Quiet Book, Day 1

Pin It About a month ago, I decided to make a Quiet Book for Baby.

All the blogs I've read about making quiet books usually mention how they are these beautiful heirlooms that children treasure for ages, and that to create one, you have to be a tad bit crazy.  (If you aren't you will be by the end of the process.)

I will tell you this right now: I am NOT someone who sews.  I dream of being someone who sews, but yarn is more my medium of expertise.  My step-mother let me play with her sewing machine when I was a kid, and I had to cut the bobbin out, I made such a hot mess of the thread.  That is the best way to learn how to fix a sewing machine, though, so I have the threading down at least.

I bought a sewing machine years ago (toting it home on a subway train) and I've used it very few times.  (Lingering fear of bobbins.)  Just this past Christmas I discovered that it does something called a straight stretch stitch, allowing me to line the Fair Isle stockings I knit for the holidays.  I figured if I could figure out how to sew Jersey knit stretchy fabric, a quiet book wouldn't be so difficult.

But I had no clue where to start.  So I bought this pattern from The Quilted Fish to get an idea.

The I-spy page was a design I liked, so I started there, fussy-cutting dozens of pictures out of fabric.

My husband is kindly sharing his desk with me.

Now I have a sewing center!

After sewing three pieces together, I decided the process would be better with Oreos and some Kefir.

Lesson: Oreos dipped in Kefir is not as good as you might hope.  Stick to milk.  Also, if you decide to reward yourself every few squares, you are going to run out of Oreos.  I decided I'd save the treats for crisis situations and the finished product.  I didn't want to condition myself into craving Oreos every time I heard a sewing machine turn on.

                                        

I had sewed several rows of blocks together when this happened:

It wasn't too bad, because the bobbin was nearly out of thread.  There wasn't much to get tangled.

Then it happened again.

At one point, I thought I had finished, but I terribly mis-sewed two rows together.
I went to look for the seam ripper.

And somehow, cardboard got stitched into part of it.

But five Oreos, some Kefir, and a glass of milk later, I had finished the first step of the I-Spy page!

(The white fabric underneath is the size of one page, plus 1/4 inch seam allowance.)