Blank pages from Remain of the Day journal #2

These pages are sewn into the cover and ready for collage-style journaling.

I am striving for balance...

...but I just had to do a journal page.

A new journal cover, thanks to Mary Ann Moss!

Mary Ann's Remains of the Day journals, are a lot of fun to make.  I went out to the studio intending to clean up the scraps and effluvia from the making of the first ROD journal, but...the scraps jumped over to the sewing machine, and look what happened.  

This is the outside of the cover.

Inside cover.

The back, closed.

Front cover, tied closed.

Yeah, I know I don't have time for stuff like this right now, but I did about 7 hours of schoolwork today, don't I deserve some fun?  

Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat.

My friend Rachel is working on this little tiny bead embroidery...

She started with the interesting inlaid mother-of-pearl piece, and it has taken on a life of its own. I love the way she's blended the black/gray and purple/red. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Messing about. Not studying.

Colored pencils and watercolors are still my favorites. I finished my paper, so I gave myself permission to do the rest of the reading, LATER!

The last hurrah

So, I'm going to my first class of the semester, tonight at 7pm, and I have a feeling this will be the last bead project for a while. Boo hoo. I revised the aqua blue bracelet and made it narrower, with a bead embroidered button for a toggle.

I should not be allowed to sew after 10pm

I was inspired by Mary Ann Moss and her Remains of the Day journals. She uses recycled paper and fabric of all kinds, and mixes it all up together. This process appealed to the recovering perfectionist in me, so last night I went into Guerrilla-Sewing-Mode. No Rules, no Thinking, Just Do It.  It was a blast, but I really should not sew after 10pm. I brilliantly sewed the snap to the wrong side of the cover. Then, sewed it into the right position on the book, but upside down so it wouldn't snap. Then, I sewed it on and cleverly sewed the book shut at the same time. I am now the Queen of Unsewing.

This is the outside cover, all scraps, with fast messy free-motion stitching.

I started gluing and sewing things in it, and lots of the recycled papers that form the pages already have words and pictures. (This is why I've been saving all that stuff!)(Eureka!)

Guerrilla stitching, and a scrap of a colored pencil drawing I did in the last century. New motto: If it's loose, sew it down.

Attitudinal label covering the messy (but liberating) snap stitching. I start school tomorrow. I'm going to miss all the playtime I've had over the last month.

He knows he looks good

Buddy is such a poser. He sits where he knows he'll get the best photo op. This quilt pattern is called Java Twist. I did two versions of it for Quilts of Valor. (They got washed before sending!) I now work in the cat-free studio.

It's still snowing, and I'm quietly stitching away

I'm ever so proud of myself for learning peyote stitch (gourd stitch). Been meaning to try this for awhile, but I guess I just had to wait for the right snowstorm. This is the newest bracelet. It's quite gaudy and bright.