Hello! My name is Annalyse Moncrief and I am excited to be sharing some of my work with you today! I am currently a student at Watkins College where I study photography. This past semester, I have been lucky to be able to intern with Katie. It has been an amazing experience. I have learned so much, both about book arts and the ins and outs of being an artist and a business owner.
I first fell in love with book arts in a class offered through Watkins. Since then, I can't get enough. I was thrilled to find Katie's internship and couldn't believe that I was lucky enough to get to work with her this semester. I thought I'd take a moment to share all the things I've been making as part of this experience.
On my very first day, we made the journal that I have been using to keep track of my experiences in my internship. It's a leather bound Italian Long Stitch journal that I have been filling with all the awesome things I've been learning about.
Next I got to sit in on a French Link Stitch workshop that Katie taught at the Nashville Public Library. We were making small sketchbooks filled with all sorts of recycled and reclaimed papers to serve as inspiration! The covers and guards were made of wallpaper samples that make for a nice, rugged protector for the sketchbook. Inside I used a wide assortment of papers from paint chips and old maps to sewing patterns, and even some old handmade paper! My favorite part of the process was getting to arrange all my scraps into my book and getting to see all the fun things the other people in the workshop were doing. I finished mine with a button and a length of sting as a fastener.
Next, I learned the Secret Belgian binding. I love this one because of the pattern the thread makes across the covers and the spine. It the cover also flips all the way around the spine, which makes the journal perfect for sketching on the go.
For my second lesson, I was curious about a multi-needle Coptic. I like this process because it creates a beautiful multi-colored pattern along the spine. I chose to do mine in blues, greens, and browns so that it would match the research I am planning use it for. One of my upcoming projects is on river systems and this will be the perfect place to keep all my notes!
I also got to help make several kinds of ornament books. We started with the hardcover star ornaments. These little books open up to make paper stars. They are super cute and look really nice hanging on the Christmas tree this year! I also got to help with some small leather ornament books. These little guys are functioning journals, just in miniature size. For these, I learned how to do a chain stitch that looks really nice along the spine and will come in handy later.
For my last project, we worked on something a little different. I wanted to make a book that I could stitch into and have a continuous line running throughout the book, but I didn't want to use an accordion fold. Katie suggested a drum leaf binding. This type of binding worked really well because I could design the spreads and then glue them together, without worrying about the reverse side of my pages. It took a lot of precise measuring and cutting, but it was worth it in the end. I also brought in a quilt top I had stitched together and Katie showed me how to back it so that I could use it on my cover.
