Gift Ideas: For Baby

There are all kinds of cute little gifts out there for babies.  I thought I would share a couple of the gifts I'll be giving this year to the new little ones in our family.

First, is a really cute and super easy self binding blanket I found at Megan Poulton Designs.

These blankets were done in flannel and are actually for baby dolls.  I did the inside fabric at 16 in x 16 in and the binding fabric 26 in x 26 in.  I know I'll be doing more of these in the future for baby showers and gifts (at the normal size, of course).

Second, would be the Car Seat Canopy I designed.  I believe I've made about 7 of these in the past 6 months.  Very easy and fun to do.  This will keep the baby warm and dry during these cold months ahead.

Another baby gift I'm thinking about making are some Baprons from a tutorial put together by Jessica at Craftiness Is Not Optional.

via Craftiness Is Not Optional

She put together such cute combinations of fabric!  We really don't need bibs around our place much any more, but these are so much cuter than all those bibs in the stores with the cheesy saying on them.  I just don't know if I have time to make all the bias strips.  Hmmmm.

Well, people, we are down to only 10 days 'til Christmas.  Are you ready?

Baby Quilt

Larissa inquired about the quilt in the previous post, so I thought I would brag on my mother.  :)  I can remember growing up watching her sew, paint and just plain work hard around our house to make it a home.  She taught me a lot while growing up and I'm constantly having to call her up for refresher courses in my adult life.  (Sure glad she is patient!)

She has been making baby blankets as gifts for a few years now.  Everyone is unique although she always uses the same Trip Around The World pattern.  (Her flannel stash is HUGE!)  Having the connections I do, I get to pick out the color combination each time I have another little one come along.  Here is the latest completed blanket. 

She takes the time to hand quilt each blanket.  AMAZING!

It was a bit odd picking out fabrics for a little boy, but a LOT of fun, too.  See?  No pink!

When Mom ran across some John Deere flannel, she immediately switched out whatever I had originally picked for the center and put in the tractors.  Very appropriate and so thoughtful since my husband grew up on a farm.

All of the grandkids have one.  No small task - since there are currently 8 grandkids in the family (the oldest being 6) and 4 more on the way by Sept..  I just hope and pray that all of them realize later in life what a treasure they have been given by their Nonnie .

Cozy Blanket

I really have been busy with a little creativity and not just the mundane, everyday house work. It's hard to sneak in the time, but I did.

Here is one such project. My brother-in-law recently married a wonderful lady, and I wanted to make them something special. Plus, it's been a bit of a running joke that I would make a blanket like this for him when he got married. (I made one for the in-laws a few Christmas's ago.) When the ring was on the finger and the date set, I started planning - and sweating.

This cozy blanket was so much fun to make! Plus, I loved working with all the soft, beautiful flannels. It's been a while since I've done a project of this scale, so it wasn't finished by the wedding deadline. However, the recipients have been very gracious and forgiving in the lateness of the gift. (Sorry for the sideways pics. At least I remembered to take them this time!)

The blanket is big enough to be placed on a twin bed, if desired. My main goal, though, was making it big enough for both newly weds to be able to fit under comfortably. No complaints about stolen covers, here!

The full blanket:

The panel:
Here are a couple of close-ups of the panel. All the pieces are ironed on and then satin stitched around to secure and keep the fraying at bay.
I did just a little bit of hand stitching in different areas. The smoke coming from the chimney is just a running stitch placed a bit randomly. Obviously, the buttons, eyes and beads on the snowmen where done by hand as well. The last hand work was a blanket stitch around the bear. There was just no way I wanted to try and maneuver those curves through my machine.
I have enough left over material for a good start on another blanket. My husband is now wondering when HE gets a blanket! At least it's a good excuse to do some more sewing in the near future.