“Love in Your Heart”

September 23, 2011July 18, 2014thegreensheep 11 Comments

I met Molly a few weeks ago through Kathy, owner of some Green Sheep blankets (see here). While we were talking, it came up that Molly’s mom’s 80th birthday is around the corner. What a milestone! Molly put on her thinking cap and recalled a sweater of her late dad’s, and….ahhh!….another blanket started brewing.

Molly’s mom is Irish through and through. She has devoted her life to her family and still loves taking care of them. She also loves to read, and has a comfy brown chair in which to do exactly that. Molly wondered if I could make a throw to keep her warm in that comfy brown chair.

I hope I have. As usual, it was a delight to see what sweaters and colors would come together with the “seed” of the first one. (In the photo below, the ribbed piece over the arm of the rocker is from Molly’s dad’s sweater.)

As Molly talked about her, it wasn’t hard to see how much her family loves her. So, for Molly’s mom on a very special birthday, here is “Love in Your Heart.” The name comes from this simple and lovely Irish blessing:

“May you be blessed with warmth in your home,

love in your heart, peace in your soul,

and joy in your life.”

It sounds as if those blessings have already been bestowed :) .

“Love in Your Heart” (Size: 50″ x 60″)

This throw was a custom order.

“His and Hers”

September 9, 2011June 16, 2016thegreensheep 6 Comments

Recently I hinted about a wedding blanket under construction and gave a sneak peek. The wedding was at the end of August and I can now give you the full reveal :). But most especially, congratulations to Matt and Cassady!

This gift was from the parents of the groom, so it was important that the blanket have a masculine sensibility to it but at the same time be welcoming to a very feminine bride.

So, for him: subdued, masculine colors. For her, a foliage print and the black Gap sweater with ribbon embroidery. For both, a cashmere binding to cuddle up to. (On a meaningful note, the binding is made from a sweater the groom’s dad contributed.)

May your marriage be a blessing to you both, Matt and Cassady.

“His and Hers” ( 64″ x 82″)

This blanket has already gone to a good home.

“It’s Getting Cooler”

August 27, 2011June 16, 2016thegreensheep 5 Comments

Last week, Lauren, one of my daughter’s college friends, asked if she could come see my stash of blankets. She was looking for a birthday present for herself with money from her 18th birthday and had her heart set on taking a blanket back to school. I pulled out my inventory, and she found this graduated-color experiment I did over a year ago.

It was plain when Lauren saw it, no flowers. “I like this one, Mrs. O–.” (I believe all of our kids’ friends still charmingly call us Mr. and Mrs. It warms my heart, even as I use my first name with them so they might feel comfortable making the switch.) “Can you put some flowers on it, like the one with the marigolds?” And then she pointed out what color she’d like the flowers to be (actually more green than these photos show).

When I originally made this blanket, I named it “Getting Warmer,” for obvious reasons, I think. Not only do the colors go from cool to warm, but also the phrase reminds me of that childhood hide-n-seek game (“You’re getting warmer…warmer…now you’re BURNING UP!”). I seem to recall playing that game a lot as a kid. So there was that.

But as I sewed the flowers this week — by open windows with cool breezes, listening to honking geese, and watching college kids leave home again — I realized “getting warmer” was no longer appropriate. And so it became “It’s Getting Cooler” — a fall theme that still respects the graduated color pattern. And Lauren’s flowers are like autumn’s chrysanthemums, just with reversed colors.

Lauren: I had fun working on this for you ♥. May it bring you lots of joy at school and beyond, and may it also remind you of the people at home who love you. (And, of course, you can call it whatever you want!)

“It’s Getting Cooler,” aka “Getting Warmer” ;) — Size: 62″ x 75″

This blanket has already gone to a good home.

“Going to the Beach II”

August 23, 2011June 16, 2016thegreensheep 8 Comments

Kathy and I met in 2010 at the Susan G. Komen fundraiser (sponsored by the Arlington Heights Jr. Women’s League) where I submitted “Life is a Gift (the poppies blanket).” She made the winning bid and went home with the poppies.

We’ve kept in touch, and in June she emailed me and confessed that she had been eyeing “Going to the Beach” here on The Green Sheep blog. Kathy grew up in southwest Michigan — so lakes, dunes, beach grass, and sunlit sailboats are in her blood. I had to tell her that the beach blanket had gone to a young newlywed couple and wasn’t available — but that I would love to try my hand at another along the same theme.

Here, just in time for the lazy, warm days of late summer, is “Going to the Beach II,” with its inquisitive gull wondering who else is coming to the lake on such a lovely day.

Thank you, Kathy, for giving me such an enjoyable project!

“Going to the Beach II” (Size: 70″ x 80″)

The blanket has already gone to a good home.

the wedding and the gift

June 15, 2011June 16, 2016thegreensheep 13 Comments

May 28th was an exceptional day for our family: it was the wedding day of our first child.

The day was beautiful, the ceremony meaningful, and we parents are very contented with the choices these two made in each other!

Their printed wedding program called the ceremony “a celebration of Christ, love, & community.” It indeed turned out to be all of those things. There was also a great reception with lots and lots of homemade cake :).

Now of course this was occasion for a gift, what with this daughter getting married and all. And of course the idea occurred to me that I could make a keepsake blanket for this new couple that I love. So I did, and here it is. I named it “Home” because, at its essence, marriage gives each partner a new home — the one they find in each other.

There’s a lot of time to think while I sew, and my mind works on the meaning of each blanket as I’m involved in it. In addition to conveying the feeling of home, this particular blanket has a couple other layers of meaning too.

First, since life together brings so many unexpected — and sometimes difficult — things, it’s good to remember how God takes care of even birds. “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” (Matthew 6.26).

And second, in China (and this daughter happened to be conceived in China), a pair of lovebirds given as a wedding gift is a wish for a wonderful and happy marriage.

So to my daughter and new son-in-law: “Much happiness!” Love, Mom.

“Home” (Size: I forgot to measure!)

This blanket has already gone to a very good home :)

“Papa’s Pockets”

April 29, 2011June 16, 2016thegreensheep 5 Comments

A sweet friend from work, a fellow therapist (she’s speech, I’m occupational), along with her husband recently finished their basement and turned it into a really welcoming living area. She came to me and said, “Now that the basement’s done, I’m ready for a blanket for it!” And then she handed me a beautiful wool sweater that had been her dad’s. Wow. My first chance to make a keepsake blanket with an honest-to-goodness keepsake!

This wasn’t just any sweater, but a gorgeous Irish-made one (Irish like the whole family) of thick, cream-colored wool. That’s it in the foreground, the creamy cabled piece with the pocket near the edge. It felted beautifully. My friend’s dad is gone now, but I know having something of his means a lot. And when the kids and grandkids are over, hanging out downstairs, they can cuddle up with a keepsake from grandpa as well.