Thursday 29 June 2017

Happy Photos

If you think this blanket looks cute …


A square baby blanket comprised of 9 squares, all white except for the centre square which is yellow. Each square has a blue border and a tan teddy bear face in the middle. The teddies have three dimensional ears stitched onto the surface of the blanket. The outside border of the blanket is crocheted in yellow with a row of filet crochet and ending with a scalloped edge. White satin ribbon is woven through the filet spaces.

… you should meet its new owner!





Top and partial view of teddy bear blanket with baby laying on top on his back, looking at the camera and smiling. Baby is wearing a cotton zip-up long-sleeved jumpsuit in light blue with a pattern of white and orange fox faces and black triangles on it. Description of blanket can be found in previous photo.
"Baby Bernie loves his homemade blankey from his auntie Jodie. ❤️"
These words from Bernie's beautiful mum filled my heart with joy.


Baby Bernie entered the world in March 2017 and he is the happiest little fellow!

Unfortunately, his Teddy Bear Blanket wasn't quite finished in time to greet him on his birthday,  due to all sorts of delays and interruptions on my part, including a hospital stay right in the middle.

That was frustrating for me–so close to being finished and yet still more to be done–but I consoled myself that Bernie wasn't in a big rush for his blanket because the weather was still too warm at that time.

The blanket was completed, at last, on 10 May and wrapped and delivered on 15 May 2017, just as the autumn air was beginning to get chilly.  

Since then, Bernie's proud mum, Ruby, has sent these beautiful photos to share.


Front view of baby tucked into the teddy bear blanket. Baby is wearing a two-tone brown beanie with a teddy bear's face embroidered on the front and teddy bear ears attached to the top seam. Baby is looking straight at the camera. He is wearing a zip up jumpsuit, white with dark, narrow, horizontal stripes and pictures between. The sleeve cuffs are wider and dark coloured. The teddy bear blanket is folded back at the top to show the light blue satin lining next to baby. The blanket's yellow border can be seen with a white ribbon woven along the inside edge. At the bottom of the photo is a yellow square with a teddy bear face (left) and part of a white square with a teddy bear face (right). The squares are separated by a vertical blue stripe.
Don't you love Bernie's teddy bear hat?
He has teddy bears on his walls and now a teddy bear blanket to match.


You can see from the photos that the satin lining was a success.  It was quite an adventure learning to add a lining to a blanket for the first time. I did not realise how challenging my choice of satin would be.

Reverse side of a corner of the blanket with a corner pointing towards the top.  The crocheted blanket is laying with the satin lining on top. The lining is pinned into place but the lining's corner is folded back to reveal the hem.  The crocheted blanket has a yellow border with a scalloped edge. Just inside the edge are filet crochet holes into which a satin ribbon will be woven. The inner border is blue. The corner square is white.
I learned to hem mitred corners!
 
So much learning took place that I have heaps of progress photos to share about the process.  The original plan was to blog about the lining before showing off the finished product but when I looked at all the notes, it was a little overwhelming for my fatigue-fogged brain.  

I need to be in the right head space to tackle that task and well things haven't been happening too quickly in that department so, instead of keeping everyone in suspense, (I know you are eager to see), let's look at the finished product now and discuss the technical details later!

That's the reason for taking so long to share this blanket and I'm so happy with the result.  The extra lining makes it wonderfully warm. I'm very thrilled that it is getting lots of daily use. 

A side view of baby tucked in with the blanket folded back. He is touching the satin lining with his fingers and looking at them.  He is wearing a grey striped cap and a white top with dark thin stripes and dark cuffs. The satin lining is light blue.
"He loves feeling the silky texture,"
Ruby tells me.
"He loves that blankethe's always grabbing it & playing with it."  

Its so satisfying to see intended aims come to fruition. The ears were purposely designed to be grabbed.

Baby Bernie "loves feeling the silky texture" according to his mum, Ruby, which was precisely the point. I wanted something soothing that was also a contrast from the textured right-side of the blanket.  Different textures are good stimuli for young babies as they learn to use their hands and explore their surroundings.

Ruby is very dear to me and  I feel very privileged to have been allowed to share in the joy of her new family.  How could I not celebrate Bernie's arrival in the shape of a blanket?  There were lots of technicalities in this blanket and it wasn't without its challenges but it was always a pleasure to make, to add love in every stitch with excited anticipation.

I am so lucky to have Ruby and her family in my life and when it comes to Baby Bernie, only the best will do!


Project Details


Materials

Yarn: 100% acrylic 8 ply (DK) is light, washable and quick-drying.
  • White: Moda Vera Marvel Plain, 100 g / 283 m; colour 1001 White,
    lot 777058; used 156 g / 442 m.
  • Yellow: Moda Vera Marvel Plain, 100 g / 283 m; colour 1041 Lemon Sorbet, lot 775046; used 84 g / 238 m.
  • Blue: Kmart Homemaker Everyday Acrylic 100g /310 m; colour 310 Saxe, lot 774537; used 88 g / 273 m.
  • Brown: Panda Magnum, 100 g / 310 m; colour 334 Tan, lot 753669;
    used 57 g / 177 m.
Lining fabric: premium satin, grey-blue pastel, (width x length) 158 cm x 150 cm
(62 in x 58 in). 

Sewing thread: polyester multipurpose thread,  No. 100, 100 m (109 yds),
colour 0250, less than 1 reel used,
Mettler 'metrosene plus' article no. 1171.
Ribbon: white satin, double-sided, 100% polyester, 15mm x 5.4 m (5/8 inch x 18 ft), less than 1 reel used, Berwick Offray Ltd.

Tools
 
Hook: 5 mm, powder-coated aluminium hook with round rigid plastic handle,
Birch brand.

Sewing tools: yarn needle, sewing machine with blue-tip needle, sharp hand-sewing needle. 
Cutting tools: self-healing cutting mat with 1-inch grid, rotary cutter, dressmaking scissors, embroidery scissors.
Measuring & blocking tools: tape measure, blocking/pattern-cutting board with 1-inch grid, steam iron, water spray bottle, glass headed pins.
Miscellaneous notions: stitch markers

Finished Dimensions*

Squares without borders: (width x height) 24 cm x 23 cm (9.5 in x 9 in)

Squares with blue borders : (w x h) 29 cm x 28 cm (11.5 in x 11 in)

Blanket without borders: (w x h) 82.5 cm x 81 cm (32.5 in x 32 in)

Finished blanket with outside borders: (w x h) 93 cm x 89 cm (36.5 in x 35 in)

Finished dimensions of satin lining: (w x h) 85 cm x  81 cm (33.5 in x 32 in) + hem

*The blocking board has a 1-inch grid. The imperial measurements quoted are accurate; the metric measurements are approximate.


Related Posts on Lupey Loops


"Mayday! Mayday! RAH, rah, rah!", 17 May 2017: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2017/05/mayday-mayday-rah-rah-rah.html

"A Quick Blanket Teaser", April 2017: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/a-quick-blanket-teaser.html

"Blue Skies and Blue Satin", 18 March 2017: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/blue-skies-and-blue-satin.html

"Ear, Ear!", 9 March 2017: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/ear-ear.html

12 comments:

  1. A beautiful blanket for a beautiful baby boy. It was a delight to be introduced.

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    Replies
    1. Aaah, thanks, Lorraine. Mum is so proud of her little one - she wanted me to show him off! ;-)

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  2. It's really gorgeous, Jodie - LOVE the ears!

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    1. Thank you Kaz - I love how the blanket AND Bernie BOTH have teddy bear ears! Not only is the satin lovely and smooth, the blanket has a nice weight to it - not flimsy at all but not too heavy either - perfect for snuggling on a winter's day.

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  3. Oh how cute! Bernie really loves his blanket and those grab-able ears are just wonderful. You did an amazing job with this Jodie!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Tamara. I appreciate all the feedback because there were times when I felt like I had "bitten off more than I could chew" in regards to the satin - it was tempting to abandon it for an easier option.
      All the lovely compliments reassure me that it was the right decision to "chew like crazy"
      Thank you so much for your moral support throughout the project.
      A happy baby is a super outcome.

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  4. Oh my goodness, Bernie is absolutely adorable. His little fox onesie and his bear hat. Just precious. And the bear blanket you made is just perfect. Of course he will love it for years to come. I can just imagine how hard that satin lining was. Good for you mastering it.

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    Replies
    1. Honestly, Tammy, Bernie is such a happy, charming fellow; no surprise as he is surrounded by so much love.

      The blanket almost feels quilted because it has the two layers and that extra thickness makes it good as a floor blanket as well as a cosy wrap or cot blanket. I hear it gets used every day and that is just the greatest compliment a crocheter can have.

      It's especially gratifying after the effort to master the technical aspects. I still need to put together the photos of that process. That will take some weeks so I hope people can be patient for that post.

      Thank you, Tammy, for your encouragement.
      I hope all of your projects run smoothly and turn out well also.
      Cheers :-)

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  5. That is such a special gift, baby Bernie will treasure it for years to come I am sure. I like the ears and lining, satin can be tricky to sew. Hx

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    Replies
    1. G'day Helen,
      I'm sorry I hadn't seen your comment earlier. Please forgive my late reply. I'm just thrilled that the blanket was so well received and much loved already. I'm looking forward to seeing Bernie and his family again soon. He is growing so quickly!
      Do you know, that just the mention of that satin still makes me take a deep breath? ;-) In the case of this first satin project,'tricky' is an understatement! It's reassuring that you also think satin is tricky and it's not 'just me'. Thank you!

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  6. That baby is 'almost' as cute as your blanket! lol. Well done!

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    Replies
    1. Hahaha!
      A bright, happy blankie for a very bright little boy. I still ask myself how I made such a simple concept into something so complicated! Hehehe
      Still, all worth it.

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