Cambria Opens Her Quiet Book

After a long drive through Indiana, Ohio, and West Virginia, we arrived at Jessica and Andrew's for the first leg of our journey around dinner time Saturday. Opening Cambria's quiet book was one of the first things we did!

Two bags - one with the pillow and one with the quiet book.

Mommy helped encourage Cambria to look at her book - she'd never seen one before and wasn't quite sure what to do.

The bunny in the cradle was the first piece that Cambria pulled out to play with.

Her mama was very excited about the Caps for Sale page I had created and told me I should include it in other quiet books.

Cambria puts hats on the monkeys. She likes monkeys and can make a monkey sound (which she did while playing with this page.)

The counting page was a big hit, too - especially the cupcake.("Happy Birthday to you!" was sung.)

Whitney Opens Her Quiet Book

After all the work I put into the grandchildren's quiet books, it is a quiet thrill to watch them unwrap their gift and explore the book. Whitney's was no exception.

First, Dad helps her with the pillow while Corinne looks on.

And then she opens her book.

Since she has older siblings who have their own quiet books, she already had an idea of what to do with it.

And some of the pages were familiar as they were included in those other books.

Daddy's leg was a convenient place to put parts.

She knew that something was in the whale's mouth and unzipped it right away!

A fish, an anchor, a seahorse, and a mermaid! (That was some hungry whale!)

Peek a boo!!

Daddy seemed to enjoy playing with the book, too.

A special page I created for Whitney. Her siblings asked that I use the same bell that I put on a lamb in Corinne's. This time, I drew a moon, added some stars, and found a cow appliqué. I put the bell on a collar around its neck and then stitched velcro in several places so the cow can jump over the moon.

She really liked that.

The girl on the dress-up page is a red head - first one I've ever done with that hair color.

Gathering book and pillow together in a big hug. 

The rest of the evening, Whitney kept coming back over to play with it.

Yep, she likes it!

Cambria's Quiet Book

It's done! After a month of sewing every spare moment I had, I completed Cambria's quiet book.

 The cover is the same fabric that was on Jessica's quiet book. I found it on eBay.

This page is a family favorite and a connection to my parents' orchard.

 I love that the girl's eye is peeping out - an accident while sewing, but perfect for this page!

 The pink fabric has sparkles, but it's hard to tell in the photos.

This next page is a new one. I wanted to do a Caps for Sale - style one, and found a flannelboard story set online.

 I ordered it, cut out and then backed all the pieces, and it worked perfectly! (Jessica loved it and recommended I put it in future books.)

The blue ribbon was worn by Trinity or Addie at Jessica and Andrew's wedding.  I had a difficult time finding a doll for the cradle. 

 A mini Easter Bunny from CVS was just the ticket!

 Fabric from past sewing projects comprise the dresses for this page. The white ribbon on the top dress is the same ribbon that I put on Cambria's blessing gown a year ago.

 I think the chick appliqués add a lot to this page.

 The buzzy bees and their flight trails are a legacy from Great Grandma Martin.

 This is a new page, although it's in the original pattern book. The pattern had you cut shapes out of felt - boring!

I switched it up to appliqués and am delighted with the result.

 I also changed this page from "Indian" to "little girl" to make it a bit more politically correct. Great Grandma drew the original designs for the tipi.

 I also changed the gender of the person inside from a boy to a girl.

Due to safety concerns with the clothespins, I have never done the following page, even though it is in the original pattern book.

 Jessica assured me she would monitor Cambria, so I went ahead and put it together.

 Last but not least - the traditional quiet book ending page!

With the leftover fabric from the cover, I also made Cambria a pillow.

 I think it turned out well. (Front side.)

(Back side.)

Quiet books take a lot of time to make, but they're super fun for me and, I hope, something that my grandchildren treasure.

St. Patrick's Day Pillowcases

Here are the pillowcases I made for the grandkids for St. Patrick's Day. Fabric choices were rather limited.

JC and Trinity are getting the clover ones, and then Braden, Addie, Corinne, and Whitney will get those plus the doggy one.

And More Progress on Cambria's Quiet Book

Here are some photos I took to show my mother of the progress I had made on Cambria's quiet book. (It's now done, but I haven't taken any pictures of the finished book yet.)

A screen shot of the Caps for Sale flannel book story I found online and purchased for the book.

Progress on Cambria's Quiet Book

Cambria's birthday is February 6, but I am not going to finish her book in time. She and her family are here for a couple of days and I just can't sit down and work when they are here. I want to visit, not sew!!

By the same token, I have made a lot of progress on it. Here are some snaps of things for the book.

 Flowers for the buttoning page.

 I am trying a page I have never done before - I am really excited about it!

It takes two tables so I can spread out. And actually, there are things on the desk behind these tables, too!

Valentine Pillowcases

I am so busy working on the second quiet book of the year (Cambria's) but I did squeeze in some time for the kids' Valentine pillowcases.

Left: JC's and Trinity's. Right: Braden's, Addie's, Corinne's, and Whitney's.

Braden wanted to match JC, and Addie asked to be the same as Trinity. Corinne asked who she could match, and her siblings suggested Cambria. I won't make that one until next year, but I'll try to get the same fabric again.