Wednesday, November 21, 2018

Counting my blessings

Hi everyone! Is your kitchen overwhelmed with pie-making, and perhaps a turkey thawing? I know what you're doing, and it smells fantastic and yummy!

It's Thanksgiving this week in the United States, and when we count our blessings this year, we will be counting one more.  See if you can guess what that blessing will be:



Yes, we are expecting another grandchild! Our daughter will be having a baby girl in January.  Yes, we are over the moon! And, yes, that does make four grandchildren in three years.  The more the merrier, I say! 


Since this tiny girl will be making her big debut in the coldest part of the year, I've made her some nice warm blankets to snuggle into.  These are always fun to make, and super easy to boot.  And just look at the really cute flannels I found!  Our daughter and her husband don't want a lot of pink, but thankfully there are some really cute flannels that are much more unisex than what they're selling in stores these days. 


I made four of the single-layer blankets and a double-sided one.  I make these without any measuring.  To do this, I just remove the selvages and square up one end.  Then I fold the squared-off end diagonally to meet one of the edges where the selvages were.


Trim and then hem and you've got a good-sized baby blanket!  This gives you a blanket that is about 40 inches square, depending on the original width of the flannel.  Mine were just over 40 inches.  The peas and carrots, the green, and the little sprigs are Lil' Sprouts Flannel Too, which is a very nice heavyweight flannel that turned out really soft and made great blankets.  The super cute fishbowls are a Michael Miller flannel from Bernie's shop, and it also washed beautifully and made a great little blanket. 

Since they now tell parents not to put coats on babies so that the car seat straps fit nice and snug, I also made a double-sided blanket that is quite a bit heavier and can be used over the car seat carrier when she has to go somewhere.  Double-sided ones are also nice to have for other uses, too. To make the double -sided one, I cut one of the flannels using the same method as above, then pinned, pinned, pinned it to the uncut other layer, right sides together. 


Stitch first, leaving an opening for turning, then trim the second layer away. Turn and stitch about 1/4 inch from the edges all around, which will also stitch the opening closed.  Voila--a double-sided blanket with no measuring!  The pennants flannel for this blanket came from Bernie's shop, too, and the apricot is the Lil' Sprouts.  To be honest, I really wanted a pink for the back, but I didn't want to risk the wrath of the mom to be.  I think the apricot cuts the pinkness of the pennants enough, don't you?


So that is our happy, happy news for this Thanksgiving.  One more especially happy blessing among the many, many others we count.  I hope you and your families are all counting many blessings as well this Thanksgiving.  Everybody travel safe over the river and through the woods, and shop safe on Friday, too!

Sharing at Let's Bee Social, Confessions of a Fabric Addict, and Finished or Not Friday.

15 comments:

Danice G said...

Congrats on the coming grand baby! The blankets are adorable and will be very warm.

Laura said...

How exciting! Congratulations! Maybe their will be a pink dress in the future. :)

piecefulwendy said...

Congratulations to your family, and happy Thanksgiving!

Karen - Quilts...etc. said...

congratulations on the expanding family! that will make the holidays extra special when you start shopping for all those xmas presents

Bernie Kringel said...

These are al so cute Mari and not terribly girly either. I am so happy for you as your family grows!! Nothing better than grand babies. Have to ask - you prewash flannel before you make something right? It usually has a bit of shrinkage. Thanks for sharing these. I love seeing what people make with fabric they order. It is a treat.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your ever-growing family!

Louise said...

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your newly expanded family! :)

Kate said...

Have a very happy Thanksgiving and congrats on the new addition to the family.

Quiltdivajulie said...

Congratulations !!

LIttle Penguin Quilts said...

Congratulations on the new member of the family coming soon! I bet those flannel blankets will get lots of use!

Home Sewn By Us said...

Hi Mari!! Blessings abound this year! We are expecting Baby Girl before the end of the year. Her brother just turned a year. Oops - they don't know how that happened. Umm, I think we ALL know how. Unexpected but a blessing I can hardly wait to meet. I enjoyed your great descriptive on how you made the blankets. Thank you for sharing. Happy Happy Thanksgiving to you. ~smile~ Roseanne

Farm Quilter said...

What a wonderful blessing!! You definitely have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving! Have a blessed holiday!!

The Joyful Quilter said...

Congrats! on the impending arrival. Those blankets are darling! Do you hem the single-sided blankets so the don't ravel or just serge them? Maybe I didn't read your post carefully enough. In my defense, it's past my bedtime. :o))

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Your quilt for the palliative care unit is beautiful...what a generous gift. Meanwhile, congratulations on a little girl joining the family. And what pretty fabrics. The car carrier is a wonderful idea. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

scraphappy said...

Such exciting news! Congratulations on your new grandchild. Looks like she will be nice and warm

KaHolly said...

Congratulations! I am so envious!