Finished needle books

Pattern source Cindy Johnson (c) 

We had the second half of the needle book workshop on Monday.
Cindy showed us how she puts a beaded edge on with a button hole stitch and floss.

Isn't the edge gorgeous? I used three strands of hand dyed floss, a self threading needle, size 8 multi color beads. 

(click to see details)

I made two books, one for my friend's birthday and one for me. I used different floss and beads for each.  The multi colored beads for mine, with green floss. A mix of the greens and blue for my friend's with a hand dyed perle cotton in bright multi color. They came out VERY different.
Snaps for the closure

This is Mary's gift.

Check out the edge. Very different from my edge.
You don't notice the beads as much but the threads come forward.
I suppose it's because the beads match color tone of the background but the thread contrasts.

It's the opposite on mine.

Hmmmmm....


What I learned:
1.I love the spine Cindy built into her book. Done with pre cut pieces of interfacing instead of one long piece. Also she put in two lines of stitching along the sides of the spine's interfacing, like a card maker would.
2. The buttonhole stitch needs to be just as wide as the bead so there is no space between beads for a bold look. It would make a different effect to space them further apart, where you could see the outside thread on the stitch.

This is the inside, with two pages which fold and make four. Cindy places a line of felt along each page, which makes a fab. place for needles to hang out. She also marked each page for machine needle types and keeps one by the machine. Brilliant right?

3. I used thicker felt for my friend's book, and like that better.
4. Use fun fabrics even if it's for a small project

Lastly, I'd like to share versions made by bee-mates.
Remember, click on any picture to see the great details!!
 I think their color choices were outstanding, and they took a lot of care in their workmanship...

 

photo by Cynthia Y. I love her sandy color background, the blue crab, and the mix of beads around the edge. She used a subtle blue/tan background thread and added a label as hers is a gift. 

Photo by Tamie V. I like her gray background, beaded crab and seaweed, and her pinkish beads

Hope you enjoyed the show...