a saved baby blanket

 

 There is something lovely about a baby blanket that looks like it has been loved.  The countless hours that have been spent hugging and holding appear in the wear of the fibers and the tearing of the fabric itself.  And in the case of a special blanket brought to me to reconstruct, cut down the center after a family separated.  One half to live at mom's and one half to live at dad's.  The owner of this little blanket had long outgrown it and the pieces somehow arrived at her mother's to be stored.  Years passed and the child who loved this blanket so dearly is now expecting one of her own.  

The pieces were brought to me by an embarrassed friend.  She remembered the blanket that was always held by her friend when they were young and thought if she could find it and somehow have it pieced back together, it would make an amazing baby gift for her new little one.  Once she found it, however, the blanket was in far worse condition than she remembered and thought it might be a lost cause.  Her mother's one request upon relinquishing the blanket was that it was not cut further.  That the pieces be joined again.  I thought there was a chance we could save it.

The fabric was so worn, the most important steps were reinforcing the fibers.  The second most important part was making the aesthetic simple and clean, as is the style of the girl who is now grown.  So what I did was create plain-colored blocks on which I sewed the blanket.  Then I created "windows" in a silky satin that mimicked the blankets original edging that was in disrepair.  The windows frame the woven blanket, the white border holds the rest of the blanket intact.  The backing is a lovely baby blue. 

I hope I was able to do this object justice.  To give it life again.  Out of storage and back into the arms of a girl who is now a mother.