Her parents, who passed away, were Irish. She had a bag of their belongings, including ties, Irish tea towels,
and scarves.
She waited patiently (I hate to admit, almost a year) until I got past my busy high school graduation season, and then summer. A project like this doesn’t necessarily take a long time to construct, but it takes a period of time to design. And in my limited studio and home space, that requires a bit of space – both physical and mental. It would be easy to construct a blanket in the same design as my 9 block or baby blanket. I know the dimensions, the fabric needs, etc. But in this case, especially since I was making three blankets, there was a lot of design and math involved!
I started by making piles of each type of fabric. I had 12 ties. I originally thought about placing the ties in a radiating design. But then realized the size would be perfect for a lap size blanket and used them to create a border instead.
I was thinking that the silk scarves were probably worn, folded in half, in a triangular shape and tied under the chin. As a “babushka.” So I wanted to cut those into a triangular shape.
It was hard to divide the linens into thirds. So I simply cut them into squares.
I used a table cloth as a border for the linens. I was hoping to border the entire blanket in the tablecloth but didn’t have enough.
I interfaced the scarves with a lightweight interfacing. I was concerned that they were so thin, they would not hold up to washing. I was also concerned about them stretching on the bias. The interfacing really changed the hand of the fabric, but I think their colorful designs and integrity stands, while improving the strength of the entire blanket.
I am so thankful for the patience of my customer and hopeful that she can give these blankets to her siblings for Christmas gifts.
Very creative! and Yes, a lot of “thinking” went into making these 3 quilts. I hope they are very appreciative.