Blankets and Quilts

This is a combined post as I finished two separate projects at the weekend that fit well together.

Project 1: Knitted blanket

This blanket hasn't taken very long to complete at all but I have really enjoyed doing it and it has come out really snuggly!! 

The pattern is worked in squares but instead of completing them all and sewing up afterwards you pick up stitches from block below as you add in each colour. This not only makes it a bit more interesting than making a load of squares but also removes the need to sew them all together at the end - Great!!

The wool was mostly left over from a the sweet as candy jacket I had made last year so I only had to buy a small amount to complete the project. I followed a pattern by Kino designs: Sweet Faux Hawk blanket but made up my own colours.

I did alter the pattern slightly as I am not a fan of garter stitch so used stocking stitch instead and added a moss stitch border. The final size is 34" x 40" perfect for a car seat or carry cot.

2) Dinosaur quilt

I have enjoyed doing a bit of quilting recently instead of making clothes all the time and  have even got all the left over bunting out from the wedding to start making the memory quilt that I have been intending to do for months. However, this project used a really cute quilt panel I found in the Quilters Den in Warwick two weeks ago.

I haven't used panels before so I decided to cut it up into blocks that could be recombined to form a square lap quilt or even floor blanket. I had to add a couple of fat quarters to have enough material to make the border but other than that the quilt is mostly made from the panel itself. 

The back is a grey cotton combined with a strip left over from the dinosaur panel. 

I layered the quilt with double thickness of wadding as I am intending the blanket to be thrown on the floor for baby to lie on rather than to cover him up. I had some fun playing with the different patterns on my machine before deciding on the wavy lines for quilting. I also outlined each of the dinosaurs.

Finally the binding was added which I hand stitched down. Again this was made from some fabric that was on the original panel to keep all the colours matching in.

I am really pleased with the final result and have already bought some more material to make some more quilts - at least the baby will be warm!!!!