A New Journal . . .



Two Needle Coptic Bound Journal



I have been keeping a journal for at least forty years.  They have been everything from cheap lined spiral notebooks (which I still use for "rough" writing), to blank page. hardbound artists' notebooks, and for the past few years, my own handbound journals.  My favorite book structure for a journal is coptic bound because the stitched binding allows the book to lie flat for easy writing.

For awhile I was having fun creating my "junk" journals -- using found covers, kraft packing papers and anything scrap that I could put together into book form.  These are some of my favorites.



Top to bottom, the covers for these coptic bound books are a Stash tea box, an art exhibit postcard, and a Sam's Cola carton.


Altho my junk journals are still my favorites, I decided that this time I was ready for a more "grown up" journal.  My new journal measures 6" x 9'', which is larger than I usually make.  The hard covers are Davey board covered with my own book cloth, made from some of my dye experiments on fabric and adhered to a strong Japanese paper with wheat paste.  The book cloth has a feel to it that is different from either the fabric or the paper, and covers the Davey board very smoothly.  The papers I used to wrap the signatures are my own papers made from a mix of abaca and plant fibers, with inclusions of gold leaf paper and dress pattern tissue.  I use a 4ply waxed linen thread for the binding.

Now I need a title page for my journal -- one that will express my intent for the part of my journey that this particular journal will encompass.  I love this quote by Henry David Thoreau:   "Never look back unless you are planning to go that way."  I will think about this today and see if something bubbles up for my journal title.