Leaf Blankets

My grandchildren are going to be gaining two new cousins in October. Their Uncle Benny is going to be having a baby boy, and their Aunt Charlene is going to be having a baby girl. Neither sibling knew the other was expecting until they both made announcements at Charlene's 40th birthday party. It was a riotous celebration, for sure.

I was poking around for ideas for baby shower presents when another sewist turned me on to the Leaf Blanket patterns at Twig and Tale. Could there be anything cuter than a little baby having tummy time on top of an enormous quilted leaf? I don't think so.

I popped for the Tropical Leaf Bundle, which gave me patterns for six tropical leaves in sizes ranging from mug rug to 46 inches long. I decided to trace out a size Small for each pending bundle of joy. I made the Elephant Ear for Baby Boy and the Lily Pad for Baby Girl.

The Elephant Ear in size Small is 35 inches long. Roomy enough for a baby to lounge on comfortably.

The pattern includes leaf veins that you can quilt.

I decided to make one side of my leaves in a vaguely organic color and to use a cute kid print for the underside.

That way when Baby Boy has graduated to tummy time he can enjoy looking at a bunch of cute animals doing yoga.

The size Small Lily Pad is 33 inches in diameter. Baby Girl can pretend she's drifting down the Nile.

And if she gets tired of green, she has a flotilla of jellyfish on the flip side to keep her entertained.

Or she can lie sideways and pretend she's atop a polka dotted pac man.

These little blankets were very satisfying and straightforward to make. Not to mention quick; I probably had both of them done in 3 or 4 hours. Might have been even quicker if I hadn't had to take a few recesses for other tasks.

Twig and Tale has leaf pattern bundles for a variety of ecological zones. If you're more of a Maple person, there's a North American bundle for you, and they've got Australia, New Zealand and Europe covered too.

If you have any kids in your life, or if you just want a set of cute placemats or coasters, this pattern is great.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.