Stitching for Literacy is all about . . . well, let’s face it: it’s about bribery. We bribe kids to read by giving them bookmarks, right?

That works for me. Anything to get kids on the path to reading for fun. The hope, of course, is that they like it. That in the end, they want to keep reading purely for enjoyment.

Well, I’m going to extend this technique to my good friend, Shelly, even though she’s an adult and the most voracious reader I’ve ever known: If you’ll give Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture a shot, I’ll give you this:

This is the bookmark that stars in our Bookmark Challenge Kickoff Video. A famous, movie star bookmark!

The Story Behind the Stitchery

The camera was set up on the tripod. My fabric was laced to my free-standing stitching frame. We marked the floor with tape to show where everything went in case I bumped something out of place. We set this all up in the craft room where we could make it dark and keep the lighting as consistent as possible, since this was going to take some time; I also got up in the wee dark hours to prevent any light changes occurring via the shaded windows.

I knelt in front of my frame (no room for a chair) to make a stitch (one leg of a cross stitch), got up and snapped a picture. I knelt, stitched, got up, snapped (didn’t locate the magic clicker button on a cord until after the project was complete), knelt, stitched, got up, snapped, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat…. My quads got sore from the strange workout.

I’ve been wondering what to do with this particular bookmark ever since. I’m starting to post Funk & Weber-made articles for sale on the Funk & Weber site (not much there yet, but I’ll have more by Dec. 1), and I considered putting this up for sale there, but it feels special to me, and I want to do something special with it. This bribe feels perfect.

I really like the Cheap book, and I really, really want to discuss it. I’m going to postpone discussion until January and try to persuade others to read it, too.

Becca, I love the reader on the audio book. I’m not just saying that to twist your arm. Well, I am twisting your arm, but I genuinely like the reader, too. The tone of the book is sometimes sarcastic and irreverent, and I think she portrays that well. She makes me laugh.

My hope, of course, is that you will all find you like the book and will enjoy reading it. Shelly, you’re free to skip parts that feel too schoolish to you and to stop reading if you really don’t like it. All I ask is that you try it. Of course, I’d like to hear what you think of it, too. To see if you can sort out some of the things that flummox me.

I’m really curious, too, how things in Norway compare to things here.

So…what do you say? Can I bribe you (Shelly) and persuade others (Becca, Kat, and YOU) to read my Cheap book selection? (Harriet, I know you’ve already started it.)

And then can I get some suggestions for titles for the following months? Pleeeeeease?

Bribing, begging . . . whatever it takes.