2013 Day Planner DIY and Freebie!

I have something very exciting to share with you!

Given my recent explorations into bookbinding, I decided to make my day planner this year. I've been using the Moleskine version for years, which I like, but you know, there are a few things I'd do differently if I made it myself. So I spent a whole bunch of hours creating a document that you and I both could print out, slice up, and bind into your very own, homemade 2013 day planner. Choose your paper, choose your cover, assemble and enjoy!

Click the image below to download your very own printable planner pages...

Things to know about using this document:

• It should be printed double-sided.
• Every double-sided page = 8 book pages. Every printed page needs to be cut in half, hamburger-wise. (If you remember kindergarten perhaps you understand... If you're printing on 8 1/2" x 11" pages, each page will become two 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" pieces of paper.)
• To ensure your calendar remains in calendar-order, pay careful attention while constructing your signatures. This document assumes signatures of two full, double-sided printer pages, a.k.a. four pieces of cut, 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" paper. They are ordered as intuitively as possible, I hope: 
• Take your first two full, double-sided pages, cut in half. Stack the top half of page 1 on top on the bottom half of the same page. Stack these two on top of the top half of page 2, and finally stack them all on top of the lower half of the second page. Fold this stack in half to create your first signature. (See image below) Repeat until you've grouped and folded all pages into signatures.

If you don't know how to assemble your signatures into a text block, check out my tutorial from September:

For my cover, I pulled out the sewing machine, some brown suede and blue binding, and put together a cute little envelope cover. Remember to make your cover about 1/4" bigger than your text block, all the way around, and get creative!

With love,

A Quilt for Computer

A few weeks ago, my 2005 iBook finally croaked. Years I've been waiting for it to die so I could upgrade without guilt. And while browsing the Mac Store case selection, hugging my brand new MacBook Air I thought, "$45??? F-that. I can make my own G-D case."

My own G-D case

True, I don't have the fancy neoprene, but there are other ways to protect a laptop, right?


The following week I was in Park Slope and spied some beautiful hand-quilted pillows in the window of a home furnishing store. I couldn't find any terribly similar images online, but something along these lines:

Your laptop needs a little padding (I assume, since laptop cases always have it... When it comes to technology, I mostly have no idea what I'm talking about). Who needs neoprene when we have QUILTING!


A quilt is like a sandwich. Fabric is the bread and batting is the good stuff.


I pulled out some Guatemalan ikat to be the face of my case and some basic whatever for the backing (I also lined the case, so the backing will never see the light of day).


Cut your pieces the size of your computer (or whatever it is you may be making a case for) plus 1 1/2" all the way around to account for ease and seam allowance.

(Pay no attention to the pathetic girth of my batting. I ended up combining this batting I had laying around with a layer of stuffing that I also had laying around. If you're buying batting, get some nice fluffy stuff, at least 1/2" thick.)

Quilt Sandwich

Now you sew your sandwich together. There aren't really any rules for this, sew it any which way you please. By hand, by machine, in stripes, zig-zags, diamonds, around the shapes in the pattern of your fabric. The world is your oyster! I hand-quilted mine with stripes to reiterate my striped fabric, using four different thread colors that coordinated with the colors in my fabric. 

I like the hand-made aesthetic of purposefully imperfect stitching.

Once I finished quilting both sides of the case, I dug out a colorful zipper (long enough to go around the top corners, so getting your computer in and out of its case isn't infuriating) and a lightweight lining (to hide the yucky innards)...

And assemble! 


You know how to do that, right? My apologies to anyone who actually wants to know... I didn't document it and I don't have the patience to type it all out at this moment. Surely there are other helpful resources out there...

Happy quilting!






Melody