Saturday, December 6, 2008

Procrastination...let me count the ways

So what do I do to avoid getting the quiet books done?

Clean the house,
have my hair done,
exercise,
read an entire book,
shop,
edit photos,
joined Facebook and read blogs, just to name a few.

And in spite of the procrastination, the books are done.

Because of the procrastination:
I have a clean house,
my hair is good for another 6 weeks and the gray is gone,
I saw the most beautiful pink clouds in the sky while I was out walking that I would have missed had I been sewing,
my husband has a new shirt for church that's a bright Christmas red and I have a beautiful new tablecloth that was a steal at $6,
my daughter could print her pictures because they had been edited
I found some old friends on Facebook and caught up with their lives and made some new friends in the blog world. I also got to smile at the look on my grandmunchkins faces when they saw their Christmas tree via their Mommy's blog.

I give you, drumroll please, the quiet books!

I had orginally started these books for birthdays in July but was so disappointed in what they were turning out like, I tossed it and about gave up. And then Carissa, of Chrysalis knits, put me onto this pattern. Using this, another pattern from Clotildes, and the quiet books I made for my own kiddos 25 years ago, I have quiet books for the youngest 4 grandmunchkins for Christmas that I am happy with! They look a little homemade but handmade as well. The kiddos names are all on their books in sign language! My Mother in law found sign language fabric and bought a huge supply. What she didn't use on our daughter's quilt she gave to me to use for a project or two. Since we're pushing the sign language..what a great place to start!

The pages, in no particular order since each book is different:

Velcro the clothes on and off.

Unzip the ladybug to find baby ladybugs inside.



Button the shapes and velcro the stop light in the right order.

Move the clock hands.Count the train "wheels" (buttons)Tie the shoe and braid the horses tail.Pick the flowers (unsnap and snap) and a pocket with a book.

A place to slip your hand.

My favorite pages I think: A house puzzle page. The house pieces come off and go on with velcro. They match the "house" that's appliqued on the page. And the apples come off the tree.Count the beads.And...the finishing touch!These are a few pages from the books I made my kiddos when they were young. Obviously the workmanship and materials are better in the books I made for the grandkiddos. But! My kids all still have their books and they are still able to be played with! My daughter remembers taking hers to church functions where she had to sit quietly.

And further procrastination will not be tolerated! I have a coat to knit for the youngest granddaughter, vests to knit for grandsons, a pillow for a daughter, and 9 pairs of PJ's. Bring on the caffiene...I'm gonna need it!

8 comments:

  1. These turned out so cute! Sometimes procrastination is good... it got you hooked up with Carissa's pattern so you could accomplish what you wanted! I love the sign language fabric. Where did you find that?

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  2. Glad I found you also. You can add to the list that we both live in the beautiful PNW. Me a little further North than you. I do have a daughter in your neighborhood, I think. We both look forward to our JoAnn's flyer. I did miss the inexpensive flannel though because I WILL NOT do Black Friday. Am going to get mine this week for 2.49 a yard.

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  3. Someone made a book like that for us when we were kids. Some of the pages were exactly the same. We loved that book!

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  4. GASP! In the back of my mind I knew I wanted to make a quiet book for my granddaughter and hadn't started looking yet (her 2nd birthday is July and that's my target). This is so perfect - thank you so much for posting this delightful book!

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  5. I love it! That some of the pages are the same makes it even better, a tie to you making it and the parents. What a treasure. When My oldest daughter was in 1st grade, her teacher signed EVERYTHING. She could do her Alphabet, could carry on basic convo. Wish we had kept it up. The only think we retained was yes, no & do we need to go out side. That was used in church!
    Thank you for the award! I'm trying to think of who to gift it to. Crazy weekend but I will scoop it up in a day or so....THANK YOU!

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  6. Those are amazingly adorable... I love the sign language one also...great idea and gifts.... you sooo rock girl.... :-)

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  7. OH MY GOSH>>>>> that is amazing!!!! That looks alot of hard work too!! I'm sure it'll be cherished! I'm so impressed!

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  8. Hi Debby,

    I sent you an email but I'm not sure if you got it.
    I just wanted to be sure and let you know that I loved this idea so much, I made one for my grandson.
    I posted about it and linked back to your post.
    Thanks for all the great ideas
    :)
    Judy

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