Making journal covers

Well, I'm madly making or prepping samples for my adventures, which start again next week. This time, it's all about the Husqvarna Viking DESIGNED EPIC 3. 

At the convention, we made components of a journal cover as we learned the various new features, but they needed to be assembled. Of course, I had to change the assembly method a wee bit. I have a great way to make a journal cover that doesn't require hand stitching to close it up! Here's a link to my tutorial. 

That tutorial will explain how to make a journal cover for ANY-sized book. I used solid pieces of fabric in the tutorial, but you can go wild and use whatever you want! Old orphan blocks, hand embroidery, machine embroidery, piecing, machine techniques, and so much more!! Hey -- Christmas is coming, and journal covers are a great gift!!

Here's the front of the journal cover -- there are many techniques included in the journal cover, including using the projection for embroidery and stitching, as well as a new technique called - oh gosh -- the technique name escapes me. Oh -- it's called guided pictograms. 

The front of the journal cover

There are some stitches created using the Stitch Creator. 

The inside flap is decorated using Stitch Creator

The floating stitches are used for construction and decoration! 

The journal back assembled with floating stitches

To top it off, I used the Quilt Binder - the original one to bind the inside edges. That is NOT new to the Designer EPIC 3, but it's a tool I should use more. OK -- so the assembly was NOT done on the DESIGNER EPIC 3, as I do NOT have one! 

Using the Quilt Binder to bind the edges of the flap

I will be honest that sometimes I struggle with the Quilt Binder, but yesterday -- everything worked beautifully. Of course, it did -- the other times, it was operator error! 

Look at the front of the binding. 

The front of the binding is beautiful!

And how about the back? Every stitch caught, which has been my biggest issue. 

The back is equally beautiful 

That was done in ONE pass, and I'd be happy to use that on any project. It took seconds to set up the quilt binder and then a minute to add the binding to the two edges. OK -- so I'm going to use it for even more stuff. You know what they say - the more you use it, the better you get at it! 

Oh, and here's one more picture of the inside front flap with a pocket, which you can't see. 

The inside flap

I have stuff laid out for more sample-making today, but I also have homework that has to be prepared for the weekend, and this stuff will take some time to figure out! There'll be none of this jumping up in the morning and prepping it in one hour. This will require peace and quiet!

The little guy dressed up for Halloween and took his job quite seriously by guarding the front window for most of the day. I did have to take him upstairs when the kids started to go around as they were making tons of noise, and he wouldn't stop barking. I confess we haven't handed candy out for a couple of years. These girls get too riled up, and it's not worth the hassle. 

Little Bat Dog - on guard! 

But even Bat Dog needs to eat from time to time. 

Bat Dog taking a break

When I went out for my walk, I managed to cover three errands in one shot. Got a new bird feeder and some suet. Stopped by the local pet shop to get treats for the girls and the boy. Can you tell me why I NEVER stop at that local pet shop? No -- I get in the car and drive to the chain! Well, shoot -- I forgot to check if they sell my brand of dog food - I don't think they do, but I can also stop there for treats. And then to the grocery store to get bananas. 

As I was working yesterday, I realized I have some samples that need sprucing up in their presentation. That got me thinking, so I pulled some photo mat board from a cupboard. Shoot -- it's too big. I wanted to walk to the mall, but it was getting late, so I'll walk there today to see what I can find. 

When I took the garbage out, I almost had a heart attack. DH piles his empty beer cans in old recycling bins in the garage until the bins overflow and then returns the cans. But imagine my horror when I spot one of my GOOD bags filled with empties? ICK!!!!! Of course, I told him I wasn't happy. That bag has a lining, and it will stink of beer. 

WHAT???

He took the cans yesterday, and sure enough, the bag stinks of beer. It's getting fainter, but still. Could he not use a grocery bag? There are times when men - well, they just don't think! I made the mistake of showing him where I stored the reusable bags in the basement. Good lord! He could have picked one of the cheap bags! Or a washable one! 

And this was my computer yesterday. It sometimes gets to a point, and well -- it just doesn't work. Now, this could be helped by more memory, but it's also my work habits, which is that I rarely close windows and will have multiple HUGE presentations open, plus other memory-hungry programs. I'm lucky that it works as well as it does! 

Restarting

The program I have the most issue with, believe it or not, is Outlook for e-mail. That thing needs lots of memory, or so it seems. Sometimes, all I have to do is restart that program, but other times, I need to restart the computer! All is well, and I only have two windows open at this point - one of which is the blog, which I always close when I'm done!

I'm off to spin class this morning. I'm not sure I should be going, so I'll decide when I get there. I may just do my own thing on a bike, but not in the class. Yesterday was the first day I didn't take any cold/flu medication, and I feel a bit stuffy! That Benylin Day/Night really made a difference in the way I felt last week! 

Well, I must get my butt in gear and out the door and then back because there's a lot to accomplish! But I'm happy to say I'm well along the road to recovery. I just do not want to overdo it!!!

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!