It's Freckles.

So this week I made not one, but two whole blankies. One for my dear friends Amie and Carl who are finally going to get to bring home their adopted baby sometime around Thanksgiving. How’s that for something to be truly thankful for?

I found the fabric over a year ago when they were still in the nascent stages of the adoption process. They were in no way guaranteed a baby anytime soon, but there I was, falling in love with a fabric that I just had to get to make a blanket for their baby-to-be.

I was right back then. It really is perfect. The nursery ended up being aqua, red and brown, with white furniture with an emphasis on sock monkeys. 

    
Sock monkeys pillow-fighting on bunkbeds. It doesn’t get any better.

     
Look at those happy little monkeys! Tying in the red, and everything…

I should fire my photographer. It’s a lot nicer than the pictures look. I used a basic cotton quilting material (sock monkeys) on one side, deep brown, swirled minky for the opposite side, and a pale aqua satin ruffle. A red ribbon tag for hanging, hooking to the stroller so it doesn’t get dragged off and rolled over, or simply for rubbing on your top lip as you’re falling asleep. -All you thumbsuckers out there know what I’m talking about…

The second blankie was a commission from a friend, who single-handedly keeps me in business (if that’s what we’re calling this). She needed a boy blankie and let me decide the rest. We, at BabyButters deeply appreciate customers like that…

     
Michael Miller’s Zoology in flannel, with brown, swirled minky and a baby blue satin ruffle. -Again with the photography… Oy!

This next blanket wasn’t made this week (what am I? A Chinese sweatshop?), but I thought I’d include it anyway, while we’re on the subject of Baby Blankets I Have Known.

     
Monkey Fleece, swirled, brown minky, and a cream satin ruffle. 

This one was commissioned by my friend Mike in Chicago. He and his wife weren’t finding out the sex, preferred a monkey theme to go with their jungle nursery and didn’t want yellow. 
Soo… Monkeys, but no yellow (do you know how many fabric designers love yellow with monkeys?!) unisex, but no yellow. What’s a girl to do?! I only deliberated for about a week at the fabric store, before pulling the trigger. To add to my distress, the fabric was a bitch to work with and I had to keep recutting. Then I sent the damn thing, and it didn’t arrive for several weeks (sent to Chicago, not the Congo!), which caused me to go out and buy all new fabric to make a second one to send, only to be told at the last minute that it had finally arrived. Chicago USPS, I hate thee.

     
Here’s baby Dex on the finished item. He doesn’t care about cat slobber. 

I was worried they might not like it, or that it wouldn’t be big enough, or a thousand other things, but that baby (cute then, adorable now) is wrapped in that blanket in a full half of his pictures. I think they like it…

One of the first ones I made was for my friend Lara’s sweet baby Z.

    
Baby Z. coming home from the hospital in my blanket! Anna Maria Horner’s Fortune in flannel, pale yellow minky and a pink satin ruffle.

Baby Z. had a tough time joining us on the outside and after all of that, I was glad she had something warm and soft to be wrapped in. Sometimes you just need a break…

I’ve made a lot more blankets, but those are the only ones I seem to have pictures for. Baby J.’s  seems to have gone pretty much completely undocumented, except in a cursory manner in some of his shower pictures. Alas! It was cute and tigery.