I’ve been working on getting a backstock on my ebay line of journals for the last couple of weeks. So far I’ve completed 9. I have 3 more covers to go and i’ll have 12, freeing me up to work solely on the Pastor’s order. I just bought another distressed hide and I’ve got perhaps 3 more black hides coming. I’ve got a cove that I discovered hidden in a drawer from the first hide I ever bought- I had cut a small journal sized cover and backed it with really cool black and white fabric, I’d alsopaired it with paper and a thong and tossed the whole thigns in a ziploc and then hide it away on a drawer. Well i found it and I can’t wait to bind it. It’s goat hide, stiff and smooth, strangely enough, it still smells like leather! Got to love ziploc.

Anyway the journal that I’ve got here, is a distressed sheep hide backed with this wonderful handmade paper printed with I’m not sure what the writing is? Arabic maybe? I cut a series of slots on the spine and sewed it with the long stitch and then went back through and added Xs.

I though I might take a moment and explain whythe Xs. When signatures are sewn to the spine through slots and not alternated sometimes the slots that aren’t sewn down gape and are unsightly. I find it happens more on soft leather backed with softer, washi style papers. I’d have expected it with other paper- stiff rattley papers. The Xs serve to hold the cover spine to the spine of the book block elminating that unsightly gape. Not to mention it looks pretty cool. I’m thinking of toying with some other patterns to eliminate the gape.

Anyway, for whatever reason this cover came out really nice, the threads aligned themselves exactly where they should, very little unevenness and well spaced across the spine. I think I’m geting better with sewing to slots. After all for how long did I sew into stations only?

Anway, this is one of my favorite journals as of late.