Autumnal Blanket

As the days are getting shorter, so they are getting darker and cooler - all things to make me want to hibernate. That's not to say I don't like autumn.  In fact, I love it as it's a great excuse to get out all the lovely cosy things such as blankets, favourite jumpers, recipes for warming casseroles... you get the picture!

One such thing that is coming out of the cupboard is the blanket for the guest room which I made last January. I was at the beginning of my applique journey and spotted a workshop being run in Bristol for an applique heart quilt. I wasn't too bothered about learning the quilting skills (although I do admit that I did pick up quite a few sewing techniques) but I was keen for someone to show me how to applique 'properly'. However good books and videos on YouTube are, there is really no substitute for someone showing you in person.

The quilt in question was small and made from a single charm pack, which is made up of about forty 5" x 5" squares of co-ordinating fabric. I can't say the selection of charm packs on sale at the time was very exciting. I therefore wasn't too happy with what I ended up with but I eventually got over the fabric choice and set about learning the technique. After all, that is what I was there for.

I ended up with a fairly multi-coloured piece of patchwork complete with appliqued hearts that measured about 35" by 24". For some reason quilters always work in imperial measurements but I work that out very roughly to be about 90cm x 60cm). Not one to make something that can't be used I then spent some time trying to work out what to do with it. It certainly wasn't going to be turned in to a wall hanging because I really would have nowhere to put it.

However, it occurred to me that a few of the colours matched those in the guest bedroom curtains so I set about making it into the centrepiece of a blanket to cover the bed. Not only did I think that this would this turn it into something useful, but the vast acres of fabric that I would need to add to make it big enough may work to tone down the colour scheme (which I still wasn't happy with).

I spent hours planning out the surrounding fabric and then working out how I could cut and join the bits together to use as little fabric as possible. I was also very keen to make the back as tidy as possible. This resulted in me buying 9 metres of navy blue fleece fabric. I thought it was challenging enough carrying it all home until I began to spread it out on the floor in order to cut it and then piece it together. (Oh, and the observant out there may now guess where I got the pieces of blue fleece that became my first appliqued cot blankets!)

Anyway, to cut a long story short, I was really pleased with the results and it has to be one of the warmest blankets I have ever experienced, since my way of making it look neat on the back was to make it double thickness! Now that it is time to get it out of the cupboard and put it back on the bed I thought I'd share it with you.

 

And, if you are coming to stay and are rather warm-blooded, do let me know in advance and I'll swap the duvet underneath for the summer-weight one. Why, you didn't think I'd offer to remove this labour of love did you?!