Handycrafts and books - side by side at the book signing

Row of Basils waiting to escape the knitting bag and go to the fair

 The latest busy book - busy Christmas... packed and ready for the fair tomorrow at York's Guildhall.

#LostinaBook

Getting kids reading

I'm on a mission to get books into little hands - because the best way to give children a love of reading is to give them books from an early age.

I often get parents of 2 and 3 year olds saying that their child is too young for books, while another family will happily buy one for a baby under a year old - so what is the secret of these young book lovers?

It's simple, their parents have read to them from being tiny babies. It doesn't matter at that age whether they understand all that is being read to them, they enjoy the closeness of a being held and hearing the sound of your voice.

Choose a book with colour pictures for your baby to look at as you read, and by the time they graduate to stories without pictures their imagination will have learnt to paint the pictures in their heads as they read.

Many picture books are written on two levels - they need to entertain a small child as well as their parent, so choose a book that you can enjoy too... 

But I'm Not Sleepy - still my bestseller - it seems everyone has a Lucy who just doesn't want to go to sleep. But few will admit that they were just the same at that age...

New from Lost in a Book

Messing around with trucks...

 

  What's behind the shed door, with the chunky button door handle?  

 Drive along the road, and into the tunnel... or is it a cave?

 There's a handy pocket...

Just use your imagination - it's a new story every time... 

Lost in a Book gets festive - because babies need books too

Getting festive: Christmas Quiet / Busy book

 The new festive busy book has a Christmas tree on the cover.

 ...and a furry Rudolf with a shiny button red nose.

 There's a snowman and a Christmas stocking - bursting with glossy ribbons...

 A Christmas pudding that's a flap - hiding a secret...

 All bound up in a soft book by Lost in a Book. Because babies need books too.

Busy books, sheep - and what is a Basil...?

I'm heading towards another trip to the craft shop - threads are running out in some colours, and all the cream coloured 'sheep' wool is used up - so what about the odd black sheep creeping into the flock...
My tables at book signings have definitely become more fun with little woolly characters roaming about among the books, and the quiet / busy books are a big success too.

...and I haven't even posted a photo of the knitted Basil's yet... what is a Basil  you might ask... ? Well I'll try and catch up on some pics tomorrow, but if you can't wait till then, take a look in my bookshop

Quiet / Busy Book - Trucks and Denim

Trucks and Denim

It's the ultimate upcycling - denim, cut from an old pair of jeans, beautifully softened, then padded for a cover of a quiet / busy book...

 There's a pocket on the front cover to store the trucks, but don't worry they won't get lost - they're attached by colourful cords.

 Are these pockets for trucks? Or are they tunnels, or a terraced road along a mountainside... let the imagination do the rest...

 Drive the trucks between the trees, along the mud road.

 Drive them into the tunnel... or truck shed... whatever you want it to be... make up your own story with your baby.

 But what's this... a flap, a shed...?

 Use the chunky button to lift the flap and find out...

 All bound up in a soft book by Lost in a Book. Because babies need books too.

Christmas Quiet / Busy Book

Getting festive: Christmas Quiet / Busy book, one only available in my Bookshop

 I made an xmas pudding - but not the sort you can eat. The pudding is a flap with a secret underneath...

 Lift the flap and find a mouse, with a cord for a tail.

 Meet Rudolf, with his shiny red button nose...

 Lots of textures here, with a felt snowman, Christmas tree - and ribbons - who can resist the feel of satin ribbon...?

 You can tie the ribbon in a bow... if you want to...

 Colour and pattern contrast. Christmas stocking and a pocket.

Back cover, with Lost in a Book label.

Christmas countdown in October...?

OK I know it's still October - but I'm already on a countdown to my first Christmas fair of the season...

On November 1st I'll be in Wetherby at the town hall. There's an exciting list of other traders and crafters, which always makes for a fun day - and there'll coffee and cake - what more could you want?

In my little corner of the fair I'll have books and sheep, possibly a few cats (not real ones - they'll be staying at home), and some of my new quiet / busy books, talking of which... I feel another one coming on.

I wonder what I can come up with this afternoon...?  something festive maybe...

New from Lost in a Book - putting books into tiny hands - Quiet / Busy Books - handmade and each one unique..

Because babies like to pull at things, chew things, and feel different textures...

A Quiet / Busy Book has all these things, bound into a soft book. It's a treasure trove of bits and bobs: button and zips, ribbons and cords, all safely stitched between soft but strong pages, to be discovered and grabbed!

All handmade and everyone different, these books will be going with me to this year's Christmas fairs. 

Handmade quiet / busy book from Lost in a Book

So, here it is, something unique - a handmade quiet / busy book, it kept me busy and quiet for a whole afternoon...

I just had to show you the chaos that went into the making of this book.

But out of the chaos emerged a book...

So the chaos was cleared away, to reveal a new unique book for babies.

I especially like the bear on this multi texture page - he doesn't have a name yet...  any ideas?

I lost the blue balloon twice in the heap of bits, before I got it stitched down - must be more organised next time...

There's even a little zip up pocket for secret things...

...and there we have it, all neatly tied up again.

I love these Lost in a Book labels I had made for my baby books.

So what will Lost in a Book come up with next... ? 

Books for babies, quiet / busy books

I'm always trying to find ways of getting books into little hands, but some parents take some convincing that their offspring won't destroy books. So I looked into writing a board book, as always my imagination took over and I soon had several fun ideas, but was thwarted by the high cost of producing board books apart from on a massive scale... so here's the plan...

Quiet / Busy Books these fun books were recently brought to my attention, and that was it - the sewing box was soon emptied onto the kitchen table and lots of colours and textures were stitched together to make my first quiet / busy book:

And in case you were wondering what became of this book - it went straight into the little hands of a very special little boy... but the good news is that there are going to be more where this one came from...

Coming soon from Lost in a Book - some very special books for babies. 

Putting books into the hands of babies and children

Welcome to my homepage - or at least an escapee from my homepage...

Where I'll try and encourage you to get Lost in a Book - and to put books into little hands, even if those hands might damage that book, no, not because I want to sell you another one when that one rips, but because I believe that the sooner babies and children can get their hands on books the better. Yes some of their early books are going to be a bit shabby, you may need to mend them with sticky tape at the end of the day, but you're sewing the seeds of a love of books into the next generation... and what could be better than that?

Meet Lucy from But I'm not Sleepy... apparently everyone has a Lucy, though few will admit to having been one at some point in their childhood...

This one is my bestseller - everyone can relate to the title and the picture on the cover. And where do the sheep come into it...? Well you wouldn't believe the trouble counting sheep can get you into... 

New in my bookshop: downloadable knitting patternto knit your own sheep - knit a flock and count sheep as you read the book...

 

Christmas fair list to follow - watch this space...  

Priceless: being told that a copy of The Monster Under The Bed has been read until it's shabby - it's been a loved book, just like a favourite teddy.  

Author rambling on...

So what does a quiet / busy book have in common with a regular book...?

• Both need a heap of imagination to write
• Both will entertain 
• Both have pages to turn

So how are they different...?

Quiet / busy books:

• Must be strong enough to withstand a baby, and never underestimate that...
• Can have all kinds of stuff stitched into them to stimulate a baby
• Must be chewable and washable
• A very tactile way of creating a book, by rummaging through fabrics and objects
• Not as easy to mass produce

Regular books:

• Must be strong enough to withstand reasonable use
• The content relies on words and pictures to entertain
• Will not take kindly to being chewed or washed
• An equally creative process needed to create, but less to do with things you can touch, more rummaging around in the imagination and daydreaming...
• Easily mass produced

Quiet / Busy Book

 Ok here you are as promised - pics of my first ever quiet/busy book:

I emptied a heap of ransom stuff onto the table, and got creative...

The cover of the book was from fabric I bought specially, as was the wadding, the cord to tie it with was from my sewing box.

Babies love to pull at random things - including zips.

I bought the giraffe motif, but the favourite page was the mad collection of a cords from my sewing box .

I bought the hippo motif and big buttons, the other fabrics came form my sewing box.

Back cover, with cord to tie, or just hold and wave about in excited manner  :)

So there we have it, my first busy book - and will there be more? Well I'd love to hear your views - if I made a few of these and took them along to book signings, would you be interested in buying one? and what do you think would be a fare price for a hand made one-off such as this, where every one would be different?