Regifting

A really great friend of mine was having a baby in October and I wanted to make her a blanket.  Forget getting her something she could actually use like a gift card to Domino's or something...

Anyway - ages ago I pinned this blanket with the hope that someday one of my friends would decide to have a baby.  I knew this would be the blanket I wanted to try in October.

(via aestheticnest.com)

I gathered the materials and sewed everything to what I read the directions to be.  I later realized that what I had read and what was written were actually two hugely different things.

This is what I ended up with:

Soft and cuddly?  I think not.

The inspiration was all fluffy - you couldn't see the underlying fabric between the rows.  Mine?  Not so much. I had chosen a base fabric of stripes where the rows on the back ran in complete opposite directions.  I had also chosen a very contrasting thread, so there was a third direction of "stripes" included.  It was migraine inducing.  Not to mention that the colors of the backing fabric and the colors of the flannel completely clashed.  I don't know what I had been thinking; it looked so cute at Joann Fabric.

And square...fuggle.  I had finally stopped trying because it was soon to be the size of a napkin.

The flannel binding, after washing, was not only pilling - because it was flannel - but was also coming undone because it was too thin a strip and my hand sewing was no match for the thickness of the blanket.

Mike, being ever supportive, told me it was fine.  My friend would love it.  I told him I could not in good conscience give this to someone I actually liked.

So, I headed back to the store and tried again.  I bought completely different styles of fabric based on my learning experience (big or minimal patterns only).  I bought flannel that actually matched.  I bought thread that blended into my backing fabric.

Then I went home and read the directions correctly.  Attempt number two ended with this:

Are you all breathing a sigh of relief for my friend?  I was.  THIS was what I had envisioned it turning out like.

See that fluff?  It might get fluffier with each washing!  I explained to my friend that she might want to dry it alone - this bad boy produces some lint!  Then I realized I had just given a gift of not only extra laundry...but one that possibly required special instructions.  What every new mother needs...

You may be wondering what we are going to do with the previous blanket.  Hence the post title.  It is Sadie's Christmas present.  If she were human she'd be a blanket baby.  She has a Barney towel that we gave her when she first arrived and it has giant holes in it, it's purple and well...it has a picture of Barney on it.  I told Maddie my idea and she went right over to Sadie and told her, "You are getting a new blanket for Christmas!"

I told Maddie that wasn't very nice...now the dog won't even be surprised.