Dolores's Quiet Book

Today's quiet book was shared with me in unique circumstances. I was contacted by Gerd from South Africa, who had found this quiet book in a charity shop.The last page in the book lists the contact information of a woman named Dolores, who made the book. Gerd was able to get in contact with her family, and found out that Dolores passed away in January of this year, at the age of 95.

According to Dolores's obituary, she "...was born April 22, 1918 in Shelby, Ohio, the daughter of the late Joseph and Gertrude (Tome) Heiland. As a homemaker, Dolores was an excellent baker and cook. Known as the “cake lady,” she baked and decorated thousands of cakes for graduations, birthdays and many other occasions for many area families. She also loved doing crafts and needlepoints and cherished time with her children and grandchildren."

Thank you to all the women who share their love and brighten the lives of their families by sharing their talents with them. I hope you enjoy Dolores's quiet book. :)

"What time is it?"

"Make my face" and "Ring the bell"

"I can count numbers up to ten"

"Shape my nose" and "Lace the shoe"

"Button my shirt" and "Find the rabbit"

"Open the barn door" and "Hide the acorns"

"Match the colors" and "Peel the banana"

"Braid my hair" and "What's inside?"

"Snap me on my shapes" and "Overhaul the tractor"

"Tie my bow" and "Surprise!"

Emma's Quiet Books

Today we have two quiet books that come to us from Emma of Southern Belle Sewing. Emma is actually just in her teens, and she made these for two of her younger siblings! There are so many things that I like about these quiet books - I like the name and felt clasp on the cover of James's book, I love the puzzle pieces for the puzzle page (especially that owl and mouse! wow!), and the rocket page, and the mechanic page...basically all of it.

James's quiet book:

Faith's quiet book:

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
Emma. I love to sew for my family of twelve and I'm learning to knit.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
My 3 year old brother and my 2 year old sister for Christmas.

What's your level of sewing experience?
My family says I'm great. They don't always see the annoying little things that I do.

How long did it take you?
Less than a month for Faith's. James's I did most of and then put it off for a while to work on other presents. His took the longest because it is completely handsewn.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I made my own.

How did you bind your quiet book?
Ties for James's and a lot of work and frustration for Faith's including a broken needle.

What material are the pages made out of?
James's is completely felt and Faith's is mostly cotton from my huge fabric stash

What other materials did you use?
Snaps, buttons, Velcro, beads, shells, lace, ribbon, heat'n' bond, you name it, I probably used it.

How much did all the supplies cost you?
Next to nothing. Most of the things were on hand. Faith's was completely on hand and James's I had to buy the felt for, but was on sale so I got it for $10 and still had enough for another present with lots left over.

What's your favorite page? Why?
That's a hard question. For James's it would probably be the jungle page. I love the puzzles, on one side is a parrot and if you flip them over, it's an owl puzzle. For Faith's, it would be the dress up and cat page. That's her favorite too. She once took one of the dresses and put it up to herself and said "It fits!"

If you'd like to see Emma's quiet books on her own blog check out this post: James Quiet Book and this one: Faith's Quiet Book. Thank you so much for sharing your awesome quiet books with us, Emma!

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