No Sew Fleece Blanket Tutorial

I was so thrilled to be asked by two of my dear friends to be a Guest Blogger on their site The Savvy Mom's Guide. You can click on the link and head over to my post, or feel free to read it here. I recommend stopping by their site and checking out all of their savvy ideas. If you stop by their site, leave a comment!

It's that time of year again; time for the warm summer days to give way to the cool, crisp days of autumn. Time for flip flops and tank tops to be replaced by warm boots and chunky sweaters. And time to grab a cup of your favorite hot beverage and cuddle up under a cozy fleece blanket.

Over the past few years, my family and I received no sew fleece blankets from our crafty family members and we use these blankets throughout the year. This year, I decided to learn how to make the no sew fleece blanket and add it to my gift giving repertoire.
No sew fleece blankets are simple to assemble and can easily be made in an afternoon (or less time, depending on how fast you can knot!).

Here is how I put together a no sew fleece blanket:

Materials

• A coupon to your local fabric store so you get the best deal on the fleece!
• 2 yards of patterned fleece
• 2 yards of solid colored fleece, complimenting the pattern
• Straight pins (optional, but very helpful)
• Cardboard or cardstock to act as a template
• Scissors
• Measuring tape

(**These measurements are for the standard sized blanket. If you choose to make a blanket for a smaller child, I would recommend using a yard and a quarter of fleece.)

Begin by trimming the edges of your fleece. As you will notice below, my fleece had a strip of writing along the edge that I did not want showing up on my completed project.

Next, lay the two pieces of fleece on top of each other, being mindful that the wrong sides of the fleece are back to back. Generally there is a color and texture difference between the right and wrong sides of fleece. Once you have the fleece together, I recommend pinning two sides of the blanket together, paying close attention that your fleece is even on those sides. Follow up by pinning the last two sides together. I happened to have extra fleece on the last side I pinned, so I trimmed down that side. Be sure that each side is evenly matched up prior to trimming just in case; otherwise, you may cut useable fabric!

Measure out a 4 inch by 4 inch square from one corner of the blanket and cut out.

I like to use the corner I just cut out as a template to cut out the remaining three corners of the blanket.

Once the four corners are cut out, use your cardstock or cardboard and cut out a 1 inch wide by 4 inch long template. You will use this template to cut strips all the way around the blanket, starting from the corners. As you cut the strips, move the straight pins up above your cuts so that the blanket stays together better.

Once you have finished cutting the strips, it's time to start tying knots. Tie the top and bottom pieces of the fleece in a double knot. The best way to do so is using a square knot. You will want the solid color strip to end up on top so it contrasts with the pattern of the blanket and visa versa.

That's it! You've finished a no sew fleece blanket.

I love these blankets. Our family uses them to add extra warmth to our standard bedding. I have also used these blankets to throw down on the ground at home as a play area for my daughter when she was a baby or outside at the park when we picnic. And now I get to use them as presents for family and friends. The purple and print blanket featured above was put together as a Christmas gift. I included the star blanket, pictured below, in a gift for a friend's baby shower.

The best part of this craft is that the variety of fleece choices found at your local craft store continues to grow, from holiday prints for Christmas and Valentine's Day to licenced fleece in your favorite sports team or cartoon character. Which means you can give these blankets for any occasion to kids of all ages. Better yet, put together a craft night with your friends and make a few blankets to donate to charity.

It's getting cold outside; why not warm someone's heart with a fleece blanket!

Grandparent's Day Present

For Grandparent's Day this year, Andy's parents and my parents received a very special gift: news that they would receive a new grandchild in the Spring of 2011!

Our family has been blessed with a new addition, and we are all thrilled!

While Andy and I knew about the pregnancy for a while, we (meaning, I) decided to hold off on telling anyone for a while. Previous pregnancy history left me waiting until after the 7th week to tell anyone. Frankly, I enjoyed letting the reality slowly set in as we'd hoped for this pregnancy for a good amount of time. And with Grandparent's Day being only a few weeks away, we kept our new little one a secret for a litte bit longer, just until September 12, Grandparent's Day.

Just a few days before, I decided it was time to tell Addysen that she was going to be a big sister. If there was anyone I was dying to tell, and yet dreading to tell, it was her. You see, Addy is a self-proclaimed "Only Child" and very happy about that! While I was so excited to tell her about the baby, I was fearful of her reaction. I can't remember my exact words, but I bit the bullet and told her there was a baby in my tummy. She felt my tummy, smiled, and then shied away, turning her head. I explained how much I love her and that she will always be my one and only Addysen, hoping that would keep her from being jealous. But man did I misinterpret her reaction. With a sad face, she turned and asked "Are you just kidding, mommy?"!!! Really?! No, of course not! And from that point forward she has been thrilled to be a big sister.

My only stipulation was that she keep this information a secret, just for a few days. The Saturday morning before Grandparent's Day rolls around, and I tell Addy that she can tell her grandparents the "secret". She leans in and whispers, "Mommy, can I tell you a secret? I already told Bob and Deb (aka: Grandma & Grandpa Hohenstein)." OH GEEZ! Apparently the same day I told Addy that she was to be a big sister, she mentioned something to her grandparents in the one minute I left her alone with them at lunch. Literally, one minute! So as we were driving to the swap meet, Addy tells her grandma and Debbie admitted she was wondering when I would tell her because she and Bob were pretty surprised by her lunchtime confession.

The next day, Addy told Grimpster and Grampie separately that her mommy had a baby in her tummy. My mom wasn't surprised. At that point, my belly had yet to grow but my blossoming bosom was a dead giveaway for my mom {blush}. My dad had happened to be at the kitchen sink rinsing out his cup when Addy called out the news to him from the other room. If the sink is on, my dad doesn't hear anyone talking to him. But he instantly turned and smiled and said "Oh yeah?!" He's pretty excited to increase his grandkid total; I guess he was falling behind at work in the grandkid count.

Addy has made up her mind that she is having a baby brother and her daddy is pretty thrilled with her prediction. She's told us that God told her that it's a boy baby and I don't doubt her. While I am neutral on the gender, I have a feeling she's got some inside information. She has also chosen a name for the baby: Penelope! "So, we'll have two boys in our family: Karsen and Penelope!"

Here are a few pictures of the little one, taken at an appointment I had between 11-12 weeks.

You should be able to see the hand and arm near the mouth and a leg with a flexed foot.

More to come on my monthly doctors visits.

Ketchup!

It's been too long! I hope I even remember how to blog!

The time has come for me to play catch up. I am only a few finals away from posting final grades and then I am all yours (well, for another week, and then a new class starts).

I've decided that three months of summer activities plus one fabulous April wedding is way too much blogging to undertake prior to posting all of the new and exciting information I have for you. Therefore, I believe the best way to get all of my blogging back on track is to do it all together. Meaning for every newer post I add, I will also add an older entry, starting with the April 2010 family fun. Hopefully this method will allow me to get caught up and keep my posts current.

The drawback: I intend to post events that happened, say, in the month of April, under the month of April. I guess I am just chronological like that. If I go looking for a wedding post in the future, I need to find it under April or May, not October! That being said, you may have to go back in time a bit to read some new posts. Yes, it is all my fault for not being more on top of things. But I promise it will be well worth the effort. You sure don't want to miss out on the great pictures from Ryan and Laurie's wedding, Addysen's Cheerleader birthday, our annual Mammoth camping trip and, of course, all of latest on the family project scheduled to be completed in April 2011!!

I think the title of my blog post should have been April rather than Ketchup!

Looking forward to comments soon!

Back to School--K4

Addysen's First day of K4.

Two years ago, Addy's first day of preschool in the 2-3 year old class was a hard day. Check that: hard year! Sure, she was all smiles with her lunch box and short hair, but she hated me leaving her every day.
Her second year of preschool, in Mrs. Maria's 3 year old class was better. Yes, she still cried, but not all the time. She still hated me leaving her and she despised nap time, but just loved her teacher and her kids.

And now here we are, in K4, a big step toward starting Kindergarten. Gone are the full days of preschool. Granted, she now attends three days a week rather than two, but they are spaced out and half days. No more nap time at school. No more waiting until 5 PM for mom or dad to pick her up. And the thanks I get is a first day of school picture with her tongue sticking out at me. It was either post that picture or the one with the killer dirty look.

Sweet daughter, you have 13 more years of mandatory school and hopefully 4 or more years after that of college. Enjoy preschool while you can!

{Playdate} Pretend City

In July, we took a trip down to Irvine with some friends to visit Pretend City . Pretend City is this really cool little interactive play area, filled with all of the necessary elements that make up a city: a bank, grocery store, fire and police departments, farm, construction sites, house, post office, beach, restaurant, doctors office, amphitheatre and a bank with various ATM's around the city. I was actually surprised by how much smaller it was than it actually looked on the website, but it was fun nonetheless.

I think my favorite picture of the whole trip was this one of Addy. The had little garden boxes where the kids could rake and plant flowers. However, this maneuver that Addy is doing below is called "picking up dog poop"! Of course, that little fact was only something that she and I knew. Addy likes to spend her time with her grandparents picking up poop, be it from a dog or a a huge African desert turtle; she has since she learned to walk. It's a chore she loves to partake in and she is a really good poop spotter and one she enjoys emulating.

I had over a hundred pictures to sift through and had a really hard time narrowing down the pictures to share. Addy really enjoyed the grocery store (we went back two or three times). Beeping groceries and collecting money was the best thing ever to her!

We happened to attend on a day where they had stylists from a salon visit. The kids had the options of getting their hair done (which Addy didn't want to do) and painting their nails. Check out her Pretend City manicure.

She also enjoyed the restaurant. Addy loves to be the "server girl". And getting to use a pretend "brown coke" machine, are you kidding!, she was giddy!

She pumped gas, mailed a letter, picked apples, worked at the dispatch center.

Of course, the visit wouldn't be complete without singing on stage and managing the sound board.

Feeding the Ducks Playdate

Ever since Addy was a baby, she has enjoyed visiting the lake down the street from my parent's house to feed the ducks. We decided to host a playdate at the "Duck Pond", inviting some friends to walk around the lake and feed the ducks and then go back to my parent's house for lunch.

The kids had a great time throwing food at the ducks, spotting the fish and turtles in the pond and just spending some quality time together. Afterwards, we ate lunch, the kids had fudgecicles (which I have cute pictures of but not sure they should be online since they are unclothed pictures) and they had a great time running through the sprinklers.

A great way to spend a warm summer day!

Last Day of Mrs. Maria's Class

For the last day of school in Mrs. Maria's 3 year old class, Addy and her "kids" had a luau!

They started the fun day off with outdoor activities, including a ball drop, parachute game and Addy's favorite potato sack race.

Then the group moved into the classroom to play games, hula dance and enjoy pizza, fruit and dessert. The kids also sat in a circle and had microphone time, where they shared their favorite part of the school year into a plastic microphone. Their stories were so sweet and had Mrs. Maria and yours truly tearing up a bit.

It was a great way to wrap up an amazing year. Addy misses her 3 year old class and Mrs. Maria very much! She is such a great teacher--friendly, full of life and love for Jesus and so much a kid at heart herself. Every kid should have the opportunity to have a Mrs. Maria as their teacher at least once in their lifetime!