Befuddlement of Patterns

The internet is a funny place.  You can't keep things safe.  We all knew that.

Unfortunately, I will not be sharing the patterns for my quiet book.  There is simply too much risk that my intellectual property (the patterns) will not be respected and frankly, the books are quite difficult to make.  I recognize that they are unique and people like unique things.  I also recognize that there are some of you with honest intentions who just want to make a nice gift, and I feel bad that it is this way.  However, I didn't add the quiet book to Pinterest nor did I ask that it be there - that alone is enough to be confident that the time (days!) that I would put into preparing detailed patterns would quickly be a waste when the patterns become readily available for free on social media.  I believe that artists should be compensated for their work because our work takes time and often comes from years of education and study.  An item like this represents a significant labor commitment to prepare and I am simply not okay with throwing it to the masses.

I would provide Pinterest with a takedown notice, but that requires me to create an account and I will not be associated with that den of copyright infringement.

However, my blog posts on each page of the book are very detailed.  You are welcome to draft your own patterns inspired by my creations and techniques, and we'll call it good.

Getting Personal with Wedding Gifts

Recently, a very good friend of mine got married. And you know I just can't buy a gift off the shelf.

Quiet Book - Overview

This post shows all the pages and their activities. Enjoy - this was a fun (and challenging) project!

Quiet Book - Final Assembly!

Oh man, I was so excited to get to this part.

Quiet Book - Adventure 6: Fun in the Sun

Get your swim suits, it's our last page of the quiet book!

Quiet Book - Adventure 5: A stroll on the Savanna

To take take advantage of the task of "buckling" I present our pet giraffe.

Quiet Book - Adventure 4: Camping

We're going to dial it back a bit and tackle an easy one pager.

Quiet Book - Adventure 3: Around Town

For the next installment, we're going to putter around town. This is a good page for a beginner who is comfortable with straight lines and understands the big concepts of sewing.

Quiet Book - Adventure 2: Flying Fish

This is a good one for beginners since it has simple lines and no fussy business. If you haven't read about sushi yet, I encourage you to do so.

Quiet Book - Adventure 1: Sushi

I have threatened several times to complete a newfangled quiet book and have yet to actually follow through. Well, with the invitation to a coworker's baby shower in just a week I have to, well, show you the money.

Lately

I've been freakishly busy. I present a brain dump to get this blog back up to date.

Shush!

It's baby time again!

Personal Victories

Things that are best done with four hands

Moving a TV, playing patty cake, and add remodeling a kitchen to that list.

This title is intentionally vague...because it is one of my mom's Christmas gifts

So Mom, you have every opportunity to not blow your Christmas surprise right now.

When life gives you lemons...throw them at people you don’t like.

It’s good for your stress level and tenderizes the lemons for juicing.

Container Gardening Tip

I mentioned in a previous post about how plants like dry bottoms. Can't say I blame them. I recommended perching your plants atop bricks to give their tooshies some breathing room. But, when you live on the second floor and it's a hike from your car, well, that idea just kind of sucks.

Adventures in Once A Month Cookery

While looking into easy make-ahead meals for my grandpa, the concept of "Once A Month Cooking" was suggested to me. Anyone who's ever had to cook for just one on a regular basis knows what a pain it is - produce goes bad before you can get to it, you get tired of something you mass produced, and it becomes a chore to always be running to the grocery store. I hear Europe calling me a sissy for that last comment, but you guys get mandated naptime, so it's clear that you have the energy to cook every day. Anyway, this Once A Month Cooking (OAMC) thing seemed worthy of further investigation for my use.

There’s something in the water – Part 3

So comes the last installment of the baby shower madness.

There’s something in the water – Part 2

Last weekend baby shower number two hit. My initial plan for my baby shower gifts was to make the same basic gift for each mom-to-be, but with tweaks to make them unique. But, after talking to Jeanne (gift 2) after Kim’s (gift 1) shower, I found that while any baby gear is appreciated, I needed to be a bit more adventurous in my gift choices. I like to keep them guessing.