I sewed something I really like as a gift last week and now that it has reached its recipient, I can post about it (now that the kids are asleep, and I’m not…)! I made a cozy lap-size blanket for my mother-in-law with some of the gorgeous plaid blanket-weight wool I bought for $5 a pound at the Pendleton Woolen Mill Store a couple months ago. It’s perfect for reading or just hanging out on the couch on a fall afternoon.

I trimmed the remnant evenly on all sides (so it measured about 42″ x 52″) and edged it with the 1″ navy blue wool binding Pearl specially picked out for her Grammy ($1 a yard at the WMS). I used my Sesquicentennial blanket as a binding-style template and bound it with simple folded corners, double-stitching it – first around the inner perimeter to catch all layers, and then doing a second victory lap close to the outer edge. The WMS gives you a “Hand-Tailored with Pendleton Woolens” tag with a fabric purchase, so I got to sew that in as a finale and it’s beautiful. I will definitely be making more of these – they are awesome. Hello, Christmas!

There is a little more excitement around here to report, too! I was really appreciative that Beth from NW Kids Magazine contacted me a few weeks ago for a craftivism feature she was planning, and included an interview with me in the October/Halloween issue (which I picked up at the Children’s Museum last week – yay). Thank you so much, Beth!

She asked me lots of questions about my thoughts on craftivism, the community Quilts for Quake Survivors fundraiser I’ve been working on with Daniela, and my day-to-day and favorite things to do in Portland with two little kids. She also included the POW! ZAP! Magnets from World of Geekcraft as a free project extra in the issue, so please jump on that – a kid at the safety scissors level of crafting should be able to have a lot of fun with that one, with help from a mom, dad, or older sibling.

Speaking of Quilts for Quake Survivors, I’m so happy to say that QfQ is going strong and we are unveiling new quilts every M-W-F for the next month, thanks to Daniela’s fabulous photography and posting. Each quilt is $150 (“bought” via a direct donation to Mercy Corps) and you can choose any quilt you love, email us with your receipt, and we will ship or deliver it to you (US addresses only, international shipping will be extra, it’s out of pocket for us so I hope everyone understands…).

The other thing that is super awesome is that thanks to Mercy Corps, they’ve modified our fundraiser page so that you can designate your donation to go to any of their relief efforts you’re most drawn to (which Daniela had already said on our blog posts, but now it’s official). So if you’d rather make a donation to their crucial, current efforts in Somalia, Pakistan, or elsewhere, that’s great. Our hearts are always with Japan, but we know that Mercy Corps’ efforts have been global and we are proud to support them worldwide. There are 8 quilts still available (and counting!) and 3 have been sold in the last couple weeks. Just a peek…

Thank you to everyone who has donated fabric, pieced, sashed, quilted, tied, or bound our community quilts for sale. We love you!