Seattle's own
Honey Girl Books & Gifts
est. 2018
Sustaining our humanity
The HGBG mission:
to sustain and nurture humanity through literature
and textile arts.
By hand, by people, in-person
I care about materials, restoring old quilts and making new ones of old fabrics, as well as producing style with distinctive cottons and satins from around the world.
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 7-12. I taught it for six years in South Bend, Indiana, and in 2018 WYS moved with me to Seattle, WA.
Write YOUR Story
Spring term is now over!
The six author / illustrators, ages 6 to 9,
produced
Seattle Secrets: How Three Magical Cats
Outwitted the Mean Ostrich
(33 pages illus.)
WYS aims to inspire kids with the same love of reading and writing that has made our lives so rich and satisfying. I am planning to offer WYS in three sessions a year, going forward; possibly one for adults!
Stay tuned for more news.
The price for all classes, as it always was, is free.
Like Write YOUR Story, HGBG is a deliberately small, sustainable business run by a third generation Northwesterner. The products have integrity.
Many people enjoy giving me their fine fabrics, shirts and ties, and I love turning them into textile art. Sources also include Goodwill, thrift stores,
and today's most exciting designers.
Each of my products is slightly different.
All are sewn by hand and Juki machine in West Seattle, WA, USA.
Sandra with her book in
Write YOUR Story 2014
Grandma with her family in
White Salmon, WA circa 1915
(she’s front row, second from right)
A free, 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
June meeting:
Title: Daphne DuMaurier, Rebecca (1938)
Film: Highly recommend the film version by Alfred Hitchcock, Rebecca (1940)
See it here: https://archive.org/details/rebecca-1940-film-noir-thirller-hitchcock
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2026
Time: Discussion from 3-4pm; come at 2:30 to purchase beverages and join us for a chat
Place: at C&P Coffee on California Ave SW, we meet outside in back
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 for recipients of the Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity (RARE) scholarships.
As an alumna of Roosevelt HS, I am grateful for my good education. 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, the sixth went to Aurora (2024; in photo), and the seventh--a "Wizard of Oz" quilt--was made for a 2025 winner, Hager. This summer, I'll be making a large "Mille Fleurs" quilt for Kenya and a "Wizard of Oz" quilt for Gabby: 2026 winners. Go Roughriders!
A meet-up at local art fairs,
with vintage typewriters to inspire you!
Vintage typewriters available,
classy Crane stationery,
and books of poetry for inspiration
(Laptops okay too.)
Come write something beautiful!
Next event:
July 17-19 at the Alki Art Fair!
P.S. All these activities cost money, of course. When you buy a handmade quilt or original children's book from Honey Girl Books and Gifts, you are helping underwrite an array of beneficial events in Seattle. And you are supporting our efforts at building community and combating loneliness for everyone, big and small. Thank you.
Donations gladly received to defray our many expenses (paper, printing, prizes, publishing, websites, art fair fees, taxes).
Venmo: @Julia-Viglione
P.S.S. All our items are handmade and conceived by humans.(The books are written and illustrated by people, published with an independent printer and sold by HGBG. The cloth goods are all made by me.)
