Simple Baby Blanket - Made in a Day

A couple of weeks ago I showed you my baby blanket project in process.  This was a simple panel of fabric with the sweet animal designs by Sheri McCulley.  Sheri has designed several Cricut cartridges (Nursery Tales, Snow Angel, Christmas Wish, Nate's ABCs, Kate's ABCs, Savory) and also has designs available through Lettering Delights.  This panel is from the Woodland Tails collection from manufacturer Riley Blake Designs.

I chose the easiest way to make the blanket - it isn't really a quilt because there are only two layers.  For the back I used the wonderful soft "Minky" fabric with an embossed paisley design.  I also purchased the coordinating stripe from the Woodland Tails collection to use for the binding.  If you've never felt the Minky fabric, you should try to find some to see just how silky and soft it is.  The perfect cuddling fabric for a baby!

I measure the panel and trimmed the Minky to the same size.  Then I used quilt basting spray on the back of the panel.  I was at my sister's house and we spread out a plastic tarp on the patio to keep the panel clean.  I let the panel dry for a few minutes, and then it was time to line up the two pieces.  This is a job best done by two (or more) people.

I cut strips of striped fabric at 2 1/2 inches and joined the lengths by placing the right sides at 90 degree angle and sewing along the diagonal.  Then I trimmed away the excess fabric and press the seams open.  This strip was then folded in half, wrong sides together, to make the binding.

I machined sewed the folded binding to the top panel, taking care to keep the lines straight so a small border of orange would show around the edge.  I mitered the corners so the binding would roll smoothly to the back.

Then I turned the binding, pressed and pinned it, and hand sewed the binding to the Minky fabric on the back.

I tied the two layers together with embroidery floss, following the natural lines of the design of the panel.

The panel has lots of cute little animals and my plan was to make a card to match.  I still haven't made the card but I did send the blanket to Virginia with my sister and her husband when they went to help just before the new baby arrived.

I was able to finish the blanket in one day - much less time consuming than making a pieced quilt top and then quilting by hand or machine.  This was the only way I would be finished in time for the arrival of my first great niece!

I have to share these beautiful photos of the newest member of our extended family that were taken this week.  Here she is with her two big brothers.

Just look at those beautiful big eyes.  What a sweet little girl!

I was very impressed by the photographer that my niece used.  Her name is Audra Simsic of Simple Soul Photography and she works in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia.  I can't wait to see the rest of the photos from their session.

I hope you have a lovely weekend.  It looks like it will be sunny but chilly here.  My Dad was discharged from the hospital yesterday and is in the rehab area of his retirement community while he recovers and builds up his strength.  Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers.


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A little bit of Sewing...

Yesterday, I spent quite a bit of time sewing, something I haven't done much of since I got so involved with papercrafting.  I actually finished a baby blanket using the panel with the Sheri Berry design that I found at my local quilt store last month (you can see my first post about this fabric HERE).

The fabric panel is very sweet with cute baby animals and shapes in a bright color combination.  I'll post more about the blanket with some directions later this week.

Today I'll be on a train heading back home.  It was a short visit but I managed to help my sister with a few projects and even finish this baby gift that will be going to Virginia.  It is always fun to come to this area - we did a bit of shopping (and I found some good deals).  This is the view of the New York skyline from the third floor window of my sister's house.  There were no trips into the city for me this time but it is nice to know it is so close!

A couple of people asked about the image I used for the ATC I posted yesterday.  The Dover mermaid sample was available at this LINK - I am not sure how long the links stay live so, if you want to download the picture, be sure to go there soon.

I'll have a late night tonight but soon will be back to a more normal schedule.  I got some exciting news yesterday about something that will be coming in the mail that I am looking forward to sharing.

Have a wonderful and crafty day!

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Simple Yo-yo Directions

Several people contacted me after the last post I did for Creative Charms to say that they did not know how to make a fabric yo-yo (click HERE to see the original post).  I thought I'd share a few photos to show how I made the yo-yo behind this sticker. 

I started with a circle of sparkly netting cut at about 3 1/2 inches.  The circle size you start with should be about twice the diameter of the size you want for your finished yo-yo.

Thread a needle with strong thread and make a running stitch all around the edge of the circle.  A running stitch is just an easy in and out stitch.  Be sure to cut the thread long enough to sew around the edge and have some thread left to pull.  Try to keep the stitch length fairly uniform to produce that prettiest folds in the gathering.  With netting the needle will go in and out easily and you should soon have a little pouch like this.

Draw up the edges to complete the circle and tie several knots to hold the gathers in place.

Then flatten the netting into a neat circular shape.  Be sure the threads are knotted tightly and cut off the excess thread.  Use your fingers to arrange the gathers for an attractive circle shape.

I usually make a group of these once I get started.  You can add many things to cover the center.  Buttons look cute and flowers or stickers and other embellishments can hide the centers.  If you are very tidy when you sew, you will just see a gathered edge and you don't really need to add something to cover the center.

These are fast and fun to make.  It is nice to keep some fabric circles precut and ready to go and to bring a little bag of pieces along to work on when you are traveling. 

I had company for the day on Friday and we have house guests that arrived Friday night so this is just a quick (and, I hope, helpful) post.  Have a wonderful weekend - we had thunderstorms and hail here (!) but the forecast for the next day or so doesn't look too bad...

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