Retreat

These four books are now in my shop. They were a lot of fun to make. The two larger books I'm calling "scrapbooks," since they have a wide spine and "spacers" which are narrow pieces of cardstock included in each fold of the paper that allow space for photos and other scrapbook type stuff so the book doesn't bulge too much from added media. These books are still great for journaling, don't get me wrong. The spacers also add a little colorful element to the design.

I got quite a bit of work done this weekend at a "quilt" retreat in Forest City, IA organized by my mother-in-law. It was fun. I was the only one without a sewing machine, which made me feel sad as I don't have much time for quilting, but it was WONDERFUL to have a day to work on books. Hubby took care of the baby...I mean toddler...with my bro-in-law, nephew, and father-in-law. Phew, that's a lot of hyphens. I did some experimenting with coptic binding. I'll post pics of the three books I finished at the retreat soon and describe their coptic nature at that point. It was a revelation for me that I can bring my book gear on the road and work other places. There's something about quilting/crafting retreats that is so motivating, all the creative energy in the rooms keeps growing and growing and everyone gets super focused. I can't wait until the next one in March.