Quiet Book: Workday Three

What a day!

It is absolutely gorgeous here in California!!! I made a point to get some much needed sun before holing up in the house to work on my Quiet Book. With Nick at the Grand Prix in Long Beach for the afternoon, I've had the entire day to myself.

It's just been me, my sewing machine, and country music blasting...oh, and the cat. Yes, Beav's decided he is going to "help" me, aka. "get in the way and lay on mom's page layouts". But what can I do, he loves me...

Progress so far:

1. I assembled the cover of the book. My original Quiet book had a corderoy outer cover, most likley for durability, and "Popeye the Sailor Man" poplin as the inside of the book cover. I chose a gender neutral corderoy of my very favorite print...POLKA DOTS! The inside of the cover is a contrasting poplin print, which reminds me of something my mom would have bought circa 1977. Very vintage- retro, at 20th century prices..Man fabric is expensive!

(Note: the cover was MUCH easier than anticipated. I took my time to iron out the fabrics and keep the seam width equal while sewing. Once turned inside out, I ironed once again, pressing seams down. I followed up with a straight stich around the perimeter of the book, to assure that the cover stays rectangular.)

2. I tackled the zipper page. I have NEVER in my life been successful at sewing in a zipper on the first try. Someone up above was looking out for me and my frustration levels today, because Holy cannoli, I did it on the first try!

I re-inforced the end of the zipper's tracks at each end to assure that repeated pullage won't pull my poor ladybug off the page. Inside the Mama Bug, I sandwiched together two layers of red felt and polka dot corderoy to make babybugs. Now, not only is it a zipper activity, it also incorporates counting. Each baby bug has a different number of spots to count as well.

3. I got numbers on the "clock", punched grommets into my lacing page ( football), and purchased the miniature clothes pins for the pincher page ( which are little felt "clothes" that need to be hung on the clothes line).

4. The flower pot is coming along. Still waiting for paint to dry so I can sew on my button "centers".

5. Currently working on the mailbox. I have the flag attached with a brad ( taken from my scrapbooking supplies) to allow for the flag to be moved up and down. Awaiting some paint to dry on the page and I will assemble the rest of the mailbox ( a pocket to slip "mail" into..which utilizes threading skills on a larger scale)..and then lastly, attach a "door" to the mailbox which will be velcroed shut.

6. I got my Clifford page started, but am least happy with it of all my pages. I ended up having to make him into an iron- on transfer ( using transfer paper) and am crossing my fingers that once I applique him on the page and attach the clasp for the "collar" that it looks better.

7. My "snapping shapes" page which focuses on the fine motor skill of snapping and unsnapping (not to mention color and shape recognition) is coming along. I used excess fabric from my inside cover to make a pocket to store the shapes in, and drew in the outlines of each shape on the page. All that is left to do is to sew the snaps on both the page and the felt shapes.

Not bad for 4 hours of work. I'm debating cleaning up my work area and calling it a day...or going back for more.

I really should do something more productive..like laundry or housework...But this is so much more fun!!!!!!!!!!