introduction to book arts: bookbinding (two)

We made our first humbling attempts at Japanese stab-stitch binding, and since the awls were cattywampus, as the instructor said, and my thumbs were destroyed before I realized I was trying to press-and-wiggle them into the protective book board underneath.  The stark red cover was also unforgiving; a patterned one might hide a little of the stray lines.

Meryl's artists book will use this binding, which is appropriate, not only for the convenience of the paper orientation and printing, but also because this binding will allow for a sexy drape, which will not only invite touch but will evoke the line of the body at rest.

Our second book was The Big Project:  tape binding.  We used a punching jig, or punching cradle, and a template for the punches, which made the task seem smoother than it perhaps was.  Of what we've learned thus far, I have developed a shy crush on the unassuming pamphlet stitch.  Please, please ignore my five-year-old technique in cutting the cover above.  

We also made a charmingly small dos-a-dos book at the close of the evening, and while cutting, I discovered someone had printed on the back of my ruler.  The poem--Alice--