"Swell" Book Caddy

You remember this, right?  "Infanticipating" Lucy asks Ricky to read a children's book to test his English/reading skills.  Poor Ricky is not able to successfully maneuver "...through, cough, bough & enough."  As a result, Lucy hires an English tutor and gets more than she bargains for with "Mr. Livermore":)

I won't go into further details of how closely the above scene resembles our own family dynamics and family reading time, except to say that 'Ricky' is happy for me to do the bedtime stories while he & our little M's listen:)

I've loved reading since I can remember & hope to see our children embrace the wonders of escaping into a literary work, evoking imaginary worlds and creativity far beyond their scope- it's part of what makes childhood such a special place.  So we encourage them by reading aloud:)

While browsing on Pinterest (for a controlled amount of time!) recently, I saw this travel book caddy and thought, "I'm totally making that this week!".

I followed the tutorial with just four tweaks:

• I top stitched along the upper edges of the book pockets- gives a nice finished look
• I used fleece interfacing (had a surplus!)
• I added buttons vs a flower
• I didn't make my own bias tape!

 I opted to double stitch along the bias tape for added security and since I was in a hurry, it looks a bit "lousy" in a few spots but I don't my little M's will mind:)

 

I also brainstormed (while sewing) to add an " x box" which ended up looking "lousy", so I added some buttons transforming my "lousy" stitching into a "swell" detail:)

And here is my "swell" caddy with a few board books tucked inside, all ready for it's debut Christmas morning!

Another fabulous project for utilizing fat quarters!

Cost:
Fabric (4 FQs): $4
Interfacing:<$0.50
Bias tape:$1.19
Ribbon: stash resident= free!



 So for less than $6 you can reproduce this "swell" addition to your car for a road trip or just outings around town, keeping your little ones reading:)

Thanks for stopping by,
Tiffany