Motherly Advice {The Gift of Love and Warmth and a Fleece Blanket}

Where we love is home – home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts.

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

If you ask my kids which Christmas gift was their favorite, I'm not sure what they would tell you. But I know which gift of theirs was my favorite.

This year I made each of my boys a fleece blanket. I wanted them to have something to cozy with whenever they feel the need for a warm, soft blanket.

Oh, it didn't take much skill or planning, and it wasn't as if I made a quilt, cutting, and pinning and sewing or whatever all goes into quilting. I don't have much skill when it comes to handmade crafts, but I figured I could handle a fleece blanket.

Darling 2 helped me pick out the pieces of fabric for each blanket; there are a surprising number of patterns of fleece to choose from. I decided to make them extra large in hopes that my big boys will still use these blankets when are extra tall. They were so excited to see the finished products.

The night before Christmas Eve, after everyone except one curious kitten had gone to bed, I spread the big pieces of fleece on the floor and went to work. I cut and tied and straightened and cut and tied and straightened for several hours, and voila I had two super soft blankets. And I was proud of what I'd done.

I spread the blankets over their new owners as they slept. And when they awoke and found them, the boys were elated. Unlike many of the gifts they received this season, they have used them just about every night {and a few movie watching days too} since they received them.

Of course, I left out all my scrap pieces for them to use in whatever creative and inspired way they came up with. And this was my favorite part of Christmas. Christmas Eve morning was full of making belts, karate kid style head bands, a parachute and more with the various pieces of fleece. Their creative juices were flowing, and they were having fun performing in their inspired outfits.

What I do know is that there are some gifts that last for years, sometimes even a lifetime; gifts that warm the soul and body; gifts that hold memories of home and mom. That gift for me was a blanket when I was 12. I still have it and still use it.

My hope is that the boys will feel the love and warmth from my heart and hands that went into making these blankets and carry that with them always. And yes, that is Hello Kitty on one side; Darling 2 was hell bent on choosing that for one of his sides, and if you have a problem with that, You
can read
this post.  Over and out...

Anna

Comments

[Terry]

Love this post!! Proud of you!!