Rag Tag Blankie

My cousin had a baby boy this past Thursday night and I wanted to make her something cute for her new little buddy, so I put together this Rag Tag Blankie. 

 This is the beginning of the process. I've just used leftover squares from my rag quilts. the squares are 6" x 6". I think you could do 8" squares and make a little bigger, but still nice sized blankie. 

Match the front and back squares together, pinning them in the center.

 

You can see here both sides of the squares. 

These are the ribbons I used for this blanket, just some leftover ribbon from bows and other projects.  

Put two squares, lined up one on top of the other. Make sure that the two squares you want to be on the top of the blanket next to each other are on the top and bottom of this stack. 

Sew a 1/2 inch hem. And then do the same for the bottom two squares. 

After you have these two "rows", stack them together and sew a 1/2 inch hem. 

Do not sew the outside hem at this point. left up each square, fold a piece of ribbon in half, and pin it between the two pieces of fabric. Make sure that more than 1/2 in of the ribbon is inside the square, otherwise your hem will not hold it in place. 

Continue to place the ribbons around the square. I used four ribbons on each side, but you can use as many as you want. Use different sizes, colors, and textures.

The front should look like this with all the hems facing up. 

This is what the bottom should look like. None of your hems should be sticking up on this side. 

Sew a 1/2 in hem. 

Pull out your pins. As you take out each pin, give the ribbon a tug to make sure it is secure and isn't going anywhere. To make them more secure you can go around the square again to make two hems. You do not want to go less than 1/2 in though ! This will make ragging the blanket too difficult. 

These are my rag quilt snips. I got mine at Jo Anne's. You can find them at any craft store. They make ragging your blanket easier, but you can use fabric scissors. 

Take a coupon ! They are about 20$.

Take the snips are cut around the edge of the blanket and the inner hems. 

When you get to ribbons snip each layer separately over and under the ribbon.

When it's done throw it in the washer and dryer and it will rag to look like this: 

I am linking up at these amazing parties ! You should too ! 

Spring Birdhouse

Sunday I took my baby brother to Michaels. He turned 18 yesterday ... *sigh*

For his birthday he picked out a new artists pad and some very nice pencils to draw with. Here is something he whipped up between dinner and cake. 

I happen to think he's pretty awesome ... as in i'm incredibly jealous of his mad skills. 

While we were at Michaels, I picked up this birdhouse because our apartment is in dire need of some spring color. ironically after I bought this it snowed yesterday, much to my dismay. 

I used Acrylic Paints to paint the outside. I can't wait until my birthday so that I can use my new camera to take my photos instead of my phone :/ I'm pretty sure the paint would actually look green and not yellow. 

A couple embellishments on the front (with hot glue) 

And the back ...

And the sides ...

Because the butterflies were very glittery i got some "Fairy Sparkles" to add to the birdhouse to make them look like they belonged. 

I'll show you where this cute little house ended up soon ! 

Love, Bessie {3/11/11}

{ My sweetie went with me to the fabric store earlier this week and immediately wanted a blanket with this super soft fabric. So I bought it and a black backing and we spent a couple nights cozied up on the couch making a tie blanket. It's VERY warm. I made his with 2/12 yards of fabric. That would be too much for a child but it's pretty perfect for an adult. }

{ As I showed earlier I made these awesome new Rag Quilts ... which i still <3 }

{Sweetie and I also went to the E.R. He has a bleeding ulcer. Poor baby :( }

{ This is my bug . She crawled up about 15 stairs today. Crazy girl. }

{Today was my splurge day ... I spent way too many points . We went out with some friends to Olive Garden for dinner and then had some Starbucks. Yea ... but that's what those extra points are for ; )}

 

Hoo are you 35 .

1. Do you pay your bills online or through snail mail?Online. 
2. How many email accounts do you have?Like 8. Gah. 
3. Do you use XM/Sirius, radio, ipod, CD, or etc.. in your vehicle?Radio. Occasionally i'll plug in the iphone. 
4.  What shows are sparking your interest on TV right now?Bones and Castle are my favs right now. 
5. Name 3 things that you think of when you hear the word "GREEN"! grass, those reusable grocery bags, and cleaning projects

New Buggy Bowtique Item : Rag Quilts !

So ... I hinted before how excited I am about the new item for the Bowtique, but now I am going to show you why! 
I've decided to add these beauties to the items I carry at Buggy Bowtique.

     

I finished these two this week and I've started on another already ! They are amazing. 
These Rag Quilts are perfect for little ones. Our daughter is sixteen months old and she absolutely adores her Rag Quilt that her Nana made her. She sleeps with it every night and makes me pull it out most mornings to carry it around.  It is designed to become softer and softer and more lovey as time goes on. 

They are made with Flannel Fabrics. DO NOT WASH THEM BEFORE SEWING ! 

This is my very high tech pattern :) 

Squares ! I cut mine to 6" and used seven squared in each row. This makes a quilt that is about 35"

Here they are all matched up in their rows. You'll want to pin each front and back piece together. I did seven rows to make my quilt square. 

Sewing the squares together. You do not need to sew around each individual square. Instead just sew the hems onto two squares at a time. 

This is a 1/2 inch hem. Shown here is the two squares sewn together. You want to continue to add a square and only sew the hem. Make sure that the hem is always facing to the same side. You want all of your raggy hems to be facing the same way and the back to be smooth. 

Here is two rows of seven squares. I placed them on top of each other, lined up the hems, and pinned them together. Once again you want to sew a 1/2 inch hem. 

Here are the rows after they have been sewn together. 

The Hems should like like this, all facing up, before they are snipped. 

And after the hem is snipped.

Raggy ! After Washing. 

I adore these new items and hope you all do as well !