This one of a kind journal was inspired by an old Scrabble board, tiles and a vintage photograph among my family’s things of a very exquisite and romantic looking woman (for pioneer times in Minnesota anyway) whose identity remains a mystery. Quixotic seemed the perfect description of how I imagined her to be in real life. The covers are also adorned with transfers of dictionary definitions of some higher scoring words. A UV-resistant varnish in a matte finish was applied to the covers to aid in their longevity.

The binding uses both black and natural waxed linen thread in a very strong yet quite decorative binding that uses 6 separate strands of thread and ten needles to complete. Each signature of the 96 pages is tucked into a concertina fold to add thickness to the spine and allow for the addition of ephemera without stressing the binding too much. The pages are made of Canson MiTienes paper in a light taupe color that work well with ink, colored pencils, acrylics, collage and light watercolor washes. The book lies flat when open to aid in its use.