Treasures: Tied Fleece Blankets for the Dogs

Tiny handmade tied fleece blanket for my tiny dog Daisy

During a recent trip to a local fabric store, I saw some fleece remnants at deep discount prices. I have always wanted to try to make a tied fleece blanket but previously never followed through. I was afraid to spend the money on materials without feeling like I knew what I was doing. But when I saw these remnants, I felt brave and I purchased the two small pieces of fleece and brought them home to try.

I thought if I begin with the plan of making very small blankets for the dog crates, I won't feel badly if this project turns out ugly and the dogs would still have new blankets. This decreased the intimidation factor of trying something new. Besides, the thought of making dog blankets using a paw print on one side and a cat print on the other side just tickled me. I HAD to try.

How to Make Tied Fleece Blankets

There are many video and written tutorials on the internet about making tied fleece blankets. By looking at a variety of these tutorials, I had decided I wanted to tie my knots in a certain way and I wanted to cut the corners off of the blanket in order to make tying at the corners easier.

With those two decisions made, I began.

Good thing this first blanket is teeny tiny, for my little dog Daisy, because I did make some mistakes. I did not account for the "print" at the very edge of the fleece material. And it clearly shows in the finished project. I think it is distracting and ugly. Fortunately, Daisy can't read. And is probably colorblind. So that turns out to be a good learning opportunity for me - instead of disaster. Also, when I measured to cut out my corner squares, I didn't account for the width of the tape measure. As a result, I ended up with some 4" fringe and some 4 1/2" fringe. I had intended on fringe that was 1" x 4" - before the knot.  The 1" x 4" fringe was incredibly difficult for me to tie (with the knot I had chosen) with my bare hands.

I began using a heavy chopstick to help tied the knots. The chopstick helped me to adjust the knots and grip the material - making more uniform knots. In the future, I will make either longer or thinner strips of fringe for easier tying. Maybe both thinner and longer.

Materials Needed to Make Tied Fleece Blankets

• Two pieces of fleece (I chose contrasting prints)
• A sharp pair of scissors - I love Fiskars
• A tape measure or yardstick
• Optional - chopstick (a crochet hook may have worked)
• Optional - masking tape (for marking the edges to help ensure measurements)

Caution: I have a very small apartment, so I laid the project out on the floor for cutting. With carpet, that was a risky move. Take great care if you make the same choice or you will likely give your carpet a haircut. I highly recommend doing the cutting on a flat, hard surface.

Steps:

1. Lay out the two layers flat and smooth - one on top of the other - "right" sides facing out
2. Measure for the corners - cutting out the corners (measure twice, cut once! Something I neglected to do)
3. Carefully measure and moved down each side, cutting for the thickness of each fringe
4. Begin tying the knots - Beginning with the fringe directly next to each now missing corner. That results in two tied fringe pieces on each side; anchoring the pieces together as they were initially placed together
5. Continue tying the knots until the blanket is complete

That is all there is to it! As I tied the knots, I used the chopstick to adjust them to make them more uniform. And I frequently checked that the material was still lying flat together and hadn't shifted or puckered much.  Please scroll down for the photographs of the steps.

Daisy's finished blanket is approximately 20" x 20" (fringe included) - a similar size of her dog bed. 

Willy - trying to claim the blanket as his own
while I am trying to tie knots

This was a fun project. I am feeling more confident with making tied blankets. After I make a blanket for Willy (as clearly he wants one of his own!) I plan to move on to those adorable "kits" that are printed with cute patterns and make some blankets for the grandbabies.

If you have been considering trying tied fleece blankets, I encourage you to give it a try. Remember to scroll down for the step-by-step photos.

*This article may contain affiliate links. If you shop via one of the affiliate links, I may earn a small commission - at no additional cost to you. I am very appreciative of every reader who visits my articles. Thank you. 

Tied Fleece Blanket Making: Step-by-step in photos

 

The Best Last Minute Christmas Shopping

Amazon Gift Card in Snowflake Tin

Oh how I procrastinate. Especially around the holidays. My shopping this year has been delayed even more than usual.  I have a few special gifts purchased and another couple of specific items in the virtual shopping cart. However, the remainder of my last minute shopping will likely be Amazon Gift cards. Thank goodness for Amazon!

I love Amazon.  I mean, I really, really love Amazon.  No one is paying me to say that (however, if you order through my affiliate link I may earn a very small percentage that does not add to the cost of your order).  I just really like Amazon. I always have. I love Amazon for many reasons but mostly because it is easy, reliable, and I have not yet had any problems with an order.

Restaurant Gift Cards

I am not a good shopper.  I don't enjoy it. I do not enjoy fighting the holiday crowds, lines, and traffic. And it seems that I am rarely able to find what I am looking for in the stores. Even outside of the holidays and special occasions, I like to order from Amazon as much as I can.  I know that some people enjoy the excitement of shopping and finding items on sale.  But the thrill for me is doing my shopping while laying here in my pajamas while sipping my iced coffee.

In addition to being able to be comfy and in my own home to do this kind of shopping, I like that I also have many options.  I can choose to send a large variety of cards - store, restaurant, entertainment, or cards that I know will be used to add books to a Kindle. Definitely my idea of one-stop-shopping.  

But more important than my comfort during shopping, I feel like if I give a gift card, the recipient can choose what they want. The item with be the right size. Or the right style and color.  

I hope your shopping has gone well. And I wish you a Merry Christmas! If you need a few last minute items, I highly recommend gift cards.

Entertainment Gift Cards

Blessings

Peacock Feather Canvas on Amazon

Those who know me intimately will do a double-take at the title. Blessings. A word that is too close to traditional religious-speak for me.  I am not traditionally religious. But I am spiritual. I always have been. Lately,  I have been working hard at trying to live a more contented and "in the moment" life.  Too many years have gone by with me embracing the bah-humbug philosophy. There have been times that I put Scrooge to shame.

I am reading a book about being present and having faith in the moment. Being open to the little signs from God. Again, too "traditionally religious" for me. But I do believe in synchronicity, that all humans are somehow connected to each other in some way, and signs.  I truly believe there are signs in our lives. We just need to watch for them.I have been trying to be more aware. It is not easy for me to have faith. But today I felt it come a little more easily.

Sugar was our little foster dog. We began our goodbyes a couple of days ago and today I drove her home. I will miss her but it was a happy thing to do. She was lovingly greeted by her family members - both two and four-legged.  It was good to reunite her. It was good to have contact with decent people.

As I began the trek home, in flooding rain, I felt content. 

With the wind rocking the Jeep as I drove, visibility nearly zero at times, and the downpours causing the roadways to turn into rushing creeks, I found myself enjoying the drive. There is something awesome about the massive amounts of spray that comes from the wheels. The flapping and tapping of the raindrops on the soft-top. Jeep lovers know exactly what I mean.

The drive was a great adventure as it was. Then I noticed something moving in the edge of a field.  I watched, and slowed to a crawl.  The shadows moved slowly and confidently into the middle of the road. And stopped. They looked at me. And waited.

I watched as the windshield wipers cleared the blur.

At first I thought they were turkeys. Then I realized they were peacocks. I love peacocks! I know little about them but I have a few good childhood memories of peacocks. I am always so excited when I see peacocks.

And there they were. Calmly watching me.

They stepped into the road, in front of me. In the middle of this storm.  I swear, they turned and looked at me, as if to say "well?" More than once they looked over their shoulders at me.  They moseyed ahead of me and I enjoyed their presence. They continued to walk ahead of me, very slowly moving down the center of the road before finally moving to the edge of the road.  I watched for a few more moments, before slowly beginning to accelerate around them. I had followed them slowly enough and long enough that I was concerned the farmer would think I was doing something questionable. So I sped up a bit. As I passed and began to draw ahead, they began to run. And I swear, they were trying to keep up and still watching me.

Maybe their owner drives an orange Jeep too. Maybe they were looking for their dinner. I don't know. But I know that traveling with peacocks during a pause in a powerful storm was a gift. A blessing. Truly a blessed day.

There are blessings all around us. We just need to watch for them.

Easy Felted Soap Project

Very recently I decided that I wanted to try wet felting.  I knew I would need an extremely easy project since I am craft-challenged. I found many methods for felted soap online and decided that was where I would start.  Here is how I made my first wet felted project.

What is Wet Felting?

Until recently, I have never heard of wet felting.  I have a very artistic and exceptionally crafty friend.  She does felting with a needle. The projects I've seen that she has in progress are going to be gorgeous. It made me want to try felting. Yet, felting with a needle seems more difficult that something I should start with.

In my review of Wysteria Editions wool roving, I write a bit about what felting is.  But as a reminder, wet felting is the process of using soapy water, compression, and friction to turn wool or woolen fibers into material.  Beginning wet felting projects include coasters, bookmarks, and felted bars of soap. 

More difficult projects include clothing items, slippers, wall hangings, blankets, and so on. I hope to make a suitable pair of slippers for myself before too long.

What is felted soap?

Felted soap is a bar of soap that wool is placed over with the wet felting method. The end result is a bar of soap with a permanent piece of gently exfoliating material over. It eliminates the use of a loofah or washcloth. 

While looking at wet felting tutorials and articles, I saw some feedback that some folks didn't like the idea of their soap wrapped in wool.  I love the idea. I prefer bars of soap over body wash, except that bars of soap seem to get used up so quickly. According to the folks who like felted soaps, the felting helps the bars of soap last longer. Once I saw the beautiful soaps by Apartment Therapy and Thistlewood Farm,  I was completely hooked. 

This video by Traditional Living is a tutorial of how to make felted soap, along with an example of what the wool is like as the soap has been used.

The process I used

I had already purchased beautiful Wysteria Editions wool roving in anticipation of having time to do an easy project.

Wysteria Editions Wool Roving

I located a bar of soap that I like but have had in storage for a long time.  You can see that a previously good-looking bar of soap has become chipped and worn by being in storage and going through moves.  What a perfect candidate for being covered in wool.

Any moisturizing and scented soap is a good choice

I pulled bits of wool roving to thin and flat sheets, and layered them over the soap. I added little bits of "twisted" roving for the stripes.

I carefully sprinkled the covered soap with hot tap water - as hot as I could tolerate safely - and patted the roving flat. Because I didn't have the end of a used stocking, as most folks use when felting soap, but had a placemat that was the equivalent of a sushi rolling mat (used in other projects), I used the placement for "rolling" my soap. Counting how many times I "rolled" it and turning the soap to roll it for approximately the same number of times on the next side. Then I patted and rubbed the corners and edges; although they had already shrunk and felted nicely. 

During the process of "rolling" and rubbing it through the mat

After I finished, I allowed my soap to dry outside for most of the day, then inside on a rack overnight. As you can see, my wool felted up nicely, attaching the bar of soap even around the corners and the edges.  

My finished soap

I love my new felted soap. I am exciting about ordering moisturizing and scented soaps so that I can make more little treasures for pampering myself. 

If you are looking for an easy and beautiful craft to learn, you may want to join me in wet felting.

The Best Gifts for Jeep Lovers

My Jeep on Assateague Island, MD

Is it wrong for a mature lady to love a Jeep as much as I love my Jeep? I really, really love that gorgeous orange machine. 

I love it in Western Maryland at Green Ridge Forest.  I love it on the beach at Assateague Island. Isn't that the best kite holder you've ever seen in your life?  I even love it parked outside of my window at work.

And while I'm typically a fairly modest kind of gal, all I can think about are topless summer days. 

If you know a Jeep lover and are planning to shop for a gift for them this season, I've made you a shopping list to choose from.  I'm sure you'll find something here.

Jeep Wrangler slush mats photo by Amazon

My birthday came soon after I bought my Jeep.  I was given these Jeep slush mats for a birthday gift.  I loved these as a birthday gift.  That was several years ago and these mats show no wear. Yet they catch all of the sand, dirt, mud, slush, and snow that I drag into the Jeep.  These are awesome front floor mats. I highly recommend them.

My newest Jeep accessory is my kayak. Yes, a kayak.  If you are afraid to haul a kayak with your soft top Jeep, you can see my how-to haul your kayak article.  Some folks haul their kayaks sticking out of the back of the Jeep - over the spare tire and back door.  I load my right on top of the Jeep. It isn't difficult at all.

Speed Griip photo by Amazon

Yes! I want a steering wheel cover. We had one on the truck and I definitely want one for the Jeep.  The Amazon reviews show that people are satisfied with this one. And report that it keeps the steering wheel cool.  How many times have you had to gingerly touch that steering wheel after the Jeep has been parked in the sun with the top down?  Besides that, it just looks good.  Maybe I've been a good girl this year and Santa will bring me one. 

There are about 50 more things I could add to this list of gifts for Jeep lovers. And I'm sure you could share about 50 of your favorite Jeep things, but I think I'll end here.  

We sure love our Jeeps, don't we?  Jeep - the best gift of all.

Written by Dawn Rae 

Disclaimer: In affiliation with Zazzle and Amazon.com, Dawn Rae is a blogger and content 

writer who may earn compensation from the sale of Zazzle or Amazon products.