Cotton And Fleece Blankets For Winter

In addition to the ten ideas for creating other items from your old or extra pieced blocks, you could consider donating your extras to charity. Local senior centers that offer quilting classes might welcome the gift of some prepared blocks. If you are interested in keeping the money yourself, you can sell your extras. Advertise them in a local paper or in online classifieds. You should also consider an online auction. Try selling them in a yard sale.

Blanket Quilt There are even specialty shops where classes can be held for the novice to the old hand. Where you can use existing patterns or have one created especially for you. You can learn to use strips of fabric from special garments from the past and embellish with new pieces from today for a one of a kind quilt.

For making perfectly straight cuts, choose a thick, clear acrylic ruler. A good size to start with is a 6x24" rectangular ruler marked in 1/4" increments.

These quilts are fondly called "Quillows." They are made with an attached pocket which allows the whole blanket to be folded. In this way the "Quillow" can be folded into a cushion during the day and can be unfolded to become a blanket at night.

That being said, nursery bedding in the form of crib sets usually comes in a package with the following four items: baby quilt or blanket, fitted sheet for the crib, skirt and bumper. Bumper? Yes, bumper. Hold on, we'll come back to that later.

Then we have the bumper. Bumpers go around the inside of a crib and provide padding between the slats of the crib and your precious baby's noggin. They also provide a way for your child to keep their arms and legs inside the crib while they sleep, thus helping to prevent any late-night cry sessions because an arm fell out the side of the crib, then got twisted. It's a fairly necessary piece of equipment, but can be used as a step when junior gets older, so it has it's time and age limit.

We have a wonderful family tradition of everyone making at least one homemade gift for Christmas to give another family member. My children have all made at least one blanket to give a family member. The fabrics are fun to choose and put together as we think of the personality of the family members. We have a daughter very much into music so there are always musical motif fabrics in her quilts, a son who loves insects so a quilt with ants or other insects are often made for him. There is the wonderful John Deere fabrics to make beautiful quilts. If you have a hobby or interest there is sure to be a fabric just right to personalize your blanket.