Long stitch journal

I spent the weekend taking Diana Trout's new on-line workshop "Longstitch, 2 Ways"

Here's the first book I made:

I've wanted to learn this bookbinding method for a long time. 

It's been on my to-do list.

And since I'm pretty good at teaching myself techniques, I probably could have learned it from a library book, or a free tutorial.

But here's the thing:  I haven't done it.

When I first saw the class description, I was intrigued, but thought "I don't need a class".

But I kept going back, and reading the class description, and I decided to take the plunge.

 I'm so glad I did.

I already knew I liked Diana's teaching style.  I own her DVD and she has many wonderful free tutorials on You Tube. 

So sure, I could have found my motivation, spent a week sifting through lousy tutorials trying to find a really good one, tried, failed, looked for another tutorial and tried again.

OR, I could spend a relatively small amount of money to get instant access to well made videos, clear written instructions, a place to share my work, and support from a talented teacher and artist.

Suddenly it was a no-brainer.

I spent the weekend watching all the videos and I made two books that I really really like, with no failure or frustration.

And in the process, I supported an artists who, through her generous content on her blog and You Tube, has given me loads of inspiration for free.

Time to give a little something back, no?

My second book is done and just waiting for enough daylight to properly photograph it, and I've already got a stack of fabric paper prepared for more covers.

I've only just begun to explore these techniques, but I'm so pleased with my first efforts.

Stay tuned for more.