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A year off from blogging has given me a wonderful boost in sewing energy. In fact, I did so much sewing last year that I decided to start keeping a written Sewing Journal.

The journal consists of an inexpensive notebook and cover. The cover is one I made a few years ago. It’s fashioned after a leather Franklin Covey planner I loved that I found at a thrift store. My cover fits a 5″x7″ spiral bound notebook perfectly.

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In addition to writing in my journal, I also include fabric swatches and printed photos. The photos are of my projects, but also include ideas from the internet. It’s like a paper pinterest board!

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I found a little mobile printer which makes photo printing a lot easier. It’s a Polaroid ZIP Mobile Printer and it uses ZINK (zero-ink) paper to make small 2″x3″ prints. The printer interfaces with my iPad mini using a Bluetooth connection. The prints actually have a paper backing which can be peeled off to turn the photo into a sticker. If you’re Jamie, you can get the backing off with your fingernail, but I found it easier to score the backing with the back side of a seam ripper and peel it off that way. If I’m printing a lot of photos at once, I’ll use my regular ink jet printer, but if I’m doing one-offs, I’ll use my mobile printer.

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Journaling has become so much fun that I record other things in it: like the photo-finish of the Daytona 500 or some of the cool things we saw at the SPAAMFAA Winter Nationals (an antique fire truck muster). If you prefer real books or paper calendars like I do, you might enjoy keeping a paper Sewing Journal, too!