Do You Want To Make a Quiet Book? - Jeanne Pitcher

Jeanne Pitcher dreamed of making her children a quiet book one day. Unfortunately, that would have taken more time and money than she had available when they were young.  When she saw a friend's homemade 'tactile' quiet book at church two years ago, "It just clicked!  I thought, I want to do that!"  She started straight away, and has now almost finished her third book, with the fourth already planned out - as heirloom gifts of love for her four grand-daughters, to be given on or soon after their first birthday.

The idea of a 'tactile' quiet book is to make it as interesting to look at and touch as possible - bright and colourful and textural, for younger children.  For Jeanne's first book, she copied her friend's book fairly closely, but has since branched out, and now finds ideas all around, to make each child's book unique. Jeanne loves to hand-sew, and uses embroidery on many of the pages, and cross-stitch on others.  She loves to be creative.

Altogether, Jeanne has completed about 60 pages so far.  She is happy to share this talent with others, if anyone else is interested in making their own book?  You can contact Jeanne on her Fb page if you would like to get together with her.  You can  also click (here) for the original instructions Jeanne used on how to make this tactile quiet book - some close-up pictures, what materials to use, and how to put the book together.

Jeanne Pitcher is Brisbane "born and bred".  She has four daughters and four grand-daughters.  Widowed ten years ago, Jeanne remarried four years later, and is "very happy in my life".  She loves being a wife and a grandma.  In addition to making quiet books, Jeanne also always wanted to do family history work, and to become a social worker or professional counselor.  She would like the sisters to know that even while they may feel 'bogged down' occasionally in some of life's stages, "there is a time and a season for everything!  There is time.  It does come.  Those years of raising your children go so fast!"  Jeanne completed her studies in recent years, and now does work professionally as an holistic counselor, just as she hoped.  Three years ago, Hazel Hillier, from Springwood Ward, helped start Jeanne with her family history, and this has become something that Jeanne is "totally passionate about."  Using ancestry.com, Jeanne has "been able to make leaps and bounds" and has "traced one line back to 1240AD.  It's like the record books have just been opened to me.  There is so much information.  I'm addicted!"  Jeanne works in Kuraby Ward as the Primary Secretary.  She has 'Grandma day' every Tuesday, loves going to the temple, and she hopes to write a book about her life next year, to pass on to her children and grandchildren.

By Sandy Munro