Thursday, October 1, 2020

Psalm 23 final block and cover...

 



Today we're going to complete this year's Block of the Month - the 23rd Psalm.

All your internal pages should now be stitched (if you missed the tutorial for the pages you'll find it HERE)...




...so the final steps are to stitch the cover design and then make two pages - one for the front cover and one for the back.

PLEASE NOTE: you can make this any way you want. Described below are the features I chose to add to mine...

The front and back cover pages are the same size as the internal pages but this time we're not sewing around the edges and turning the page right side out. Instead we're pretending they are two little quilts so all we do is sandwich both sides of the front cover and the back cover with medium thickness fusible Pellon in the middle. 

The front cover has the stitchery block trimmed to 6" x 7.75"  and a 1" wide piece of decorative fabric sewn down the left hand side. 
Next I stitched a narrow piece of  lace across the top, bottom, and right sides of the page so that the lace faced in towards the stitchery and sat straight against the outer edge of the page.
Then I stitched another piece of the lace over the left side seam between the stitchery block and floral fabric.

I added binding around the top, right and bottom of the page.

FRONT COVER



Before you make this cover page think about how you'd like the inside to look.

The other side of the page can be left plain (using the same fabric as your stitchery blocks or choose a floral instead) or if you prefer you can add a Pocket as I have done. This was just a length of fabric 7.5" high x 7.75" wide which was folded in half and a piece of cotton lace sewn along the edge. It was sewn in before I added the binding.

INSIDE FRONT COVER



The back cover is made pretty much the same as the front (but reversed) with a piece of floral fabric 6" x 7.75"  and a 1" wide contrast piece sewn down the right hand side. Sew the lace along the top, bottom and left side of the page. 

Again, you can add an internal pocket (I did this to add prayer needs) or leave it plain.

Before adding the binding this time, sew two lengths of ribbon about 12" long into the middle of the right side, and then sew your binding in place.

INSIDE BACK COVER



BACK COVER



Now pin a piece of wide cotton lace between the front and back cover pages as a spine. My lace was 1.25" wide and 8" long (I trimmed it later)...




Machine sew to the cover pages, just catching the edge of each page by a scant 1/4".

Turn the cover over and repeat on the inside with another piece of cotton lace.




Trim the excess lace away. 




Sew a button to the centre right side front of the cover. 
You'll be able to tie the ribbon around it to close your Psalm 23 book...




Now to sew the internal pages together.

Pin the lace edges of the pages together or use binding clips to hold them in place. Sew just inside the edge of the lace with running stitch. I used a Perle 8 cotton in cream.







Slip the pages of the psalm 23 book inside the cover and secure with the ribbon closure.

Note: the book is not sewn into the cover. It remains separate. 







I hope you enjoyed this year's block of the month. Psalm 23 was certainly different from a quilt but it gave me a great deal of pleasure to share this with you. 

It seems so long since I designed and stitched Psalm 23 because it was completed last year in December...but now it's time to think about next year and what we might make then. 
However, I shan't rush that for good ideas need to form on their own without any pressure and I'm all about letting the Lord guide my pencil and my path these days.

If you complete this project I'd love for you to send me a photo so I can share it here for others to see. Use the 'contact me' link in my sidebar to do that. 

Well, I'm off now to pour a lovely cool glass of ginger water, gather supplies for another new design, and settle down to watch Jane Austen's "Emma". 
What plans do you have for the 1st of October?

Bless you heaps,


19 comments:

Joanne said...

Hi Jenny,
It's October :) A beautiful month to enjoy! Autumn colours here, Spring there :) Did you know that avocados can be frozen ? Here in the grocery store, in the freezer section, one can find boxes of cubed avocado pieces :) the quality is great and they taste fine in salads :) Since avocados are imported here they are mostly rocks when you pick them up. " Ready to eat " labels are also available but it is more likely to be ready to eat in a few days. A gamble every time.
Thanks for a beautiful tutorial. That's so much work to put together...photo's, lighting, in order, written instructions and so much more.
Enjoying warming mint ginger tea here :)
hugs, take care,
Joanne

Little Quiltsong said...

How lovely with all the lace and ribbon! Beautiful book and tutorial, Jenny!

Unknown said...

Beautiful. Yours are so perfectly sized. I didn’t think in advance enough so used different fabrics surrounding each block. I like it well enough but seeing yours with consistent pink gingham, it is more flattering. So. Maybe I need to make another! Thank you so much for this beloved Psalm. I hope my granddaughter will know the constant prayers for her while I sewed with love. Donna in Texas

RBrown said...

Thank you so much for these monthly patterns. I have enjoyed embroidering these and plan on giving my book to my d-i-l for Christmas. I pray it will be a cherishered book in years to come. I enjoy every blog you write. Prayers for you and your family. Becky in Tennessee

Susan said...

Thank you for all the time you put into making these patterns and instructions. God bless you.

Joni said...

What a wonderful, generous project! Thank you, Jenny, so much for the beautiful tutorials. I, too am making 2 - one for a gift and one for myself. She works willingly with her hands in delight ~ Psalms 31:13
With that in mind, I'm off to put away canning supplies for the season, getting ready for first frost and the beginning of handwork season! I live in the Pacific Northwest, USA. Happy spring, Jenny!

Debby in Kansas, USA said...

These are so beautiful. Thank you for sharing your incredible talent with us!

Patti said...

Thank you for sharing your time on these lovely patterns. I am hoping to do some baking with apples today!

GetSewing said...

It is beautiful. I'm caught up. Now to do this cover and create the othereinto actual pages then into a book. I'll have a treasure. Thank you so much. I am having my 2 grand daughters color the pages I print for them. Then we'll make them paper books with colored papers.

Jenny of Elefantz said...

What a precious thing you are doing with them. How absolutely beautiful!

Jenny of Elefantz said...

You have warmed my heart, thank you. Writing from my heart is something I want to do more of again. x

Jenny of Elefantz said...

I'm sure yours is lovely, your heart is in it. x

Tammy said...

Thank you for todays final Block. I can hardly believe it has come to a end. This is a beautiful heirloom projet to pass down. Can't wait to see what you will stith up in the coming new year. So much creativity our God has blessed you with. Autumn seems to have arrived here. This past week we began to finally have cooler nights and days. Almost as if someone threw a switch from blazing hot summer to a milder Autumn. Thank goodness too. As the heat really bothers me the older I get. So happy to have your email in my inbox today...To start my day off with you.

Allie said...

This is beyond gorgeous, dear Jen - thank you from the bottom of my heart. I have my supplies all gathered for this project and can't wait to start. I really want to make it for my mom....but since she's always cold and winter is here early, I'll make her a quilt, lol. She ADORES your designs!!!!

Susan said...

Thank you, Jenny. What a long/short year! I enjoy seeing the care you take to make your finishes as nice as the project is all along.

Ruth said...

Thank you so much, Jenny! I'm so happy that I have kept up with the pages each month (the embroidery, not making each page) and now I just have 1 more page to embroider. I got some fabric to make the pages and the cover and can't wait to finish it. I made one of your free patterns a few years ago and put it on a bag to carry my Bible and just love it. I do enjoy hand embroidery a lot! My mother taught me over 60 years ago and she was so good at it - much better than I am. I'm so thankful to have had a wonderful mother who taught me how to sew and embroider!

GeneGribouille03 said...

Merci Jenny pour ces magnifiques pages belle semaine Geneviève de France

Jackie said...

Thank you for another wonderful SAL!

Simply Ann said...

Thank you Jenny, it is all beautiful! September and October have been beautiful here in Colorado, especially since most of the smoke has cleared up from all the fires. We are having an Indian Summer and the temps are just perfect ,though, we have built a few fires in the chilly early mornings. October will see me finishing up my garden and flower beds and what little produce left will be processed. I have been busy knitting socks and crocheting on 2 afghans. One is almost finished and the other started (I couldn't resist)! I am busy buying and planning Christmas gifts for family and getting ready to do a bit of Fall Decorating.
I always look forward to each of your blogs. God Bless!! - Frankie Ann