Sunday, November 7, 2010

How a Blanket Becomes So Much More

My sewing machine got away from me this last week. I started one project and it just grew and grew and grew.

My first idea was to do this baby blanket... just a simple quilt.

I was happy with the quilt because as a baby gift, it was particularly rife with meaning. The dotted fabric came from my mother's 1980's collection of baby fabrics and I used some of it on a blanket for my son. The pink gingham comes from my husband's grandmother's collection of fabrics. The butterfly fabric was used on a dress for my daughter. The pink with the brown dots was used on an apron for my sister. And the white cotton is from a receiving blanket I had for both of my children. The other fabrics were bought for this blanket, but so many of them were ones I already had and had used in some really special ways.

So obviously, that blanket would be a fine gift all by itself.

But then I had scraps.

So I made two taggie squares and a taggie blanket.

There. Now I should be done.

Then I saw this adorable gown in a local boutique. It had a t-shirt or onesie material top and a chenille or fleece bottom portion and was absurdly expensive price tag. But I wanted it. So I bought it. Then I got it home and really looked at it and said to myself, I could make something like this. So I took it back and went back to the fabric store for more of the pink fleece.

I took one of my daughters old gowns, cut off the bottom and measured out an amount of fleece equal to the circumference of the top of the gown (with seam allowances). I added elastic at the bottom, sewed up the back and then pinned the right side of the top to the right side of the fleece and sewed around.
I think it's cute as is, but it was even cuter on top of the matching blanket.

There. Now I should be done. Right?

Wait for next post.

2 comments:

Summer Kinard said...

These are so cute! Baby Z will love them. You are so cool with your ability to sew a straight line.

Dave & Suzanne said...

I LOVE ALL OF IT!!! I can't wait for Zoe to get here so she can enjoy all of the beautiful things her Aunt Becky made her.