This blanket was totally inspired by Rachel's picnic blanket. I loved the idea of having a lightweight patchwork blanket big enough to fit all 5 of us. So, I got to work right away, of course.
I started off with this wonderfully fun Lucy's Crab Shack Clothesline fabric and pulled the rest of the fabric from my stash. It feels great to know I used my stash only.
I made my blanket top using pretty big differently sized rectangles (anywhere from 4-11" x 21"), I have to admit, I'm totally smitten with all these random rectangles. I think there's a quilt made out of rectangles in my near future.
I used old curtains from my girls' room for the backing. Oh, I know, it does not match the front at all. I wanted to use what I had on hand and I did not want to use any of my precious yardage for the back of the picnic blanket. Simple as that.
And, since this is a picnic blanket/ beach blanket/ giant outdoor tablecloth I wanted to find a way to carry it around without having to shove it, and thousand other things, under my arms. I've pinned a tutorial by Penny for the handle strap a while back and it seemed like a perfect solution for my dilemma. See, it holds my blanket nice and tidy. I can carry it with ease, hands - free. Don't you just love Pinterest?
Have a fabulous day, everyone. Svetlana