I finished #5 on my 30 before 30 list to sew a quiet book! It was a lot of work, but really fun to make. I searched for pages on Pinterest, chose the ones I liked, and then either followed their tutorials or made it up. I convinced my friend in Baltimore, Julia, to make the book with me. This helped with buying supplies, thinking through the best way to sew, and most importantly, for motivation.
I complied a few ideas for the cover and I was so pleased with how it turned out. The front flap is velcro and there is a handle so Lily can carry it around.
The ribbon pull. I loved this idea, but sadly it didn't work out as well as I wanted it to. If I had reinforced the holes the grommets would have stayed and if I had used bigger ribbon the ends wouldn't always pull through the grommets. But it looks funs, ha ha.
Abacus counting page. Lily loves sliding the beads up and down the ribbon.
Good old velcro shapes.
This page is a combination of a couple ideas. Flaps and a velcro square that comes apart.
I'm glad this page is next to the shapes because Lily has fun hiding the shapes behind the flaps and attaching different items to each velcro spot.
I should have gone for the more expensive zippers. Love the color of these, but Lily will need to be a lot older before she can zip them on her own.
A detachable "I Spy" bag. Found this idea somewhere and it is so smart. If I don't want the whole quiet book with me, then I can just pull off the "I Spy" bag and throw it in the diaper bag.
Button flowers with an open pocket in the pot to store the flowers in.
Basic mitten page.
And the final page involved Barrett's designing skills and access to a 3-D printer at school. I really wanted a twisty page and when Barrett told me he could easily design and print one for me months ago, I didn't forget it. He was nice enough to set aside some time before we moved to design these for the book and I'm so happy he did because they work great. They are really easy for Lily to twist on and off.
While crossing this off my list I realized that I also completed another item when I moved to Baltimore, which was to stop working full-time and teach piano. Although piano is not a replacement for work due to our frequent moves, I did stop working and had 2 students while in Baltimore. Hopefully, when we really are "settled" somewhere I will be able to have more regular students. I also had a realization that some items on my list may need to be adjusted because were aren't living in Utah anymore so I may not be around to visit specific places I have listed. We'll see...
