Seattle's own
Honey Girl Books & Gifts
est. 2018
Sustaining Community and Humanity
Honey Girl Books and Gifts has a mission: to sustain and nurture humanity through literature and textile arts.
I care about materials, restoring old quilts and making new ones of old fabrics, as well as producing style with distinctive cotton and satin from France, Ghana, Senegal, Japan, China, Sweden, and the USA.
When made of vintage linens, discarded clothing, and repurposed fabrics, the quilts provide one kind of sustainability. The toys--Luxury Troll Boudoirs and Eek pet toys--are made of leftover quilt squares, batting, and vintage satins as well as artisanal wooden cigar boxes and used troll dolls.
But creative spirits need sustaining too. That is why, while on the faculty of the University of Notre Dame, in 2012 I created "Write YOUR Story": a semester-long writing workshop for people ages 7-11 in South Bend, Indiana. In 2018, it came home with me to Seattle, WA. Spring 2025 is now fully enrolled!
WYS aims to inspire kids with the same love of reading and writing that has made our lives so rich and satisfying. The price for all classes, as it always was, is free.
Like Write YOUR Story, HGBG is a deliberately small, sustainable business.
I love inheriting fabrics from friends, shopping at thrift stores, and buying the work of today's designers. Each of my products is slightly different. All are made in West Seattle, WA, USA.
For years, Grandma's 1928 White Rotary sewing machine was the sole support for HGBG. Although a lovely new Juki machine has taken its place, you can hear the soothing sounds of Grandma's machine in action (above).
Eek dog toys (right) are made of sturdy denim and last for months of non-stop play!
Mini-wallets in cotton and silk (left) are a perfect gift for joggers and dog-walkers!
A public, in-person book club on "Classic Novels (and Movies)" is another way to weave together literature and community.
West Seattle Classic Novels (and Movies) book club
May meeting
Title: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby (1925)
When: Sunday May 18, 2025
3:00-4:00 (arrive around 2:30 to purchase beverages and chat, we begin right at 3pm and pick the next title at 4).
Where: C and P Coffee on California Ave SW, at an outdoor table on the back patio
All are welcome. Free and open to the public. Discussions begin with a fun trivia quiz, with prizes for the winners!
fyi: All the trivia quizzes since 2020 are posted here: https://nd.academia.edu/JuliaDouthwaite/Blogs
The "RARE" quilt initiative: I am making one or two quilts per year, customized for recipients of the Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity (RARE) scholarships. I love contributing this way as an alumna of Roosevelt HS. The first went to Leah and Elsabeth in 2021; the third went to Elroe in 2022; the fourth and fifth went to Camila and Yuena in 2023, and the sixth went to the 2024 winner, Aurora. Go Roughriders!
A free monthly meet-up at local art fairs,
with vintage typewriters to inspire you!
Vintage typewriters will be available, with Crane stationery,
and books of spring poetry for inspiration!
Next meet-up: Saturday May 24 from 2--6pm!
Courtesy of Honey Girl Books and Gifts and the Lumber Yard Bar.
Free, for 21+
@ Lumber Yard Bar's Queer Market
9630 16th Ave SW
Seattle, WA 98106
In the heart of historic White Center
(stationery w/envelope: $2 a set)
P.S. All these activities cost money, of course. When you make a purchase from Honey Girl Books and Gifts, you are helping underwrite them! And you are supporting our efforts at building community and combatting loneliness for everyone, big and small. Thank you!
p.s.s. On top of dog walking, I can also be found twice a week at the Seattle Kung Fu Club Tai chi classes and on Thursdays at the West Seattle RowHouse for Free Row, if you want to know how I stay so energetic and motivated in "retirement." It's an ongoing, daily effort. See you around!
Grandma with her family in
White Salmon, WA circa 1915
(she’s front row, second from right)
