Samantha Zalupski is quite the reader, in fact in 2023 she read well over 100 books. For each book that she read last year, she went onto embroider a small icon onto her book journal in order to represent the book. I think you’ll be absolutely blown away by her book journal filled with different animals, objects, plants, and more!
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am a 34 year-old married mother of a feisty 3 year-old girl. I work for my county’s community mental health system at a Clubhouse. I work with mentally ill adults who often need support and socialization. We assist with teaching life skills, provide job placement opportunities, and provide a safe environment to be during the day. I can honestly say I love my work and I sometimes get sad when I have days off!
I have lots of other hobbies, including distance running, kayaking, biking, and basically anything outdoors. The longest distance race I’ve run is a 50k (31 miles) but I’m hoping to complete a 50-mile race this year! I love anything crafty, like embroidery (obviously), painting, coloring, drawing, and I once had a years-long obsession with creating things out of duct tape.
What tips do you have for someone wanting to start a book journal?
Be flexible! I had to adjust as I went, adding a second hoop when I ran out of room on my first one.
Get creative! It was really difficult sometimes to figure out what to stitch, so some of them are only very loosely related, but I got ’em on there! It was also really helpful to think while reading “what can I stitch for this?”
It’s definitely helpful to keep a log of what you read alongside your journal. I liked putting my finish dates next to the icons, but I can see why some people wouldn’t want that. I definitely look at the icons now and think “I have no idea what book that symbolizes”, but I also read 137 books this year so it’s hard to remember details of each one 😅
As with all embroidery, be patient, give yourself grace, and enjoy! Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, if you fall behind, jot some notes so you don’t forget.
What have been some of your favourite books that you’ve read this year?
My top 5 were:
- House on the Cerulean Sea: I went in totally blind and this book just stole my heart. It was strange, sweet, and heart wrenching at the same time. I absolutely loved it.
- A Man Called Ove: I saw there was a movie coming out based on this book, so of course I needed to read the book before I went to see it. I quickly fell in love with the characters and the movie did it justice pretty well!
- The Mindf*ck Series: Okay, this was actually 5 books in one, but I’m counting it as one. Quick, exciting reads. Think Criminal Minds with a little spice. Required a little suspension of disbelief to truly enjoy, but what thrillers don’t these days?
- Outrun the Rain: The first in a series of 3 books about an introverted storm researcher pairing up with a wild-hearted storm chaser. A very sweet story of trust and growth. I wasn’t expecting to like these as much as I did.
- A Flicker in the Dark: This one came pretty highly recommended in some of my book groups. Funny enough, I had stuck it on my Amazon “to buy” list just in case I saw it on sale or whatever. I ended up getting it in the mail one day and realized I must have ordered it by accident or in my sleep one night because it was in my order history but I didn’t remember buying it. Solid thriller, page-turning suspense. A very enjoyable read.
How did you learn how to embroider?
I woke up one day in March of 2022 and decided I wanted to try a new project (as my ADHD brain often does). I ordered a kit online, and gave it a shot. It went a bit smoother than I anticipated, but I still can look back and tell I was very new to the craft. I just kept doing kits from there until I started branching into making my own designs!
What has been the most challenging aspect of creating this project for you?
Definitely spacing! I started to get anxious when the hoop was filling up way too fast. I decided to make a second hoop, but then I got nervous that I wouldn’t be able to fill the second hoop and I didn’t want to leave awkward blank spaces. Toward the middle of december I got so anxious about the empty bits, and I’m not afraid to admit I read a few novellas (under 100 pages) to help get some more icons on there quickly before the end of the year.
As I mentioned earlier, it was definitely difficult to come up with icons for some of the books! Really had to put some thought into it.
Is this your first embroidery journal?
Yes, I just learned in 2022, so in 2023 I actually did my book journal AND a daily icon embroidery journal.
What is your favourite icon on your embroidery journal?
That’s so hard to pick! I really like the phoenix, the russian doll, and the double helix!
How do you go about spacing out your icons?
Pure. Chaos. I tried to leave space in the middle and scatter them, so some future icons had to be scaled up or down to fit my size I needed.
What made you decide to go with your current book journal layout?
I had no idea what I was getting into. I never expected to need a second hoop! I don’t *love* that it ended up with 2 hoops, but it is what it is.
How have you managed to stay motivated throughout the year?
It’s hard. I didn’t want to waste the time I *had* already put in, and being able to draw my icons a few at a time and catch up every week or two helped as well.
How do you track your books?
With the goodreads app! That way if I don’t stitch them right away I can go back and catch up.
What have you learned from starting a book journal?
My embroidery skills improved a bit! And patience for sure.
What do you plan on doing with your book journal now that you’ve finished?
I actually just hung it up! I got nice display hoops and embroidered a small middle piece with the year.
Are you working on an embroidery journal this year?
I decided to do a daily mood tracking journal this year. I was a little burned out after last year.
Where can we find you online?
I don’t have any specific social media at this time, just my personal facebook account. I share a lot of images on embroidery facebook groups though! (And some in book groups for this particular project)
I’m not currently looking for new artists to interview for A Stitch a Day, but you can look forward to interviews about colour blocking, movies, travelling, and even more amazing embroidery journals!
Enjoyed this post? Then check out some of my other blog posts or purchase the in-depth embroidery journal guide. You can also join the free Embroidery Journaling Facebook Group to chat with others working on their own Embroidery Journals. You can also follow me on any of the following social media websites: