Whipstitch

So I've been working hard this week on my super thick book that I've been sewing and I just wanted to post a couple of pictures. I finally bought new needles (since I kept breaking all the other ones I had after only one signature) and the first one lasted quite a while before breaking. Part of the problem is that some of the holes are too small but since I've already started, I don't want to go back with the Dremel and try to enlarge them. Needles are cheaper and quicker. I'm sewing 16 pages per signature so with about 600+ pages total, it's taking a while. But last night I discovered I'm over halfway through, as my thumb callus can attest (I don't like thimbles). It looks nice though. As I move along I'll need to decide what color I want the case to be. I'm think a pretty light blue. It's too bad that I can't sew endbands on since the pages are all individual (at least I don't think I can--I'll have to double check). I'm also hoping to start on my brother's holiday gift soon but I have to start brainstorming what types of materials I want to use. I have a copy of our family crest and he was wanted a copy of for a couple years now (I kept forgetting to give it to him). So this year (well, really last year but I didn't have time to do it last year) I plan on making him some type of artwork that incorporates it backed by a canvas. I'm thinking of printing on a variety of materials but I'm not sure yet what I want to experiment with. I guess I'll just have to make another trip to Joanns and browse for inspiration. Lucky me!