CAT FACE LEDGER REVIEW

What a fun project! If you missed this workshop, no worry as it was recorded and available to watch now. You will need the template and the written directions, so check the details in the newsletter. Many thanks go to Lara Cox for sharing her original design with us. When I first looked at the template with all the tiny dots for stitching holes I thought it would be almost impossible to stitch correctly, but Lara's patient instructions made it all work. Lara shared a website to help design stab bindings that she received from NORBAG member Caryn Lum. It looks like it could be a valuable site if you plan to design your own binding.

 https://nataliefreed.github.io/stab-bindings-designer/

Here are a few photographs of our Cat Face Ledgers

Michele Kamprath

Bonnie Julien

Margaret Beech

CAT FACE LEDGER

We will begin 2025 with a workshop to make a uniquely designed Japanese stab binding. Lara Cox will share her original design that features a cat's face in the stitching of the binding. Here is Lara's explanation of how she came up with this idea.

"I was inspired to create this stab binding pattern when I stumbled upon the work of two artists, Lori Forgues of Lbforgues Papercrafts and Becca of Becca Making Faces.

Both of these talented artists offer various Japanese Stab Binding tutorials online as well as encouraging you to go forth and make your own stab binding patterns. I like cats and after much brain twisting trial and error, I managed to make a cat face binding.

For this workshop we will be making a ledger shaped book with a single cat face binding. I will also touch upon how to make a double (or even multiple) cat face pattern for you to tackle in the future if you wish."

The "book" in this project is more like something that would be used to feature a poem or saying on a page rather than hold many pages. It would be an ideal gift for someone. Lara said "for the number of pages, I've done it this way because the binding is complicated enough as it is without folks having to struggle with lots of pages. During class I will have examples of this structure with more pages."

Materials:

Please have all the papers precut prior to the workshop. All papers (even for the covers) are 3" x 7" grain short.

• 2 pieces for the covers: cardstock, Mi-Teints, or similar weight decorative paper.
• 2 pieces for end papers: light weight decorative paper
• 2 pieces for the interior pages: text weight paper
• 8 feet of thread: embroidery thread or other of similar weight. Make sure your thread is a color that will stand out against your cover paper color so that the binding design will show up.

Tools:

• Sewing needle with a big enough eye for your chosen thread type
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Bone folder
• Ruler
• X-acto knife
• Bee's wax
• Awl
• 4 binder clips (1" size)
• Piece of foam core board or an old magazine. This is to place under your book when poking the holes for the binding.

You will be provided with the template for the binding pattern when you RSVP.

When?    Saturday, January 11 at 10 a.m. PST

Where?   On your computer, tablet or smartphone via Zoom

RSVP      To Dolores Guffey by January 6 to receive the password

Workshop Questions:  Lara Cox, lolastyle@hotmail.com

Zoom Questions:  Bobbie Hayes

Contact information is in the newsletter

Photos of May, 2016 Workshop - Basic Japanese Stab Binding by Lynne Gurnee

In May, Lynne Gurnée led our workshop in Basic Japanese Stab Binding.  We had in excess of 25 people. Lynne had us bring covers for two books and she provided pages with delightful haiku poems for one. We did two styles of stitching pattern. 

Two of the haikus:

Under the evening moon,

The snail

is stripped to the waist.

Don’t worry, spiders,

I keep house

casually.

Here are the pictures.

When we come into the room, it is empty. All of us set up tables and get ready.

Lynne had us start by folding our pages.

Then we gathered the pages and clipped them together.

And started stitching.

And stitching.

And these were the results.

Basic Japanese Stab Binding

Join Lynne Gurnee on May 14 for an afternoon making two small Japanese stab binding books. One will feature humorous haiku poems by Kobayashi Issa, and the other will be a simple "ledger book" which can be used as a purse notepad.

A fun historical note: in the Edo period (1603-1868) "completed ledgers were often strung together and tied with a long cord so that in case of fire --a common occurrence in crowded Japanese towns-- they could be flung into a nearby well and later retrieved without damage to either paper or ink" (source: Japanese Bookbinding, by Kojiro Ikegami, and available from the NORBAG library.

Materials to bring for the haiku book:

• 2 pieces 3 1/2" x 5 1/2" cardstock for covers, grain short
• Decorative paper 1 1/8" x 3" to glue on the front cover for decoration

Materials to bring for the ledger book:

• 4 sheets of 8 1/2" x 11" text weight paper, cut in half short ways resulting in eight 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" sheets
• 2 pieces of colored or decorative cardstock, 2 3/4" x 7 3/4" grain short, for the covers

Tools to bring:

• Scissors
• Pencil
• Cutting mat or magazine
• X-acto or craft knife
• Metal ruler
• Awl
• Needle for sewing
• Bone folder
• 2 small to medium binder clips
• Glue stick
• Bees wax (optional)
• Waste paper for gluing on
• Perle cotton or other strong binding thread (Lynne likes yarn for the ledger book--be sure to have a needle that is compatible with your thread choice)

When:     Saturday, May 14 at 12 noon

Where:    Eureka Methodist Church on Del Norte & F Streets

Cost:       $1.00

Bring:      See list above for tools and papers

RSVP:      Yes! by May 9 to Lynne Gurnee--see the newsletter for her contact information