Journal Cover #1

New ideas tend to consume me. When the idea for making a Journal Cover that you could stitch on first came to me, I needed it done NOW! Pronto! Vite! Immediately!

I grabbed whatever I had on hand and started stitching this easy, fast, and colorful design so that I could move quickly into testing the construction of the Cover.

The grey material is a heavy linen that I have literal yards of from that time I thought I'd just make a new slip cover for the couch! (The couch that we subsequently donated.) The weight of the fabric would be good for a Journal Cover that will get some wear in my daily life.

I picked up any color of floss that "spoke to me" in the moment and did a line of running stitch up the 'hinge' area of the Cover.  I even threw in a line of Chain Stitch every once in a while.

The only other embellishment I made on this one was to circle the spot on the back of the Cover where the elastic cord that keeps everything closed comes out. 

Inside, I wanted something that would be interesting to look at when the notebooks are open on my desk (as they most often are.) This was a scrap of upholstery-weight fabric from Amy Butler's Midwest Modern. 

What did I learn?

So much! You always learn a lot on the first prototype. I adjusted the width of both the front flap and the flap that tucks under it. I also realized I hadn't quite lined up the stitching evenly on the hinge areas. To fix that, I added more illustrations to the Instructions to help with 'orientation'. 

I didn't use this Cover for very long. As soon as I made my next, new and improved model this one was relegated to the shelf... waiting on it's place in the MoHo Museum (ha!)

Still, it's an easy, colorful, and relatively quick design for a Journal Cover.  Five Stars-- Would recommend!