My Patchwork Picnic Blanket

Back in June, I wanted to make a patchwork picnic blanket. However, with my growing pregnancy and the visit of our two international students, I didn't quite get around to it until this past week.

I went to Walmart and into my own "collection" for fabric and just choose what caught my eye. The pics don't really do it justice - but I love the prints and the assortment of reds, blues, oranges and greens. It was kind of a country vintage inspired look I was going for. Then I had to figure out how I wanted to place them.

It was amusing to me to learn exactly how "technical-creative" I am. For while assorting the fabrics, it was as if I was using some unsaid formula of "one hue of color per line, alternate "crazy" fabric with "quiet" fabric, and not too similar colors or fabric on opposite sides"...etc...anyhow, the final product!

It's on the larger size, but I think I could have made it even bigger...but it's 4 across by 4 down (each 21 inch squares) with a furry soft green backing. (see the top right corner in the picture below -- that's the real cozy side :P)

One of my favorite features, besides the prints themselves, are the ties. This keeps it folded nicely for transport and storage.

One little "oops" --- when folding it for the first time, I poked myself with none other but a sewing pin stuck within one of the seams....sheeseh. Can you see it in the picture? I am pointing to it.

So I just maneuvered it to one of the seam corners and tried to pull out as gently as possible. My fingers kept slipping and it wasn't working, so I asked my husband to just break the pin and grab the pointy side (if the head is floating around in the furry fabric, no one would feel it..) but he was able to pull the whole thing out with pliers with no damage to the fabric!
Thanks, hon!

Overall, pretty excited about my first picnic blanket. I'd say it cost about $35 in supplies. I got about 13 squares, which came in packs of 5 for $7-12 each (depending on whether I got them from Walmart in Canada or in the States), some random pieces of fabric
and a $5 king-sized furry blanket from Goodwill!

The project took about 3-4 hours in total. After buying the fabric and taking off all the price tags (why do stores insist on putting these on the most visible and hard to remove places??), I washed the fabric. I then had to spend about 30 mins unraveling the HUGE mess that came out of the wash. All the fabric sort of shredded a little on the ends and wrapped and entangled itself. I attacked it, using patience and my seam-ripper. Then I ironed each piece (remember, 16 pieces!), and decided on layout. Working on each "row", I pinned two together, sewed that and then pinned and sewed the two longer pieces together. Once I had 4 rows, I then pinned and sewed rows 1 and 2 together and then 3 and 4. Finally, I pinned and sewed "Big piece 1" and "big piece 2"....makes sense?

And by the way, I pressed the seams at every step of the way. It really helped to get the corners crisp. (sorry no pics, but as usual, I am doing my projects late at night and I don't think my Iphone pics at that light turn out so great anyhow...)

Now, you know what we are doing this weekend -- we are going to have a picnic! :)

Linked to: Today's Creative Blog, Blue Cricket Design, Sew Much Ado, Eisy Morgan, Ginger Snaps, Trophy Wife, let birds fly
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