Home Spun Delights

A few months ago, we bought Natalie her first "big girl" bed. After much hunting for sheets, we found a cute set, but the matching quilt was not in stock. I'd been looking for a quilt for awhile, a comforter is way too hot for Florida. My favorite ones are at Pottery Barn Kids and thus way too expensive to justify. So in the meantime, I put a quilt-like blanket my mom crocheted for me years ago on Natalie's bed. And not only do I love it, so does she! She refuses to even use a sheet now, only wants the blanket, even though its 90+ degrees here and super humid. No more hunting for quilts necessary, the blanket goes with her room and I think a huge riot would ensue if I attempted to remove it.

Here is a photo of the blanket. Isn't it adorable? We like to set in bed before naptimes and look at the various squares, finding all the green ones, or ones with flowers or polka dots. So I'm sure my retired teacher mom will appreciate that not only does she love it for comfort, it's educational too! I absolutely love this blanket, and am so glad Natalie does too. It is now hers and I hope that one day she gets to pass it on to her daughter.



It's funny, I'm not sure how old I was when my mom was making it, but I do remember the various squares lying all around our family room for awhile. I wonder if that drove my dad crazy? My mom was always very crafty. She made us a set of matching mother/daughter outfits, which I loved. She did a lot of sewing, outfits for me when I was young, halloween costumes, dancing recital tailoring, and our house also had much of her needlepoint up on the walls. I definitely get my crafty/design aesthetic from my mother.

I just love homemade gifts. My mom has made another blanket for the new baby when she arrives, and I can't wait to see it. We also have a beautiful blanket that my Aunt knitted for her, that I'm looking forward to using with the new baby. In addition, I also have the most amazing quilt that my friend Sherry made for Natalie when she was born. I've just found a curtain rod to hang it up on her wall so will post pictures of that soon. That one has a special place in my heart as Sherry put in a few Irish touches, and that is where Dean and I got engaged, when we went out for Sherry's wedding. So Ireland will always be near and dear to my heart.

I'm lucky to be surrounded by such talent. I'm reasonably crafty myself, but have yet to embark on knitting or quilting. I think I could one day get into sewing, as I've always enjoyed it, just don't seem to find the time. I expect it won't happen anytime soon with a newborn arrival pending, but perhaps 2009 will be the year this Dixon Chick gets crafty. Stay tuned!