I am, once again, president of my local library association. Not what I wanted to do again, but circumstances required that I step up. One thing that I did was want people to read my newsletter/”Message from the President”. As an incentive, I offered a fabulous prize, which was a journal cover for a composition book.
Since I didn’t know if a woman or a man would win, I chose neutrals – mostly blacks and greys, but one piece had that great orange triangle, so I used it as a centerpiece. I wasn’t excited about making something with those colors, but I am pleased with the way it came out.
SLA Journal Cover -open
I picked the winner and now just have to get it to that person.
My blue scrap drawer is finally showing some signs of having some space available. I have been piecing blue scraps together, as I mentioned the other day, in between working on the Red Scribbles quilt. I finally had enough to make a journal cover, so I decided to stop and make a journal cover. I need a quick finish fix and there are more blue scraps for a Color Improv donation quilt.
Blue Improv Journal Cover – inside front cover
As also mentioned, I hadn’t thought of this as a journal cover, so the piecing is pretty random. I didn’t center any motifs for the front. This is for an older journal just to protect the pages, so it looks ok for that purpose.
As I did this piecing, I wanted to save any strips I found for more of the Color Strip donation blocks (quilts). I don’t know if I will find enough to make another quilt. If not, I can make a few blocks for the rainbow strip donation quilt I am planning.
Blue Improv Journal Cover – back
Though I am making space in the drawer there are still a lot of scraps. The scraps still fill the drawer, but are not crammed in. There is hope, in other words, that I will have enough strips for something else-blocks or a quilt.
I am trying to use scraps that are smaller than 4.5 inch strips, because of the possibility mentioned above. This means that there are a lot of small scraps becoming larger slabs until they end up as a journal cover. It feels good to see the blue drawer emptying out.
I forget how much I like some of the fabrics I have used until I see a scrap. I know I always say that there is always more fabric. I do get attached to fabrics I like and want to email the fabric companies too reprint them when I find a scrap and know it is out of print.
Blue Improv Journal Cover -top
I had a problem (or my own making) with this journal cover. It is slightly too large. By the time I noticed, I wasn’t about to rip everything out into order to trim it.
I thought the slab was the correct size, but I think I forgot to think about seam allowance for the last bit of piecing. Oh well. Things happen.
I have a favorite dress that was made for DH’s Grand President events. It is the one dress for which I forgot to make a matching cell phone wallet. I have used others, thinking they looked ok, but I like the matching ones.
I still wear these dresses when I go to certain types of events, so this project was sort of on my list. One problem was that I didn’t have anymore of the fabric and it was so old I couldn’t get anymore. At the January CQFA Mini-Retreat, I saw Marie with some of the fabric and asked her if she had more. She found a little more than a FQ and gave it to me. The fabric has been languishing since then. I was on the phone for an extended call and decided that was a good time to start cutting out the piece.
I didn’t have enough of the fabric for the whole thing so I used an AGF solid pink I really like. The outside will match the dress.
I have a number of the Miquelrius journals** without covers. I want to make covers; I just haven’t gotten around to it. This week I got around to making one.
After making Frolic!’s back, I had some large-ish pieces leftover. I decided that one was large enough to make a journal cover.
After I started, I found that I had run out of flannel. I use the flannel for the interior instead of batting, because it is thinner. Since I won’t be carrying this journal around, I don’t need to worry about the feel of it in my hand, so I just used two pieces of fabric.
I thought about using ShapeFlex, but it is out of stock everywhere and I didn’t want to use it up on a journal cover if I can’t get more at a reasonable price.
Using two pieces of fabric seems wrong somehow and makes me wonder why I think journals need covers. When I am using a Miquelrius journal every day I carry it around. I know that the cover corners can be sharp. Having a cover keeps me from getting cut. Also, having a cover keeps prying eyes away. If I am not really using these journals on a daily basis because they are full, do I need covers. Need? Clearly: no. I think I just want them all to be the same. I guess I’ll have to think about that some more.
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I was ironing fabric the other day and looked up to see my journal covers staring back at me. I had been thinking about making a journal cover from some leftover fabric from the Frolic! back and the journals on the shelf caught my eye. They sit on a shelf at about eye level. Since I have cleared off some of the books on my shelves, I can see things I didn’t see before.
Looking at these journal covers has made me think about beauty and fabric. I am much more careful now about choosing fabrics to purchase. Some of the fabrics above reflect some, if not poor, ill advised combinations of poor fabric choices. Something appealed to me about the fabrics, but the combinations and how they appear on the shelf do not all appeal.
I don’t plan to remake the journal covers, but I do plan on paying more attention to how the new ones come out. I have several that need covers and journal covers are a good use of scraps.
This is part of the process. I probably made the covers I no longer like a long time ago. I have evolved in my color choices and the way I put colors together since then. I also realized that I can see these journal cover, so I need them to be pretty. I need to take more care in choosing fabrics.
I use a medium gridded Leuchtturm journal now, so I don’t need journal covers. I still like the Miquelrius journals. I plan to use up the blank journals I have and to make journal covers for them. I find that the Leuchtturms fit in my purse and seem more compact. I can also put a spine sticker on them saying which month is contained within.
As mentioned, I have been working with red scraps. As I dived into the drawer, I found several pieces of fabric that had already been made from scraps.
Since I have a few Miquelrius journals that need covers, I decided to use some of the scraps to make a journal cover. It was fun to look at all of the made fabric and decide which pieces to use. I felt like I was picking out commercial fabric. It was nice to have a choice.
Red journal cover closed – May 2019
Because I had already done the hard work of making the fabric, I just had to make the piece large enough to fit the journal. (Sizing info can be found in the journal covers tutorial). It went really quick, which was great, because I was in need of a quick finish. I am pleased with the chair print on the front as well as the disbursement of dot fabrics.
Red journal cover front open – May 2019
I use flannel instead of batting for the center of the journal covers. It gives the cover a little bit of body, but doesn’t make it bulky. I’d like to just use ShapeFlex, but it doesn’t stick very well to made fabric because of all the seams. If I am using a favorite commercial fabric and there aren’t a lot of seams, then I will use ShapeFlex.
Red journal cover back open – May 2019
I always cover the batting the another cotton fabric, but I forgot to do that this time, so the flannel serves as batting and backing. It is on the inside and doesn’t show much, so I think it will be ok. I haven’t been carting my journals around as much as I have in the past, so I think the flannel will stay clean. I am glad, however, this is just for me. I think I will need to read the tutorial again before I make the next one.
My friend had a birthday yesterday. I have been telling her – well strongly suggesting that writing in a journal would help her work out some issues. Thus, this is my “put your money where your mouth is” gift to her.
I rummaged through my white scrap bin to make this journal cover. I was going for cheerful and light to counteract the grey weather we have been having. I really tried hard to get that castle fabric (upper left) on the front, but didn’t quite make it.
Gerre’s Journal Cover with front cover open
Since I have been making Gerre a few things recently with the ice cream fabric, I wanted to include some in this journal cover as well. I put it on the inside as it didn’t go very well with my light and cheerful look.
Gerre’s Journal Cover with back cover open
I haven’t made a journal cover in a while. The last one was dark blue and made in 2017. I have been sing a different kind of journal that doesn’t work with these covers, thus I haven’t needed a new one. I still like these Miquelrius journals. They have great paper and ink dries on it quickly. I am just more enamored with the Leuchtturm journals at the moment. I like hte rounded edges and the colors. The Leuchtturm journals also fit in my handbag, which is an added bonus.
Gerre’s Journal Cover back cover
I had fun putting this cover together. I used a number of scraps from the EPP half hexie project and even some scraps from the City Sampler.
I had a hard time sewing it as there were so many seams along the edge, so I ripped the last seams out a couple of times. It isn’t perfect, but I hope she won’t notice. That edge is tricky.
I did get a nice compliment from Angela who has used the journal cover tutorial to make covers for other types of journals. She said it was her favorite journal cover tutorial. 🙂
Gerre’s Journal Cover -whole cover, open and face down
I have to admit to using Leuchtturm journals lately instead of my favorite Miquelrius journals. The Leuchtturm journals are slim and fit in my handbag with all my other stuff. They don’t need covers. I couldn’t figure out why I was leaning away from the Miquelrius journals.
Finally, I realized, on Sunday when I needed a new journal because I had finished the old one what the problem was. I didn’t have any Miquelrius journals with the journal covers already made. As you may have guessed, I like to put journal covers on the Miquelrius journals, because the corners of the covers tend to poke me. I looked back and found that the last journal cover I made was the Orange Soda Journal Cover back in November (November seemed to be a good month for me). That was at least two journals ago.
I actually had a journal cover partially made. I hadn’t really worked on it in a few weeks. It occurred to me that it be an entry in the BAMQG scrap challenge. The donation blocks were giving me a bit of trouble (decision making not sewing), so it was an easy choice to switch projects. I used the journal cover pieces and parts as leaders and enders while I worked out my donation block issues.
Journal covers are not difficult (tutorial is posted -sizes are for the Miquelrius journals). The time consuming part is the mosaic piecing. Of course you can make the cover out of one piece of fabric for an even quicker and easier version. I rarely, if ever, do that, however.
Dark Blue Journal Cover
Frequently, I start pulling out fabrics and stick to certain values in that one scrap drawer. I am not sure which fabric pieces I started with, but the first fabrics often set the tone for the entire piece. This one is a little darker than I usually like. I do like the monochromatic look, however, so I stuck with the darker blues.
Dark Blue Journal Cover – other side
I haven’t decided which side to use as the front. Since I don’t need it immediately, I don’t have to decide for at least three months.
I had some issues with the filling. I have been using flannel, but am just about out. I had some leftover bits of fusible fleece, so I stuck those to the back of the pieced front and filled the rest in with flannel scraps. Some parts are fluffier than I like, but it works and the project is done.
I started another journal cover with turquoise. Stay tuned.
I have been in desperate need of leaders & enders lately. The crisis has passed since I got my order of Northcott Colorworks charm squares, though before it did a lot of weird pieces were sewn.
Orange Soda Journal Cover (closed)
I had some orange scraps that I had started to sew together, so I continued to sew and turned it into a journal cover. It is along the same lines as the Orange Crush journal cover and the scraps may have been from that piece.
I am really pleased with how this one came out. The front cover is really well placed. The scraps aren’t too small, which always causes finishing issues. It is also bright and cheerful. I need bright and cheerful right now.
I found a piece of pieced fabric when I was rummaging through stuff recently. The piece was about the right size for a journal cover. Over the weekend, last weekend, I did a bunch of small projects. Making this journal cover was one of them.
I am not sure for what this piece of made fabric was intended. I hope I don’t come across a note saying I needed it for X project or Y quilt. C’est la vie.
SIL #2 observed that the fabric combination looked like an adult coloring book. It does, but a mad version!
B/W Journal Cover Open
The strips were relatively even and bordered with the jester’s diamond check. I had to cut most of the diamond check off to make the journal fit. As it was I cut off a bit too much and the fit is snug. Fortunately, with cotton, it will stretch a bit.
I was working on something else at the same time and had magenta thread in the machine. I thought it would be great to use for this, because the piece is so stark. I thought a little color would enhance the whole project.
B/W Journal Cover Open – thread nest
What the bold color choice highlights is the big wad of thread that happened as I was trying to sew over several seams. Bleah. I unsnarled the thread nest at Craft Night. The journal cover is finished and will be ready when I finish the dot journal.
B/W Journal Cover – Open
You can see a little bit of the tightness on the inside cover. Still, this journal cover, even with its ridgy bump on the front will be an interesting change from my current journal.
I was working on another project that required a different foot than the quarter inch foot. This made my ability to sew donation patches together with any precision limited. I turned to an idea I had since I made my last journal cover. I had hoped that the CVZ/Paris Journal cover would be more of an exploration of low volume prints with just one bright spot. It didn’t quite work out as I intended. I kept thinking on how to do it differently.
Dot Journal Cover
With these two constraints, I started sewing dot fabrics together. I was very strict with myself on the background and the fabric. I stuck to dots on bright white. I think I avoided any creams or ivory backgrounds.
Dot Journal Cover and Back
I was also very strict with myself on getting to the right size (top to bottom)- remember I use the Miquelrius journal #4— and then not being sentimental about cutting off nice bits of piecing. There is always more fabric, right?
Dot Journal inside
Finally, I used a fun print, that I probably won’t use for anything else, for the inside.
I am pleased to have finished something after so much work on the Food Quilt. This project is also very cheerful and I will need a new journal soon, so I am looking forward to using it.
Karen issued a challenge to use a piece of Carol Van Zandt fabric a few months ago. She gave out the FQs at a meeting and there were so many that almost everyone got one, even those of us who had no intention of doing the challenge. Fortunately, I received a color that I liked. As the weeks wore on, I decided that the least I could do was make a journal cover. I needed a new one anyway. I wanted to explore the low volume concept some more so I decided to use low volume fabrics with the CVZ fabric to make a journal cover. I did it as part of the sewing frenzy over New Year’s weekend.
CVZ / Paris Journal Cover
I like the journal cover, but am not as happy with it as I am with the Carpenter’s Wheel effort in low volume. Somehow I got derailed and the journal cover looks like I am trying too hard. Or something. I think I should have stayed with black and white rather than straying into grey and colors.
I used some of the leftover strips from the Paris One Hour Baskets, most markedly to fill in the space at the bottom. What do you think of the addition?
Still, I am resolved to make a lot of work and just have a few good pieces come out. This will function quite well.
CVZ / Paris Journal Cover – front cover
I tried adding in some other purple, but should have stuck to the Carol Van Zandt fabric to highlight it. Fortunately, it is bold enough that it does stand out.
CVZ / Paris Journal Cover – back cover
I tried to add interest here by turning one of the strips sets sideways.
CVZ / Paris Journal Cover – open
You can see the whole cover. The colorful ribbon fabric really doesn’t go and I wish I hadn’t added it. I have some CVZ fabric left and will try again with that.
Tomorrow is my only day at work before Thanksgiving until December 2. I am cooking for Thanksgiving and ‘need’ the prep time. I also need to go to the dentist and clean up the house and sew and laze around. The whole Grama thing has been really hard and even though I was off for a week at the end of October/beginning of November, I need more time off.
None of that is either here nor there, except that you should watch for the Pie Day photos that I will tweet out. I don’t know if you like it, but I always have fun tweeting Pie Day photos. I plan to make a pie for my mom’s priest who was awesome while my grandmother was sick. He was a great support to her and is a super nice guy.
So, two paragraphs in and no discussion of sewing. Let’s get to it. I made a second needle case. I couldn’t help myself. I needed to get it right. It still isn’t exactly right, but is much better. I did it last Sunday and then worked on the hand stitching on Monday night.
The problem this time is that I put batting in and I think I just don’t like batting for small accessories like this. I think batting should be in quilts and something thinner (not sure what yet) should be in journal covers and needle cases.
The changes I made to the pattern are:
Put ShapeFlex on all the major pieces. This gave it more body, but not quite enough to forgo the batting.
Machine sewed the ribbon on to the main outside piece right after adding the ShapeFlex to the fabric and then pinned it carefully out of the way
No binding; sewed around and then turned the whole thing
Stitched the top and the bottom of the pocket accent (directions say bottom only)
Needle Case #2 Open
This pattern really doesn’t take very long. I am going to Joann to see about some ShapeFlex sometime this week and may look for fusible flannel as well. I don’t know if there is such a thing, but I will look. Flannel might be sticky enough without the fusible.
Last week I mentioned using the trimmings from the edges of journal covers. I even showed one that I had in process. Here it is finished. After getting the right size, I sewed it together in about 10 minutes.
Yes, the numbers are upside down. I wanted to see them as I carried the journal around so that is how they came out. I have to admit that I think I like the numbers the best out of all of these fabrics (the gold hand-dye is not part of the line). Perhaps that print is what attracted me to the line in the first place?
If you want to make a journal cover, check out my directions.
Sometimes, very occasionally, my personal creative world and my professional world meet.
Books I Made 3/2013
This happened a few weeks ago when the social committee of one of the organizations to which I belong scheduled an outing to the San Francisco Center of the Book. Of course, it was a week where a thousand things were happening and I almost cancelled. I am glad I didn’t, though, because it was a great class and it got me moving in the direction of bookmaking, like the Red, Purple, Well Done and Good Job journals, again.
Until it is in Flame
Not every participant had arrived, so I took some time to look at the exhibit on display. I don’t remember the name of the exhibit, but the books all looked like they had hidden messages.
The piece, Until it is in Flame, is by Beau Beausoleil and Andrea Hassiba. While I do not like the burned and destroyed book, I do like the way a part of the book is hollowed out. The space could hold additional artworks, messages or other books. It makes me think of how to do this sort of idea in the structure of the books I make, but it also makes me wonder whether I should.
Healing Wounded Words
Healing Wounded Words is a piece about the power of words by Marina Salmaso, a Danish artist from KØbenhavn. I find this piece to be very light, but the words and the red are not boring. I also like the format.
You really have to click the photos to see them larger. The thumbnails don’t do them justice.
Exhibit
Another exhibit was in another room and it was equally as intriguing as the one in the main room.
I really like the variety of different bindings and different types of books. It was so fun to learn how make a few of them.
My Favorite Binding
Rhianna, the instructor, passed around lots of different types of books with different bindings. We did 4-5 separate books and bindings. Of course when I saw the binding on the green book, I immediately thought it would make a fantastic journal binding.
Guess what?
This book was a teaser for another class! I really want to take that class so I can learn how to make the binding. If I made it I can decide whether I can translate the binding/bookmaking type into fabric.
Inside of My Favorite Binding
From the inside, this binding looks like it would hold a lot more pages than the other types of bindings we learned.
It also looks like one could see some of the fabric through the binding.
Type cases
The San Francisco Center for the Book is a great place. It is in a hip, up and coming neighborhood that still has a bit of grit with their Whole Foods.
Type case label
There are a lot of interesting things to look at in the facility and it is light and airy as well. The exhibits I looked at were two in a series of ongoing exhibits.
If you are making a trip to San Francisco and want to get off the Fisherman’s Wharf-Ghirardelli Square-Cable Car beaten path, you might want to check out the San Francisco Center for the Book.
