Stuff I Made: Picnic Blanket.

I've spent the past two weeks working on and off on this pretty picnic blanket--an hour here, an hour there, between work, Tessa's naps, a skirt-making sojourn, and trips to the ER. I tend to do small, easy sewing projects that I can accomplish in one or two sessions, but I felt ready to take on something more and picked out this "Beach Blanket To-Go" from the Handmade Home book. I found it relatively easy to make (albeit time-consuming), and the process taught me some new tricks (like how to work with bias tape).

I wanted to say: I think it's so fun to work with a pattern that's made the rounds so you can see all the different versions people have come up with. Would you believe this woman made three of these blankets in a single day?

Turns out, I love it. It's so cheerful and works as a beach blanket, couch blanket, picnic blanket and afternoon nap blanket. I hope that this cozy spot will be the backdrop of many of our family's sweet days.

To make it, I made the thrift store rounds and cherrypicked my favorite of the vintage sheets, pillowcases and tablecloths, which I used for the panels. I used this bedspread for the back and made it bigger than the original pattern called for because Nekos requested a blanket big enough to both snuggle on the couch with. Done and done.