Alicia and Patrick's Quiet Book

Merry couple-days-after-Christmas! I hope everyone has had a great holiday week, and that things are looking good for the new year next week!

Today I get to share a seriously awesome quiet book with you. This is made by Alicia and Patrick of Felt With Love Designs, a very cool blog focused on kids' activities. Patrick does all of the designs, and Alicia transfers his art to patterns and then stitches them on to whatever they are making. And these pages are seriously impressive! The first few (the Ocean Counting page and the Sock Matching page) are based off pages from Imagine Our Life, and the others (the Dinosaur Shapes, Spongebob Squarepants, Halloween, and Thanksgiving pages) are all original. The detail put into each page is amazing. (Have I ever mentioned that I love how hand-stitching looks? Love it.) Every page has cool characteristics  - the socks have magnets in them, for example, so that they can stick to their mate. I also like that they're planning for the pages to be interchangeable; that would be great for the seasonal holiday pages.

Enjoy this awesome quiet book, and check out Alicia and Patrick's blog for more pages in the future!

Ocean Counting Page:

Sock matching page:

Dinosaur shapes:

Spongebob Squarepants pages (Krusty Krab and characters):

Halloween page:

Thanksgiving turkey page:

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
Our names are Alicia and Patrick. We do quiet book pages, as well as many other children's things. My husband does all of our designs (he is the artist!) and I transfer his art to patterns and then stitch them into whatever we are making.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
We make the pages for our daughter who is two years old.

What's your level of sewing experience?
I have been sewing since elementary school (although I stopped for several years and just recently picked it up again because I wanted to create some neat things for our daughter!) My husband has been drawing his entire life. (He's very talented. We have just a couple samples of what he is capable of up on our blog.)

How long did it take you?
Each page takes me about a week to do (the complicated ones are more) once I have a sketch. I work on it when I have a few spare moments. It takes my husband anywhere from ten minutes to a week to get a sketch perfected for me, depending on the complexity.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
Some are done from patterns on Imagine our Life. We plan to offer some of ours (of our original designs) for free download from our page.

How did you bind your quiet book?
I haven't bound any of my pages yet. I'm still contemplating how I want to finish the edges. I plan to do something similar to Imagine Our Life with the binding because I want my pages to be interchangeable.

What material are the pages made out of? What other materials did you use? 
So far, I have only used felt in my pages (except thread and vinyl, obviously).

How much did all the supplies cost you?
I haven't added up a total for supplies. I try to use stuff I already have at home and use coupons when I need things.

What's your favorite page?
My favorite page(s) are the ones Imagine Our Life is currently featuring (the world map) although there are a million more of her designs I like too! Of mine, my favorite is probably the dinosaurs and shapes page!


To view all of Alicia and Patrick's quiet book pages on their own blog, click here: Felt With Love Designs: Quiet Books. Each page has its own post with helpful instructions, pictures, and (for several of the original designs) templates. Look for new quiet book pages from them in the future, too. Thank you again, Alicia and Patrick, for sharing your talents with us!

Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!

Amy's Quiet Book

The quiet book I get to share with you today is one of the classics, one of the ones that started it all. Amy of the popular blog Serving Pink Lemonade made and posted her awesome quiet book almost three years ago, in January 2011. Very soon after she posted her templates and helpful instructions. And just a few months ago, she published her very own book on how to make a quiet book! Her book, Quiet Book Patterns: 25 Easy-to-Make Activities for Your Children, is available on Amazon.com and looks awesome.

When I was making my own quiet book back in 2011, Amy's was one of the first ones I found. The quality of it inspired me, and I loved her different activities. I based my barn on her lovely, clean-cut one. And my favorite page in her book is the seasons tree - I definitely want to make one in one of my future quiet books.

So enjoy Amy's awesome quiet book, and definitely take a look at her Quiet Book Pattern book on Amazon!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
My name is Amy.  I am a mother to three cute kiddos and a recent first time author of "Quiet Book Patterns: 25 easy-to-make activities for your children"--which are completely different ideas than what I'm sharing with you today.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
I made my quiet books for my oldest two children when they were only two and four years old.

What's your level of sewing experience?  
I started sewing as a young girl.  I remember sewing simple straight lines to help my mom make cloth diapers for my younger siblings.  I made my first dress when I was ten years old and made skirts, handbags, and even my prom dress in high school.  I perfected my sewing skills in college by taking a few clothing constructions and pattern making classes.

How long did it take you? 
I worked on my quiet books for over the period of two to three months, a little here and a little there.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I used some of the quiet books my mom had made when I was a little girl for inspiration but I drew up each template from scratch for my own quiet book.  You can find the templates on my website: Serving Pink Lemonade: Quiet Book.

How did you bind your quiet book?
To bind my quiet books I punched holes through the Pellon Peltex pages with a single paper hole punch.  Peltex is strong and won't fray or tear so you don't have to worry about reinforcing the holes.  Initially I strung ribbon through the holes to bind the pages and then later replaced the ribbon with 1" binder rings.

What material are the pages made out of?
The pages of my books are made of Pellon Peltex (a thick non-fusible interfacing).  I love it because it doesn't "pill" like felt and it is sturdy and the edges will not fray.

What other materials did you use?
I used a lot of still felt on my pages and ironed most of the pieces on using Pellon Wonder Under so I didn't have to do very much sewing.

How much did all the supplies cost you?
I didn't keep track of the cost since I bought the supplies a little at a time.  A lot the the supplies I already had on hand too.  Making a quiet book is a great way to use up small scraps!

What's your favorite page? Why? 
My favorite page by far is the car mat page.  I love how it turned out and my kids love playing with it.  I think the road signs add a professional touch.


To view Amy's quiet book on her blog, with helpful instructions, templates, and supply lists, click here: Serving Pink Lemonade: Quiet Book. To see Amy's Quiet Book Pattern Book, click here: Quiet Book Patterns: 25 Easy-to-Make Activities for Your Children.

Thank you so much for sharing your book, your templates, and your instructions with us Amy!

Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!

Metinee's Quiet Book

Today's quiet book comes to us all the way from Malaysia! Made by Metinee for her toddler son, this book has lots of fun things to play with like snaps, weaving, zippers, and beads. I really like the day/night page; I've never seen anything like that and I think it's a really cool concept. But I think my very favorite page in this book is the cover - it's so bright and happy and I'm sure a child would love their name like that on the front of their book. So, enjoy!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
My name is Metinee. I'm from Thailand but now I'm staying in Malaysia and my friends here call me "Menie." I am 24/7 mommy of my only son (but sometimes I also spend my time for non-profit organization).

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
As I told you before, I made the quiet book for my dear son Imtiyaz. He is now 19 months old. When I first start to fond in quiet book, he is around 1 year.

What's your level of sewing experience?
I'm not dare to tell that I'm super beginner (55+) as you can see from my sewing. I'm novice in sewing, as you know I just known how to blanket stitch with my very first page of quietbook (Balloon Button). You can see from my every page that got at least one point in each page imperfection but who's care because perfect is not our goal in making of quietbook. Just be fun and put all your effort is better moreover my son loves them so WIN-WIN ^_^

How long did it take you?
Ummmm It's quiet difficult to tell in word. I think it depends on how many time that I have in each day to finish each page of quietbook and also for my mood as well. Since I hand-sew so some page of quietbook take a long time and I'm nap-time crafting as well, LOL.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I use no pattern or any templates provided in Internet, rather got some inspiration from Pinterest and this blog. Since I have decided which kind of page I want to sew, so I draw a template by myself because I like to draw even my drawing skill is not good.

How did you bind your quiet book?
Actually I've not finished it so I'm not binding my quietbook yet. By the way, I plan to use embroidery thread or may be just using binding ring.

What materials are the pages made out of?
I use felt in multi-color but if you can observe from my very first page I have only five colors in a row (Pity me55+). I also use buttons, beads, ribbon, and so on for decoration.

How much did all supplies cost you?
I think this question is kinda hard to answer again hehe. I always fond to buy supplies and decoration accessories. By the way, I usually bought all my stock of felt from Daiso (kinda like Dollar Store, everything same price as 5Ringgint Malaysia). For the other decoration items, I usually bought it when I went back to my hometown because it's easier to find the right one.

What's your favorite page? Why?
I like the Space page...tons of imagination and also for my son too. He likes to see himself in astronaut suit moreover he likes to move alien in that both page swap to another place. Not only that page I mention above, also for the cover as well.... unique one just only My "Imtiyaz's Quietbook" to have that cover.

Thank you so much for sharing your quiet book with us Metinee!

Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!

Audrey's Christmas Quiet Book

Merry Christmas! Sorry the blog's been quiet for the last couple last couple months; my excuse is that I was nine months pregnant, and then for the last six weeks I've been adjusting to having a newborn in addition to my toddler! It's been great fun, though, and we're very happy to have our new little daughter with us.

Today I get to share a Christmas quiet book with you. Made by Audrey from The Sensible Home, this book has lots of holiday-themed activities. There's a Christmas tree with lots of textures, a present to tie the bow on, stockings with fun little things hidden underneath, a dress-up snowman, a hot-chocolate counting game, a cookie color-matching game, Santa's boot to lace, a coat to button, a pie to weave, a mitten to wear, and a reindeer to help fly. It looks super fun, and would be such a great book to have! Take a look!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence. 
Audrey -- I'm a Southern girl at heart turned Northern transplant, balancing work, motherhood and homemaking with a smile (and healthy sense of humor).

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they? 
I made this quiet book for my two-year-old son, Owen.

What's your level of sewing experience? 
I'm a total amateur. I have had a sewing machine for almost six years but was too intimidated to turn it on until about six months ago. My late grandmother was an accomplished seamstress, and I took one lesson from her when I was in middle school -- and hated it. Now, I wish I had paid more attention! I'm an experienced cross-stitcher, so that helps, but otherwise I'm teaching myself with books, YouTube videos and the help of a local sewing shop.

How long did it take you?
This book took me about a month to finish, working only 1-2 hours a day (and not every day). I started it just after my son's second birthday on Nov. 10, and didn't do anything with it during the week of Thanksgiving, and only worked on it an hour or two at night or during his nap time on the weekends (another 1-2 hours). All told, I'd say about 50-55 hours.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I did! I linked to all of them in my blog post here: The Sensible Home: Christmas Quiet Book Look-Through. If there's not a link, I just used free clipart or freehanded them.

How did you bind your quiet book? 
I followed the tutorial offered by Serving Pink Lemonade here: Serving Pink Lemonade: Quiet Book Cover, with two exceptions: I used felt, not flannel, as the cover fabric, and I went with metal three-ring loose-leaf binder rings instead of ribbon for the binding. I also didn't add a cover page as she did.

What material are the pages made out of? 
Like Serving Pink Lemonade, I went with Pellon for the pages, with stiff colored felt added to some of them to change up the all-white backgrounds.

What other materials did you use? 
Mostly felt, but also some cotton fabric, laminated card stock, ribbon, faux leather, shoelaces, buttons, and embellishments like mini pom-pons and pipe cleaners.

How much did all the supplies cost you? 
Good question. A lot of what I used was already in my craft stash (like the embellishments, the fabric and about half of the felt). I'd say I spent less than $50 -- the most expensive purchase was the Pellon, and I also bought a bulk roll of fusible webbing to help affix pieces to the page. The remaining pieces, like the felt and thread to sew it all together, were just a few dollars.

What's your favorite page? Why?
I have two -- there's a two-page spread that I'm pretty proud of, with one page featuring a hot-chocolate counting game and the opposite page featuring a color-matching cookie game. Both pages were ideas I came up with completely on my own, and they turned out really well, I think. I'm also a big fan of the piecrust-weaving page -- getting the scallop cuts correct was a bit tedious, and I think the final version turned out super cute and polished.

To read more about how Aubrey made the quiet book, to find the templates she used, and to learn more about each page, check out the Christmas quiet book post on her blog: The Sensible Home: Christmas Quiet Book Look-Through. Thank you so much for sharing your cheery and fun quiet book with us, Audrey!

Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!

Moira's Number Quiet Book

Hi everyone! Sorry the last month was so slow on the blog; I'm getting ready to have our second baby and have been trying to get everything in order before she gets here!

The quiet book I have to show you today is made by Moira, the same skilled retired textiles teacher that made this Colors Quiet Book. Her new quiet book has a different theme: counting! Each page has a prominent number, a matching number of objects (embroidery or buttons), the number written out in English and French, and that same number of ribbon tabs on the side of the page. It's awesome! I think a book like this would be perfect for my almost-two-year-old; she loves practicing counting, and a book like this would help a lot. Take a look at Moira's awesome counting quiet book!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
My name is Moira Elliott. I am a recently retired Textiles Teacher in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
I have made this quiet book for my Grandson Daniel who is 15 months and lives in Quebec, Canada. He loves my first quiet book which was about colours and so this book is about the numbers one to ten.

What's your level of sewing experience?
Having been a textiles teacher for many years I am fairly skilled in all aspects of creative textiles work.

How long did it take you?
The numbers book took several days to make including the CADCAM embroidery of each number in both English and French.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I did not use any templates.

How did you bind your quiet book?
The book is stitched together down the central pages.

What material are the pages made out of?
The fabrics are mostly cotton, the embroidery threads used are viscose. The ribbons are mostly synthetic.

What other materials did you use? How much did all the supplies cost you?
The main cost was for the buttons and the ribbons. These totaled around £15.00. The fabrics used were taken from my large stock!

What's your favorite page? Why?
I do not have a favourite page but may do so after spending thus coming Christmas in Quebec and being able to see Daniel playing with the book.

Thank you so much for sharing your awesome, second quiet book with us Moira!

Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!

Hannah's Church Quiet Book

Do you guys remember Hannah's cute baby quiet book from a couple months ago? Well, she made another quiet book after that one, and I get to share it with you today! (Both can be found on her blog, Sunburnt Strawberry.) She made this one for and about her church, and it is so cool! On the front cover she stitched her parish church; the activities inside the book include a "help the vicar get ready for service" dress-up page, a bell-ringing page, a prayer page, a congregation of finger puppets, a communion puzzle, and more. I love the idea of a church-themed quiet book for church; what a great way to both keep children quiet and help them focus on where they are. Here's Hannah's church quiet book!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
My name is Hannah, a science teacher and regular at my parish church since I was a small child.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
This book is a little odd in that it was not made with a particular child in mind. We attend the family service at our local church and often we have kids visiting for christenings or church parades. Lots of parents worry about their kids squirming or making a noise (although we really don’t mind!) and a service can be a long time for some kids. So when I originally came across the quiet book idea on the Internet I thought it was genius and decided to make one for our service. The church is always trying to make people welcome and a “welcome to the church” quiet book seemed like a great idea (read took ages!) so off I went to make a quiet book tailor made to our church. I'm really glad I could do something to make visitors to our church a little more welcome!

What's your level of sewing experience?
Low-ish; I would say my confidence was boosted by making my previous small baby book so that I was brave enough to even start this project! On the other hand making this book taught me new skills (like using interfacing and bondaweb) so my skills are improving all the time!

How long did it take you? 
I can't even count! A couple of hours a weekend over 3 months, maybe 30 hours?

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I didn't use any templates, just sketched the designs out first and the cut the pieces out from their. I did make the cover using a photo of our church which I traced to give me a template which is a really good way to personalize your book.

How did you bind your quiet book?
I sewed the pages right sides together and then turned them out.The pages were then stitched together using a large zig zag stitch and the spine covered in denim. I chose denim to be hard wearing. I wrote a more detailed post (with pictures!) about the construction on my blog: Church Quiet Book Construction.

What material are the pages made out of?
Unbleached medium weight calico.

What other materials did you use?
Mainly felt for the pictures but also; Iron-on interfacing, Bondaweb (like wonder under), recycled jeans for denim, embroidery thread, poppers (snaps in America!), vinyl cut from a pencil case,  scraps of fake leather, ribbon, lace, velcro, buttons and beads from my stash.

How much did all the supplies cost you?
Around £20, mainly on the calico, interfacing and Bondaweb. I bought a couple of bits and bobs but I already had things too.

What's your favorite page? Why?
I love the dress up vicar and the tiny finger puppets, but the winner has to be the cover because it is so cool to have the church on the front! I also wrote a dedication on the back cover later to a very special lady in our congregation who passed away recently so that important to me.


To see Hannah's church quiet book on her own blog (with more details, pictures, and instructions), check out her blog posts: Church Quiet Book Construction, Church Quiet Book: The Final Product. Thank you for sharing your awesome church quiet book with us, Hannah!

Have you made a quiet book that you'd like to share? Click here for instructions on how to submit your own quiet book!