still being collected, tweaked, and revised (although they are about 99.3% complete), and thus are often new to me, in juxtaposition to the elegantly layered compositions featuring the fiber samples.
So I turned a page just now and came across the start of the coverage of Llanwenog sheep. I am utterly charmed by the photo of the animals, and the picture of the fibers and yarns brings back a rush of pleasurable memory from when I prepared and spun the wool . . . in October 2009. Many fibers in The Project both preceded and followed that experience. It's remarkable to me how clearly the tactile and kinesthetic experience stays vivid in my mind and body.
The locks of wool, raw and clean, are also shown on this page in the book, but I didn't catch them in this snapshot.
A friend offered to obtain some Llanwenog wool for me from this spring's shearing. I had to say no; I won't have time to enjoy it for the foreseeable future. Right now, my focus is on obtaining and preparing fibers for the participants in the workshops I'll be teaching. Fortunately, I enjoy sharing the joy—helping people discover the varied fibers for themselves—and the sheep will grow more fleeces in upcoming years. Maybe I'll be able to have one all to myself, with the time to savor its processing, in days to come.
And now, back to the proofing. I'm almost halfway through on this pass.
This is SO exciting!!! I'm so happy for you.
Yes, the photo of those sheep is entrancing. They are beautiful just being themselves. Love.
Keep up that energy. Can't wait to be in on the release celebration when it happens.
Posted by: Lynn Hershberger | February 06, 2011 at 12:18 AM
Thanks, Lynn! Yes, they are beautiful just being themselves. All of them. I'm looking forward to sharing the release celebration with you! We can almost count days now. Almost.
Posted by: Deborah Robson | February 06, 2011 at 06:47 AM
Really, the more I read about your journey through the book, the more I can't wait for it to be published...
Posted by: Freyalyn | February 07, 2011 at 03:54 AM
Oh, good, Freyalyn! I'm up to p. 274 on proofing, so I'm making progress. I didn't get a lot of pages covered yesterday because I went to two plays (great change of pace).
Co-author Carol Ekarius and I, both checking this set of pages separately, exchanged e-mails about how we both LOVE the book. Which is not the way authors normally feel about their projects as they near press date, which is usually when you never want to look at them again--! We're delighted.
Posted by: Deborah Robson | February 07, 2011 at 04:14 AM
The book finally showed up on Amazon US, but not via ISBN or author search - I got there via a link at another site, after Googling.
http://www.amazon.com/Fleece-Fiber-Sourcebook-Fibers-Animal/dp/1603427112%3FSubscriptionId%3D1E2MCMDX6VVV67W7T882%26tag%3Dabs-bookdetailsapi-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D1603427112
Posted by: Caroline | February 10, 2011 at 01:19 PM
Hurray, Caroline. Thanks for letting me know. That's not an easy way to get there, though.
Posted by: Deborah Robson | February 10, 2011 at 11:21 PM