In my house we are first and foremost collectors of books. I love them-I cannot read enough. I squeeze in a moment any time I can. While my little one was an infant one of the only ways I stayed sane was by reading while she nursed. I read every night until I force myself to finally stop so that the light isn't bothering anyone else and so that I will be able to somehow function the next morning. My girl is no different. She has never really been one of those kids who has a favorite book which must be read and reread every night. She likes a variety. We had been storing all of the books in a cabinet which is also doubles as our nightstand. The spines were the only things visible. This is really a problem for a not-quite-reading-yet child. When she wanted to pick out her own books (every night) or surprise us (almost every night) there were struggles. I turned a slightly deaf ear to many nights of polite hinting from both of my other family members. Finally after pulling out every single book for the third night in a row none of us could take it any more. The next day LB (short for LadyBug) and I got to work on the pockets. I was inspired by the pockets in a couple of sources- Amanda Blake Soule's Handmade Home. I wish I had actually followed any pattern to be honest- so learn from my mistakes my friends! I left some space, a lot of give in each pocket thinking that I would need room for all of the books. I ended up putting bias tape across the tops of each pocket and reeling them in and then wrapping them around a button to control the tension. This worked really well. I used a double thickness of cotton fabric for the backing, while the pockets were a single thickness. The wall hanging itself would just not stay spread out while holding the books. It was droopy and really ineffective. I ended up using large decorative tacks to attach the edges of the backing fabric to the wall at studs. Now it's perfect! LB can see all of her book covers with minimal shuffling. We had more, so much more than the pockets could contain. For these I put a few taller books in the shelves we created from two cardboard boxes. They are holding up wonderfully well and not actually tilting as my camera somehow suggests here. The Wump World was her favorite as we made this last week, so our attempts to draw the Wumps' world are featured on the middle pocket. We used permanent markers and pens and had a blast. Have to say that was probably my favorite part! The whole thing's hung from a large river birch branch I promise to photograph and include in the next post.
