There are some very fine advantages to having your sister baby up just before you do. Besides letting me cuddle her own cute, chubby-cheeked little guy, she gives me to scoop on what kind of gear comes in handy most often. As you have probably figured out, I really like making blankets. After making little Babeleo his/her own patchwork quilt and play mat, I figured I had filled my quota in the baby blanket department. I mean, how many blankets can one baby use anyway?
I have to admit that the thought of finishing my project quota so quickly was a bit of a bummer. When I mentioned this to my sister, Scissorina, she quickly set me straight. Apparently, one can not have too many play mats and blankets. Kids pee and spit up on them all the time, she says, so it's nice to have several on hand.
Oh good. Now being sufficiently turned loose, I began work on yet another blanket project. Babeleo will now be the recipient of not one, but two sushi themed play mats. Kids love sushi, right? I know my nephew does, and he's not even old enough to eat it yet.
Look at that crazy kid.
Anyway, here are my two mats. These were very, very simple to make. I used two one-yard pieces of fabric for each mat, and stuffed them with a double layer of hi-loft batting. This makes them extremely puffy, perfect for tummy time, and general floor-level horsing around.
Just put the two pieces of fabric together, right-sides facing in, then sew around three edges. Turn the piece out, stuff it with batting, then sew the last seam closed. Quilt by sewing through the blanket. This keeps the batting in place and gives the mat some much-needed structure.
I have this cat, Mr. Pickles, who really, really loves blankets. He insisted on taking part in this photo shoot, so here he is, in full prarie-cat burrowing mode.
This mat involved a little bit of patchwork, actually, since the white sushi panel I had in my stash was just short of one yard. I patched in a few inches of Maneki Neko cat fabric on each end, which made up the difference nicely.
I scored the sushi fabric in a craft swap many years ago. My Dad brought me back the Maneki Neko fabric from a trip to Japan. I begged him to buy me some fabric while he was there, any kind at all, and was rewarded for my harassment with this lucky cat pattern, an adorable pufferfish print, and a strange, but pretty dragon fabric.
My next mat was more of a sushi roll. I attached two pieces of flat, woven elastic to one end, along with a pair of big, fat buttons. I sewed some awkward button holes into the end of the elastic and huzzah! The play mat can be rolled up into a cute little tube. Now it reminds me of a maki.
Get a load of that fabric. Is that cute or what? Happy noodles, sushi, veggies, and shrimp, surrounded by adorable bento accessories. I found this little gem at my favorite Austin quilt shop. It turns out to be part of the Bento Box series by Robert Kaufman.
So what's next on the agenda in blanket land? I just finished up a secret project for another one of my sisters, which I can't wait to share here. A photo shoot (sans cat?) will be taking place sometime soon. As soon as the star is gifted, I'll give you a peek at my very first quilt using diagonal patchwork. I know, it's very exciting.
