Picnic Blanket

    I seem to have taken an unplanned sabbatical from the blog.  Almost two weeks ago, I misplaced the cord to my digital camera, so I couldn't upload any pictures of the projects I was working on.  But rest  assured, there has been some fun crafting happening here, and I'm going to spend the next few days catching you all up!
    Today's is the picnic blanket.  I hinted about it before.  I am making it out of some vintage bedsheets that I picked up at a Goodwill sale.   I decided to have some fun with it, and pieced a design based on one of the new books I got for my birthday.
    Denise Schmidt Quilts
    Cool book.  Tons of inspiration.  She has this quirky style that I just love, and lots of fun ideas for pretty things to use in everyday life.  I think this pattern is called What a Bunch of Squares.  But I don't feel like double checking that right now.  One of my favorite thing about her style is that she will "randomly" replace a small square with a fabric that doesn't really match, but almost does.  As if she ran out of the right fabric and had to substitute what was on hand.  Fun.
    So I got all my squares finished, and then prepared it for tying.  I've never actually tied a quilt properly before, so this was exciting.  I marked off the grid--that's the photo above--and the next step was to start quilting.

    I am using a wool yarn that I found at the craft store.  I'm hoping that it will felt up when I wash it into little balls or dreadlocks.  The idea is to sew the ties, with a big ole needle, wherever the grid intersects.  Then you cut all the sections and tie them together.  But I'm saving those pictures for tomorrow. 
    Cheers!