Quiet Book Tutorial: C is for Counting

Now that my baby is getting bigger and sleeping more at night (and during the day some too) I think I can fit in little craft projects here or there (though the bulk of my free time still goes to daily household tasks and working from home).

I figure I may as well post these pictures of the quiet book while I still have time. I can't get the in process photos I took off my cell phone right now so these nearly finished pages ones I took this morning will have to do.

Supplies Needed:

• One background page
• 7 (or more) pieces of yarn, approximately 30 inches long each
• Wooden beads, I got mine in the jewelry section at Joanns. Alternatively you could use those ubiquitous plastic beads often used for kids crafts, or something like metal washers from a hardware store (which would be flatter but not as colorful). Anyway, you need something to count
• Embroidery thread
• Felt letter for the top & small patch of coordinating patterned fabric to put behind the letter

Directions:

This was one of the easiest pages I've made. I highly recommend it. Plus I like that it has an educational value (learning to count). You may wonder "why count to 7, why not 10" well...that's what fit easily on the page :) You could do differently. The instructions and measurements here apply to doing 7 rows.

1. Measure off with pins where each row will go. Roughly, I think I did 2 inches from the top to my first row (to leave room for embroidered words). Then each string is spaced about 1 1/4" below the previous one.
2. Take yarn, pull through a large needle and knot the two ends together so the thread is doubled over itself. 
3. Start at the back of the page and pull yarn through til knot stops it. I picked the spot to pull the yarn through based vertically on where I had put the pins (spacing addressed above on step 1) and horizontally the right side is, I think, 1/2 and inch from the edge, and the left side is 1 inch from the edge. I give more space on the left hand side because of the numbers and because I will need to make button holes there eventually because I plan on binding my book using D-rings (like in a 3 ring binder).
4. Thread on your beads
5. Pull yarn across page, trying your best to keep it straight. I used a pin to mark the spot the yarn was to go back down...and I found the spot for the pin using my measuring tape. Lots of measuring on this one.
6. Knot yarn at the back.
7. Repeat for 6 more rows
8. Embroider words at the top, mine says "is for counting", I will add the felt C later...like I've added other letters previously.
9. Embroider numbers along left hand side
10. Done! and Done! 

Please excuse my hastily taken photos but you get the idea. If you have questions, post them in the comments and I will try to answer. I wrote this post hastily so my directions may be sloppy. Let me know :)