i love paper, i love books, i love notebooks
i am actually obsessed with them

well, guess how excited i was when i found out that there was a bookbinding workshop in my college!

it's my most favourite place in the whole building

despite the fact that i have been quite busy with my project for the course, i still (somehow) managed to bind two long stitch journals, two coptic stitch notebook, one multi-sections notebook and two japanese stab stitch books

oh well, that's quite a lot. i basically spent my registered days at college making books and worked for my project in my laptop at home. yes, i spent my free time working but i really enjoyed doing it, so i wouldn't call it working.

it's my passion

the first book i taught myself how to sew was long stich one. i have wanted to learn how to do this since my mum learnt how to do it in a bookbinding workshop and i was using that book she sewed as my journal (which was running out of pages!) since my mum wasn't here to teach me (or make one for me), i figured i had to make my own journal in place of my almost-filed one soon.


sarah, the bookbinder actually knew how to do it, but she was running inductions everyday and was going on her maternity leave soon. she showed me a book with instructions and gave me some tips which were really helpful. and so i bound these two personalised journals with england map cover (using laser cutter) and f. which is the initial of my nickname (again, laser cutter, and i also mono printed the aper turquoise blue myself)


i thought that would be it, making two journals within a couple of days was quite a lot. but as i was rummaging through off-cuts paper drawer, i saw this little piece of beautiful red floral pattern, i decided to bind a book for my friend's birthday. this time going for something simpler and smaller, i used coptic  stitch and glued hard cover to it.


i also used typewriter to type a little message on the first place, made it exclusive for my friend, and my a matching type-written card to go with it. without any expectations, it was probably the most amazing handmade gift i had ever made. i couldn't wait until my friend unwrap it.


but the best is yet to come, this is by far my most favourite book i have ever made (not that i have made a lot) 'weirdly wonderful words for wanderers' was a collection of 28 words (from any languages) about travel i liked, from german 'schwellenangst', swedish 'resfeber' to the overused 'wanderlust', all typewritten on blue/cream/brown off-cut papers i found in the drawer and bound together using stab stitch technique.

no words can express how much i love this book,