I had too much fun sewing this latest blanket set! I LOVE how this one came together! I started by saying to myself, “Self: you need another girl blanket set for your Etsy shop .” I set about looking through my stash, figuring out what material I had for backing, what cottons I had for borders and what other coordinating soft flannels I had. All along I wondered, “How in the heck am I going to schedule a trip to the fabric store if I need more material?” and hoped that I could find what I needed in the stash. I tried a few things together and really didn’t like how they were looking until I found the pink and green striped flannel and threw it up against the brown and pink polka dots. Yes! That was it! I also came across a piece of “soft and comfy” fabric that I have had for a while and just have not had the right project for. Well, as it turns out, this was it! It went perfectly with the materials that I picked. I love the way it’s light enough to provide great movement and suppleness to the blanket but heavy enough to also provide warmth for the little ones! I cut and sewed the top, assembled the blanket and sewed the seams, top-stitched it and, voila! It was done.

But it lacked something. I knew that I had a TON of pink terry cloth scraps laying around and thought about what shapes I could embellish this blanket with. Flowers immediately came to mind since it is such a girly blanket but I also liked the idea of hearts. Although I am a very symmetrical person, I fought the urge to put an applique on each corner, thinking that would be too much. So I opted for kitty-cornered appliques in terry and “soft and comfy” fabric so that the babies would have some great textures to explore during Tummy Time!

I got to work immediately on a coordinating bib and diaper/wipe pouch, embellishing the wipe pouch with a heart and the bib with a flower. Interestingly enough, I ran short on the brown polka dot material and ended up piecing the bib and the wipe pouch together with coordinating fabric. Many times that’s how it works over here: working with what I have. I LOVE how they turned out and they would not be as interesting if I had enough of the “right” material!

This right here is my happy place: the organic coming-together of a design with existing materials that turn out a one-of-a-kind product.