Sewing Up Some Magical Make Believe

#booksleeve, #bookish, #sewing, #anotiontosew

Yep, it’s time for some Christmas prep. But before we get to the sewing dear readers, I want to share a story with you.

When I was a little girl growing up in Wyoming, our local library was located downtown. We lived in a subdivision toward the outer edge of town. Although my dad was an avid reader, he preferred to buy his books, so my parents were not ones to frequent the library,. Therefore, my trips to the library were few and far between, and I only received books as gifts for Christmas. I was a fan of the library because I could check out several books at one time to keep me busy reading for several weeks. The bookmobile would make a stop in our neighborhood once a month. It was an imaginary world at my fingertips every month. I like fiction. It takes me away from reality and gives my imagination encouragement to run. So when our local news reported that a new Barnes and Noble recently opened in a nearby town, I was all on board to travel over there to check it out.

IMHO, it is one of the nicest Barnes and Noble stores I’ve ever visited. It is updated with a modern mid-century vibe. The book sections are not lined up in rows, but rather they are organized in groups, with seating in each section. And the cafe is equipped with plentiful seating. While there, we picked up several books for our youngest granddaughter for Christmas. That purchase started me down my sewing rabbit hole (or unicorn flight, as the case may be). And for those of you who are wondering, yes, I purchased a couple books for myself as well. I am into the cozy mysteries.

I’ve been noticing book sleeves all over social media lately. My granddaughter is all about unicorns right now. So I stitched up a couple book sleeves for her new books. The cotton poplin fabric is from Spoonflower. It was pretty much a perfect weight fabric for this project. I used Kona cotton for the purple lining and I sandwiched By Annie Soft and Stable Foam between the outer fabric and the lining. I quilted straight lines on the smaller (8″ x 10″) book sleeve; and I left the larger (10″ x 12″) book sleeve plain, without quilting.

To add another item to her bookish Christmas gift, I made a small boxy bag with some of the leftover fabric.

I again used foam between the outer fabric and the lining, but the lining is PLU food safe fabric.

I will buy some fun, little goodies such as crayons, markers, colored pencils, erasers, bookmarks, etc. to fill her bag. But since the lining is food safe PLU, she can have mom help her wipe down the inside with warm soapy water and she can carry snacks inside her boxy bag.

The inside does not have any raw edges and is easy to clean.

The ends of the bag have a small pull tab to make it easier for her to zip and unzip her bag.

Remember, sewing friends, if you are gifting handmade items this Christmas, it is not too early to start sewing those gifts! Let me know what you are planning to sew for the special people in your life.

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