I researched "book fabrics" online and found fabric with prints of pages of books and stacked books. Amazon mailed. Like the graduating student, I didn't know exactly where I was going but I moved with the adventure. Inspired by Katie, who was creating a 45" x 45"of life and ball game T-shirts for her grand, I decided to make a lap quilt size so the memories would fit on a dorm bed or chair to provide hugs from home and family. I would sew the fabric face to face and somehow look for gold cord for the edges. This I found at fabric discount store, Sewfisticated in Somerville which also had upholstery trim loaded with tassels that I cut to attach to suggest book marks. The trim and cord were so inexpensive, I bought more than needed. Maybe a pillow? Katie said she prefers lap quilts at 45" x 45" and she used cozy flannel instead of batting. Mine was to be 45"x 56". I got thin cotton batting Quilter's Dream that is good for hand quilting since my sewing machine was acting cranky.Joe designed the iPhone pocket and I sewed a label underneath saying "Made With Love."
There were many crises and mistakes figuring how to insert the ribbon of the cord between the fabrics. I watched videos and realized I needed a fancier zipper foot to ride the cord. Next time I might sew on a cord without the ribbon. I did lots of hand sewing and there is a thread made for that which slides more easily into the fabric and batting. I finished after about 7 intense days doing little else. I had blind quilted the batting to the books fabric and now had to tie surgeon knots to the three layers as invisible as possible.I grew to love the quilt and am missing it now.We are so fortunate to have the Internet and videos to fill in the gaps of what we need to know and how to solve crises. I am glad the quilt was a hit.
More "book quilts" found online. and there are others.
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