I finished my broadside yesterday!

It came out pretty well, too, I gotta say, for being so ridiculously complicated. Now I understand why letterpress work is so expensive. (One woman in the class registered with the express purpose of printing her own wedding invitations. The class is not exactly cheap, but she managed to save several hundred dollars over what she would have paid somebody to do the letterpress invitations for her, plus she's enjoyed making them and her family will be impressed (ahem) by their handmade quality. I sniff a bridal magazine article.)

I'm not sure how many "fair" copies I managed to get yet. A few are missing the terminal period (it was there, but not inking) and a few have a y with a broken tail or a slightly fainter penultimate line. I learned the whys and wherefores of all of these things, and shall spill later. No time this morning, unfortunately. I need to get there on time so I can get one last turn at the press.

I didn't bring home the finished prints last night, so no pic yet. Today's the last class day and I'll be making something very very simple. I've designed custom cocktail napkins for some friends' housewarming. I got the idea from a woman who came and set up one of the machines as we were cleaning up yesterday. She was printing luncheon napkins for somebody's party or wedding.) So I picked up some napkins at Target on the way home--just plain white--and they will say Your brilliant idea goes here: across the top. (He's a graphic designer and we hang out talking and drinking, somebody invariably reaches for a notepad.) Their new house is mid-century modern, so I'll choose an appropriate typeface, etc.