Crew Cab Blizzard Blankets

As I was cleaning and organizing my studio last week, I thought about ways to use up these three drawers full of Minky scraps.

Since we are rapidly going into winter here in Idaho . . .

November 5, 2010

. . . I thought about all the times we head into town and like to have an extra blanket tucked in the back seat of the truck. You see, all the folks out here live a long ways from town, almost everyone has at least one truck and lots of those trucks are Crew Cabs so there's room for the family. It's a way of life out here and the ONLY way you can get around in the winter. 

With that thought in mind, the Crew Cab Blizzard Blanket was born!

1) Minky scraps 2) a width of cowboy flannel 3) some fleece binding.

I used the minky for the "back" so I could use the word stripes as a guide for quilting--just enough doodles here to hold it all together.

 Fabric is Riley Blake "I Wanna Be a Cowboy 2," Cowboy Quotes.

I dug out some polar fleece for the binding.

You can see how I make a fleece binding here.

He ain't too pretty, but he might be your best friend in a blizzard!

See how "hefty" this blanket looks?  It's 42x50, yet lightweight. For batting I pieced 3 leftover strips of  Hobbs 80/20.

You can see how I piece batting here.

Wait!!  There's more.  I made a companion:

This one's a little more girly. 

Same Riley Blake cowboy flannel line only in pink. 

I had exactly one chunk of this fabulous pink curly Minky (left over from a granddaughter's blanket).

I just love the feel of curly minky. 

There is not one inch of either of these blankets that is not cuddly, soft and warm.

I have donated these to a benefit auction Monday night for BrynLee Hutchison along with my western wall hanging I posted here. 

For some of you readers--you might be wondering why all my focus is on "Western" themed articles for this auction. You see, this baby's daddy was a jockey and a rodeo clown. His brother-in-law is currently a jockey. Over the years, their extended family has competed in cutter races, horse racing and rodeos.  They train horses and make saddles. They have been embedded in our western way of life for 3 generations and our families have known each other that long.

Having said that, I know there will be lots of folks there from the rodeo crowd and horse world that will be bidding on items.

Oh, by the way, I might have a lot more "Blizzard Blankets" to make, remember that first photo at the top of this post way back before I started running on and on.....remember that photo of my 3 drawers stuffed full of minky?  Well, that photo was taken AFTER these two were made.