I'm a Sewin'

My maternal grandmother said she always saved quilting comforts and crocheting afgans for the winter-time as she stitched, cozy in her snug home, while the cold windstorms howled across the prairie. She made many quilts and afgans for family members and friends alike. I have a butterfly quilt she made for me the year I graduated from high school and two afgans when I married.
Some time ago I saw a blanket idea on Wendy Russell's "She's Crafty" TV show and decided I wanted one too, only mine would go with my current theme of black and white checks. Wendy and her guest cut out nine 15" x 15" squares from the front and back of plain sweatshirts and stitched them together to make a baby-sized blanket.

Armed with a supply list, I went shopping for sweatshirts at my local thrift stores. However I ran into a couple of problems -- most of the shirts I found were printed on the front which I did not want and as most of the shops priced their sweatshirts at $5.00 or more, it didn't seem cost effective to get the size blanket I wanted. As in clothing, one size does not fit all, so on impulse, I checked the price of second-hand velour blankets and they were marked $3.00 each. I was able to eventually find enough to make not only my checked blanket, but also another one pieced together with bits leftover from my black and white blanket between two red and green ones.