A good day to sew

Today I sewed. With temperatures in the single digits, sitting in front of my machine at a table that just happens to have a heating vent under it makes the choice easy.  Plus I have a project to finish.

What's under the needle? A flannel baby quilt. An easy flannel baby quilt. Cut the strips, make each into a flannel sandwich, stitch them together, snip all the seams, and wash to fray the edges. I'm at the snipping the seams part right this minute.  I have a family baby shower coming up so I wanted to make something - it's not often that one becomes a "great aunt."  My inspiration came from a post for a flannel baby rag quilt on "Do it yourself Divas."

I'm not at all a "quilter" (long term projects are not my thing) but this cozy looking baby seemed to be something that could be completed before my attention span reached its limit. Last week I tempted the man of the house with a trip to Warwick, RI where every car dealership on the planet is across four lanes of pavement from a JoAnn's of the "superstore" variety.  Flannel  was on sale (yes!)  and I had a coupon that was good on sale items, so we were off. I found my seven flannel prints that didn't fight with each other, as well as white flannel for the middle of each sandwich. I grabbed a large spool of white thread so I wouldn't run out  - sewing 14 strips of flannel down the middle to anchor the sandwich and then to each other to make the quilt takes a lot of thread. (Note - three bobbin winds to be exact).

Here's what it looks like so far - a gender neutral assemblage of bright and happy flannel strips.  This is the side with the seams that need clipping - every 1/2" along each seam and around the perimeter. The other side is smooth and finished. Then it goes into the wash so the fabric softens and the edges fray . . . this wash business will be happening at a laundromat in one of those big machines so the blanket can slosh around and the fuzz won't wreak havoc with my home washer. ( I got that idea from another blogger whose machine overflowed when her lint trap became clogged.)

Here's a closer look at the clipping in progress. I'm glad I have some spring-loaded scissors which makes the snipping less tedious. I'm hoping to be finished with that part of the process tonight and visit the laundromat tomorrow.I'll be sure to post a picture of the finished gift.

Hope you all are keeping warm - we have been in single digits all day and the furnace is getting a workout! Cheers!