Sarah's Quiet Book

Happy Monday! I hope the start of your week has been good. Today I get to share with you a beautiful quiet book made by Sarah, who made it for her nieces. She used lots of bright, colorful patterned fabrics that add so much life and interest to her quiet book. Her different pages include a chalkboard page, mailbox page (with handwritten letters inside), a color page, a dress up doll page (with a wardrobe full of little clothes), a memory flip page, a button and lace page where you can make shapes, and a counting page. It is an absolutely beautiful book. I can't get over the fantastic color page or all of the beautiful, unique little clothes for the dress up page. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Interview

What's your name? What's your level of sewing experience?

My name is Sarah and I just get such a kick out of sewing pretty things! I started with quilting, but have enjoyed the much faster results that come from quiet book piecing! I learned to sew basic embroidery and piecing from my mom and grandma when I was about six.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
I made this book for my nieces, ages three and one; (more for the three year old, obviously.) :)

How long did it take you?
I have been doing sketches for it for over a year; but they have set in my "unfinished work" basket for months and months. I decided this Christmas would be the one-that-I-got-the-book-done. I have no idea how many hours it took, start to finish, but I would estimate around fifty. Eek.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I used a template from Serving Pink Lemonade's blog for the paper doll-girl. I got the idea for the memory flip page from thisishappystuff.com (Busy Book: Memory Flip), but I improvised the execution of it.The other pages were inspired from various education and craft blogs and Pinterest.

How did you bind your quiet book?
The book is basically made out of three 12"x 24" mini-quilts. the first one is slightly longer, and serves for both covers. the other two quilts (which contain four pages; two on front and two on back) are sewed down the center directly onto the cover "quilt."

How much did all the supplies cost you?
Since I have done quite a bit of sewing and have a stash of scrap fabrics, I didn't have to buy anything specifically for this project except for some buttons, and iron-on vinyl (with which I covered the "letters" and "picture memory").

What's your favorite page? Why?
My favorite things about this book are: the letters to my nieces with the photos of the first time I met each of them, and the photo memory game, because those pages make it so personal to the girls. I enjoyed making the felt doll clothes the most, and reminiscing about past sewing projects I had done for my little people as I used scraps for the color/texture page. The book is absolutely full of good memories for me! I am working on one for my little sons now, and using some of their outgrown baby clothes, which makes is extra special to me.

Sarah, thank you for sharing your beautiful quiet book 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!

Marianne's Quiet Books

Today we have two awesome quiet books to show you! These were by Marianne for her two godchildren, and as they were made for children of different ages they each have a different focus. The first is more of a sensory book - complete with flowers, ribbons, and leaves to feel, a little caterpillar to play peekaboo with, and a mirror to see oneself in. The second is made for a preschooler, and is more interactive. This book has buckles, weaving, shapes and colors, snaps, dress-up, and even an awesome little chalkboard complete with real chalk!

Both books are great and really well done. Like Marianne, I think my favorite page is her magnolia tree. The flowers are beautiful! I also really like the fabric that she made the pages out of, especially in the toddler book. Also, I want a cookie page just like hers. But I'm beginning to feel like I'm beginning to feel like I'm rambling, so I'll stop and let Marianne's books speak for themselves. Enjoy!

Baby quiet book:

Toddler quiet book:

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.
My name is Marianne. I love to sew and craft, especially anything that I can give my god-daughters.

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?
Analiese (butterfly book) is 1 month old. Lillie is 4 years (and 1 month) old.

What's your level of sewing experience?
I have been quilting since I was 10 and got my first embroidery machine in college.  I worked at a sewing machine shop for 3 years where I learned A LOT.  On embroidery, I consider myself fairly expert.  On other sewing I consider myself average, I know a lot but can't always execute as beautifully as I would like.

How long did it take you?
Tough question, total probably about 48-60 hours spread over about a month and a half on Sunday afternoons while my husband was watching football. :-)

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found?
I used a template from you for the caterpillar and cocoon page and a template from Imagine Our Life for the cookie page, although in both cases I used the templates to digitize them for my embroidery machine.  Other pages were either free-hand or existing embroidery designs.

How did you bind your quiet book?
I put 2 eyelets in each page and put binder clips through them.  I did this so I can add/change pages as the girls grow and change.

What material are the pages made out of?
The pages are made out of calico cotton with 1 layer of felt inside to give some weight.

What other materials did you use?
Felt for various pages, tulle for the cocoon, satin and ribbons for the taggy flower, cardboard mirror and ribbon, fur and a pre-made cat collar and small dog leash for the cat page, cotton fabric, chalkboard fabric. The daisies, butterflies, and magnolia blooms are freestanding lace so they are made entirely of thread.  I also used buttons, snaps, velcro, small beads in the magnolia blooms, and eyelets (for the binding).  The paper doll was pre-printed cotton and I used fuse 'n' fix to fuse it to felt.  Because I used machine embroidery, I also used 2 different stabilizers.

How much did all the supplies cost you?
Fortunately I had almost everything in my stash.  I had to buy the chalkboard fabric, the mirrored cardboard (both from JoAnns), the buttons (from Michaels), the collar and leash (from the dollar store), and the chalk (from Shopko). Total about $15 (as well as having to purchase the magnolia bloom designs for my machine for about $15 on sale. All other embroideries I either digitized myself or already had on my computer)

What's your favorite page? Why?
DEFINITELY the magnolia tree.  I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.  It also took the most work to put the flowers together.

Marianne, thank you so much for letting us enjoy your lovely quiet books!

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

Amber's Quiet Book

Hi everyone! Today's bright and happy quiet book comes to us from Amber at Vintage Ginger Peaches. I absolutely adore the cover she made for it; she chose such a bright and cheery fabric! I also think her chalkboard page is so original and cute, and her fish page looks so fun. Be sure to check out her design blog at Numbered Street Designs!

Interview

What's your name? Describe yourself in one sentence.

My name is Amber. I am a stay-at-home mom and interior designer that loves to create and make beautiful spaces and things. 

Who did you make this quiet book for? How old are they?

I made this quiet book for my daughter. She was about 18 months when I made it for her.

What's your level of sewing experience?

I would say I am at a medium level of sewing experience. I am pretty much self taught with some help from my mom. When I see something I like, I enjoy the challenge of figuring out how to make it myself. 

How long did it take you?

I worked on it for at least 5 or 6 hours a day (sometimes more) over the period of a week. It was A LOT of work.

Did you use any templates? Where can they be found? 
The deer page came from here: Sweet Mama Duck: Quiet Book Revealed.

Four of the pages came from here: Serving Pink Lemonade: Quiet Book.

How did you bind your quiet book?

I bound my book using 1” metal rings and then made a cover inspired by this one:

Still Living: How to Make a Quiet Book Cover

What material are the pages made out of?

For the pages I used Pellon. It is a thick interfacing type material. I purchased mine at JoAnn’s.

What other materials did you use?

Here is a list of the materials I bought:
2 yards of thick Pellon, interfacing.
1 1/2 yards of fusible webbing
Several pieces of 9x12 felt in numerous colors. I bought 12 different colors, 1 of each color.
Velcro Dots
A zipper
Googly eyes
Fabric and button for cover
Magnets - I bought some super strong crafting ones at Walmart
Small Dowel
Binding Rings
Felt Letters

How much did all the supplies cost you?

Total with coupons I spent about $30.

What's your favorite page? Why?

My favorite page is the fishing page. I came up with the idea on my own, and my daughter loves it. Those magnetic fish can be pretty entertaining. 

To view Amber's quiet book on Vintage Ginger Peaches (with more details and explanation),  click here. To check out her awesome design blog, click here: Numbered Street Designs. Thank you, Amber, so much for sharing your awesome quiet book 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!