Blanket

Sewing the men's shirt dresses with Angie, and also another sister, Mandy, has sparked in me a desire to learn to sew. I took a sewing class in 7th grade, where I made an interesting pillow that, surprisingly enough, won a small award, but that is the last time I have really sewn anything on my own. Sure, I've used my mom's serger to make some pajama pants, but I would always have her do the waist and hem. And if the thread were to break, I had no idea how to fix it. Well, when we moved into my grandma's basement, I discovered her old (from the 60s, so yes, it has electricity) sewing machine. Mandy cleaned it, oiled it (using oil that she found in the drawer-it had a sticker price of 30 cents!), and showed me the basics of how to thread it. Since then, I have finished two dresses, and made Lily this blanket! I know, it has Ariel on it, when I always said I didn't really want my kids to be too much into princesses, but what do you do when The Little Mermaid is the only show your kid wants to watch? When we went to get some material, she saw this and immediately said, "Mine!" I couldn't resist. I made it a light weight blanket, with no batting, and I didn't tie it, but I think it turned out well. I also learned to use the twin needle, which I really like. Here is the link I used if you want further instructions:
http://projectsforyournest.blogspot.com/2008/06/simple-inside-out-baby-blanket.html
She also has some other great ideas on her site, and it is one of my new faves to go to. (Thanks to my sis Alicia for having this site linked on her blog!)


It is double sided, with pink flannel on the back.


This is a close-up of the twin stiching. I only had one spool of pink, so I just used white for the second stich. This thread was on the machine when I started using it, so who knows how old it is? It kept breaking on me, which was a little frustrating. I will have to get some new stuff. And yes, that is the pink flannel, it just looks red in this picture for some reason.

My next project is Lily's Halloween costume. I have the pattern half laid out, so when it is done, I will post that as well (if it turns out okay). Wish me luck!