Precious Church Baby

flannel blanket for our newest church baby

Presenting a welcome gift to new babies at our church is a task I relish. This purchased flannel blanket was embroidered for little Elise to wrap her in the warmth and the love of our congregation. I do so love babies!

The text was arranged in Brother’s PE-Design. The little angel cherubs are from Petite Designs, Brother’s card #20, one of my most often used collections. It is also available at ibroidery.com here. The corner embroidery nestled perfectly in my Brother Quattro 8X8 hoop.

The ribbon designs in each corner and below the text are are featured in Christening Gown Designs  from Martha Pullen’s Internet Embroidery Club, 2011.The little bib, bonnet and booties were extracted from Dakota Collectibles Toddler Trios.

A few years ago I purchased several of these blankets, described in the package as “Luxury Weight 9 oz Cotton Flannel.” And they really are luxurious. I loved the fluffy softness, mitred hem, and the generous 36 x 50″ size. I prewash each one with a baby laundry soap before it is embroidered.

The pink flowerette Swiss galoon covered the machine stitched hem, but it also posed a minor problem. While the hem was nicely mitred, it was not precisely mitred. As I placed the trim I saw that centering the stitching on the flowerette would emphasize the previously unnoticed irregularity of the hem. So I just fudged it, leaving varying distances between the trim and the outer edge of the blanket.

The flowerettes were first basted in place, then rearranged for the least offensive discrepancy. Then they were stitched in place free motion with monofilament thread.

I’ve done several new church baby blankets and each one seems to be my favorite as I stitch. The boy blankets were a very different, but fun. For Liam his mint green blanket had a baseball theme, his large family’s favorite sport. But somehow I seem to have lost the photos for that one.

The blanket for this little guy sent me searching for miniature designs that could pass for letters. I really enjoyed that hunt.

This very similar blanket was done for Laura Jane. White lace framed the blanket while machine feather stitching replaced the straight stitched hem.

As you can tell, I really love embroidering these luscious blankets for new babies in our church family. As I stitch, I pray for that child. Then my mind wanders back to the my early days of motherhood and the  overwhelming love and emotions I felt for my babies. And how it grows every day.

There is just one blanket left from my bulk purchase years ago. I guess I’ll have to go in a different direction for future babies. I hope there are many, many more to welcome into our church family.