Today I would like to introduce you to Michelle Dawson and find out how she uses her cutting machine to help make quiet books. I know a lot of people own or are thinking about buying a cutting machine for quiet book making so I thought you might like to read about how useful it may or may not be before you make a big investment.
Carissa D: Which type of cutting machine do you own and would you buy it again?
Michelle: I have a Brother Scan'n'Cut, a CM 300. I have had it around 4 1/2 years now. I do a lot of paper crafting and I initially wanted the machine for this reason. I am really not techy at all, and I actually find the machine very easy to use; on occasion I find the Brother Canvas programme a bit frustrating - this is an online programme where you can design your projects and edit them before moving them to the machine (my machine doesn't have WiFi, I have to use a USB to transfer the project, but I don't find that an issue), although I think that's more a lack of regular practice. I love that I can easily access free files on the internet and download them, pretty much anything I can think of is available. My machine happily cuts a huge range of materials, from thin papers to vinyl to felt to construction board and I'm yet to find something I want to cut which I can't.
Carissa D: I am not a big fan of cutting machines, but I know you really liked using it to make your quiet book. What are the advantages in your opinion?
Michelle: I have mainly used my machine to cut a paper template and then pinned this onto my felt and cut that, but that's personal preference. I like that it is really really easy to resize the image and/or to add an offset line for a seam allowance. I find that I am able to mock up pages in paper and try them in different layouts before I commit to felt which is much more expensive, and this has meant that I know if I'm pleased with the overall effect first. As I said before, the internet has myriad free SVG cutting files which means that I can create pages with just about anything I want, or which fits with my mini man's interests. I find that using my Scan'n'Cut to cut my templates has saved me a lot of time, something really important to me.
Carissa D: Do you have your cutting machine permanently set up somewhere, or do you store it away and get it out each time you use it?
Michelle: My cutting machine is permanently set up. I have a desk in the spare room and I keep my Scan'n'Cut on it. I find that the actual footprint doesn't take much space or get in the way, it's about 10 inches deep and I have it turned so that it's the depth of the desk, so only takes that 10 inches ish of space
Carissa D: Did you notice any disadvantages or things people considering using one should be aware of?
Michelle: In order to cut fabric on my machine, I have to stick it to a mat (as far as I'm aware this would be true of any cutting machine). I found it frustrating that the felt looked a bit 'fluffy' after this, although only on the rear, and mainly that the mat very quickly became furred up, and therefore not sticky, but by using a paper template I addressed this issue. If you're good with scissors you can probably print and cut a very good shape without the cost of the machine which I admit is considerable, but as the new mother of a baby and now toddler (and another little addition on the way) time is very much of the essence and being able to set the machine going as I get out of the shower or similar is really valuable to me.
Carissa D: How many quiet book pages have you made using your cutting machine and which is your favourite?
Michelle: I have used my Scan'n'Cut to create at least an element of every page I have made so far, from cutting templates for basic shapes (circles, squares, triangles...), to cutting a crocodile and balloons. My favourite page is a large ladybird who has black spots which attach using press studs, I like the textures and the simplicity of the image. The page was probably 2-3 hours work because I hand sew, and having a ready cut paper template saved me a lot of cutting time.
Carissa D: Which is your favourite Faith and Felt Obsession post and why?
Michelle: Your quiet book making tips are absolutely invaluable. It's so helpful having so many hints and tips in one easy to find location, and things which are tried and tested.
Last year I joined in the sew along [Quiet Book Sew Along Facebook Group - Events Tab] and I loved the motivation and the ideas, even though by the end of the year I did lose my oomph with it. Your page suggestions were fun, a good range of simple and detailed and also covered a lot of activities and skills.
Carissa D: Thank you so much for sharing with us Michelle! I love that you were able to find a way to speed up the process of making quiet books. Anything that will keep us motivated to create is great. For those of us who do not own a cutting machine and are wondering how to re-size their images you can read some other suggestions on my How to re-size printable quiet book templates to fit your page size post. Your pages are pretty cute and I'm sure your mini-man loves playing with them. Well done!
In Genesis chapter 40, Joseph correctly interprets the dreams of Pharaoh's Chief Baker and Chief Butler.
Memory Verse: “Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand. But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.” Genesis 40:21-22 NKJV.
Materials needed to create the The Baker's and The Butler's Dreams quiet book page:
felt in dark brown, yellow, white, mint, light blue, mauve, light tan and tan
wadding scraps
gold grommets and tool set - I used 3mm inside diameter (perhaps 5mm height)
1mm elastic in mint, purple, and yellow - I bought these (not an affiliate link)
vine leaf beads
grape cluster beads
colourful bird beads - I bought these (not an affiliate link)
three small buttons
material suitable for the white baskets (don't choose anything too thick or it will be difficult to sew)
sewing threads to best match the page
hot glue and glue gun
scissors!
Cut all the pattern pieces (you can use these to help with positioning pieces later).
Use the template to help you position your pieces before sewing
Cut and sew down these pieces in the following order using matching thread - benches, butler's rear leg, butler's front leg, baker's legs, butler's head, dream circles, butler's outstretched arm, butler's torso, butler's bent arm, baker's torso with arms, baker's head, side loincloths, middle loincloths, pharaoh's cup (in butler's hand), and vine.
Draw basket outlines onto the wrong side of your basket material. Sew a very tight zig zag stitch along the top edges of all three basket outlines (excluding the basket base). Cut out the baskets, being careful not to cut any of the stitching. Sew the base basket onto the baker's dream circle using a very tight zig zag stitch along the top edge only. Lay the largest basket and top of the basket base and sew both edges down with a tight zig zag stitch till just below where the next basket's top edge will sit. Lay the next basket on top and repeat this process. Lay the smallest basket down and sew all the way around with a tight zig zag stitch from one side to the other, catching all the baskets along the bottom edge.
The material I was originally using was rather thick so I did a test to see if my machine could handle all the layers. It could, but to my dismay I read the story again and discovered that the basket was white!
I had to change my basket fabric... thankfully everyone on my Facebook page comments liked the white baskets better. That was encouraging because I liked the look of the dark basket better, but I do like to get all the details as correct that I can. Although the baskets being white may imply contents of white bread... but scholars are not sure, and I had already made the bread (including some white bread).
I also tried a quilted calico fabric but I think it would have been too thick
Use the pattern pieces to mark where you need grommets and install them (see video below).
Tie a grape cluster bead to the end of some green elastic and thread on a couple of leaves. Thread the elastic through the horizontal grommets along the vine adding beads to the elastic as you go. Finish by tying the end to the last bead. The elastic end should look like a tendril. Repeat this process with another length of green elastic along the vertical grommets of the vine.
For the birds eating the bread, thread three coloured elastics through the grommets from the back on one side of the baskets, adding a bird bead before re-entering the same hole. Continue threading the elastic through an opposite hole on the other side of the basket and add another bird before re-entering back through the grommet. Thread both ends of each elastic onto a button and tie the ends together. The button will prevent the knot from being pulled through the grommets and onto the right side.
To make the dark rye bread rolls, cut out the top pieces and sew onto tan felt around the slits. Cut them out and sew to another dark background then cut them out again.
Repeat this process in a similar fashion for the oval bread and pie. For the pull-apart rolls, cut out the top and sew down onto another piece of felt with a piece of smaller wadding in between. Add stitching down the long centre and two lots of stitching down the shorter part to add the 6-pack detail, then cut them out.
For the croissants, cut out the top pieces and sew them onto another piece of felt and cut them out. Roll them up using a small amount of hot glue to keep them in place.
Of course the baker would have been anticipating Pharaoh's birthday and have made him a cake. So cut out two cake pieces and sew the icing pieces on. Hot glue the cake together along the sides and top edges, leaving the bottom edge open to form a finger puppet.
Fill the baskets with the baked goods.
Finished!
Difficulty Level = Intermediate
The hardest part of this page is sewing the basket. It's not that bad!
Installing grommets looks difficult and scary, but once you try, they are easy and make you very satisfied with your efforts! The following YouTube tutorial by Irina Sorokina from My Craft Quiet Books should help.
Eyelets and grommets - My Craft Quiet Books
Key Learning Areas and Skills
Genesis 40 - this page is all about faith versus works
Imaginative play - squeeze the grape clusters into Pharaoh's cup
Pull-string - help the birds peck the bread from the baskets
Fine Motor Skills - all quiet books encourage fine motor skill development
Hand-eye Co-ordination - all quiet books encourage hand-eye co-ordination
Whilst researching and making this page, I learnt something exciting and amazing.
As a child I had thought the point of this story was to show Pharaoh that Joseph's dream interpreting skills could be trusted. But now I could tell something strange was going on in this chapter.
When morphing text into an image, I find myself asking lots of questions. One simple question I never thought to ask when reading this story before was "What kind of bread did the baker have in his basket?"
There are two kinds of bread in the Bible - flatbread and leavened bread. And since leaven (or yeast) is used to represent sin due to it's ability to puff something up (like pride), and flat bread was used as an offering, I thought it was important to know which kind of bread featured in the baker's dream. Can you guess?
I looked up the Hebrew word used for bread and discovered that actually there was no word for bread. The bread was implied and used in the translation, but was not used in the original. Originally, the baker filled his basket with "deeds". When translated, his deeds were assumed to be bread (I guess it follows since he was a baker). As I mentioned above, the fact that the baskets were white may imply that the bread they were filled with was white too, although this is speculative. I also did a little research on the kinds of bread that ancient Egyptian bakers made - and discovered that they often shaped it into a crocodile. This led to the discovery that Sobek bread is so-called after the Egyptian crocodile god Sobek because the pull-apart bread buns resemble a bumpy crocodile's back - so I made sure to include a 6-pack bread bun in the basket.
Having grown up on a farm with an orchard, I knew that grapevines are grown on a trellis, with branches being trained to grow opposite each other in straight lines. So when I envisioned how to draw a vine for the butler's dream, it quickly occurred to me that this vine was growing in the shape of a cross! Imagine a smaller grapevine growing on the trellis below - it has only reached the second wire and the branches being trained on the first wire are still quite short.
Image Source - Grape Vine Trellis by Deep Green Permaculture
Even after these discoveries it still took me a little while to understand properly, and I'll admit a little googling did help. There was bread and there was wine, a cross-shaped vine and death on a tree... but what exactly was the hidden story in the dreams?
Herein is the answer:
1. The butler's dream represents FAITH in the saving blood of Jesus
2. The baker's dream represents WORKS because he relies on his own deeds
The results are not realised until the third day, which is also no accident. Of course Jesus rose on the third day, but I think this relates more to the Millennial Day Theory - where each day of creation represents a thousand years of Earth's history. I have given a summary of what I think the days represent in the devotional on my Genesis 1 - Days of Creation Quiet Book Page. The death of Jesus happens toward the end of the fourth millennium, and this seems to start a second way of counting the days. You can either count from one to seven, or you can count from one to four and then start again from four and count another three days. I believe this is what Hosea 6:2 is referring to "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence." Three millennial days after Messiah's death on day 4 will be the resurrection and restoration. And this is prefigured by Pharaoh's birthday gesture to the butler on the third day - he lifts up his face and restores him to his former position. Of course, those who rely on their deeds will be destroyed just as the butler was by Pharaoh also on the third day.
Concept drawing
The fact that it was Pharaoh's birthday is also interesting, although it was likely his inauguration/rebirth day which was shared by all Pharaohs and not a birthday as we would celebrate.
There is a Jewish tradition that a groom is a king for his wedding day (and the bride a queen). Whilst many Jews did not recognise Jesus as the Messiah at His first coming, Christians believe this may be because He came the first time as the Suffering Servant (similar to the Jewish Messiah ben Joseph - see Isaiah 53 - Messiah ben Joseph Quiet Book Page) and will not show Himself to be King Messiah (Messiah ben David) until the second coming - just like the story of Joseph and his brothers. Joseph did not reveal his true identity until the brother's second visit to Egypt. We believe that Jesus will be crowned King around the time of the Second Coming, and this concept is also portrayed in the story of the Song of Songs where Solomon is crowned king on the day of his wedding (Song of Songs 3:11).
Who would have imagined that the age-old debate of faith versus works would be found explained in the book of Genesis?!! Like the butler, I definitely choose faith in the blood of Jesus rather than relying on my yeast-filled deeds like the baker.
Today I would like to introduce you to Valerie Rose and her Shabbat Quiet Book. I believe learning through play is the best way to learn and this adorable book is a great way to learn about Sabbath.
Carissa D: Welcome Valerie! Please explain a little about yourself and your quiet book adventures.
Valerie: Hi Carissa,
I am a Wife, mother of 2 adult children and now a grandmother as well as a Midwife 4 days a week!!
I have been sewing and stitching since I was a small child but now I have the delight of sewing and creating for my granddaughter Ella who will be 2 in March. She brings me such joy and my love for her grows each day I see her. She loves playing with a box of felt and ribbon offcuts and various empty cotton spools I have saved for her. She loves the different textures so fingers crossed she has my passion for fabric crafts and sewing.
I am privileged to look after Ella every Monday while my daughter works. I have made her several quiet books already which she loves. They are full of texture and zips and removeable pieces. Most of them have a small animal outline hiding in the pages in a subtle colour for her to find and prolong the enjoyment of the book. For example, her beach book has seahorses and her Farm book has rabbits. Some pages also have crinkle plastic inside and even animal toy squeakers. It has been a great way to use my cherished scraps of fabric.
In this Shabbat Book I have sewn 10 cat faces throughout the book for her to find.
I try to personalise each book for her but hopeful one day there will be other little people to enjoy them as well.
Carissa D: I am a Sabbath keeper, so perhaps that is why I love your book so much. To me, Sabbath is special because God commands me to rest. I have a very valid guilt-free excuse not to study/work/clean the house that day! Where did the idea come from to create your Shabbat Quiet Book?
Valerie: I come from a Jewish Family and growing up we always had Shabbat every Friday Night. It wasn’t a strictly religious night but I remember my father would bring home a block of chocolate for us to share while we played card games as a family after dinner.
Valerie's daughter on Shabbat - way back when!
My daughter married a lovely guy who is not Jewish and I am very careful not to push my beliefs on him and my Granddaughter Ella. Because Ella’s mother is Jewish Ella is as well by her birth right!
When my son and daughter were little we did not celebrate Christmas, instead we celebrated the 8 nights of Chanukah. I made them a large very simple Felt Menorah wall hanging with removable candle flames. To this day my daughter still tells me how much she loved it and looked forward to Chanukah every year.
In December my daughter asked us to come to her home for Chanukah and Shabbat for the first time! She has decided Ella is old enough now to have some Jewish input in her life. I was delighted of course and excited. I instantly knew I wanted to make her a special Shabbat Book, and so I did!
Carissa D: My favourite part of your book has to be your Kiddush Cups. You achieved such a good effect with the fabric choice and embroidery. What is your favourite section?
Valerie: I actually love the whole book! I was delighted how it turned out! My favourite page would be the inside cover of special Shabbat Fabric. This fabric has sat in my stash for over 25 years just waiting for the perfect project. And this was it!
I stitched the designs for the pages on a Black Cotton fabric as I really like the contrast.
The removable appliques were stitched on felt then backed with felt to hide the messy side. For the flowers I added a small ribbon for a leaf.
The Wine Goblet, Challah and Challah Cloth have a cat face hiding underneath.
Carissa D: I would like to take a moment to thank you for your generosity in sharing the embroidery files you made for the words of this book - here attached in .jef format for Janome machines:
Carissa D: How long do you estimate that you spent on this whole quiet book from concept to completion?
Valerie: The book probably took me 2 days to make. There was quite a bit of hand sewing involved in finishing the removeable pieces.
Carissa D: Wow! That sounds amazingly quick to me! Is that normal for a book made using an embroidery machine?
Valerie: Some take longer but this one just worked out really easily. Her other books have more details like zips and ribbons and buttons.
Carissa D: When will your Havdallah quiet book be coming out?!! Do you have plans to make a Biblical Festivals quiet book?!!
Valerie: Haha! No plans for a Havdallah book yet but I am planning one for Passover and then one for Chanukah later this year. But first I want to make another Shabbat Book to keep at my house!
Carissa D: I am waiting with baited breath!
Carissa D: Which is your favourite Faith and Felt Obsession post and why?
This has inspired me to make a travel snakes and ladders or similar for holidays and picnics as well as to help Ella with counting.
Carissa D: That sounds like an awesome idea! I would 💖 to see it when it is finished.
Tahlia with her Car Travel Dice
Carissa D: How old is your Granddaughter and how does she enjoy finding the 10 hidden cats in this busy book? Do you find that they distract her from the message of the book, or do they ensure the book is loved beyond measure?
Valerie: Ella was just over 19 months when I gave her this book. On the Candle page she immediately took the two flames and put them on the candles on the next page! She was very quick to detach all the pieces. With the wine and the bread she was also able to feed her “baby”. As most of her Fabric books I have made her have hidden animal outlines she loves to look for them. I believe she loves it even more as it is personalised just for her. She always “reads” the book first then goes back to find the cats.
Carissa D: What a sweetie!
Carissa D: Lastly, How did you bind the book and are you happy with the method?
Valerie: First I decide how many pages I will have, always an even number, plus front and back cover.
Then I cut a small oblong from scrap interfacing to represent 2 pages.
Then I pin them together to make a book.
On each page I would then write what will be on it.
Once done I can unpin the book and see the true page stitch map.
Once stitched etc iron on interfacing is applied and the 2 pages are sewn together right side fabric facing inside then trimmed and turned right way out and the small gap is hand sewed or if I am lazy a top stitch all around the double page.
Finally the pages are stacked on top of each other in the correct order and several lines are stitched down the centre to form the book.
This way works best for me at the moment. This book has 3 double pages which gives me 12 single pages to decorate and works very well but there would be room for more!
Carissa D: Thank you so much for sharing with us Valerie. Once again, your Shabbat quiet book is lovely and I hope it will be an inspiration to many as it has been to me. Terrific job!
Quiet book sew alongs are a great way to get motivated and actually start making one.
They are held in facebook groups and possibly other online platforms (if you know of others please comment below), and are a great way for busy/stuck at home people to join in on a craft group. It can be difficult to find a craft group that you can attend in person, especially one tailored to a special interest such as quiet books. With an online group, things like the time of day doesn't matter as you can read, post and comment any time of day or night!
I run the Facebook group Quiet Book Sew Along, and aim to have monthly events from February to November. Ten months worth of quiet book pages are enough to make a full book (plus the front and back covers). You can sew enough pages for a book during the year and have December to sew it all together for a present!
Sew alongs are a great way to get inspiration, free patterns, advice and encouragement. I love seeing the variety that comes out of the same template used by different people.
Step 1: Join a Facebook Group that runs Sew-Alongs:
Aims for monthly events - February till November
Has run events in the past - you could join late if you are shy!
A French group
Step 2: Navigate to the Events tab under the group heading
Step 3: Click on the Event you would like to attend
Step 4: Mark yourself as attending the event (and invite your friends to join in)
Step 5: Get started - Print the pattern, ask questions, post progress photos, encourage others, have fun! The separate Event thread enables all of the posts relating to the Event to be separated from the normal group posts - so only those participating are notified etc (although you do need to set your notifications to all as per usual if you want to be notified anytime someone posts something new).
Do you sometimes wonder why you went to so much effort making a quiet book page when your little one prefers the simplest page in the book?
I think this page is suited to a child around the age of four, but older children will still have tonnes of fun with it too. They do need to be old enough for you not to worry about them wrapping the cord around their neck and choking on it if you are going to let them play with it unsupervised, however.
How to make my To The Moon and Back quiet book page:
I used a pen to copy the template onto the back of my velour fabric and sewed zig zag off the edge of the holes after they were cut out, but you could definitely do it before and then cut out the holes too.
I sewed the cord onto the rocket button and then hot glued the loose sections at the back of the button as well, just to make sure it would stay attached and not get in the way when threading. Sew the moon onto your background fabric using zig zag stitch along the outside edge, tucking the other end of the cord under one section. Leave the craters open to allow the rocket to thread it's way in and out through there as well.
I made this version for a cheeky little girl. Her name is Jannali, which is an Australian Indigenous name meaning "the Place of the Moon". I hope she gets a lot of fun out of it and it keeps her quiet when her Mama needs a break.
I think it made a good front cover.
Join a sew along!
This page is so easy and it comes together very quickly, especially if you use a button for the rocket. We did this page one month in my Facebook Group Quiet Book Sew Along. If you want to join in the fun, join the group, go to the events tab and mark yourself as attending, print the pattern and post your progress photos in event thread. It is a great way to keep yourself motivated, and you can ask all the questions you need and get advice from other quiet book makers.
