Jameson

These blankets are special because they are for an old college friend who is having her first child at age 38. We are all very excited for her to be a mother for the first time! She loves monkeys & has monkeys waiting in the baby crib. So I went with that theme.

The first is just a small, crib sized fleece. This one the kids wanted to help with so it was as simple as can be. Two pieces sewed in a rectangle with a 2 1/2 inch selvage. (I didn't want to tie it because it would be way to bulky for the size.) I set 2 kids with 2 pairs of scissors up on a cutting board with instruction on the spacing of the cuts & they were done in less than 5 minutes. A few days after it was finished, I was given his name so I just ripped out one seam to do the initials & then re-sewed it.

The second blanket was flannel on both sides--brown & then the same monkey print but the print size was scaled down a bit. I put brown ribbon on 2 of the corners of the monkey side & then put his name on the top of the brown side with it centered & at an arcing angle. The fun thing about this blanket is the thread. It was a 2 color thread that went back & forth from yellow to orange since the monkey print had both those colors. (Looking at his name embroidered makes me think of a giraffe, not a monkey though....oh well.) For the outside edge I chose a stitch that reminded me of the branches on the trees on the green print. It really adds a lot of character on the brown side of the blanket.

Scarlett

I was showing a friend of mine the blankets I mailed out last week & she asked, "Oh, will you please make one for me to give to my niece?" We talked about what she might like & decided on this red & pink flannel toille. I didn't notice the pink when I bought it, but it does add a little bit extra to the print.

I was also pretty proud of myself because I was having some problems with embroidery & I actually broke open the MANUAL & found out so many neat things to help me. Funny how those manuals can be so helpful if you open them! Anyway, I added red ribbon that had white stitching to the top horizontally below the name.

The outside border was a real struggle for me. I probably spent 30 minutes just trying to decide what to do. There are so many flower motifs in the print, but none that I tried on the scrap material seemed right, so I put it down for the night. Next day, I decided on the leaf/ivy motif as it was simple & added just enough to make it special.

In addition to the blanket I also made a burp rag to match. I just put her initial on one side & a strip of the flannel down the middle of the other side. I really like how the blanket turned out. I am not a big fan of the toille, but when I saw this material, I knew I would find a perfect match for someone some day & I think I did.

Jayden

One of the 5th grade teachers had a baby (her first boy) a few weeks ago so this is the outcome of her blanket. I LOVE the colors of this one. So bold & such a fun print. The seahorses have a half circle edging to them so I extended that theme to the border. I also had this ribbon that matched perfectly with the greens & blues on the print side of the flannel. The orange flannel has a bit of a tie dye feel to it as it is not a solid orange.

Gia

We have another good friend in North Carolina from residency who just added a little girl to their family. His parents own a beach house & they let us use it for free multiple times while we lived there & it was soooo wonderful since we had NO money to rent one back then. We have such great memories there at the beach. They have one son & now cute little Gia, which means God is Gracious from the Italian.

This first blanket is flannel on both sides white on one, at cute flower print on the other. I didn't do anything to print side (it is so busy by itself). The white side has a matching ribbon down one edge & her name in dark pink above it with 4 6 pointed light pink flowers under it. I used a flower motiff for the edging in purple on the white side & green on the floral side. I have to say this is one of my favorites so far. Since this is their first girl I wanted to make them 2 one for winter & one for summer. (Plus girl blankets are so much easier to find material for!) The second is made from 2 contrasting seersucker prints. We find butterflies, lady bugs & heart on the yellow side & polkadots on the other side. For the border I put matching hearts from the yellow motif. On the green side I put her name in 2 cirlces made from different patterns in one of the corners. The yellow ring is remeniscent of a sunburst while the pink ones reminds me of a broken rope pattern.

School Carnival

Someone once told me not to let anyone know that I had a machine that could embroidery because then everyone would ask me to do stuff for them. I had my first chance today to help out & I was glad to do it. Our school carnival is on friday & a neighbor asked if I could put this on the aprons. I felt a little pressure since the whole school was going to be seeing it, but it was fun until the last apron & it messed up. I did some quick thinking & redoing & it turned out fine.

Eleanore

Eleanore is baby Number 6 for our good friends in Utah that we met in residency. At the time we met, they had 2 girls the same ages as our girls. They next had a boy, just as we did, but then they split off with 3 more girls.
This one is with a fine gauge brown corduroy with polka dots & a pink & brown paisley flannel print on the other. I used a pink & brown paisley print ribbon to accent the corner of the brown side & put her name under it with a pretty design under that.

Nicholas

My good friend Daniel & his wonderful wife Kim just had their 4th child (3 boys & 1 girl). They live in North Carolina now, but we met in Austin before I was married. He was my volleyball buddy per say, and a good friend in the gospel when that is what I need most of all. I am so thankful for those that help to uplift you in difficult times. One side is multi striped flannel & the other is the super soft stuff I don't know the name of with puffy dots. I put his initials in the middle top portion of the blanket & the border is a wave looking stitch. I chose this material because Kim used these same colors for the birth announcement.

I have to admit I really enjoy getting birth announcements now because I start to think immediately at what that person might like by way of prints & fabrics.

Brigham & Tyrus

When Tyrus was over a year old, he was still sleeping with a puffy blanket that my mother made & tied for the girls. Yes, very pink on one side with a floral print onthe other side. We decided it was time to make him his own blanket. When my parents came to visit we all had a great time tying his quilt together with white yarn.Well, that was a few years ago & now Brigham needed a blanket & I found some material way back that was very similar to Tyrus' material, just in another color scheme. So I got it out & made the flannel blanket for him & the 3 older kids helped me tie it before they all went off to school this year. Since I have the new machine, he got to have his name put on his, but you cannot see it very well. We also used yard that faded into different colors that matched the colors of his blanket wonderfully. It was fun for me to have the kids work around me with thier needles & yard & help tie it for him.

Just a side note, when we told Tyrus that we were going to make Brigham a blanket just like his he got REALLLLY upset & a terrified, sad look on his face like we had committed the ultimate betrayal. It was totaly a miscommunication. He thought we were going to give HIS blanket to Brigham. He is in total love with his blanket & will go to the washer to watch it go around and around in the washing machine. April always makes a big deal when she gets it out of the dryer for him. It is starting to wear a little thin these days & I had to patch up a small hole in it just yesterday.

Katie

Little Katie was loved into her home because her parents needed her so badly. They have been trying to have child for many years & finally they received the good news that a unwed mother to be had chosen them to give her child to. Many prayers were said in their behalf as the process unfolded, but in the end she is where God meant for her to be!

The blanket is flannel on one side with that ultra soft material with the puffy dots on the other. I did her name in lower case letters in the corner of the green side. I also did a burp rag with her initials on the soft green material on the end of the burp rag. I used a 3 point flower stitch on the edges that matched the flowers in the flannel. As an extra touch I put floral motif in the corner of the green side with a periwinkle thread color that was in the floral print in the flannel.

Brigham

I forgot to take a picture of this one before I gave it to Sherianne for her "little" Brigham. She is such a great person & wonderful friend that you can laugh & laugh & laugh with but just as easily discuss the seriousness of life's trials with. I just love her. The blanket was a beige blotchy pattern on one side with a cute red side with dogs. I used a border that put a dot/star, line dot/star pattern all the way around with red thread.

Brigham & Brigham

Right before Brigham was born I finished a blanket just for him to use in the hospital & bring him home with. It is so soft! One side has this super soft material with puffy dots & the other side is a striped patern with blues & greens. It is soooo cute & was just so comfy.
I also wanted a plain flannel blanket for him so I let JP choose the material he wanted out of the material stores I have upstairs. He chose a very bold yellow with primary colors used for dog items like bones, fire hydrants, feeding bowls, balls & such. The kids helped me choose a pattern for the outside edge that truly seems like dog bones when you look at it. At first I wasn't so thrilled with it, but now I love it!

Caroline

When Elizabeth was here visiting last I let her choose what material she like best for me to make her 2 blankets for "Caroline to be". These are the ones she chose & this is how they worked out.
This pink material was hard to work with because of the thickness in the ridges. I need to remember that even though the thread looks like it matches, to always do a test run on a scrap piece.

I loved this blanket made from seer sucker. I added green ribbon with blue accent on the plain pink side. The outside border is what took so long because it is a beautiful floral design that adds so much to the feel of the blanket.

Ryland

I got a new sewing machine for Christmas and I have been learning how to use it quite quickly. It embroiders and that has been fun to play with. I have been busy making baby blankets for family and friends that are due or have just had babies. I realllly like it!! Here is the first one that I have made with it. The pictures have the front and back contrasting sides showing.