A gal I know contacted me and asked me to fix a Quiet Book she had. Remember Quiet Books? Kids are suppose to take these to church or places where they needed to be quiet. The pages where designed for them to practice fine motor skills…and to stay quiet.
Over the past years, her book had lost some of the pieces. In my stash of patterns, I thought I had the pattern for the book and I did! I had picked it up at the thrift store years ago intending on making a book but never did.
I looked at her book and sighed. UGH….Most of the pieces were from polyester double knit fabric. I didn’t have any of that type of fabric. I went to the local thrift store and found several pieces of scrap fabric in a bag for $1.50 and bought it. Still it didn’t have all the colors I needed. I substituted a pink square for a red square.
I ended up using some felted wool. But..the colors don’t match the best…
The gal had asked if I would also make another book. I said no. I don’t think people realize the time that would go into make a book like this…or the price of fabric. I am guessing it would take at least five hours to make the book and $15 worth of supplies. Does anyone know of anybody who does make them?
I think that once I have a grand child, I’ll probably make a book to have here…but I think if these books are made, they are probably made by a grandma as a labor of love and not anything that can be made for hire.
You are absolutely right. People do not know how time consuming these projects are. But, I would make one for my grand child.
This brings back memories. I made this book for my son, now 28. His wife made this book for a dev. psych. class in college, and earned an A for the class. Neither of us will ever make another! I still have my son’s and her’s was donated to the class’s charity.
I have made a couple of them and found that if I use crayons or fabric paints to color the background (non-removable items), it goes a lot quicker and can make the book in just a few hours. Of course all the removable or loose items (hair, flowers, etc.) are sewn on. However, if I’m making an heirloom book, then I sew everything and can spend a few days (or weeks) working on a single book. I tell people my costs for doing a quiet book starts at $50 and goes up from there. There are a few patterns on-line for folks who want to try making one themselves, or you can always just make up your own.
Good for you for fixing the old book and declining to make a new one. Non-sewers really have no clue about the time needed to make a project like this one. I’ve heard, “Oh, you’re crafty, you can do this” SO many times and I usually cave. Bravo to you, Jo!
I made 2 of these books several years ago – one for my grandson and one for my grand-nephew. They are extremely labor intensive, and I will never make another one, even though I love how the books turned out.
I agree with Laurel from Iowa. Non-sewers don’t know how much time something takes to make. There was a thread on the about.com quilting forum started by a lady who had the courage to say NO. Even with the offer of money, if it’s something you don’t want to work on, the money doesn’t change how you feel. Thanks for sharing.
Oh my gosh, I made those type of books for a craft sale. A bunch of military wives got together and sewed and sewed and sewed for weeks. Never again!!! My grandson is 4 and doesn’t need one, glad my daughter didn’t remember about theirs for me to make one. Way to much work for just a short time of use.
Glad you fixed it and got to say no for another one.