So I’ve known Batya for close to twenty years now. (Holy shit.) Every year, our friend group does a secret holiday craft exchange – and when she proudly told us she’d just finished writing her first big novel-length fic, I sidled over to the organizer and went, “Hey, so… can I game the system a little this year and make Batya a book?”

My reach felt like it exceeded my grasp a bit at times, because the entire de Rolo crest? That’s a bookcloth inlay. I jigsawed together all those tiny (and not-so-tiny) pieces from five or six different colors of bookcloth. There was one horrible moment where I upended all of them on the floor and almost wanted to commit crimes, BUT! It worked! I already know what I want to tweak the next time I do such a complex inlay, so this was a great learning experience AND a great chance to make a gift for a lovely person ❤️

I also finally switched away from Lora as my default body text. I’d never been super-happy with its kerning in a few spots, but it took a bit to find a good replacement: Libre Caslon Text, which has a similar visual feel and far fewer kerning problems.

Be sure to read the fic at the link above!