Simple Journal Cover

Simple Journal Cover
Simple Journal Cover

My journal is very important for me. I have spent the last 25+ years keeping a journal, though the college years, which would have been very interesting, didn’t leave a lot of time for contemplative writing. I was pouring my heart out to a spiral notebook from the local drugstore long before the word ‘Journaling’ was a twinkle in any scrapbooker’s eye. These days, I write every day, except Friday, usually, for about 20 minutes in the morning and another 10-15 in the afternoon. I record the books I have read, the progress I have made on projects and any drama going on that I may need to get out of my head.

I find that if I write drama down, it doesn’t dog my days and night. I know that that the words are safe between the covers of my journal and I can move on with my life. If I need to refer to them, they are waiting for me. My journal is a working space.

I sometimes do a sketch for the CPP to try and work out the curve of an elbow or the relationship between sizes of elements. I make lists of things to remember. I records lists of gifts I have received for Christmas and my birthday.

In recent days, I spent entirely too much time writing in my journal about how I needed a new journal cover (see previous covers in the tag ‘journals‘). The pages and pages of agonizing as well as rending of garments is too much, especially since the word ‘need’ demonstrates that I might want to look at my priorities.

The fact of the matter is that I enjoy using journal covers. The Miquelrius journals I use have nice plastic or paperboard covers with VERY pokey corners. I am already bruised and battered from the corner of my desk, the step stool in the kitchen and the general loving of a large teenager. I don’t need any other opportunities to bruise myself. Fabric covers pad the corners enough not to leave a bruise.

Simple Journal Cover-open
Simple Journal Cover-open

Today, I decided, was the day to make a new journal cover. I made a simple cover with a pink dot on the inside and a Philip Jacobs print on the outside. In about half an hour, I had it done.

I didn’t do any  piecing on this one. It is one piece each of two fabrics. I do have some large shards of the Patty Young Textured Basics for Michael Miller fabrics that I thought of using. I didn’t want to take the time, so I will use them for another version.

Simple Journal Cover-spine
Simple Journal Cover-spine

The tutorial measurements are now really great and I didn’t have to rip any of this journal cover out at all. Not sure if that will be the case next time. 😉

Now I can finish the last few pages of my current journal and move on to the new journal tomorrow. If you make one for yourself, please post a link to your version in the comments. Thanks!

Author: Jaye

Quiltmaker who enjoys writing and frozen chocolate covered bananas.

11 thoughts on “Simple Journal Cover”

  1. Where do you find the time? geesh! Pretty fabric, excellent journal covering.

    I DID see your comments on my blog (thank you very much) and we must have been channeling or something because out of the blue, I worked on the Unicorn quilt for about an hour yesterday. I was thinking of you the whole time…even when the threads kept breaking. 😀

    I made a Kindle cover recently and am almost about to make a journal cover too. Thanks for the reminder.

    I have nothing else for today though…running, as per usual here! (I thought Sunday’s were supposed to be a day of rest???) lol

    1. HA! I was thinking about the Unicorn quilt when I wrote the comments, but decided you were working as fast as you could.

      I just do what is important to me AND work, of course, which I guess is important to me.

      Show photos of the Journal and Kindle covers. I am always interested in what others do with these formats.

  2. When thinking about keeping a journal, I worry about privacy. What are your thoughts about others reading your journals while you are alive and after you are gone?

    1. I keep a journal for my own peace of mind. If I had to keep all the ‘drama’ in my head, I wouldn’t be able to live normally. I don’t live with people that I think will read my journals, but I also don’t leave them around and open as an invitation to read. I usually have my journal with me so there is little chance that random strangers will read it. I haven’t thought much about people reading them after my death, but they probably will. Since many people no longer keep journals I will probably end up being the standard to which the century is measured! That is a scary thought! I have grand illusions of donating my quilts and journals to some institution that will take the quilts because of the journals. Since I am not important, I don’t know what will happen.

    1. I have been buying the same size for quite a while, but didn’t always. I like the size and shape of these journals as well as the feel of the paper.

  3. Thank you for sharing this very personal part of you . We all have ways of looking within, getting it out, doing what we need to do. The simple act of writing your thoughts and dreams, frustrations and triumphs is a very good way to do all of the above. And the vessel with which this is accomplished should of course be adorned with a beautiful fabric 😉

    1. It has really changed my journal writing since I started covering them with fabric. I feel like I have a part of my quiltmaking with me all the time now and that is a good feeling.

  4. I stopped writing religiously in a journal when exno.two read it. Wish I was motivated to begin every day again instead of sporadically… but I guess that is better than not at all.

    1. I didn’t know you weren’t writing regularly. I had a boyfriend read it and I never really trusted him again. It impacted my writing, but I got back to it. A number of years were lots. Perhaps you need to write in code?

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