Socks & Ladybugs

Two more pages down for Sage's quiet book that I am working on.  I am finding that Corban is especially interested in this project so I might make a few pages for him.  The great thing about using a grommet system is that the book can change and adapt with the child.  I still haven't made the cover that will hold the pages but I'm thinking I might need more than one so there isn't any fighting.  There are some patterns that have games like tic-tac-toe and even ones that teach fractions and other math skills that might be appropriate for Corban or Dakota.

I finished the Sock Matching Page that I was working on last post.  We've already lost a sock but thankfully found it with a little couch cushion searching.  Something tells me they are not going to survive too long, which only seems appropriate since you can never find all of your socks after a load of laundry.  I accidentally put the grommets on the wrong sides of the pages but I don't think it matters (the dryer should have been on the left).

The next page was super quick and easy.  I adapted it from this Counting Page but I couldn't find the same beads at my Joanns.  Ok, now that I reread her post she said they were in the kid crafting area.  Whoops, never looked there.  They probably would have worked better than these buttons because mine sort of flip around.  Oh well.  Since I bought ladybugs and flowers I tried to make the numbers look like sticks and then added some leaves and ants to the party.

  

That's all I've got for today.  I'm currently working on a page for her to learn to spell her name and then I might do a camera page with family photos that she can pull in and out.

Sidenote - I decided to use a hybrid of cotton and felt for my pages.  I wanted to use cotton for all of my backgrounds because there are so many fun choices out there.  If you want to do this for your pages then you need to iron on a stabilizer first or the cotton will have difficulty holding up the embroidery and felt.  Also, the back of my pages are cotton to coordinate with the front.  They also have a fusible stabilizer on them.  

Shhhh....Be Quiet

I probably could have come up with a more clever title for this post but it's Sunday and my brain is taking the day off.  I've been so excited about my recent project that I wanted to share it.  I stumbled across a pin a while back of a "quiet book" and quickly fell in love with the concept.  Basically a quiet book is a fabric book that has interactive pages for a baby/toddler to play with when you want to keep them occupied.  Airplanes.  Cars.  Restaurants.  Church.  I decided I wanted to take a stab at making one for Sage for her 2nd birthday.  Knowing it would take a while I got a head start instead of waiting until the last minute like usual.  The blog I have found to have the best tutorials and patterns (they're free!) does a lot of hand stitching with felt.  When I first started looking at her patterns I decided I would adapt them so I could use my machine...but then I got nostalgic.  I remember the sweet days of my mom sitting on our couch cross stitching by hand with her DMC embroidery floss and decided I wanted to be just like her.  So I pulled out her old floss that I've been saving:

I remember mom coming home from Piece Goods with her stash and putting them in these little envelopes and preparing for a new project.  I'm not going to lie, when I pulled out the first color my breath caught a little.  They are all in pristine condition like they have been waiting 18 years for just the right project.  Something about using mom's old thread to stitch a project for my baby girl just makes me smile.  I think she would be proud.  Sorry, I didn't really mean to get all sappy on this post but had to open my heart a little.

The first page I decided to do was a Forest Page.  It requires very simple motor skills for a child - basically pulling the owl out of his hole and lifting the leaves to find a baby bird in a nest.  It went so fast and I LOVED the hand stitching.  I am a little OCD and I appreciate the unwritten rule that hand stitching isn't supposed to be perfect.  When I use my machine I get very a little frustrated when it doesn't look just like I want.

My second page(s) was a Cookie Page.  This set will be a little more difficult for Sage but hopefully it will teach her to match colors and shapes and eventually do buttons.  Actually, I've been letting Corban practice with it because he still has a little trouble with his shirts.

The one I am currently working on is a Sock Page.  It will teach matching of patterns.

That's all I've got for you today but I'll try to keep you up to date on this project.  I will make a cover that the pages can fit in and we will be able to add or remove from the book as needed.  There are so many patterns that I want to try and I hope to design a few of my own.  Well, I'm going to pick up my needle and thread and enjoy the rest of this lazy Sunday...

Handmade Love 3 - Sage - 10 Months Old

Doing a double post here because I took Sage's 10 month pictures in this sweet sweater that Grammy made her for Christmas.  Remember my last Handmade Love post? And the one before that?  I love that it fits her now, but should also grow with her so she can enjoy it well into next fall and maybe even another spring.

10 Months Old

Milestones:

"uh-oh"

2 More Top Teeth

Giving Kissies (open mouth, with lots of tongue and slobber!)

First Scribbles (with chalk)