New Blankets

As I mentioned in my last post, I have been busy making more blankets. I finished a nice blanket that was ordered with Lighthouses on it. It turned out nice, and after it was finished a friend saw it and ordered one for herself.

I also finished a new Virginia Tech blanket. I made it to show since no one had ordered it and now I have orders for two more.

I also completed two of the Thomas Kinkade print blankets and another of the sports motif on green background. Those were all done this week while I was in Winchester.

I completed five more this weekend.... three for a special order. The order was for two fashion blankets (purses and high heels on it) and one with lips on it. For the fashion purse and heels I made one with a heather grey back and the other with a white one.

These two are with the Grey back.


These two are with the white back.

I also made a couple as gifts but will show them later so the people they are intended for do not see them on here before they receive them.

Grandma Jim Out

Busy Week......

Well, this has been one busy week for me. I finished a total of 9 blankets this week. Five during the week while in Winchester and I completed four today. I have three more I want to finish tomorrow if possible. And play a little golf in the afternoon if it is nice enough.

Will post photos of the new blankets tomorrow and tell you all about the really awesome stuff I got (or ordered) this week.



Grandma Jim out

Front Royal Wine and Craft Festival

Well, after the great experience of this past weekend I have decided to try it again. I applied to be in the Front Royal (VA) Wine and Craft Festival in May. I went by the Chamber of Commerce yesterday to drop off my application and photos of some of the blankets to be juried. The person responsible looked at the photos and accepted me in the show then and there. Which made me feel great. The festival is on Saturday May 16th. Now I need to build up a better selection for this show. As I make blankets for the show I shall post photos here.

Garfield Elementary School Craft Show

I did in fact attend the craft show and I learned a lot of things from my first venture into showing my blankets at a craft fair. All in all it was a good experience and I sold four blankets and several people talked to me about ordering blankets and took my brochures and business cards. So we will just have to wait and see if I get any orders.

I thought the PTA did a nice job of running the show. The PTA had plenty of volunteers and they actually would come around to make sure you were doing okay and to check and see if you needed a break or anything to eat or drink. It was a nice experience.

Here are two pictures of the event my daughter took.

Craft Show

Several people have been telling me for weeks now that I need to go to a craft show with my blankets. I noticed a couple weeks ago there was to be a craft show at a local elementary school, so I sent an email to the PTA (they run it) President. I was told they have been filled up since January. The show is at the Garfield Elementary School in Springfield, VA on Old Keene Mill. It runs from 10:00 am until 4:00 pm

Last evening I got a call from them asking me to be in the show! The lady that called was very nice and made me feel so at ease I am truly looking forward to this. They had a cancellation and asked me to attend since they had viewed this blog and liked the blankets. So I have hurried around last night and today to get together everything I might need to be in the show.

This will be my first experience like this so we will see how it goes tomorrow. But I have over 30 blankets to show and try to sell. Wish me luck!

I will update this on Sunday when I have time...

Grandma Jim Out

Nice Day Today

Wow. Today I got orders for three blankets from one person. The order is for some cute material for girls. Once they are done I will post photos. And I received a request to locate an Army print with helicopters for a friend. Got lucky and found this nice print for her....

So she has a choice of material now for her Army friend. Above or below:

Hot Peppers, Thomas Kinkade and repeats

It has been a while since I stopped by to update this blog on my progress with the blankets so I figured I better do an update this evening. Over the past couple of days I have received a couple of orders for blankets from the past. I have a request for another of the elephant walk blankets. So that material was ordered and surprisingly it arrived late this morning. I was able to take advantage of my Monday off and laid it out, put it together and completed it. So I can deliver it tomorrow. It is just as nice as the first one I did. I also had a request for a Thomas Kinkade blanket like one I made for my mother for Christmas. I was able to find the material over the weekend and I finished it this morning. It is two identical panels together so each side is the same. It is pictured here:

I also completed the Hot Pepper Blanket. This is a nice large soft blanket. The front is covered with red, green, yellow, orange peppers over a black background. I used a thick piece of black fleece for the reverse side. It turned out quite nice. Below are three views. First is the quarter view, second is a close up detail of peppers and the third image is a quarter view with the flap opened to reveal the black reverse side.

Up Up and Away

I finished what I think is a very colorful and pretty blanket this evening. I started last night and got three of the four sides done and was to tired to finish it, so I finished it tonight when I got home from work. It is a blue background with colorful Hot Air Balloons all over it. I think it is quite catching. And it is a soft warm fleece. I think this will make a wonderful gift for someone.

Here are a few photos of the blanket and a couple detail closeups.

Doggie Blankets Too

I have also completed two of five doggie blankets I am working on. These five blankets are made of of two different cartoon drawings of different types of dogs. The first two are made with on type of print and a brown reverse side. They are about 46 inches wide by about 40 inches long. Nice little blanket for your dog to sleep on or to use to protect the furniture if you let your dogs up on the furniture. The second print is a very cute cartoon of different dogs with a blue background and I have used an electric blue reverse. This is the second set with this material and color scheme. I previously produced two of these and both sold early on. Here are photos of the two type of prints and doggie blankets.










Grandma Jim out.

Another Day Another Blanket

Well, actually another couple of days and I have finished five more and am working on a sixth. Three of these are special orders. Two ladies I work with asked me to come up with something with an African motif for them. I searched the internet fabric sites for several days until I found a couple prints they liked. I then set out to produce a couple blankets they would be proud to display in their homes. The first one is called Elephant Walk print. It is a soft fleece material that looks very nice. I have teamed it with a solid color piece of fleece from Hancock Fabrics called Oak. The three views below are a full view of the fabric before it was cut and added to the reverse and tied. Then there is a quarter fold view and a quarter fold view with the corner turned back to reveal the reverse material.

The othe material is called African Safari and I also teamed it with the Oak material from Hancock Fabrics.

These two blankets are approximately 48 inches wide by 74 inches long.

I also completed a spexcial order for a baby blanket that is about 48 inches square. It was made with a pretty brown and pink plaid with a light pink reverse. The plaid will match the color scheme of the baby's room. Below are a couple photos of the blanket.

Grandma Jim Out.

Continuation On Blankets

Last night I mentioned I would explain the "Grandma Jim". It seems when I first started making blankets back before Christmas my son would give me a hard time about it. At one point after Christmas he made a comment that my two grandsons were really lucky. They had three Grandmothers. Grandma Jane (our son-in-laws mother), Grandma Mary (my wife) and Grandma Jim (meaning me). He kept calling me Grandma Jim when he would come in and I was working on a blanket. We all thought it was kind of funny and did not think much about it at first since all my blankets were gifts. Then when people started to buy them, I thought! Why Not! Grandma Jim. That is different! So Blankets by Grandma Jim sprang from a smart ass son. Thanks!

What other creations have I come up with since the start of this endeavor? Well, as I mentioned most of the stuff has been special orders. But I have several that I need to display and attempt to sell in one way or another. Two of the more colorful blankets I have made are displayed here. One we call Colorful Monsters and the other one is gumballs. My wife saw the monster material and had me get it and the tangerine reverse for it. It turned out very nice and is a nice warm blanket with some vibrant color. The gumballs blanket was fun to make too.

Gumballs with yellow reverse and Monsters with tangerine reverse. Both are available for purchase. I was so glad my wife wanted me to get the monsters material. I really like that one.

I have several plaids that I have done. Two of this really nice looking red plaid, one with a red reverse and the other with a navy reverse. And then two of a Blackwatch Plaid. These two are the softest material, and I made one with a navy reverse and one with a white reverse. Just the Navy reverse is show here along with the two nice red plaids.Another of my favorites is a different red plaid with a denim colored reverse. This is a really nice blanket and I am not sure I want to sell it, but I will of course

Red on Red Blackwatch on Navy

Red on Navy Red on Denim

One of my favorites so far is a brown plaid with a bronze reverse. It is a very warm rich feeling fleece and I really like the color of the reverse side. It is such a rich looking color.

All of the blankets I make are hand made by me in a smoke-free and pet-free environment. I work on them as I get the time in the evenings and on weekends. I use the time as a therapeutic way to relieve stress and tension after work. I does relax me, at least the cutting and tying part. Setup is a little hard on the knees, from crawling around on the floor sizing them and getting them straight and aligned. But once that is done it is all stress free and helps me relax and unwind. Plus it is fun to see them come together and like the results. I have some I really like and am quite proud of so far. .

Another colorful blanket that is perfect for young boys is a blanket made with multiple sports icons on a green background. The fleece material is called Multi Sports on Green. It is quite a striking colorful blanket for a boy room. I have actually already sold two of these and have two more to sell. They are very nice. Here are two views of these blankets. One is a full quarter fold view, and the other is a quarter fold view with the corner turned back to reveal the reverse material.



What others have I done.... well you will have to check back tomorrow or the next day after I have time to come up with another installment of, Blankets by Grandma Jim.

Grandma Jim out.

Blankets Created By Grandma Jim

Recently I have taken to making double fleece tie blankets. First as gifts for friends and family. Then some of my co-workers told me they would buy blankets like that. So.... I decided to give it a go. I made a few blankets at first to practice and see if people liked them where I worked. I mean they liked the ones I showed them that I had made as gifts for friends and family. But would they like them enough to buy them.


I started off making some easy ones. Mostly plaids that are easy to layout and work with. Then I branched out to try some nice patterns. The first one I made was for my son. He is a die hard Chicago Cubs fan. It was a Christmas gift and he loved it. He actually uses it on his bed. So that went well.



Next I made a couple of blankets for my two grandsons.
The boyd got identical Disney Cars motif blankets with black reverse sides. They like them and Mom uses them all the time for outdoor use and for in the car. They also got a couple of Cars Roadway blankets for their beds. I even made one of those for someone where I work for her son. This is a colorful and fun piece of fleece and the little guys really like it.






I have made NFL (Redskins and Steelers) blankets. Those are a little more expensive because generally speaking the material costs alot more. But they are really nice and the blankets turned out great. Sold three of the Redskins so far. No takers yet for the Steelers blankets, but they are now on Ebay in my first forray into that jungle. Here are the two NFL blankets:

Redskins Steelers

I have even tackled the four services. I have made an Army blanket, a Navy Blanket, one for the USAF and two for the Marine Corps. Those four follow. And though I was in the Army for 20 years, the USMC blanket is pretty awesome looking.





These are pretty nice and they are very warm. Besides they look great. Show your colors guys and gals.

Now we are into the collegiate series also. So far VA Tech, Penn State and two different types for Pitt have been ordered and produced.





I have many more to show you and talk about. But that will have to wait until tomorrow.


For now take time to look this over and let me know your thoughts. Grandma Jim's fleece blankets are available. Just contact me.


More tomorrow and I will tell you where the name came from.

Grandma Jim out.