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Hello Friends!
I don’t know about where you are but winter is still here in Tennessee! We are heading into our rainy season now. My favorite thing to do this time of year is to read! (Well, next to quilting anyway!) How about you? Are you a reader?
Lucky for me, my 13 year old grand-daughter Jillian, is a voracious reader of VERY good books and she shares every book with me after she reads it. I love it because we always have great conversations about books!
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Some of them are very deep and thought provoking and literally make me cry. Others are very light and easy reading. But every single book is excellent. (My daughter says half her job of homeschooling her girls is researching good books!)
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I’ve been in the need for some bookmakers because I tend to fold the pagers over or break the spine by turning it over with it open. Jillian takes very good care of her books, so I’m trying to learn to do the same! Anyway…. I decided to make some bookmakers and share a couple of my favorite tutorials with you.
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My favorite are these (pictured above and below). They are about 2.5 inches wide and 9 inches long with a little tab at the top. Perfect for using some tiny fabric scraps!
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Click HERE for the link to the tutorial I use to make them. It is such an easy tutorial and you could always change them up if you wanted. Different sizes, all one fabric, etc…
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My next favorite are these (above.) They are SO fast to make and they fit on the corner of the book cover, or even the page you’re on. They are super cute and just use three pieces of fabric. You can make one in minutes.
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HERE is the link to the tutorial I used to make them.
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And since you might need to be convinced to make ALL the bookmakers… here’s a few more pictures!! Ha Ha!
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And now… in case you are in need of some great books to read here is a list of some of the favorites that Jillian has loaned me. There are SO many more and if you’re interested I’ll share them in another blog post. But this will get you started! I give everyone of these books five stars!
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Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo
Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming by J. Anderson Coats
A Night Divided by Jennifer A. Nielsen
Bright Island by Mabel L. Robinson
Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick
The Railway Children by E. Nesbit
Hour of the Bees by Lindsay Eagar
The Running Dream by Wendell Van Draanen
Rules of the Road by Joan Bauer
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I know that you will enjoy them all! And I hope you’ll make yourself (and some book loving friends) a new bookmarker!
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OH!!! AND!!! If you are not a member of MaryJanes Farmgirl Book Club on Facebook you need to join!!! I love that group!
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I would absolutely LOVE it if you would share your most recent favorite book with me in the comments!
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Until our gravel roads cross again… so long.
Dori
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My most recent favorite book is An Unexpected Grace by Kristin von Kreisler. I’m sure you and your grand daughter will enjoy it, too.
Hi. I am writing from cold snowy southwestern Ontario. I got the MaryJane magazine out from the local public library. I am looking forward to checking out your recommended book titles.
I have just finished The Four Winds by Kristen Hannah. I learned a lot about the Depression and the Dust Bowl years.
Love the bookmarks. They are very cheery.
Hi Dori! I love the fact that you and your 13-year old granddaughter share a love of reading. What a great bond!
I love your fabric bookmarks and I know I will be making some, especially the little squares that fit onto the corner of a book. What a great little handmade gift to send to friends in the mail. I’m always looking for ideas of things to make that are flat that will fit into a greeting card. These are perfect.
Just another idea … when a box of tissues is emptied, I cut it up and make bookmarks from the box. I can’t just throw out those pretty boxes!
Carol
These bookmarks are so sweet! A great, easy project for my quilt group. Thank you. And I love reading wherever and whenever I can, mostly at bedtime.
I love the idea of the fabric bookmarks! I am a retired Children’s Librarian and love to read. Like you I sometimes use unusual things for bookmarks. I love love to sew and scrap crafts are my favorites. This is perfect for me and for gifts. Thanks so much for the great idea.
I am reading the eleventh book in the Mitford series “In The Company Of Others. I have three more to read in the series. I am also reading a few cozy mysteries. The bookmarks are lovely. I collect bookmarks. Thank you for sharing the tutorial. God Bless.
Marilyn
I’m reading the Mitford series too! On Home to Holly Springs right now. Wonderful books. Happy reading from Kim in southern Iowa
Hello Dori,
One of the best books I recently read was “The Writetress by Lynn Dickinson.” I literally couldn’t put it down and read the whole thing in one day. You are so clever with all the things you make. The bookmarks are really neat. Have a wonderful day and thank you for the book suggestions.
Hi Dori.
I love reading and at present I am reading the 7 book series of Dune House Cozy Mysteries and I also read Nathan Dylan Goodwin, The Forensic Genealogist books, as I love genealogy mysteries (family tree). I have joined the Cozy Mystery Book Club and this year 12 authors each give away a free e-book, a different author and book each month. You can download or not, depending on if you like their genre or not. I have over 100 ebooks on my computer, some I purchased at a discount, and most are free, as Amazon has many free ones. I have the free Kindle account. I also purchased a Kindle reader so I could read in other places besides in front of my computer screen. I love your bookmarks – also the idea Carol has about cutting up the tissue boxes and making bookmarks. I don’t buy physical books anymore, except for my Bible and religious ones for study. I hope you and your granddaughter always find reading to be enjoyable together.
Thanks for sharing the book titles and the bookmarks. Always in need of good reads. Much appreciated!!
Checking in from the Central Coast of California. Loved this post! I’m reading Gun Lap, by Robert Wolgemuth. It’s for those in their 40’s or 50’s looking at finishing well in their 60’s and 70’s. It’s directed to men but my husband and I are reading it together. It’s so very good!!
I really loved The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek. It is set in the .mountains during the great depression. What a hard life!
I always enjoy the farmgirl posts, but being from Tennessee I especially enjoy yours. I hope you guys missed the ice storm earlier this month. Some people here in Memphis were without power for eight days because of trees on the lines. Enjoy your reading and sewing time.
Recent favorite..Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants. Profound❤️ Thank for sharing your books and ideas!!
I’m reading The Wind in the Willows. I didn’t read much as as child and I’m catching up. I cut corners from colored envelopes as bookmarks with my granddaughters. Easy and fun. I’ve also made fabric ones using fusible interfacing for gifts.
The best memory of my dad. Reading books. Then exchanging them and discussing them.
What cute bookmarks! They would make great gifts.
I have a very large shelf full of TBR books! The one I’m reading now is “Woman 99” by Greer MacAllister. An interesting, thought-provoking thriller about first-hand experience inside an “insane asylum” during the “gilded age.”
The Bookmarks are great and so pretty. Thank you for the tutorials and patterns. I am trying to get reacquainted with my sewing machine this year. I do not sew at all, but I thought if I started with small patterns I could learn better and faster perhaps.
Oh and my favorite author is Kristen Hannah, she writes historical fiction which I love. I have learn so much from her books.
Thank you again I do enjoy your blog.
Hugs,
Debbie
West with Giraffes and Faith Bass Darling’s Last Garage Sale both by Lynda Rutledge, Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osmann, Reminders of Him by Coleen Hoover and No Hiding in Boise by Kim Hooper. Currently reading The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris. I also like Jack Reacher books by Lee Child and the TV series is good. The actor playing Reacher fits the book’s description of him much better than Tom Cruise.
I usually read on my Kindle so a bookmark isn’t needed though I think their quite nice. I am happy to get some new titles that people have enjoyed. Thanks.