Sketchbooks

I'm not one for journaling, or even sketching, really.  I'm usually good about packing a sketchbook, but I never seem to have time to take it out and use it.  The one time I did sketch on a trip was at Monument Valley, and I think that's because we had lots of down time there and I was maybe a little bored.
All this is just a segue into a little project I read about on someone's blog, can't remember who.  There seem to be a lot of bloggers doing various small projects in the new year and I recall someone mentioning stitching on paper.  I thought about the sketchbook and what I could do with it.

I learned how to make this simple book in a Dorothy Caldwell workshop and came home and made a few that are 6 1/2" by 10".

I used Micron and Pentel pens to sketch shapes I saw, then put the book away when I go home.

I pulled it out for this project and painted the pages with Tsukineko Inks, then stitched with #12 Pearl cotton.

The backs look more interesting than the fronts to me.

I'm doing this in the evening while watching the mindless shows I'm into right now, like CSI, Unforgettable, etc. ( I can't stitch during Hung, or Boardwalk Empire, I might miss something good)

So when I'm done, it will probably go back on the shelf it came off of, but it will look nicer than it did before.

Lots of inspiration out there in blogland for this kind of project.