http://jenfunkweber.com Jen Funk Weber on needlework, reading, writing, and life. Sun, 11 May 2008 18:06:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As we await final bookmark numbers from participating shops, I am contemplating how to have a party on a blog. It feels as though there should be some sort of celebration here at the end of the Needle and Thread: Stitching for Literacy 2008 Bookmark Challenge, a gala event, a ... http://jenfunkweber.com/needle-thread/while-we-wait.php All those random nature and wildlife photos that pop up on this blog are Mike's. As a professional photographer, he's spent hours, even days, waiting for perfect shots. We've both hiked miles of rugged terrain, schlepping gear that weighs as much as WWF wrestlers. We've tiptoed barefoot over crusty snow ... http://jenfunkweber.com/alaska/mike-weber-photography.php First Book has teamed with the eBay Foundation, the charitable arm of eBay Inc., for Community Gives, an "online fundraising campaign designed to engage the eBay Community in supporting First Book's mission to provide new books to the children who need them most." First Book is one of three nonprofit organizations ... http://jenfunkweber.com/needle-thread/first-book-ebay-foundation-community-gives.php Today is the last day to get bookmarks to participating shops for the Needle and Thread: Stitching for Literacy 2008 Bookmark Challenge. Shop owners will be delivering the bookmarks to their libraries, schools, and literacy programs in time for Children's Book Week next week. I will tally and post results ... http://jenfunkweber.com/needle-thread/2008-bookmark-challenge-the-last-day.php On May 13 & 14, librarians and library supporters will descend on Washington D. C. to advocate for libraries. Did you know that: U.S public library cardholders outnumber Amazon customers worldwide by 3 to 1. Reference librarians in the nation’s public and academic libraries answer more than 8 million questions weekly. ... http://jenfunkweber.com/needle-thread/national-library-legislative-days.php During the 2007 Bookmark Challenge, stitchers and independent needlework shops donated 429 bookmarks to libraries, schools, and literacy programs. Nordic Needle collected 171 of those bookmarks. Naturally, I hope the program will grow and that we'll top last year's results this year. Well, as of May 1, Nordic Needle had collected--drum ... http://jenfunkweber.com/needle-thread/challenge-update-nordic-needle.php Everyone, meet Kat Rocha. Kat, this is Everyone. Sorry, no pics of a cat close at hand, so here's Cat's-Best-Friend. Or something. Kat is a needlework designer and owner of Cross Eyed Kat. She's designing a bookmark for the Needle and Thread: Stitching for Literacy program next year. (Right, Kat?) No, ... http://jenfunkweber.com/needle-thread/guest-blogger-kat-rocha.php What's on my mp3 player? The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak. A wonderful thing about a book, in contrast to a computer screen, is that you can take it to bed with you. --Daniel J. Boorstein The test of literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the ... http://jenfunkweber.com/needle-thread/weekend-book-quotes-13.php What's on my nightstand? Archer's Quest, by Linda Sue Park. The best effect of any book, is that it excites the reader to self-activity. --Thomas Carlyle Reading a book is like re-writing it for yourself. You bring to a novel, anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your ... http://jenfunkweber.com/needle-thread/weekend-book-quotes-12.php Does reading aloud to children really make a difference in how well they do in school? Yes! According to the Children's Literacy Initiative, "education experts agree that reading aloud at home is the single most important activity parents can do to help their children develop as readers ... and that KIDS WHO ... http://jenfunkweber.com/needle-thread/read-aloud-america-book-list-2008.php