PERFECTLY IMPERFECT-I may not be the best at what I do, but Nobody has MORE fun trying than I do! :)



Thursday, November 17, 2011

AEDM Day 17-Another Journal Made!

Daphne, I think, is the name of the woman I learned coptic stitching from and her video is easy to see and follow. This is the link
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXdK74_SCZQ&feature=related . The first few seconds are a little wacky, but the instruction is good, and she lets you know that she's just learned this herself from another utube video.

Okay, those of you who saw my first attempt at doing the coptic stitching on the journal I shared in yesterday's post, who are familiar with this stitching, saw a glaring mistake. I knew I made boo boos, but didn't catch this one until this morning. There aren't supposed to be any long stitches on the cover. :o Luckily I had run out of thread in the middle of the first signature (last one sewed in) and had to splice it. So I took the stitching out that far back and fixed the mistake. I like the black stitching on the cover, but, unfortunately, the way I had it wasn't holding the cover securely to the signatures. It's good now. I'm learning. :)

I made another journal 5 1/2" x 5 1/2" this morning, after watching the end of the video again. I used the bristol board covers that I messed up yesterday and salvaged enough for the covers for this one. This time I cut up a sheet of watercolor paper that I had been swiping excess paint on and glued the pieces onto the covers instead of painting them. I used yellow ochre waxed linen thread for the stitching, I left the threads hanging out for a purpose, and here is the final book, ready to play in.



There are five signatures, with five sheets each folded, in this book. The middle signature is off white cardstock, and the other four are pastel colored parchment paper.


First page, ready to write or draw on. Plus, I had scraps of the painted watercolor paper to make two bookmarks to match the covers.


Both journals, with the stitching corrected on the larger one. See? No long black stitches on the cover! I got distracted just as I was finishing up yesterday, but that's no biggie. It was easily fixed. I LOVE making these and can see all sorts of possibilities.

I want to make a few more of these, then I want to try the Japanese stab binding. A whole new adventure!

1 comment:

Cynthia Hanna said...

I love your journals Sharon! I've been wanting to try my hand at making my own, and this tempts me even more :)