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New baby blanket

I just had to show my newest creation Noelle’s baby blanket. It is a custom order baby blanket and I just love the colors. They are a bit daring and different for this part of the country. It completely updates the granny square afghan and in beautiful modern colors. The yarn  is soft, cuddly and completely washable. Pop it in the washer and the dryer and have it out clean and ready to go in no time. Perfect for new babies.

Check out the bright and beautiful granny stripes.

Completely bordered with granny circles. This beautiful baby afghan is finished with beautiful scalloped edging and a ChocolateDogStudio tag. There is a teeny tiny baby bonnet with flower to go with it. I am so excited that it turned out so well. It was tricky to get it finished while moving from one state to another. So finishing it on time was the icing on the cake. This one won’t be in the Chocolate Dog Studio shop but I sure hope to make another in a similar style also complete with bonnet! So keep checking back and I hope to have the next one up quickly.

You can find the pattern here.

talk to you later,

Karen

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My Grandma’s Quilts

My Grandma or Granny (Bethel) as we grand kids called her created quilts out of necessity. She had a large family and needed blankets. She was a part of a quilting group in her small town. I believe most of her quilts date from the 1940’s. Her quilts were made from the better parts of used clothing and some were quilts within a quilt in order to make use of all available materials. I believe that all of these quilts were sewn completely by hand. I know that they were quilted by hand. Having four kids myself, I am pretty sure that some of these were made in order to have something finished that she could look at everyday. Somehow that is important in the daily grind of dishes, meals, laundry and keeping a family running.

 

Should any of my family read this and want to add any information or if any information is wrong please send me an e-mail and I will fix it. She made many, many quilts and they were scattered among the 7 kids when she passed away so these are only the few that I was able to photograph.

Quilting was also a  chance for women to get out and see other women. These were often qulited as a group and offered a reason for the women to get out and socialize. It helped to build the community and fostered the friendships that women need. I am pretty sure that we need gatherings like this again. I am hearing about knitting groups and sewing groups and churches that have quilting groups. There are quilting guilds and sewing retreats and so women are reaching out again to build friendships.

Well, these are a just a few. I have others to share on another day.

Karen