No-Sew Blankets

I am certain that I am not the first person to ever make a no-sew fleece blanket.  In fact, I may actually be the very last person on earth to attempt making one, given the number of individuals buying fleece in 1.5 yard lots at Jo-Ann fabric when I was there. Now that I know how simple they are to make, I can only surmise that anyone buying fleece must certainly be making one.Or three.  What started out as a homemade Christmas present I'd give to my 1-year-old daughter this year, since she really doesn't have an ultra-warm blanket bigger than an infant size, turned into me deciding to make a blanket for each of my boys, too.  Our house gets so cold in the winter since it's 160 years old, so tucking them in at night with a double-layer fleece blankie sounded like a great idea.

So, about $10-$15 each for material and approximately 1.5 hours each later, I now have three no-sew fleece blankets to wrap up for my children for Christmas in fun patterns that I think they will all enjoy. 

Now, I certianly was familiar with these blankets before this week.  My friend Amy had actually made me one for my baby shower in a fun frog print.  We still use it regularly in our playroom, as a blankie to crawl around on, cover each other with, put babies on, etc.  It just never occured to me to find out how to make them myself before, until I started thinking about some useful items I could give the children for Christmas this year.  All of a sudden, I found myself at Jo-Ann fabric, deciding between flowers or polka dots, pirates or baseballs. 

What really enticed me, however, was the "no sew" tagline.  Granted, I do know how to sew and I do own a sewing machine.  However, my crafty skills lie elsewhere and sewing is usually not my first love.  I love the project ideas you can make by sewing and have vowed to look into more of them this year, but for now, my bobbins remain empty.  So, without a doubt, the fact that I can make these blankets with nothing more than a ruler, some masking tape and a pair of scissors is very exciting to me!

In case there is someone out there who, like me, has always wondered how to make these blankets but has never tried, or someone who is maybe hearing about them for the first time, I am including instructions below.  There are several weeks left until Christmas and each of these blankets took me less than 2 hours to make.  So, it is definitely a doable homemade gift idea for someone special on your list.  Just don't go showing my children this photo before December 25th, ok? :)

No-Sew Fleece Blankets
2 pieces of fleece, 1.5 yards each. 
scissors
ruler
pins
masking tape

Cut the seams off of your fleece pieces and line up, with right sides facing outward.  Pin together as best as possible.  Do one "clean up" trim around the edges of both pieces of fleece together, so that they are the exact same size.  If they are slightly off, no worries!  The nice thing about these blankets is that the fringe will mask any slight indescrepancies in measuring. 

Cut out a 4"x4" square from both pieces of fleece together, at each corner.

Pull one long piece of tape across the entire side of the blanket, to make a line of masking tape across your entire project.  Line the bottom of the tape up with the top of the 4" square in the corners and continue an inch or two past each end of the blanket to secure it to the table.

Trim 1 inch wide slits into both layers of the fleece on the taped side, going from the edge right up to the masking tape line.  Continue until the entire side is cut into slits.  Tie the corresponding slits together in double knots, this will be one top piece and one bottom piece of fleece.  As you tie them into knots, your fringe will be forming.

Continue on all sides until all sides have been slitted and all slits have been tied to make fringe.

Coffee: My New Lifeline

What happens to most in college, medical or law school or after they have had their first child and realize that four hours of sleep a night just doesn't cut it day-in and day-out, only recently happened to me: coffee.  I have always enjoyed coffee on an occasional basis, don't get me wrong.  But, I always was more known as a tea drinker.  When I was looking for that soothing, hot drink to relax or warm me up, I always broke out the PG Tips or Twinings.  Until now. 

Well, let me defend my first love and say that sometimes I still just need to have a good cup of black tea.  Other times I have a craving for a chamomile or another form of herbal tea.  But lately, I have been migrating towards "the other caffeinated drink" and just can't explain what has happened.  It may have something to do with the plethora of yummy flavored creamers out on the market (ummm...have you tried the Caramel Macchiato one yet?) or the Keurig personal coffee brewer I got for Christmas last year or even something called Wawa convenience stores, which has, in my opinion, one of the best cups of coffee out there at convenience store prices.  Quite honestly, I don't know what the impetus for this new love of mine is, but I am coming clean and saying that it can no longer be ignored or denied:  I am a coffee drinker.

To get the facts straight, I am not yet what I would consider an addict.  I'm not shaking when I wake up in the morning, only to be calmed by the beep of my programmable Cuisinart coffee maker indicating that the brew is complete.  I don't have to start every day with a "cup 'o Joe" nor do I even have to have a cup of coffee at all throughout the day to function.  In fact, I typically don't have one every day and my habits are quite sporadic: some days I will have more than one cup and then I may go a few days without this "need" for coffee.  In fact, dare I say, that I may actually have tea some mornings instead (gasp!).  But, what has changed in me is that I do have that feeling of calm come over me now when I sit down and make a cup of coffee.  I also do have that yearning for nothing other than a big mug of coffee some afternoons when my kids nap.  I no longer forget to make coffee at a party I am throwing, even though I have remembered every other detail.  And I must admit that sometimes I'll reach for a K-cup when I am having a bout of tiredness and know that I do not want to be asleep by 8pm.  So add all of this up and I'll be the first to admit that I now consider myself a part of the Latte Club.

It's a joke in my family that in a year, I went from someone who had every appliance out there but was still using an old 10-cup Gevalia coffee brewer that I brought to college with me (and hardly ever used!), to someone who now has a Keurig, a K-cup carousel, a nice Cuisinart brewer, and a Cuisinart coffee grinder on my coutertop.  That's right, only the most frequently used appliances make it to "the big time" of being stored on the countertop instead of in the cabinets or pantry.  I am happy to report that my coffee accoutrements have "made it" and have joined my Kitchen Aid mixer, food processor and my toaster oven on my counter.  They were even purchased in black and stainless to match our decor.  To boot, there are also a handful of flavored creamers in my fridge at all times.  This is getting strange.  Nonetheless, in the short time that I have been a sleep-deprived, coffee drinking, mother of three, I have a few thoughts on coffee that I thought I'd share.  I already gave my disclaimer that I am not a coffee connoisseur but I do know what I have enjoyed in my experimentation, so if it's helpful to anyone out there, then I've done my part in building up the Latte Club.  Enjoy!

1. Myth:  I can't enjoy coffee because nobody else in my house drinks it and I don't like instant coffee.  I'm not going to make a pot for myself.

Well, your answer to this one is either a single-cup coffee brewer, a French press or a Keurig personal coffee maker.  I personally can recommend either a French press such as the one below, that will easily allow you to brew a small amount of coffee for yourself and it will be the freshest you can make, or the Keurig, which offers so much convenience and variety.  There are K-cups for the Keurig available in so many different styles, flavors and brands.  Amazon, Costco or Kohl's are great places to buy your K-cups for a good price (I use my Kohl's cash as a little gift for myself sometimes). My favorites are Timothy's Italian blend and Gloria Jean's Butter Toffee.  Hello?  Did that not just convince you or what?

2. I am looking for a good, reasonably-priced coffee maker.  Which features do you like the best?

The above is the maker I have and really like.  What's irking me is that I bought it last year for about $40 more than the list price now!  So this would be a great deal for you.  It brews a good cup of coffee and I just love the auto-off beep (since I never remember to turn it off) and the programmable feature.  We host our weekly Bible study and also other events so it's nice to set up the coffee and find it already brewing when I finish putting the kids to bed and head downstairs to wait for my guests.

3. I have never tried to grind my own coffee.  The coffee from the store is just as fresh.

This, again, is another item that I paid a lot more for last year when it was newly on the market so it would be a great deal for you.  I recently got into grinding my own coffee, especially when we have company over, and it is so yummy.  It's a lot fresher than the pre-ground and is so easy.  I think of it as a special treat when we have guests, especially, or even just for myself sometimes.  This grinder is sleek looking and has an option to automatically grind enough for a certain number of cups in the maker.  Very fast and reliable.

November MOPS Coordinator's Article

It’s that time of year when all of the holiday hustle and bustle starts. Your grocery purchases are accumulating points towards your free turkey and your mail is inundated with circulars telling you which toys are the ones your child truly wants for Christmas this year. The weather outside isn’t quite frightful yet...but it certainly is getting colder. That soon-to-be winter chill is in the air! Personally, I love fall and all that it entails. To me, the anticipation of what’s to come over the next two months makes up for feeling chilly most of the time and for the extra time it now takes to get everyone buttoned up and out the door in the morning (and then realizing you still need to scrape the ice off your windshield).


What I never anticipate fondly are the sniffles and sneezes that come with the season. The coughs. The fevers. The vomiting. You name it, it seems that at least someone at school, work, church or daycare has it from early fall through the winter. No matter how many vitamins I take, how bundled up we get when we go outside or how much antibacterial hand sanitizer we go through, it seems inevitable that at least something will infect someone at home. Which then leads to five infected people in no time at all. You’ve been there before, I’m sure you have.

Recently I had a day just like I described. Several incidents early-on turned a normal Wednesday into a “down in the dumps” day by mid-afternoon. And then my two youngest children both woke up sick from their naps, after only sleeping for 40 minutes. Just what I needed to make a bad day even worse! There were tears. There was whining. There were sniffles and sneezes. There were overpriced co-pays for the medicine we ended up having to get at the pharmacy. Wow, this day couldn’t get any worse! Or so it seemed as I sat around having a pity party for myself that night after finally getting two crying and overtired babies to sleep. Way to put a damper on my holiday spirit, God! Somehow going “over the river and through the woods” on the upcoming Thanksgiving day seemed like the last thing in the world that I would ever want to do, now that my good mood had been spoiled as a result of drippy noses and Pink Eye.


As I sat down at my computer to write some to-be-determined Coordinator’s Article (after stealing a much-deserved mini Heath bar from the kids’ Halloween stash!), the verse we had related to today’s MOPs meeting hit me square in the face. “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Be joyful always. Not only when things seem to be going my way, when my kids are germ-free and my day has gone as I’ve anticipated.

Pray continually. Now there’s something that didn’t even cross my mind in the midst of all of my grumbling and worrying. Hmm, interesting how things start to seem not so bad when we let God into the equation and hand over our planners to Him.

Give thanks in all circumstances. That’s right, all circumstances: good or bad, sickness or health, richer or poorer. Pretty much God deserves our thanks at all times. It’s funny how long the list of things we have to be thankful for really is when we stop and take notice. Our “bad days” and misfortunes suddenly become the minority when we enumerate all of the bountiful blessings God has placed into our hearts and within our families.


For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Just as we parents desire our children to use good manners, to pray regularly and to be thankful to others, God has specially designed each of us to live a certain life and to handle different circumstances. We are not all alike. We are each uniquely designed by Christ to navigate our own life’s path, no matter what it may bring. And it would please Him and make Him glow with parental love to hear us use these manners that we teach to our own children in all circumstances.


So this Thanksgiving season, as you sit down to turkey and pumpkin pie, don’t focus on which family members aren’t present or how awful your travels were to get where you are. Instead, remember to thank God for all that he has given to you. We are not even worthy of the blessings he pours out on each of us, but as our Father, he gives them to us anyways out of love.

Family Movie Night: An American Tail

An American Tail. Menu: Chocolate Cherry Mice, popcorn, Shirley Temples.

Yeah, I know.  Another Family Movie Night post with nothing else in between.  I apologize for not having updated the blog regularly lately.  It's been busy around here with a birthday, a holiday, some colds, some visitors, and other various activities that somehow believe they are more important than updating The Proverbs 31 Chronicles.  Hee hee.  I do have several post ideas I have noted and I hope to get to them on a more regular basis again in the very near future.  For now, enjoy this post about our latest Family Movie Night. 

We watched the 1986 classic, An American Tail, the movie about the young immigrant mouse named Fievel who comes to America, the "land without any cats," from Russia and suddenly gets separated from his family en route.  So, he needs to fend for himself in this strange land, meeting all sorts of friends and having lots of adventures in the meantime.  Through everything, he believes that his family is "Somewhere Out There," and all he longs for is to be reunited with the people he loves.  You have the Linda Ronstadt/James Ingram song stuck in your head now, don't you?  Good luck getting that out.  I've been humming it for two days now :).

Our movie night this time was extra special because Nana was visiting and was able to join us.  Yes, Nana was well-behaved and shared nicely all day so she was issued the special "Nanas Attend For Free on Saturday Night" ticket at dinnertime.  Another name for this is not having enough physical tickets printed off for guests when the boys are insistent that everyone gets a ticket for Movie Night.  They play our game a little too well sometimes :).  But this seemed to suit them just fine.

Eagerly waiting for Movie Night to start with Nana...after stealing a chocolate mouse to munch on.  We're into cheesy smiles at our house, so at least Nana looks nice!

And finally, the moment you all have been waiting for:  the Chocolate Cherry Mice. Come on, aren't they adorable?  A little too realistic looking to eat...that is until you find out they are made with dark chocolate, cherries and almonds.  Yeah, I think I can get over the fact that they actually do resemble mice in size!

These guys are so easy to make.  They'd make perfect treats for any mouse-themed movie, or even during the Nutcracker at Christmastime.  They are also especially yummy...and healthy since they have almonds, fruit and dark chocolate.  Fooled you, didn't I?

Basically, dry off 12 maraschino cherries with stems on paper towels.  Take 1/3c. dark chocolate chips and melt in the microwave for 30 second intervals until perfectly smooth.  Dip the cherry into the chocolate, holding by the stem.  Place on waxed paper and immediately press a dark chocolate Hershey Kiss into the front.  Let sit for a minute or two and then wedge two almond slices between the Kiss and the cherry.  Let dry completely.  Put a little frosting into a decorating bag or a Ziploc, either fitted with a small writing tip or with just a small snip out of the bag corner.  Make eyes on your mice and let dry.  Enjoy!