Being back in Oregon has changed my approach to the world – I breathe better here, I adopt steadiness and I settle into a pace that balances my drive for constant efficiency. But mostly, being back in Oregon has meant being surrounded again by the people that make me feel balanced. Being around Fo, and learning what it means to be a godmother, has been a huge part of this – I’ve loved every moment of watching him take on the world with confidence, humor and curiosity.

Forrest’s second birthday was approaching, and I wanted to do something fun and handmade that would make him light up the way he does so beautifully. And nothing does that like trucks, machines and trains.

So I attempted something new… a quiet book. Quiet books are activity books with no words, usually  made of fabric. They’re filled with activities for children to do on their own and often contain movable parts that help build skills like counting, color matching or fine motor skills. This project was an experiment -I learned as I went. The end result is certainly imperfect, but I had an amazingly fun time researching ideas (Fo knows far more about construction machinery than I do, so I had a hard bar to meet!), coming up with concepts and then bringing them to life with felt, fabric, cord, buttons, hooks, velcro and magnets:

Quiet Book by PiecedTogether Quilts

Quiet Book by PiecedTogether Quilts

Quiet Book by PiecedTogether Quilts

Quiet Book by PiecedTogether Quilts

Quiet Book by PiecedTogether Quilts

Quiet Book by PiecedTogether Quilts

Quiet Book by PiecedTogether Quilts

Quiet Book by PiecedTogether Quilts