there is a clear winner for favorite blanket in our house and I am getting a little emotional about it. I’m finding this blanket stuffed behind the couch and draped over the bunk bed; piled at the top of the stairs and giggled under on the porch.
I am an unashamed, honest-to-goodness sentimentalist and so it means a lot to me that this blanket is well loved. this is because it’s made from a lovely, tightly-woven, lightweight wool I received from my grandmother. she moved last summer and shipped me over 50 pounds of fabric that she saved from her days as a upholsterer and seamstress. it’s not an exaggeration when I say that a piece of my family history is in every yard. every single yard.
in fact, it was just that tug of heritage that kept me from using it after all these months; paradoxically, it felt too special to use. but, in keeping with my goals for 2013 (use what I have!) I dug it up and made it into the blanket I had imagined it would be the first minute I saw it. that’s right. from the first moment I pulled this wool out of the 50 pound package I wanted it to be a blanket exactly like the blanket I made it into. because, really…it could hardly be anything else! looks at those beautiful stripes!
now for the details: the back is blue flannel and the binding is an easy, self-made (this is a great tutorial, which I followed). I didn’t do anything special working with the wool in terms of needles or thread. the blanket is super cozy and warm but not too heavy owing to the fact that one side is wool and the other is flannel. a unexpected but great combination for a blanket whether it’s with new or old fabric. It’s perfect, if I do say so.
now that the blanket is well and truly done and being drug to and fro around the house, the fabric doesn’t feel so precious and fragile. it feels special, for sure, but I cringe to think that I could have kept it hidden away in my fabric stash and never come across a scene like this…where wrapped in his great-grandmothers fabric, my feisty boy squeals and hides from his hand-making mama. I’m not saying it but you could say that a scene like that could get a girl a little choked up. (gulp).
Amy says
That is so beautiful. I love that. What a precious gift.
ahappystitch says
Thanks Amy! My grandmother even emailed to me to say she had made a dress out of that fabric, back in the day. And, it would make an amazing dress!