I Am So Sad or the International Moleskine Exchange

I have had various Moleskines (Moley) in my purse for the last seven years, as they are a great way to corral my thoughts and little bits of paper. I lost my last one in September and I still feel the pain of that. I replaced it, but the information, like a handfasting ceremony and shirt measurements for a couple of guys I know are missing. Never mind, the business cards and phone numbers I need to have on a regular basis. It's was like losing my brains, ouchers! My books have always been workhorses for me, so the opportunity to make art in them is really exciting. I have replaced my purse one, of course, but I still think I will find some bit of information I am looking for in the new one, but it's JUST NOT THERE...

As to what this post is about: I am involved in a two Ravelry.com (the knitting and crochet online community) exchanges of art based in Moleskine books like Picasso and Hemingway used for their writing and sketches. Here's the link to Moleskine: http://www.moleskines.com/?gclid=CPzpl8_jopgCFRwDagoddmh2Aw.

One of the books traveling is a small unlined thick paged one with no theme. I neglected to take a picture of it before I sent it across the pond to Lini, the Essex Hooker, who has sent it on to Frewen, the Forager. I decorated the cover of that one with a few labels and such and asked my fellow Moleskine artistes if they would add bits to it as well as their contributions to the inside.

The other Moley is a large one with gridded pages. The front is pictured here. It is decorated to reflect the theme I chose for it. That theme is Ravens and Roses, as it is both the 200th anniversary of the birth of Edgar Allan Poe and the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robbie Burns, this month of January and this year of 2009. These two poets are favorites of mine and I wanted to reflect their contributions to my life and literature. That book is in South Carolina with Chantelle, aka the BrownCoatKnitter. I am also an American of Scottish descent, so the theme reflects me even more..

Each person involved in the round robin chooses whether their Moley would have a theme or not. We each get 2 or more pages to reflect the theme or what ever we want in each book as it comes by. We get about two weeks to work on them before sending them onto the next person in line. We have also been sending little gifties to those who are working on our books. When done my fellow artists will all have a wonderful collection of hand-made beaded stitch markers and Lini Baby will have a few kewl book marks as I send her them instead of stitch makers as she is a crocheter more than a knitter...

Right now, I am sans a Moley to work on and feel bereft. We are sending them around the world for up to 13 people to add their artistic vision to... According to USPS, one left Denver this morning for my house. I can't wait to see it and add my little bit to it.