Quiet books
So, apparently when writers are feeling stress, they sort of go crazy in the creativity department, and not just in writing. Add a little cool weather, and suddenly I want to knit or even sew. Um, it's true that I haven't done much sewing since maybe 2003 or so. But PMB recently found the quiet book I made for one of my other kids long ago, and he and Little Sweetie have been feeling left out that the older kids got them and they didn't. So, Christmas gifts, right? It's not exactly a secret, since if I waited for PMB to go to bed before starting, I would pass out over the sewing machine. And it's going to take a loooooooong time to finish. But hey, Christmas isn't until December, right?
Anyway. I'm going to repeat some pages the other kids have, but I looked on line and found some really awesome things other people have done that I'm going to add. I finished one full spread (that's four pages) today:
The apple tree that you pick. For my daughter's book I might make leaves that are green on one side and fall colored on the other, instead of apples.

The pocket you can put a note pad in (and play with loops):


The ice scene. Yes, I realize that the North Star and surrounding constellations would not be visible from the South Pole. But there aren't any igloos down there, either. I made this with the pattern you can find here.


This one came from the same web site. PMB LOVES this one. The penguin washes himself in the washer, and the socks migrate to the igloo. I wasn't planning on these being facing pages, but...yeah. Maybe it will have to be so.


This was really an ingenious design--the dryer door has clear vinyl, and the socks have magnets sewn inside them, which match the magnets under the socks on the page. The idea being that you match them up. If you do this, magnetic tape isn't strong enough to go through felt. But be careful about how strong of magnets you get. I'm sure this is the sort of thing you couldn't sell to babies--I got the magnets that had no warnings on them, but I don't know if that's due to them actually being weaker, or because that brand didn't carry those kind of warnings. In any case, I wouldn't let a kid suck on them.
I couldn't sew all the time. It's a tremendous effort to drag all the stuff out and put it away, to keep kids out of the needles and from gutting whatever I'm working on, etc. But it's a nice creative outlet for when you're mulling something in the writing and you need to let things simmer.
What about you? What are your side releases for creativity?
Anyway. I'm going to repeat some pages the other kids have, but I looked on line and found some really awesome things other people have done that I'm going to add. I finished one full spread (that's four pages) today:
The apple tree that you pick. For my daughter's book I might make leaves that are green on one side and fall colored on the other, instead of apples.


The pocket you can put a note pad in (and play with loops):


The ice scene. Yes, I realize that the North Star and surrounding constellations would not be visible from the South Pole. But there aren't any igloos down there, either. I made this with the pattern you can find here.


This one came from the same web site. PMB LOVES this one. The penguin washes himself in the washer, and the socks migrate to the igloo. I wasn't planning on these being facing pages, but...yeah. Maybe it will have to be so.


This was really an ingenious design--the dryer door has clear vinyl, and the socks have magnets sewn inside them, which match the magnets under the socks on the page. The idea being that you match them up. If you do this, magnetic tape isn't strong enough to go through felt. But be careful about how strong of magnets you get. I'm sure this is the sort of thing you couldn't sell to babies--I got the magnets that had no warnings on them, but I don't know if that's due to them actually being weaker, or because that brand didn't carry those kind of warnings. In any case, I wouldn't let a kid suck on them.
I couldn't sew all the time. It's a tremendous effort to drag all the stuff out and put it away, to keep kids out of the needles and from gutting whatever I'm working on, etc. But it's a nice creative outlet for when you're mulling something in the writing and you need to let things simmer.
What about you? What are your side releases for creativity?
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I hate to sew, so that's not where my creative mind goes...but I have started a crocheting project (and I've bought yarn for everyone else's) for E (she'll be the guinea pig, as usual).
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Robin, as a knitter, I feel like crocheting looks SO difficult.
It's all about point of view, eh, Rose?
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My grandma made a quiet book for my sister and I when we were small, and we LOVED it. But--there was only one book, and two of us. So I decided to make each kid one, so that if they wanted to keep it for their kids some day, they could. Um. But that's a lot of quiet books...
I've got one more four page spread to do and then I can bind PMB's book. If he doesn't run away with the existing pages yet. Then one more for the 7YO (who is too old, but doesn't want to be left out...)