Summer Weight Covers

 Since 2013 I have made 3 of these light weight blankets. In my previous posts, I always called them blank-o-lets, after my grandson's name for his special blanket when he was young.

This was my first light weight blanket. The fabric is a lawn that I got from Connecting Threads. This blanket was made in 2013. I used it for almost 2 years. The backing is white flannel and it is the perfect weight for summer, although I used it year round to wrap around my shoulders when I needed a little something, especially at night when I would get hot, and then cooled down again. Perfect weight.

See the blog post here for more detail.

Then, in December of 2014, just before my first surgery, I made a new one. The intended use was the same, I just wanted something different.

 And the reason I wanted something different was because this awesome print was available in flannel! I was so in love with this. So, again, I made the top out of light weight voile from Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks voile. This blank-o-let comforted me for 8 years! I have slept with it every night and taken it everywhere with me for those eight years. But now she is getting thin. All the washing and snuggling is wearing her out. I did some repairs on her and was quite surprised to see how thin the flannel has become.

See this blog post for more detail.

So now, I found a really pretty fabric and it is not lawn or voile, but I loved it anyway. I used a yard and a half of the main print and a yard of the two coordinating prints to make this:

 This is one of those projects that I make up in my head and when it works out, it is so much better than I though it would be.

This is the main print. The line is Nocturnal by Gingiber for Moda fabrics. It is the coolest print and when I saw it, I couldn't resist. I knew that with the pink and mustard accent fabrics it would be perfect for a new light weight blank-o-let.

This is the selvedge of the fabrics. I got four of these little wordy pieces and saved them all. I put one on the bottom of the front side. I just love it.

And the backing is a well washed and used sheet that my daughter gave me, with the intended use of quilt backing. The fitted sheet was trashed, but the top sheet was in pretty good shape. This was a twin size. Now, this light weight blanket is a wee bit heavier because the fabric on top is heavier than lawn or voile. But, I am hoping it will last as long as the last one, which my husband has claimed as his own. It is a bit heavier than a sheet, and perfect for AC nights or even open window nights when it seems chilly by the early morning hours. As I said, I use it year round. I can't wait until it gets a few washings to soften it further. Oh, and I highly recommend that you prewash your fabrics to pre-shrink them. With no batting in between it matters. Ask me how I know. :)

Talk to you soon.

Nap Blanket

 You know, as we age, we sometimes need a nap, just as we did when we were babies. And being a quilter, I have lots of quilts available for naps. But there are very few that I have made for my husband specifically. So for his birthday in late September, I decided he need a special nap blanket.

I went on line to Fat Quarter Shop and found some great blue flannel plaids. My husband loves plaid, and flannel. I decided to keep it simple and just do an easy patchwork. I cut up all the plaids into squares and began sewing.

I did make a slight pattern to the placement of the flannels. I decided to just quilt it simply in horizontal and vertical lines on each side of the seams. I wanted it to be sturdy but soft too.

For the back, I chose this buffalo check fabric. It's not flannel, but it was on sale so that's a win for me!

And the best part is that he loves it and uses it regularly, now that the weather has turned chilly. It is a very cosy blanket.

See you soon.

Ringing Out the Old

Here we are again, the last day of the year. The time when we look back on the last 365 days and remember what came before this moment in time. The time where we resolve to make the next 365 days better in some way than the last. I love turning a new calendar page and starting fresh. To me, it is hope for improvement, 12 times each year. And yes, they go by faster as you age. I have made several "resolutions" for myself. Some will succeed and some may fail, but the point is to try. I am not going to go in to them here. What I am going to do is to show you my last finish for the year 2014.

 Remember this? Made over a year ago, this light weight "blank-o-let" as we call it, is voile with only a flannel backing and no batting. It makes a lovely light covering in spring, summer and fall. It also is nice if you experience hot flashes in the night. This one has been so loved and  used A LOT! I wanted to make another one, just a wee bit bigger. I also wanted to bind it, as this one is only zigzag stitched turned in edges.

 Here is the beautiful binding, made from the Anna Maria Horner Little Folks voile I have been saving for this project, along with a wee bit of the Connecting Threads Masuri left over from the first one.

 So soft and slick and smooth. Sews like a dream, but I used my walking foot so as not to cause it to bunch up. Lots of pins too.

 Here it is laid out on our queen size bed.  When I did this, I thought "Wow, it is bigger!"

 The machine binding looks great, I think and a much better option for the edge than the last one (lazy me).

 Then I laid the old one over it to compare size. I was a bit surprised that it wasn't that much smaller.

 And the back? LOVE LOVE LOVE! Anna Maria Horner for the win! Echenacia flannel. I tried to capture the color. It is hard. This stuff fairly vibrates with its vividness.

 So soft, so pretty. I will be enjoying this a lot when I have my recovery time after my surgery in late January. I figure if I have to lie around and just look at the scenery, I want pretty scenery.

And now, one more thing...This is post number 399. Yes, that means that the next post, the first of 2015, will be number 400. A great way to start a new year. I have a very special giveaway planned, so stay tuned. Have a very happy new year and I will see you all soon.

A Few More Finishes

I have a few more finished things to show to you today.  Still plugging away on the Christmas list and I can't show that stuff, but I have done some other sewing.

Another little cute pair of flannel pants for baby B.  I am now making the 9-12 month sizes for him.  He is so long at almost 6 months!  I love making these little pants.  And since I am on a flannel kick, I have lots of flannel scraps...

 So I made another scrappy flannel blanket.  The first one was awesome and it is used daily in the car seat.  This one is a bit bigger, per his mother's request.  I had lots of scraps and a few bigger pieces.

 This is the back of the blanket.  It is just 2 layers of flannel, no batting and sort of quilted to prevent shifting of the layers.

Love all these crazy flannel colors and patterns.  I know it will help keep him warm this winter.  The last thing I have almost finished is the other TV cushion for my other grandson, V.

 For V's cushion I used some Castle Peeps I had in my stash.  I had just enough of the castle fabric to do both of the flat sides.  The orange piping I made from a very small piece of Kona, less than a quarter yard.

 The handle is the brown Peeps, which was small to begin with, but in putting it together, I cut off their heads.  Oh well....you can see in the picture above, the pins where I still need to stitch it closed.

A side view of the castle towers.  This cushion I also used a lining of muslin to strengthen it as I did not have home dec weight fabric.  I think this will work just as well.  Again, the tutorial can be found on Sew Can She.  It's a pretty quick sew, even if you make your own piping.

Have a great rest of the week.

Flannel Weather

It truly is flannel weather now.  Not only wearing it, but sewing with it.  I spent last weekend making PJ pants for the boys.  I used the Oliver + S pattern for sleepover pajamas that I had used last year for their Christmas PJs.  The two older boys are taller, but still skinny, so I could use the same size and just add a couple of inches to to the length.  For baby B I just moved up to the 9-12 month size so hopefully he can wear them a bit longer.  We'll see.

Here they are...

 These are the two pair for baby B.  I am still using Amy Butler's pattern from Little Stitches for Little Ones.  It is the pattern for the Kimono Pajamas bottoms.

 For some perspective, here are baby B's next to big brother V's pajama pants.  This is the first thing I have made for the brothers to dress alike.  Can't do it often, but this is too cute not to.

And here are cousin J's, looking just like the little orange pair above.  These were pretty simple to make, and like anything, the more you make, the easier it gets.

After all these, I had a ton of scraps and one good size piece of the light green with the little alligators on it, so I decided to use them up for this:

 I sewed a bunch of the scraps together until it was the same size as the larger piece of flannel.  I didn't take a picture of the back, but it was just one big piece.  I stitched the edges together with the right sides together, turned it right side out and edge stitched the top all around the edges.

Then, I shadow quilted along side each of the joints on the top to anchor the two layers together.  It is a great weight for the baby and the size it perfect for wrapping him up in the car seat.  It measures about 40 x 30 inches.  I would like to make another of these, but I need more flannel first!

My flannel all came from Connecting Threads, and I pre-washed it before sewing to minimize shrink.

I hope you have a great weekend, and I will see you next week when the U R Priceless blog hop begins.  It starts on Monday and you can find the schedule by clicking on the button above on the right.  It is hosted by Sew We Quilt and Madame Samm.  I hope to see you there.  My day on the hop will be Tuesday.

Until then, happy quilting.