Kangxi Binding

So I just got this great new book, Japanese Bookbinding; Instructions from a Master Craftsman by Kojiro Ikegami, (see my book shelf at the bottom of the page) and decided to try out some of the bindings in the book. My first one is the Kangxi binding. Similar to the basic four hole binding, except for the decorative stitches at the corners.

Instead of using a traditional soft cover, I decide to kill two birds with one stone and made a photo album for Audrey. So the covers are hard - book board covered in an Italian book cloth - with paste downs of a gorgeous letterpress printed paper that I found at the Paper Source.

More Coptic Stitch

Here is another book I made using the coptic stitch. This time I used a card stock for the covers. For this particular one, I letterpress printed the image of "Johnny Appleseed" from an old cut I found in the studio at UW. If you don't have access to a letterpress shop, stamps are great for decorating your book covers and are much easier and faster than covering boards!

Coptic Stitch

Here are some books that I made using the Coptic Stitch. According to Wikipedia, the coptic binding method was developed by early Christians in Egypt and was used from the 2nd century AD until the 11th century (see complete article here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_binding )

These books are covered in book cloth that I made myself. The one on the far left is made from a vintage 1940's silk tie and the other two are a 100% cotton quilting fabric (which I think works best).

I like to use the Coptic binding because it is a quick and easy way to bind lots of pages together. It is great for making your own note books or journals. Check under THIS AND THAT for Coptic Stitch directions and other good bookbinding sites and resources.

Audrey's first food

Audrey is now four months old! Time to start introducing solid food, which we tried today. We started with a table spoon of organic rice cereal mixed with four tablespoons of formula. I say tried because she spat most of it out, and was more interested in the spoon than the food on it. But it was hilarious to watch. Better luck next time. . .

Blogging newbie

My "bindery" - AKA the dining room

Sooo. . . .I'm new to this blogging thing, it will be interesting to see how it all works out.

Anyhoo, I thought I'd start a blog dedicated to all my printing and book making adventures, as well as some Audrey updates for those of you who are interested.

Since I don't have an actual press, I do most of my work at home. As you can see, I've taken over the dining room and converted it into a bindery/sewing room. Who needs a dining table when you have a perfectly good kitchen counter. Besides, you burn more calories standing up!