a very small book or two

in which our plucky heroine revisits bookbinding ...

Back when I returned to college, I spent quite a bit of my time learning book arts, not as my major subject which was enameling and metalwork, but as my avocation and for a short time my campus job. I volunteered, (and worked, for the one term I had work/study aid) in the campus bindery, where the library books were repaired and refurbished. I had the very great good fortune to work with John Crosby, who was incredibly generous in sharing his years of knowledge and skills, and indeed, I may have learned more there than in my formal classes. (Sadly, he retired a few years after I graduated, and the college decided to no longer fund the bindery but instead to discard damaged books) The skills I learned there, like riding a bicycle, will stay with me life long to call on as needed.

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time in the tinyworld:

This month I have sponsored a challenge in the SCA Miniaturists FB group, with the theme being "heraldic display"... I was hoping to inspire folks to use their SCA heraldry to create interesting tiny artifacts as pagentry knows no size limits. As the sponsor, I am not entering the challenge myself, but wanted to create items for the inhabitants of Tansu Terrace, who have their own tiny SCA lifestyle. The camp banner was my first personal effort, but I thought that for a prize for the winner, a miniature book would be have a wider appeal

This is the finished sample book I made first, to be sure that my ideas would work out... I painted my personal heraldry on the cover. Book is just over 1" x 1.25", the white horse is about 1/4" wide, and the acorn sprigs are 1/8" wide.

I began by creating sets of signatures, and piercing them for sewing, then stitching them onto raised hemp cords. Today I attached them to cover boards, which I made from two layers of Bristol paper. I pierced holes in the outer layer, ran the hemp cords through the holes, glued it in place on the outside, and trimmed and frayed the cord on the inside in order to have it be as flat as possible. I then glued a second layer of Bristol on the inside, for a double thick cover. While this isn't quite how actual medieval binding was done, it seems to give a similar effect.

Once the cover boards were attached, I then used some Cansons art paper as the outer cover, taking some time to smooth it in place around the hemp cords holding the book block together to show off the dimensional effect. The next step was to add the end papers, and I found a scrap of marbled paper that seemed suitable. There are 22 blank pages in the finished blank book

Painting my heraldry on the cover of the sample book was rather challenging, given the very small size of the space allotted. I first put down a layer of white acrylic gesso, and then began to use blue and white acrylic craft paint to create the image. I blocked in the location of the white horse and the acorns, then filled in the blue field, and finally added the details that turned my painting from blobs into a horse and three acorn sprigs.

This is the other blank book, with a blank shield waiting for heraldry of the winner of the heraldic display challenge

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August SMART goals (x=extra)

#	THINGS MADE	THINGS FIXED	THINGS GONE
1	Kestrel apron	ironing cart	yard waste bin
2	tiny armchair	shims for molding	recycle bin
3	tiny plate rack	tub trim added	ancient printer
4	four hair snoods	pruned quince + plum	yard waste bin
5	snood and pillow	added bathroom hooks	recycle bin
6	indigo tiger dress	worm bin refreshed	x
7	tiny fairy book	bathroom wall touch-up	x
8	tiny Viking flag	spinny Wellington	x
9	tiny blank book	x	x
10	tiny blank book	x	x
11	x	x	x
12	x	x	x
13	x	x	x
14	x	x	x
15	x	x	x

today's gratitude - several years ago my Sekrit Santa Swap gift was a lovely small sable travel paintbrush, and it remains my best and favorite paintbrush to this day...

Time of Isolation - Day 922