New notebooks - pouch binding - part 2

As I mentioned in last week's blog, I had decided to make some notebooks/sketchbooks from my Mum's handbags. I also mentioned that I had taken the Future Learn online course "Japanese Culture Through Rare Books" offered by Keio University and was inspired to make several pouch bound books, which utilised recycled paper. Last week's instructions were about preparing the pouches (i.e., creasing and folding paper such that the pre-used side was inside and the outer, clean layers would form the pages). This week is mostly about creating the covers, in this case a hard(ish) cover. The final binding is originally a Japanese technique - "stab binding" - which I have blogged about previously.

When I removed the lining from the purple handbag, I found that the underside of the vinyl had a fuzzy, kind of sticky, coating. My decision to use this for a hardcover was clear as I definitely didn't want this part of the handbag visible in my final book. I cut two pieces of vinyl to a size slightly larger than the cardboard base covers and clipped the corners. The pictures are mostly of the back cover, which does not have any bumpy surfaces.

I used an old plastic membership card to spread PVA glue over the entire surface of the vinyl underside.

The cardboard base was placed on the vinyl.

The vinyl was folded over the cardboard.

It was necessary to use lion clips to hold the folded vinyl down while the glue was drying.

A sheet of paper was cut to the size of the two covers plus the book spine (hold the pouches together tightly and measure the spine; in the case of pouch binding, it is the "open" side of the pouch, opposite the fold, which will be bound). Glue is first spread on the back cover. Again, an old plastic membership or bank card is ideal for spreading the glue.

The right side of the paper is gently pressed onto the cover.

The procedure is repeated for the front cover, making sure to let the far right side of the paper meet up with the far right side of the cover. The spine space between the two covers is apparent. Note that the front cover of my book is quite bumpy. I had to be careful not to rip the paper when adhering it because

 there were pleated and wired details on the original handbag that I wanted to keep on the bookcover.

I spread out the bookcover concoction and placed it between several clean pages, before weighing down with some heavy books until the glue dried completely (overnight at least).

Once the cover was dry I prepared everything for binding. I used some marbled origami paper for end papers. The lion clip is holding everything in place while I get ready.

Putting holes through the covers and folios is very important. I cannot stress this enough. For a book of this size (A5) five holes will do nicely. The lion clips are necessary to hold everything in place while the holes are being made and while the book is being sewn.

The sewing technique is Japanese stab binding. Make sure to make the holes large enough all the way through the layers (front cover, endpapers, folio-pouches, back cover) in order that you may sew through the same hole several times with your binding thread. Here I am using 3-strand cotton embroidery thread, folded so the first sew is 6 strands and the second sew is 12.

I cannot stress enough the importance of making the holes wide enough -- I ran into a problem with not being able to go beyond the initial 6 strands in the middle hole of my book. I didn't mind working with the idea of bypassing the hole since this is a personal book (not for a gift) and my first attempt at pouch binding as well as my first attempt at a hardcover book. However, for stability and security as well as for design, I think it is a better idea to ensure the hole is a good size to begin with!

The final book is sturdy and quirky. I like it!

New notebooks - pouch binding - Part 1

As soon as I received a bag of my Mum's old handbags, I had the idea that I would convert them into notebooks or sketchbooks. The handles on the bags are an interesting, decorative detail but I haven't decided yet whether they will be used in the final books.

 Earlier this year I took a free MOOC course offered by Keio University in Japan, through Future Learn. The course was called Japanese Culture Through Rare Books, and one of the styles of book-binding discussed was "pouch binding", which made great use of paper (rare in ancient Japan) that was already used on one side. Having a great supply of paper to recycle I decided that I would try pouch binding for my handbag books. On a historical note, pouch bound books give historians great insights into a period when a book is un-bound for conservation purposes: the original information on the paper is intact!

To reiterate: the used paper should be completely blank on one side. This is what will be visible in the final books.

 After cutting the A4 pages in half my trusty bone folder was used to fold the now A5 pages in half, the used side in, such that blank pages are what is visible.

I stacked my folios in piles of 10 for ease of keeping track of the count. In pouch binding it is the folded part of the book that is the turning part of the page, while the "open" long side of the pouch page is bound as the book spine.

Before continuing with the binding of pages, I had to cut up the bags. I want these to be hard cover books so I also cut some corrugated cardboard to a size slightly larger than the folios.

Roman Ruins

This is the last week of my Future Learn astronomy course "Exploring the Night Sky" and I had to whiz ahead to get it all finished because it was the first week of another Future Learn course "Archaeology of Portus: Exploring the Lost Harbour of Ancient Rome". This will be my fourth FL course, and I have signed up to another three! Perhaps I am crazy, but they are so interesting, and you can participate as little or as much as you want, learning at your own pace. The course is online, and accessible 24/7 with material still available indefinitely after the course is over. The Portus course continues my interest in Ancient Rome which was well whetted by the Hadrian's Wall course last autumn. In advance of getting stuck into Portus I was looking at some previous, relatively recent, Roman ruin site visits I have made. In 2013 while vacationing in Antibes, I made a side trip to Nice to see some Roman ruins. Unfortunately the ruins were only accessible to visitors by viewing from the park outside the archaeological museum, near the Matisse museum. Although I would have loved to actually walk among the runs, they were impressive nonetheless!

In the spring of 2012 I was in Barcelona. Prior to the trip I discovered that in ancient times Barcino was part of the Roman Empire (this is probably common knowledge, but it was news to me at the time!) and I made it my business to see what remains I could. I started my first day by taking a taxi from my hotel to the necropolis. There was a bit of confusion when the driver suggested I wanted to go to the museum and I insisted I didn't. It turned out that part of the necropolis is in the museum and can be viewed from outside and above...

The old city of Barcino is obvious: as well as the bronze letters spelling out its heart, the ancient walls which outlined the old city are evident.

Even where new buildings pop up, as with the inside of this civic office, the Roman heritage is preserved. These columns date from the 1st c AD.

Star Gazing

 Last night was a cold, mostly clear night. Perfect for winter star gazing. This is the view from our backyard looking south east around 830 pm GMT.

Yes that is some snow on the storage box! My daughter and I are well wrapped up, trying to see if we can pick out the comet. There are lots of stars visible, but I am trying to locate the dim comet with the binoculars before pulling out the telescope.

We were unable to focus on what we think is the comet -- it just seemed too dim. We looked at The Pleiades through the telescope -- my daughter was amazed as the blur in the sky became at least 20 sharp points of light in the eyepiece. My husband took some photos and we think we identified Comet Lovejoy from other photos and articles online.

The Night Skies

This week I started another Future Learn course - "In the Night Sky: Orion" (the following 2 pix are from the course material). Future Learn offers free online non-credited interest courses hosted by various universities. I have already taken three courses and highly recommend them for fun, interest and educational value! This astronomy course is hosted by the Open University and runs for 4 weeks. I have always enjoyed stargazing but there is an extra dimension added through learning something!

Seeing a picture of the sky so full of stars, reminds me of the amazng night sky that is visible in rural areas that are free from light pollution. I lived rurally in South West Kerry for 3 years in the 1990s and remember well the amazing skies on cold clear nights in winter. In the first house we lived at we would take a star map and a red cellophane covered flashlight out to the humpback bridge beside our house and stare in awe: there were way more stars than the star map showed. One of my brothers visited once and we were looking at the rings of Saturn through my telescope until he pointed out that we could see the shape with the naked eye just as easily. 

Living in urban areas most of my life, this is closer to how I view the night sky. I can still pick out constellations easily enough and can boast that I have seen 4 of Jupiter's moons with the planet from the roof of a Dublin apartment!

An email from my Orion course alerted me to the fact that Comet Lovejoy is visible in the skies near Orion through January, weather permitting. I went out last night to have a look and though I spotted part of Orion, clouds quickly came in from two directions and put the kibosh on any sightings. It is raining today and the sky looks relentlessly covered, but I have hopes as I have a few weeks left to view. When I was looking up information on the comet I came across Terry Lovejoy's computer drawing of Comet Hyakutake; it reminded me that I was incorrect in an earlier posting (from 2013) when I named the comet from my painting "Knockeen Comet" as Hale-Bopp. Although I saw comet Hale-Bopp, it was not until December 1997, by which time I had already moved back to urban Bray. This painting is based on my sighting of Comet Hyakutake in the spring of 1996 when I still lived in South West Kerry, outside Portmagee. I remember that night my husband and I dragged the couch into the field outside the house and, along with a blanket to keep warm, we sat for ages staring at the wonders of the universe -- including the comet hanging in the sky, a brilliant beacon among the jewels of stars.

Directed Reading & Research!

In conversation with one of my sisters on the weekend, I found out about a free online course offered by Newcastle University via Future Learn. The course, Hadrian's Wall, tugged at my lifelong but unrequited interest in archaeology and I quickly followed the link my sister sent me and signed up! It is a six week course (starting last week, but it was easy enough for me to catch up) completely online, using written, visual and video aids to discuss all aspects of Hadrian's Wall -- it's architecture, social aspects, history, warfare, politics, etc.

Essentially the course is directed reading where the course participants can choose their own level of commitment -- you have the opportunity to interact with other students via a chat feed, take quizzes, do further reading (in each section there is further recommended reading). A visit to Hadrian's Wall has always been on my wish list and now I feel like I am getting closer to it.

While I was on the Future Learn website, I also signed up for two additional courses! "Shipwrecks and Submerged Worlds: Maritime Archaeology" is a four week course, starting next week, which is offered by the University of Southampton.

My visit to the archaeology museum in Antibes last year piqued my interest in maritime archaeology. Antibes was historically an Ancient Greek harbour and nearly everything at the beautiful little museum was found in the sea nearby from sunken ships. I loved this corner of the museum with all the barnacled storage vessels.

The third course I signed up for does not begin till Jan 2015 and is also a six week course: "The Archaeology of Portus: Exploring the Lost Harbour of Ancient Rome". Again, it is offered through the University of Southampton. I know there is some madness to my methods (it's not like I am lacking in things to do!) but these courses are giving me some directed reading and who knows how it will eventually manifest itself in my other work. It's all very exciting to me!