Saturday, January 3, 2015

Going Over-the-Moon and Passing It On

I like Show-N-Tell.  I like sharing things I've made as well as see and hear about crafts others have done.

I'm thrilled to find an instant friend in someone who shares my hobby and enjoys talking about it as much as I do.

I was over-the-moon! when L. came home for Christmas break and wanted me to help him make a blanket to give as a gift.  I have made other items for L. to give as gifts yet he was very adamant about doing as much of the sewing on this project as he could.



We are a crafty family and have shared in multiple projects.

L. picked out the fabric and disassembled the chair for re-upholstery.  

D. and I helped L. make a carrying case for his Dominion card game.
 

He had no particular design in mind for the blanket other than it should have some University of Texas elements.  We set off to scour the stores for ideas.

L. is open to the recycle/reuse ideal so we started at Savers.  We worked through the store as I explained what I generally look for and what items are easily refashioned.

At first glance there was nothing that sparked our interest...until we dug a little deeper.  In the blanket bin we discovered this wonderful, chevron patterned throw in UT colors made out of the ultra soft Minky fabric.


 L. wanted the finished blanket to be larger than the 4 x 6 of the throw.  A design began to take shape as we discussed our options and headed for the fabric store.

 L. was true to his word and diligent in his efforts to do a major part of the sewing.

He took time to practice with scrape material, quickly got the hang of the machine and moved on.


The final design was to border the throw in white Minky with stitched wording on the panels.

An outline of the Longhorn was added to the corners of the throw for continuity.

L. finished the blanket with an embroidered personal message at the bottom.

We were both very pleased with the final product.

Longhorns
2015
Longhorns
University of Texas at Austin

5 comments:

  1. You are such a talented and gifted family! And what a memorable way to spend Christmas break by making such a special gift.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well done! Was that embroidery done free hand on the machine? If so, that is quite the accomplishment.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The embroidery was done by using a template drawn on wax paper and done initially with a straight stitch, then removing the wax paper and going over the straight stitch with a decorative stitch. It takes time but I think is easier than trying to remove wax paper from under the decorative stitching.

      Delete
  3. Awesome, awesome...we have a few Longhorn blankets around here. What a wonderful project.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow, you are a crafty family! That is a wonderful project. It's so nice to share things you enjoy with your loved ones. Thanks so much for sharing with us. May your new year be filled with bountiful blessings!:)

    ReplyDelete