Are you a Crafty Bookworm who Loves Reading? Discover the Joy of Combining your Two Favorite Hobbies.

Rediscovering My Childhood Love of Reading

As a child, I loved reading. My maternal grandparents taught me how to read when I was three years old. Reading was a way for me to escape and give myself time to breathe and take a break. My Christmas and birthday wish lists were filled with books. However, as I became an adult, I slowed down my reading, especially since I focused more on social media and doom scrolling (you know when you wind up scrolling social media for hours and somehow feel worse about yourself?). Motherhood further reduced my free time. Instead of reading for pleasure, I focused on gathering information to be the best mom I could be. In the process, I lost myself. There were times, such dark times, when I even lost the will to live.

In 2023, overwhelmed by deep burnout, I decided to take a step back from everything. I was exhausted from trying to do everything and be everything to everyone. Initially, I decided to read for pleasure again out of spite. I felt like all of my time was spent on what others wanted me to do and that left no room for me to do what I wanted to do. So, I started reading as a sort of cheeky protest.

Falling in Love with Our Local Library

Sachse Public Library

We used to buy most of our books, but after purchasing a house and moving all our books, we realized we didn't have the space to store them. We decided to stop buying books and visit our local library instead. In March 2023 we took our kids on a family trip to the library, applied for library cards, and checked out tons of books.

I started reading my first borrowed book in a very long time. Instead of scrolling social media in the car, I brought my book to read. Our commute is roughly two hours every day, and we carpool to work, so I decided to use that time to read. Our children started bringing books in the car too.

I would read after our children went to bed. I would read on the weekends. I would always have a book with me.

Embracing Digital Libraries

 

In August 2023 I discovered the world of digital libraries and began borrowing ebooks and audiobooks. That year, I read a total of 77 books, engaging in what felt like chain-reading. I would finish one book and then immediately have to start another book. Any time I had time to rest, I would crack open a book. Out of those 77 books, I did not buy a single one.

I started reading 3 books at a time: one physical book, one ebook, and one audiobook. I could read my ebook when putting our children to bed, while laying in bed, or when waiting for something. I could listen to my audiobooks when I was cooking, cleaning, or doing mindless activities like data entry. I could even listen to audiobooks when I was quilting. I just popped in my earbuds and was listening to my stories.

I felt so much more renewed and invigorated because I was doing something that fed my soul and not something that I thought other people think should feed my soul. I began to embrace who I truly am.

But, Lauren, what does this have to do with quilting?

Creatively Documenting My Reading List

After starting to get a feel of the kinds of books I enjoy (StoryGraph says I like emotional, adventurous, dark, and mysterious books--it’s no wonder my favorite book is Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte), I wanted to find a creative way to document my reading journey.

 

StoryGraph is a web-based social book tracker. It was founded by software engineer Nadia Odunayo in 2019 after hearing feedback about what readers wish Goodreads, a popular social book log owned by Amazon, incorporated for a more comprehensive way of tracking which books were read. I enjoy using StoryGraph because of the data that it provides. Each book is broken down into several categories: mood, pace, page count, fiction/non-fiction, genres, format (digital, print, or audio), and language. User-submitted reviews contain the option to add content warnings (along with the severity), star ratings, and even opinions on character growth (recorded as a percentage). Data can be presented as monthly or in total. I like viewing the data because I can see what types of books I enjoy reading so I can find more books in that specific genre and, hopefully, avoid a reading rut. Recommendations are also provided based on past reads as well as answers to a user-submitted survey. Click here to check out more about StoryGraph.

Initially, I thought of making a quilted bookshelf where each book would be represented by a specific color corresponding to its genre. By the end of the year I would have a lap size quilt showcasing all the books I read. However, life often changes plans. So, what if I read more books than I was anticipating or what if I read less books than I wanted? I would have to create fillers in my bookshelf and that just seemed like more work and less fun. I wanted a method that was creative, enjoyable, and low stakes.

Inspired by the Craft Universe

Then, my best friend, who has also started to read a ton, started crocheting granny squares with different yarns matching the colors of the book covers. I loved that idea. She chose several colors from the book covers and crocheted the blocks, alternating between patterns.

A lightbulb flickered in my mind. I thought, I could totally do a quilting version of this! So, I started going through super easy blocks that didn’t require much fabric and can be scaled down. Initially, I considered the Sawtooth Star for its simplicity, but then I had an epiphany: if I am doing this for myself, I want to use my favorite block. So, I decided to start working on the Ohio Star block.

How do I know how may blocks to make?

I had to do a little math. It’s okay, I’ll tell you exactly how I did it. This first part will show how many blocks I decided to make and how many rows and columns I would need. Then, I will show you how to calculate the size of each block.

Calculating Projected Number of Blocks for 2024

If you want to skip all the math, scroll down to the end of the post and you can get a free 6" finished Ohio Star quilt block pattern when you subscribe to receive our emails.

I’ve already stated that I read 77 books in 2023. However, I really only started reading in March, so that’s only 75% of what I could read. I projected that I could read at least 103 books in one year.

(77 blocks / 0.75= 102.66, round up to 103)

Calculating the Number of Rows and Columns

I want my final quilt to be a lap size quilt and I usually measure lap size quilts at 50” X 65”. Since it’s going to be a bit longer than it is wide, I will need more rows than columns. So, to figure out the number of rows and columns, I just start by dividing 50 by 65 to know the ratio of width x length. Multiply that number by 100 and you get the percentage. The width is 76.92% of the length.

(50/65=0.7692*100=76.92%)

Now I need to figure out how many rows and how many columns for these 103 total squares will be as close to 76.92% as possible. To do this, I realized I could use this handy formula:

(A=l*w)

Yeah, that’s right, we’re doing geometry today. 

Area (A)=103

Length (l)= x

Width (w)= 0.7692x

Plug these numbers into the formula:

 Or, you could also multiply 11.57 by 0.7692 to get the width:

 11.57*0.7692=8.90

 If I round 11.57 up to 12 and round 8.90 up to 9 (12*9=108), I now have a total of 108 blocks.

If I round 11.57 down to 11 and round 8.90 down to 8 (11*8=88), I now have a total of 88 blocks.

 I wanted to give myself a little more space to read more so I chose the layout of 12x9.

 

Now, how big are my blocks going to be?

As I mentioned before, I aim to make the quilt 50”x65” or somewhere close to that. So, first, I will divide 50/9= 5.55 (as this will be the width) and divide 65/12= 5.41 (as this will be the length). I will use the larger of the two blocks to create my square and round 5.55 up to the nearest 0.25 inch. 5.55 rounded up is 5.75. So, I will have 5.75 square inch finished blocks. This means that the actual size of my quilt will be 51.75” x 69”.

Each block finished will be 5.75 square inches, meaning, unfinished it is 6.25 square inches.

Don't Want to Worry about the Math?

Want to not worry about all of the math and have a pattern already written? Click here to grab my free Ohio Star 6 inch finished pattern.

(FYI, you’ll also be signing up for our email list. I’ll be sharing all of my blocks there, current reads, TBRs, sewing hacks, etc. so you won’t want to miss out.)

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