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finished: beach blanket to go

amanda soule handmade home beach blanket to go

I wrote about this blanket last year and I’m so glad it is finally in the hands of the married couple! I had hoped to take it to their wedding, but it was heavy. With the weight limits put on luggage — and extra fees — I figured it would make more sense to send it flat rate priority mail.

Then it got cold. We got a blizzard. My beach blanket mojo was kind of low. I figured they wouldn’t use it until next summer anyway.

Then all of the sudden it was warm. I had to finish it up and send it off before beach season!

amanda soule handmade home beach blanket to go

I think everyone who gets married on a beach should have a personalized beach blanket, don’t you? You can find fabric and pattern details about this project in my original post.

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did i mention i made a new purse?

poppy purse soule mama handmade home

Seriously, how could I forget to blog about this?! Last week I made the Mama’s Bag from Amanda Soule’s latest book with fabric to match my laptop bag. I absolutely love it. My only modification to the pattern was to add a divider on the inside. You can see it a little bit on the left here:

poppy purse soule mama handmade home

That’s mostly to keep knitting and crochet projects from getting tangled up in my other purse stuff. At first I thought it was a little small, but once I freed myself from carrying around so many of my three-year-old’s things* in my bag, I think it’s just perfect.

*It is a Mama’s Bag after all!

stash: Fabric came from this remnant sale. Book is from the library, but after checking it out twice, I think I should probably just buy it. There are so many things I want to make!

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project to do: beach blanket to go

amanda soule mama handmade home beach blanket to go

Have you read Amanda Soule’s new book Handmade Home? I love all of her projects, but the Beach Blanket to Go really got my attention. I’m going to a beach wedding in October and have been wondering what to make for a gift. I think this will be perfect! I’m going to add a label that marks the date and place, too.

Finding the bedspread and sheet for this project was like a little bit of crafty kismet. Friday morning I was searching vintage fabric on ebay and put a red bedspread exactly like the one above in my watched items list. That evening, I headed out to a few thrift stores to see what I could find. I wasn’t planning to go to the store where I found these, but I felt a pull toward that direction.

I decided to follow my instincts and was shocked to see the same exact bedspread that I had bookmarked earlier that day. What’s more, this sheet was right next to it on the rack. I opened them both up and they were in excellent condition. It was almost as if they were destined to become this blanket. Now all I have to do is figure out my binding and put it all together.

Do you ever get that thrifty feeling? Like something is pulling you to a particular store because the exact thing you are looking for is there?