Blankets for children

“All Things Bright and Beautiful”

thegreensheep 2 Comments

Our bright and beautiful world welcomed a new little one in July!

Baby Selene joined her parents, a sister and brother
…and a pretty fun group of neighbors who decided to celebrate her arrival with a baby blanket.

And more: In true Chinese fashion (going back to the year 960!) Selene’s grandmother joined the household for a month to give Selene’s momma Alice a big postpartum hand—otherwise known as 坐月子 (zuo yue zi), literally “sitting the moon” (or, less sentimentally, as confinement.) Even the blanket gift delivery was obliged to wait until confinement was over.

My sleuthing informer-friend provided some family background in order to prep for this custom blanket:

Momma Alice is Taiwanese-American. She has fond memories of watching Mulan for the first time with her family as a young girl. She works with a non-profit organization to keep women who are at-risk or in crisis safe and supported. She has family nearby. And she’s a new mom of three!

Photo source: Walt Disney Studios

Dad Jamie served in the Army, earned his MSW and now works with veterans through the VA. He’s adventurous and a little daring. He also likes educating himself about child development and ways to thoughtfully help his own kids grow to be great adults.

I spy a great deal of brightness and beauty right in Selene’s family. So much care-giving to others!

The line “All Things Bright and Beautiful” is from Irish hymn-writer Cecil Frances Alexander and was written in the mid-1800s. (She also wrote the Christmas carol “Once in Royal David’s City” and “There is a Green Hill Far Away” for any of you who remember hymns from your childhood.) Her first verse is the most familiar:

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

The words gained longevity when author James Herriot titled his autobiographical books about being a veterinarian in the English countryside with phrases from Alexander’s poem. British television furthered our familiarity with it by producing films and TV series of Herriot’s stories.

It seems like Alexander’s simple expressions touch something fundamental within us. Whatever one believes about the origins of things (granted, my thinking aligns with hers), I venture to say we all deeply appreciate these very good things: wisdom and wonder, great and small creatures, and beauty, color and light.

Just one particular element was requested when this blanket was commissioned: “Make it pink and cream.”

Just one thing! But did it happen here? Not exactly. Because the sweaters were insistent (as they usually are) about choosing their own buddies.

The body of this blanket began with the purplish-pink of Mulan’s magnolia tree. At that point, those magenta sweaters called for peach for the border. (You’ll likely recognize the purple-orange complement.) It was a good call. Finally, for counterpoint to the sweet pop-art flowers in the trim, I chose big, bright flowers for their centering visual weight.

Other pieces of interest are:

* a tiny pocket for tiny fingers, treasures, or messages
* two curved necklines, backed with contrasting fabric
* a preserved curling edge of a sweater
* several small sweater pieces stitched on top of the blanket’s border for greater texture
* all those cables!!

Congratulations, Jamie, Alice, Stella and Apollo! May you enjoy your family’s brand new gift: Selene.

 And welcome, Selene! May you see brightness, beauty, and all manner of other wonders in this world around you as you grow.

© Joan Olson
“All Things Bright and Beautiful” (36×36)
Felted wool sweaters

Greta’s Blanket: A Girl and a Pearl

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Our second granddaughter turned 1 last month. In the weeks leading up to her birthday—and with (coincidentally!) a visit cross-country to her family for that very date—I knew what time it was.

Time to make Greta her very own blanket.

As was true for our first granddaughter, I had to wait to know this little one awhile before attempting to create a blanket for her. (Her sister Miriam’s blanket is here.) Blankets always begin with mulling over ideas, images, sensations. And so it was with Greta’s.

My inspiration for Greta’s blanket began first of all with her smile. It is big, bold, ebullent and endearing. Most stunning of all, it appears immediately when a loved one enters her line of sight.

Next was her name: Greta, a short form of Margarethe or Margaret. It means “pearl.” The Bible talks about the pearl of great price, and I knew this was one reason her parents had chosen the name.

Next: what colors look good on her. This girl has her dad’s features and her mom’s coloring—blue eyes and light hair that’s already showing the red glints of her mama’s copper-colored hair. I automatically started turning over in my mind the greens and goldens that her mom looks great in. But when I pulled up the family photo stream just to check, I was surprised to find Greta is in her niche in bright pink and navy. Apparently her skin tone is cooler than her mom’s!

Once supplied with several thoughts to get the project rolling, I found the right colors in my stash and got started.

The color arrangement came together easily. And I knew I wanted to put a pearl in the center somewhere, but where and how? As I played with different ideas, and especially with oyster sketches, I discovered something very close to a “G” for Greta in the upside-down opened oyster. What better than a sweet cipher right there in the middle of her blanket?

And so it all came together. I finished in time for our trip, and Grandpa and I were able celebrate  that amazing first birthday in person. (And eat scrumptious homemade birthday cake!)

The following note accompanied the blanket. It’s for later, when Greta’s language skills are a little stronger and this precious girl begins to mull over the things of life herself:

Sweet Greta,

You are a little small for some of the symbolism in this blanket, but your name is so wonderful it couldn’t help but show up here. Your name, Greta, means pearl. Your dada and mama told us when you were born that their prayer is you would come upon the MOST precious, valuable pearl—that’s Jesus!—and want to know him more than anything else.

So there, in the middle of your blanket, is a pearl in an oyster. And if you turn that oyster upside down, there’s a secret “G” for Greta.

We love you more than words can say, Greta, and pray this same prayer for you. Happy first birthday!

© Joan Olson
“Greta’s Blanket” (35″x36″) 
Felted Wool Sweaters

“Baby Walt”

thegreensheep 4 Comments

Our Disney aficionado strikes again!

This wonderful client, with me since the very beginning, has adopted many Green Sheep blankets into her family, several with a Disney theme. (For her grandchildren there’s been I Love Minnie, Mickey and Theo, Dory Finds a Pearl, and 11,12, Dig and Delve. Other blankets in the family are The Light Changes Everything, In Argyle Style, The Pond, A Quiet Creature, and Nap Hunting.)

You can read more about how Disney got to be so special to them here.

Now a little guy has joined the family, and so another blanket arrives as well.

This is for four-month-old Walt. (Is his name a Disney coincidence??) Walt joins two sisters and one brother, perfectly leveling things out, at least for now (two boys, two girls). He is big-eyed and curious. He loves gazing at his mama. He glows whenever he sees his dad. He loves kisses and smiles from his big sisters and brother. 

And when his grandma calls him “Sweetness,” his tiny face breaks into a giant smile.

In my original sketch for the blanket, I had the diagonal striped piece with the blue neckline nearer to the top of the blanket. But when I actually laid out the appliqués this way, I found they didn’t balance well—they were too far apart from each other. So I rotated the blanket and laid the castle on that colorful stripe. A soft serendipitous sunset appeared behind the turrets!

When I told my client this, she said the colors in the stripe are reminiscent of early Disney Hotel decor. She explained that had drawn her to this blanket’s colors in the first place. (I searched for this vintage Disney palette on Google Image but could not find it. If any of you are familiar with this and find it, please share it with me!)

Sweet Baby Walt. I hope you will always fill up on the smiles of the fabulous people in your life. This big family of yours—your mom and dad, brother and sisters, grandmas and grandpas, aunts, uncles and cousins—they love you wildly. May you flourish in that love always!

© Joan Olson
“Baby Walt” (38″ x 41″) 
Felted Wool Sweaters

This is a custom-ordered blanket.

Janja’s Christening

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Last weekend was the christening of little Jane Elizabeth. She was baptized with the name Janja, a Croatian word meaning “little lamb.” Janja is also the dear woman Jane was named for.

When Jane’s mama asked about a special blanket for the occasion, she had already searched this website and found the blanket I made for my own granddaughter’s baptism. What a pleasure it was to recreate this sweet lamb!

There was a small but meaningful bond I had with Jane Elizabeth as I worked on this for her—for my “maiden” initials (pre-marriage) are JEM too.

Blessings on your christening and most especially on your life, Janja. Such a wonderful name you have!

© Joan Olson
“Little Janja” (38×40)
Felted Wool Sweaters

“Jonathon’s Bear”

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JUNE. Spring turns to summer and school is out. Gardens shoot forth new growth where there was none. There are graduations and weddings and births. And so much celebrating!

So much NEW.

I deem it an entirely appropriate time to share a new baby blanket.

This one’s for a little guy who is still on his way. When he arrives, among the many loving arms awaiting him will be those of a particularly playful roly-poly polar bear cub.

For the record, cubs think waiting is hard.

Writing this made me think of Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh, A.A. Milne and a poem (of course!). Here is the last stanza of Milne’s “Us Two.”

So wherever I am, there’s always Pooh,
There’s always Pooh and Me.
“What would I do?” I said to Pooh,
“If it wasn’t for you,” and Pooh said: “True,
It isn’t much fun for One, but Two,
Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. “That’s how it is,” says Pooh.

Jonathon, may your life be full of people friends, animal friends, and some toy friends too.

They’re all terrific.

“Jonathon’s Bear”
38″ x 39″
This blanket has gone to a good home.

 

Two are Better than One

thegreensheep 2 Comments

Yep. Two are better than one.¹ But more like TWENTY are better than one. Way better.

Last month I hung out in a virtual classroom with several women who made a child’s blanket and packed it in an Operation Christmas Child shoe box in exchange for learning how to make a wool blanket, Green-Sheep style.

The thing that surprised me most? How much fun it was. Every day I looked forward to coming home from work, hopping on my computer and joining the ongoing discussion.

“How did sweater shopping go?” “What colors did you find?” “Who’s got a blanket ‘first draft’ laid out?” “Are you making yours for a girl or a boy?”

I miss it!!

Finally—here’s a little gallery of our work. I figure we were able to complete about 15 blankets, and here are 11 of them. The variety reflects the regions in which we live, what our resale shops held the day(s) we went shopping, aaaand…our many personalities. (Click on each photo to view it larger.)

The best part: how these bright and talented people made our virtual classroom feel pretty darn near to a real one.

Patti’s ready to ship
Ranae’s final draft
Ranae’s finished blanket
Ranae’s ready to ship
Linda’s finished blanket
Pocket finger puppets
Linda’s ready to ship
I love pockets :)
Ana Maria’s blanket
Annie’s with red border
Annie’s ready to ship
Annie’s black border
Timary’s first draft
Timary’s final blanket
Pat’s final blanket
Details on Pat’s blanket
Cris’ final draft
Cris’, awaiting binding
Cris’ finished blanket
Stephanie’s blanket
Diane’s finished blanket
My finished blanket

 

¹”Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.”
—Ecclesiastes 4.9-10