Tuesday, October 11, 2011

ADVENTuring

My ADVENTure has been on vacation lately.  The start of school and three birthdays in September seems to have knocked all ADVENTuring to the back burner, but this weekend I was able to get in some sewing.  It was a great Sunday afternoon full of football and sewing.  The windows were open and the sun was shining.  I had a hot cup of coffee and I was ready to go! 
  I made some mini notebook covers for my book club.  These are so fun to make!  The book club is a mother/daughter book club - I'm a daughter which is weird because I'm so used to being the mother these days. We've read some great books and it's been really good to get me out of my comfort zone with literature.  I tend to pick the same genre over and over again.  Some of my favorite book club reads have been:  To Kill a Mockingbird, Jane Eyre, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.   We've worked through about a dozen books so far.   I'm the oldest of the daughters which makes my mom the oldest  most mature mother (in the book club).  It's a great mix of ages...30's to 70's. 
 I tried to pick fabric to coordinate with the personalities in the book club. Can you tell that we have some free spirits and some whom might be more easily labeled as traditional?  The diversity makes for great discussion!  They'll probably all get their notebooks and want to swap with each other for a different fabric choice! What do I know!?! (Remember how you used to do that in elementary school?  The teacher would pass out folders and you'd be nudging your neighbor to trade colors with you...) 
  I found the tutorial for this mini notebook cover on blogger a couple of years ago and I couldn't find the blog to link to it anymore.  (it came from a blog called "knitting after hours").  The covers each take a fat quarter and they sew up pretty quickly.  I bought these little notebooks in packs of three from Office Depot.   I'm sure you can find them in any office supply store. 
As I was taking photos of the notebooks, my boy came riding up on his bike and after checking it all out, asked if I would make him one.  I told him that I'd be glad to after I bought some more interfacing.  I mentioned that we could pick out a boyish print and he'd have a notebook for doodling.  He bent down, picked up the striped notebook and said, "This one looks like boy would carry it...can I have this one?"  After hearing yes, it immediately went into his back pocket and off he peddled.  Hopefully my book club members will pocket theirs with just as much joy. 
So, before it's my turn to choose our book club read, do you have any favorites you'd recommend? 



15 comments:

From All Stitched Up said...

I love the notebook covers. Maybe I have some people on my list I could make them for. I also love the list of books your book club have read. That sounds like my kind of group.

Meg said...

I love the notebook covers! And I would so love to be in a book club...maybe we should have a virtual one!

Kristyn Knits said...

Looks like one big check off your gift list! These are great!! love all the different colors for different personalities. and I think Meg's right...you have enough readers to start a virtual book club. :) Have a happy week!

~ The Jolly Bee ~ said...

Your covers are wonderful. Those ladies -- mature and not-so-mature -- are all going to love them. I think that having a mother-daughter club is a great idea. My mom and I always share books, but we're a good hour apart and I don't want her driving at night, so bookclubs are out for the two of us!

And as for a suggestion, have you all read "The Help" yet. If not, I really recommend it. The other book that I am dying to re-read is "The Bridges of Madison County." It was such a wonderful story. And the movie. Oh, what can I say???

Hats off to you on all you accomplished.

Tracy said...

What a GREAT and very PRETTY idea, Lisa! I love your mother/daughter bookclub--that is such fun. I'm hoping to do a long distance bookclub with my sister later this fall--we'll be reading all of Harry Potter, again! ;o) Since it's a girls only club you've got, L.M. Alott's classic Little Women might be an addition to you reading list. Keep us posted, would love to hear what you read. Happy Days ((HUGS))

Tonya Gunn said...

What a wonderful idea!

I am envious that you and your Mom live close enough to attend a book club together. Moving up north meant living 5 hours from my Mom and I sure do miss seeing her more often.

Thank you for sharing,
Tonya

Ruth said...

Love those notebook covers. So cute.

What a treat to have a great book club and your mom is there, too. I would love to be part of a group like that.

Ruth

Leslie said...

These are cute! What a great idea. I like giving gifts to the ladies in my book club, too. Last year I made hammered copper bookmarks.

I 2nd (or 3rd) the recommendation to read The Help if you haven't yet. I think it would make for really good discussion because of the memories of the older women in your group.

Another good one we read is Still Alice. It is about a women who gets early onset Alzheimer's. Sounds depressing, but really is well written and a topic that seems to pop up a lot as we get older.

The Scarlett Pimpernel is another good one.

Gigi said...

You are the clever girl! Love the notebook covers -- so pretty.
And what a blessing to have your mom so close by and to be able to share your love of books.
Blessings,
G

trish said...

You are so sweet to create those cute note book covers for your book club. :o)
I received the 5" squares you sent. Thanks so much!! :o) Your card is just adorable!! :o)
As the date draws near (for the give a way), I will disclose my plans. :o)
Have a nice weekend.
Sincerely, Trish
ps. I am a home school mom too! Only one child left now. sniff ...

Anonymous said...

What a great idea for a book club - and for presents!

Ellen said...

Can't think of any books right now (need my coffee!), but those notebook covers are a great idea. My kids like to take notebooks with them on car rides, to church, or just to doodle. I'm assuming you can switch out the notebook when it gets filled?

Liz said...

They're beautiful!

no spring chicken said...

Handy, handy! Definitely something I'll bookmark... thanks!

Blessings, Debbie

Jon and Lisa said...

I just finished reading Phantom of the Opera. Had caught the movie on TV recently and decided to compare the two. Interesting gothic read. Now reading Cranford. Did you see the BBC mini-series? I so enjoy Judi Dench's work. So far I'm enjoying the book. Next on my list is The Help. Love the notebook covers. And know the book club ladies will too----