well, after the excitement of yesterday's blog hop (hello to any new followers) i'm going to try and keep the mood high with a tutorial...this isn't a photo rich tute, sorry about that, but i will try and explain each step as best i can. i made this recipe book cover to take to houston to the quilt festival, but forgot to take it, what a wally. i came across it during my big studio clean up and thought it might make a nice gift for a clever cook. this tutorial assumes you can use a sewing machine and you have basic hand stitching knowledge. so here you go... you will need a hard back notebook or sketchbook 4 x 6 inches 10 x 6.5 inch piece of thick wool felt OR if you don't have wool felt, normal craft felt is fine, but double it up and use fusible web to stick it together, this is the felt cover 2 pieces of thin craft felt 3 x 6.5 inches (this can be any colour, can contrast or blend with the felt for the front) these are the felt flaps that hold the book in place scraps of quilting fabric in different designs and colours for the fabric circles cardboard circles (i used a couple of craft punches in 2 different sizes, 1.5 inch & 2.5 inch diameter) 9 inch length of thin ribbon or linen thread for the closure 1 button, any size for the closure water soluble pen for the embroidered fabric circle general sewing kit (pins, scissors, sewing thread, few strands of embroidery thread, needles, you get the gist) sewing machine iron spray starch (useful but not essential) 1. take the cardboard discs and draw around the fabric scraps on the wrong side. cut out each circle, leaving a generous seam allowance. do this so you have around 6 or 7 in total. 2. choose a plain fabric for the stitched 'recipe' circle and write a word ('recipe', or 'cooks notes' or just 'notes', whatever you fancy) on the right side of the plain fabric with the water soluble pen. 3. use the embroidery thread to embroider over the written word. the easiest stitch for this is back stitch, keep it as small and neat as possible. 4. do an even gathering stitch around the fabric circle in the seam allowance. before gathering, pop a cardboard disc in the back to gather around. remember to make sure the embroidery is in the centre of the circle) pull tight and tie a knot, and then iron with a hot iron on both sides so you make a perfect circle. spray starch might be useful for this step. 5. cut the threads and release the cardboard disc. pin the fabric circle to the thick felt, (make sure that when you close the cover, this circle is on the front) but not too close to the edges (at least .75 inches away from edge) 6. do the same to all the fabric circles, and pin in a pleasing composition on the thick felt cover. when happy, use small over stitches to secure them to the felt cover. 7. turn over the thick felt cover, take the felt flaps and pin one to the very left hand edge. 8. do the same to the other felt flap on the opposite side, but this time trap the ribbon or thread between the thick felt cover and the flap. pin into place. 9. use a sewing machine to stitch all the way around the felt cover using a 0.25 seam allowance, making sure to catch the ribbon or thread in the stitches. make sure the book fits - you're after a snug but not overly tight fit. adjust if necessary. 10. sew the button centre right on the front felt cover, then twist the ribbon or thread around the button to close the cover securely. step back and thoroughly pat yourself on the back for a job well done! if there are any points that are confusing/or you just don't get, let me know...i'll answer any queries with updates in this blogpost - i'll colour them in red at the end of the post as they might help others...! if you simply can't be bothered to make this yourself, then don't worry! i'm giving away the recipe cover with plain hard backed book - ready to give to a friend/loved one/your neighbour/your cat/your window cleaner. there are 3 ways you can to win: 1. simply leave a comment now telling me your favourite ever holiday recipe, not details you understand, just the name of it and what it is! ;) 2. tweet a link to this tute and leave a comment 3. become a follower of this blog and leave a comment i will send the book anywhere in the world, BUT (i cannot stress this enough) YOU MUST LEAVE AN EMAIL where i can get hold of you. if i have to go searching for you, i'm afraid i'll pick another winner. DISCLAIMER: i agree this would make a very fetching holiday gift. but if the winner happens to be overseas, i will wait until the holiday postal madness is over before sending, which means this won't go in the post until january. i also cannot take any responsibility if this package goes missing in the post... thanks for your understanding!