I have a sewing machine and up until now I haven’t done much with it. Sure I had stitch up the hems of almost all my pants and perhaps even a few books. As such I didn’t do much with it, it literally collected dust in the basement.

Last week I had some hemming and patching to do (damn favorite jeans always ripping out!) so I set up my machine, and lazily left it out.

Last night I stared at it for awhile, stared at my pile of hedgehog leftovers and stared at my pad of Strathmore renewal in black; and the thought formed in my head that perhaps I could make my own cahier style note book, which I think is referred to as a cicada on the hedgehog list. I’ not sure I’ll call mine that. But it’s a simple machine stitched notebook with 60 pages with a black card stock cover. That’s it simple and sweet.

I’ll post some pictures later, I didn’t take any, but these were so simple to make I couldn’t believe it when my sewing machine slipped through the paper like it was butter, no matter how many sheets I tossed under it.

I plan on making these with my usual assortment of papers and with black covers, later I’ll move onto other colors. Just think, these could come in a rainbow of colors; any color that card stock, canson, or scrap booking paper comes in. The possibilities are endless. I’ll be doing 50 pages pocket sized in a 3 pack, for an undetermined price. I’ll figure out other details today.

Here’s a quick disclaimer: I am using an extra heavy-duty needle, one you would use for hemming jeans or the like. I DO expect that it will dull VERY quickly on the paper. I’m thinking of how often I change blades in my exacto and it’s often.