As a second form of entertainment, I have read a couple Mary Higgins Clarks books while I've been out here, which are always great. She writes such intense books, its amazing! The only bad thing about this is that, again, I am at home... alone...all day... and all evening! I tend to spook myself out and I always begin to think that a murderer will be walking through my door at any moment. Not the best feeling!
And of course, recently (this past week) I decided to start sewing again! My best friend Kenzi will be leaving on her mission soon and I promised her that I would make a blanket for her! In Young Women's I made a tied quilt and when Kenzi and I lived together in St. George she stole it from me! Well, she loved it. And slept with it on her bed every night! And still does. The only problem is that it is too big! So I made her her very own blanket now.
I made this one a little differently than normal quilts are made. I actually got this idea from my Aunt Kristie.. well second cousin.. or something. Anywho, rather than actually quilting the top like a regular quilt, I just bought a twin sized flat sheet. That way, I don't have to worry about measurements and everything-it is already the right size! It is also cheaper & easier than buying tons fabric and piecing it all together and all of that. So for the bottom of the blanket I just bought 6 yards of quilting flannel and cut it into two 3-yard pieces. I put them next to each other long ways and sewed a side together. This made the flannel wide enough for the blanket. Then I put the good side of the flannel down, put down the batting, and then laid the flat sheet on top, good side out. I trimmed the flannel down so it was about 4 inches longer than the sheet on all 4 sides. I folded the edge of the flannel in 2 inches, and then over the sheet so this gave it kind of a border. I pinned it all up and then sewed the 3 pieces together. Then I laid the blanket on the ground(I wish I had a quilting frame!!), got a yard stick and an air soluable fabric marker, and marked out where I was going to tie it. I got some yarn and a darning needle (they had the biggest "eyes") and threaded the yarn in and out of the blanket where it was marked. I cut all of the yarn in between the markings and then tied the yarn in a double knot. Then I trimmed all of the ties so they weren't too long. All in all, it took me about 4 or 5 hours to do the whole thing, start to finish. And I think it turned out nicely! I think it does look a little too much like a little kid's blanket because of the pattern and the very BRIGHT colors, but I hope Kenzi likes it! Love ya darlin!! Oh.. the other fun thing, is that I actually got a sheet set, so she gets a matching fitted sheet and pillow case as well!! Here are some pics of the finished product... sorry, I didn't think to take pictures of each step!
The blue and white striped thing in the pics is actually a "Grip Bag" for my little sister Miranda. For those of you who don't know, Grips are the things gymnasts put on their hands when they are on the bars so they don't tear their hands apart! Anyways, I guess Miranda needed one, so I made this little drawstring bag with a little button pocket on the front! It was also really simple to make, it only took me like an hour to do! If anyone wants to know how to do it just let me know and I can post some instructions.
Well that is all... I will be posting again soon.. My next projects are fleece pajama pants for Jason and a skirt for Miranda made out of old jeans! Man.. I am on a roll! :)
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