Fleece - Right Side Or Wrong Side?

With most fleece prints, it is apparent which side is the right side, but with solids and some prints it is hard to tell (especially after the selvages have been removed).  An easy way to tell the right or wrong side of fleece is to hold your fabric by the horizontal cut edge (this is the edge with the most stretch) and pull slightly. The cut edge will curl to the wrong side of the fabric. 

Blankets, Blankets, Blankets!

A friend of mine mentioned that she was working on making fleece blankets for our local Head Start classes.  That's quite a project for one person considering there are two classes of 17 kids each!  I quickly volunteered to help.  We are well on our way to meeting our goal of 34 blankets before school starts next month.  (Did I really just say that?  Can it be true that school starts next month already?  Where has the summer gone?)

Another Fleece Blanket

It's still cold.  Freezing below zero cold, so I'm still working on fleece blankets!  Most of the blankets that I am making will go to our local foster care program.

Fleece Blanket Weather

It's January in Northern Pennsylvania.  It is cold.  Really cold!  So cold that all I want to do is sit by the fire and crochet edgings on fleece blankets!

Little Boy Blue

I love knitting and crocheting baby things!  They are usually easy and fast to finish, plus it's always good to have a few extra on hand for when you need a quick baby gift!

Zombie

I sure picked the right project for my recovery...I've been like a zombie working on this zombie blanket for two weeks!  Yes, it took me two weeks to finish a blanket that would normally take me about two hours.  I never thought that something as simple as a little throat surgery would take so much out of me, but thankfully the worst is over and I'm feeling much more like myself these days!

Zombie Recovery

Anyone who knows me (even a little) knows that The Walking Dead is my favorite TV show.  Considering the season premier was last Sunday and that I'm actually feeling a lot like a zombie right now, a zombie blanket seemed to be the perfect project to start my recovery with.  My surgery went well and I will have a very sore throat for a week or so, but I'm thinking the worst is about over (I hope).  Post-op instructions say nothing strenuous for 2 weeks, so I'm going to have lots of guilt free stitching time.  Maybe I will make it through that big pile of fleece and yarn!

Warm And Cozy Fleece Blankets

I have been on a bit of a fleece blanket kick lately and I now have three blankets finished and ready to be delivered to our local foster care office.  Fleece blankets are wonderful charity projects!  Fleece is very affordable and it comes in some great colors and prints.  Odds and ends of yarn can be used for the edging and it only takes a few minutes to learn how to do the edging...even if you have never crocheted before!  To learn more about how to make your own fleece blankets click HERE.

It's Fleece Time!

Fall has definitely arrived here in Northern Pennsylvania!  Yesterday was cloudy and a chilly 55 degrees for a high...perfect weather to work on a fleece blanket.  Not only does it keep me warm while I'm working on it, but it will also keep a child entering into foster care warm too once it's finished.

For more information on how to make fleece blankets like this one click HERE.

Cold And Nasty

It's been cold and nasty and I've had a nasty cold...the perfect combination for doing nothing more than crocheting edging on fleece blankets while watching TV.  These blankets will soon be on their way to kids going into foster care.

For more information on how to make fleece blankets like these click HERE.

Happiness Is A Warm Blanket!

After seeing the zebra blanket that I made for Miss One's birthday, the rest of the grandkids wanted new snugly blankets too, so I've been busy crocheting edgings on four fleece blankets to give to the little ones!  Not only did I get them all done in time for Christmas, but I got them done just in time for winter's arrival.  We have pretty much had a week of snow, wind and bitter cold temperatures with more to come...perfect weather for staying wrapped up in a warm blanket!

For more information on how to make fleece blankets like these click HERE.

Fleece Time!

Fall has definitely arrived in my part of the country, so that means it's time to break out the projects that are too big and warm to work with during the summer months, such as this cozy fleece throw that I am making for a friend...it's the perfect project for a chilly evening!

Just In Case...

I like to have handmade gifts on hand for baby showers and such that I may not get a lot of advance notice for, so here's another "just in case I need a quick baby gift" all finished!

I used the free pattern Quick Baby Hat & Socks from Double Ewe Yarn Shop.  My pattern for the crocheted edging on the fleece blanket can be found HERE.

Cool Zebra!

Dear Miss One, our oldest granddaughter who is turning 12 next week, asked for a snugly blanket for her birthday.  Preferably, a zebra print blanket!  I knew I could come up with a nice warm blanket without any trouble, but zebra print?  I wasn't so sure.  Much to my surprise, it wasn't nearly as difficult to find as I thought it would be.  The local Joann Fabrics had no less than four bolts of plain zebra fleece in addition to this funky zebra/peace sign print! I used the softest fuzziest black yarn I could find for the crocheted edge, so this fleece blanket is super cozy.

Fleece!

It's hard to pass up a good sale, isn't it?  At a recent trip to Joann Fabrics I found fleece panels discounted more than 50% off, fleece on the bolt at 40% off and I had a coupon in my pocket for 25% off my total purchase on top of that!  Needless to say, I'll be able to crochet edgings on fleece blankets for quite awhile before I have to restock the fleece pile again!

Fleece Backing

A friend gave me several yards of blue fleece with the thought that I could use it for backing quilts.  It was a lovely idea!  A fleece backing would make an incredibly warm and cozy quilt, but honestly the thought of putting stretchy fleece on the quilt frame terrified me, so I originally planned to tie the quilts with the fleece backing.  Then I saw a post at Keep Me In Quilts where Mary showed a quilt that she was quilting with a fleece backing, so I quizzed her about it.  Mary assured me that you can use fleece as a backing (with or without batting) with great results as long as you pay attention to how you load the fleece backing on the frame (pin the cut edge to the leaders and selvage edges to the sides) and are careful not to over tighten and stretch the fleece as you are quilting.  It sounded easy enough, so I gave it a try on a charity quilt.  As you can see, it came out beautifully!

Lots Of Crochet

It was cold here this weekend.  Not only was it cold, it was snowing and blowing too!  We haven't had a whole lot of snowy weather this winter, so it was the perfect weekend to sit by the fire and work on a cozy fleece blanket or eight!

You can find my crocheted edging patterns HERE and HERE.

Fleece Blankies

I found some great fleece remnants in a bin all marked 50% off the last time I was at Joann Fabrics and with a 20% off everything coupon it was just too good of a deal to pass up!  I'll cut the fleece into child size pieces, use my skip stitch blade to perforate the edges and then crochet a fancy edging around to make blankies for a local children's hospital.

You can find full instructions for these blankets at www.skipstitch.com/instructions.

Pint Size Snuggie

It seems that the lil' cowboy loves his daddy's snuggie, but he gets frustrated with all the extra fabric due to its extra large size.  I am not a tailor, but I figured that even I could make a blanket with sleeves.  A quick Google search provided several tutorials for snuggies in all different sizes, with all of them claiming that a snuggie could be made in less than an hour.  I used this pattern as a starting point. It is a great child's snuggie pattern, but I still had to scale the measurements down for it to fit a three year old. Time total to adjust the pattern, cut the fabric and sew the whole thing together?  Less than one hour!  Hopefully this little snuggie will keep the lil' cowboy warm without frustration.

Fleece Blanket Time

It's been awhile since I have made a fleece blanket for Project Linus, but the last few evenings have been chilly enough that I wanted a warm project to work on.  Not only does a fleece blanket keep you warm while you are working on it, but it also warms your heart once it has been passed on to a child in need.

You can find full instructions for making fleece blankets like this one at www.skipstitch.com/instructions.