Getting Fleecy With It!

Hey Y'all!

Let me say how much I LOVE SUMMER VACATION. I took a little road trip to see my Mom over the weekend, and when Pitty Pat and I returned, we were quite tuckered! I always forget that at the beginning of summer I spend about 3 days just taking it easy and SLEEPING. For the past few days I have been doing that, along with some reading and some crafting. Even Pitty Pat is starting to get in on this summer vacation thing! He is a bit older now at 2, and he knows that afternoon naps are the best!
You may have noticed on my reads from the beach chair box, I am reading A LOT of the Elm Creek Quilting novels by Jennifer Chiaverini. I have really gotten addicted to them! I am reading The Union Quilters now, which is a follow up to The Runaway Quilt. These books are so great because they are not just about quilting, but the author also does a great job of using the backdrop of American History to weave throughout these novels. Also, they have made me feel my crafty roots too! You don't have to read these in order, but I would visit The Elm Creek website to see where you want to start. Because of these books I have started to cross stitch again, and if I quilted, I am sure that I would be doing that too!

Since I am not a quilter, I did have the bug to make something useful for my house! While my best friend was here visiting, we made it a habit of watching a movie every night. It was such a great way to end the day! So I have kept up the tradition every night too! Since there are so many good movies that I have missed lately,  I have been paying the Redbox a visit every few days. So each night, Pitty Pat and I hunker down on the sofa and we partake of a movie!

Now, I don't know about y'all, but while I watch movies I love to have a blanket over me. Since Sunday will mark the two year anniversary of Pitty Pat coming home to live with me,  I decided that he needed a little prezzie. Right before I went and picked up Pitty Pat two years ago, Mom and I made a stop at a Joann's Crafts and Fabrics in Columbia. I picked up some fleece to make him a No Sew Fleece Blanket. These were very popular a few years ago, and are still quick and easy to make! Little did I know at the time, I would not be able to make it until almost two years later! Because he was a silly puppy (still is) and he would have probably eaten it by now! So last night at 7:00 just as Young and the Restless was coming on the Soap Network, I began my task. I was done by 8:00!

These blankets are great to make because they require NO SEWING!!! Check out what you need below...

I have one yard of fleece in two coordinating patterns. Usually, if you were making this for a bed or an adult, you would use 2 yards of fabric. But, this is a Pitty Pat sized blanket, and he doesn't need a bigger head! You will also need a rotary cutter, a quilting mat and a fringe guide. You can pick these up at any fabric store and at The Evil Empire, if yours still carries fabric.

Now I just lay both fabrics out on my floor. It is the only place in my house that I have room to do this project. This would work well if you have a large dining room table. I don't. If you do use a table, make sure you use the quilting mat so you don't make cut marks on your pretty table! . Next you want to start by cutting off the selvage ends of both sides of both fabrics. These are the sides with printing and the rolled edges. It is so much easier to use a rotary cutter than scissors for this project. Trust me, your fingers will thank you!
Finally, you lay your fabric you want on the bottom down first, then you place your top layer right on top

Then you want to cut a four inch square off of each edge of your blanket. The fringe you cut will also be four inches. You can be all mathy and use a ruler. I was techie and made a 4x4 square on my computer. :)

Pitty Pat says "Can you go a little faster? I am not getting ANY younger here!"

Now for the fun part. You get to use your fringe guide and cut  your fringe on each side. I cut my fringe part way and then tie. You can come up with your own system!

WARNING: This part goes faster if you don't have a silly monkey who thinks he can help!



This lap blanket took an hour from start to finish. Even with silly monkey business. Pitty Pat is just THRILLED with the results!

And since my 10 year old couch gave up the good fight and finally gave away with a hole in one of the seats last week, I have a feeling the fleece with the flip flop pattern hibernating in the craft closet is going to be made into a No Sew Fleece Blanket for the sofa very soon!

If you would like to make your own No Sew Fleece Blanket, and need a little bit more guidance, check out this video from You Tube. It teaches you how to make a blanket without any silly monkey business!

Happy Crafting!!
:) JKP