Today was the day of the book binding course with Angela James at the Joe Cornish Gallery in Northallerton.

I had been looking forward to this for a while now and really hoping that it would go ahead as the other one I had booked on in Newcastle was cancelled as I was the only one to book.

There was a really lovely group of people to work with and Angela set two projects that were achievable in a day.

A simple(ish) book using one sewn signature with a glued cover to hide the stitching, this was good as though I have books on stitching a signature, actually seeing it done and having someone to help you through it clarified what I had been reading. I felt that this book went well and was really happy with the end product.

After making this we broke for lunch in the new cafe at the Joe Cornish Gallery for a lovely salad and cake.

The afternoon project was harder as it was sewing several signatures onto a piece of vellum/suede. I kept getting the tension wrong and the book has ended up really loose, but since I have the tools at home I thought I could unpick the stitching and sew it back later, and maybe use this as a practice piece until I feel confident in making this type of book.

The course was really worth the wait and I’m really looking forward to getting on and making some more of my own books.

originally published 25/5/13