Reflection

There are a few things I learned throughout this process---aside for learning a piece of the magical art of bookbinding:

While sewing the leather onto the covers, I found that I should have tested the holes for the needle on the same type of board than on a slightly less dense board, as the holes turned out ever so slightly too small. I also found that I just really dislike sewing through leather.

I was too eager to put on the wooden parts to realize that I should have attached the leather first. That was fun...

At the time I did not have any elastic for the pen/pencil holder. Instead I used leftover cloth tape, which meant that I had to fit it to a specific pen, and anything thinner would not stay. The glue holds terribly well, so modifying this would be difficult, though not impossible. I would rather have elastic bands so that thinner pens could fit without the need of a hook.

I was not sure at what point I should sew on a header at the top and base of the spine so that the leather would not stick out, as shown in the photo below. It is not that pleasant to look at, and can also become easily scuffed and damaged when the book is being put onto and taken off of a shelf as that extra bit scrapes on the shelf surface. It is really difficult to sew into the leather by hand, and I have injured myself a few times doing so. However, looking back, glue may have sufficed.