Playing With Cotton: The Baby Blanket

During Sarah Sponda's visit she raided the cedar chest in the pink room. Good Gravy Marie! She found some of her Mama's treasures. One being Jenny Wren's baby blanket. It was literally thread bare and all the "silky" had been worn off. It was held together by a breath and a prayer.

Sarah, being Sarah, decided it needed to be rescued and returned to its rightful owner. (Insert skepticism here). I couldn't change her mind. When she told me what she wanted to do I was on board ~ but only after the "deer in the headlights" reaction. Sometimes it takes a moment for creativity to sink in. Especially if its not my own.

So off we go a shoppin'. To find just the right fixes for her treasure. She, like me, isn't patient when you have to shop the coupon/sale way. We have to tag team the clerks at Hob Lob, 'cause, for whatever reason, you can only use ONE coupon at a time. You can't even make two separate purchases back to back. N. O. they said. Pft.

So, here we go! Since the blanket was so thin she wanted to line and back it with flannel. She also wanted to put a silky binding back on it. Pretty ambitious I thought. But, she has surprised me before with her skills! She layered the three pieces together ~ blanket , yellow flannel and pretty gender neutral print on the back. So far, so good.

Off to the machine we go to put the first two layer together. Have I ever mentioned her relationship with Susie Singer? No? Well, that's a story for another day.

Ahh, a cake walk she's thinking! Okay. Movin' on. Since putting a silky binding all the way around was going to be a little more costly than she wanted, she opted for a thin ribbon sewn into the binding. Sounds simple enough. So let's do it!

Looks easy. But don't ask her if it was! Um, I can't tell you how many times I heard her call my name. Sometimes I would come. Sometimes I felt she would figure it out. Sometimes I had a dozen other kidlings calling for me. I felt like I was on a roller coaster! I also can't tell you how many times that poor girl ripped out the seams. She threatened to quit. She would get angry with me (tee-hee) and she would walk away only to come back Signs of a good quilter!

But, alas, she got it sewn! She purchased a cute variegated yarn to tie it with. It was not a candidate for traditional quilting. She did an awesome job for a spur of the moment quilt. Even if she had several meltdowns!