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Thursday, November 18, 2010

This and That Thursday

I am happy and proud to tell you that I did actually make a coptic bound journal yesterday using the covers from an old book that I showed you in the last post. It took several hours and there was a point at which I almost had a total meltdown. The coptic stitch is such a pleasure to sew, all except the covers. The covers are for me extremely difficult, mostly the final cover. The hubster returned just as I was beginning the back cover - his timing couldn't have been worse. I made a mistake on the first hole in the cover and so had to unthread the needle in order to pull the thread out.

Just then the phone rang - it was Tina, my friend from Marshall. She was on her way to USArtQuest and then to JoAnn's and Michael's and wanted to know if I wanted to meet her in town. Talk about saved by the bell!!!

I met Tina in town and rode with her to USArtQuest where we had a wonderful time. Sue Pickering Rothamel, owner and world renowned crafty person and author, was there having just returned from London. She is such a fun and talented person. She had new ideas to show us and was her usual warm and welcoming hostess, even though she was suffering from jet lag. I bought a selection of wonderful papers and a product called Cut-N-Dry, which is a stamp pad foam. Once I get a chance to play with it, I will tell you more about it.


Here is a picture of the papers I purchased. I intend to use them as endpapers in some of my repurposed books.




I spent a big chunk of my Calculus tutoring money, but that is what it is for after all.

We then drove over to JoAnn's where I picked up some webbing and some drawstring so that I can try some other bookbinding techniques. By the time we came out of JoAnn's it was getting dark and I had told the hubster I would be home for dinner, so Tina took me back to my car and I came home.

I wanted to clear off the table where all my bookbinding materials were, but I only had the last cover to connect so I told the hubster it should only take about five minutes and I got started. First I couldn't get the &@#* needle threaded and then when I thought all was well I looked inside the last signature only to find that when I sewed back into the inside, I hadn't gotten to the center of the signature, I was one page off. I had to unthread the needle to get the thread out and then it took even longer than the last time to get the &@#*@# needle threaded. After finally getting it threaded again I began again only to find a large knot inside the book because although I thought the needle was threaded one string hadn't gone through the hole and was smushing up against the needle. This meant that I had to unthread the needle in order to clean up this mess - ACK! Do you see and feel the frustration??? At any rate I finally got the final cover attached, but thought it was too tight. I carefully held it together and put it under a couple of heavy books overnight and voila! Here is what I have to show you:





I think I like it. It was definitely worth the hassle and I'm pretty sure that with practice I will get better at it. There are a couple of things I will do differently next time. For this book I chose a brushed heavy cardstock that I purchased at Hollo's paper store in Ohio (I'd love to find a store like that closer to home). While it makes a lovely journal, it was a bit heavier than I am used to using for any kind of handmade journal. I am also planning to purchase a needle with a little bigger eye so that I don't pull my hair out trying to thread it.

Meanwhile, I am going to try another method of bookbinding today and hope to have something to share with you tomorrow.

I have an appointment with the ophthalmologist eye doctor this morning and hope to find time later to walk the treadmill and make another book. 

I hope to see you tomorrow...

xoxo

22 comments:

  1. Love it...........good job~~~~~
    Gonna try one
    Cover is lovely
    Debby

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  2. Whew! Well, you stuck it out and finally got the book completed. And it looks to me like it was worth it Now all you need to do is fill it up with new art.

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  3. It is gorgeous! Great job on it ... I haven't attempted the Coptic stitch yet. so intimidating.... Kudos for you for doing it and so well!

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  4. Oh that is just gorgeous. I'd love to make one too. Got to admire you for your hard work.
    Purpleink1954

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  5. Coptic binding is easy once you get the hang of it. I've taken classes @ Hollander's and love that place. I have to remember HOW to coptic bind as I'll be teaching a class after the holidays. You did a great job and I know the feeling EXACTLY when "in a just a few" you'll be done only to be confounded with thread/needle issues and an occasional oops inside. Congrats, Vicki!!

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  6. Fabulous and we would never have imagined the angst associated with the lovely product. Can't wait to see your next one.

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  7. SO beautiful ! I must try and find how to do that technique or another very simple one (I've never tried bookbinding) as I've got some nice paper I'd like to turn into a sketchbook ! Yours is really nice!

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  8. Lovely work Vicki! Glad you toughed it out! Worth the wait!

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  9. Welcome to the world of bookbinding and all the tricks. You're discovering a few in one sitting, I bet this will never happen again. As for the needles, I found a set at the dime store, they call it Home Emergency pack, and they ALL have a huge eye. No more frustration. although good glasses help too. Good luck on your next books.

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  10. First off, I'm loving the alliteration in your titles. That said, I can commiserate with your frustration, but good for you for just knuckling down and finishing the #%@& thing! And, you not only finished it, it's lovely! Well done!! hugs, nancy

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  11. Wow! You have a lot of patience! I've thrown several sewing machines out in the trash, in my lifetime, after the thread got tangled or I made a mistake. I decided it would be better on my blood pressure, to just go to the store and buy things, ready made.
    Congratulations to you! I did have my students do some book binding and make their own sketchbooks when I was teaching. It was a nice project, but not my favorite thing to do.

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  12. I'm making a comment before I read what has already been made then I'll go back and read them---this entry makes me want to make my own sketch book and hope it comes out just half as good as yours--excellent job---I will no doubt have a set of frustrations to equal yours, tho :-)

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  13. Oh yah! It turned out stunning! I've been looking for a book like this for some journalling. I have no clue if you have an etsy shop or not but if you do can you send me the link? I'd love to check out more books you've made, you do beautiful work.

    limes.sweet(at)gmail(dot)com

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  14. BRAVO!!!!
    I only made 1 once in a class and a very small book!
    You should be pleased!!!!!!!!

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  15. I have no patience with fiddly, frustrating projects...several have gone to the trash, picture me running down the driveway with hair on fire! My last frustrating thing was making beaded bracelets strung with a type of thread with a tendency to kink up, trying to thread the needle resulted in a blue cloud of profanity. I took all the supplies that I had purchased and gave them to a woman who wanted to make bracelets...whew! Never again. Knowing how I can't deal with knots...I don't think bookbinding is for me.

    Your project is just stunning...good work!

    So, how late was dinner? HA

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  16. The book is gorgeous!! I love the cover.

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  17. Beautiful book!! And I love those papers up there. Which one did you put in this one?

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  18. So funny - I was just looking at a tutorial on youtube on coptic binding and want to try it out - honestly - it was worth it! your journal looks beautiful

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  19. I am sooooo impressed! This is beautiful and well worth all the effort you put into it!

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  20. So fun to see your coptic journal. I haven't made one in a while and I so miss it! Totally understand your frustration. I empathize. Nice to meet you via AEDM.

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