Quick and Snuggly Baby Blanket

We make a lot of baby blankets around here. We love to visit the new mommies in the neighborhood and give them a little blanket for their newborn. It's a wonderful way to get to visit with people, and best of all... we get to see and hold the new wee ones!

I've gone through a few different versions of baby blankets, and I think I've found the one that we'll stick with. It's cozy, soft and simple. And it's warm, but still easy to fit into a diaper bag. Sometimes those big puffy quilts are just a little hard to pack around with you.

Basically, to make these baby blankets, you will start with a yard and a half of a cute printed cotton fabric. And also a yard and a half of a coordinating minky fabric. Wash and dry both pieces of fabric first. Very important to pre-shrink so that you don't have any of that happening afterwards. The two pieces of fabric will likely shrink at different rates, so that would make for a mess of a blanket if you didn't pre-shrink. After the fabric has been washed and dried, square up the cotton fabric so that the edges are all nice and straight and square. Lay the cotton fabric on a large flat surface, with the right side (print-side) facing down. Take your piece of minky, and lay it on top of the cotton fabric, right side up. Try to get one of the straight, factory edges of the minky lined up with at least one of the edges of the cotton fabric. Because of the usual width of the minky fabrics, you will have a good amount of excess. Smooth the wrinkles in the minky, so it's all nice and smooth. Then, cut the minky 1-1/2" smaller than the cotton fabric, on all sides.

After you've trimmed your minky to size, you will fold all of your cotton edges over the minky.

I fold it once, about 3/4 of the way to the minky, and then fold it once more, over the edge and onto the minky. And then pin. And I mean pin. Pin often, like every 2 inches. I know this sounds like overkill, but minky moves and slips a lot. If you don't pin often, you may have some slippage, and your blanket could be a bit skeewampus (if I can borrow that technical term from my dad).

When it comes to the corners, fold up the corner edge into a little triangle, and then fold up the rest of the edging, just as you've been doing, and continue on down the side of the quilt. Hard to explain, but look at the photo below for an idea of what I'm talking about. And don't forget to pin the corner down well.

And now for the sewing. Use a straight stitch and sew all the way around the fabric, fairly close to the edge of the pinned fabric. Take your time, and keep an eye on your presser foot so that your edge is about the same all the way around.

And voila! You are done. Easy as pie. In fact, I like to make several at a time, assembly-line fashion. It doesn't take that much longer to make more than one.

The possibilities are endless. I always find my pieces of cotton fabric first, and then find a minky to match. There are so many darling fabrics out there... makes it hard to choose!

I like to keep a stack of boys and girls quilts at the ready, so that whenever we have a minute to make a visit, I've got a blanket to take.

October Week 4: Stay Warm and Dry! - blankets, warmers, etc.

Today's food storage/emergency prep items are:

October Week 4: Stay Warm and Dry! - Wool blankets, emergency reflective blankets, rain ponchos, hand warmers

These should be items that you won't have to replenish every year. All of these items can be purchased at an online store such as Emergency Essentials, or you can also find most of the items at stores like WalMart.

I like the wool-blend utility blankets I got from Emergency Essentials. They were somewhere around $15 and measure a good-sized 60X80 inches. I also have some wool Indian blankets that I will keep in the stack in my emergency supply room. This is what Emergency Essentials has to say about their wool blankets:

Stay toasty warm with this fire-retardant, economical wool blend blanket. Comfortable, soft, and breathable, this blanket will keep you warm without trapping condensation or sweat against your body in cold weather. It measures 60 x 80 inches, and is 65% wool and 35% polyester. A great addition to any emergency or car kit.

The rain ponchos are $3.50, so very affordable. I think I will add a few to my supply so that I have enough for each of my family members, regardless of whether they live here at home or not. Just in case...

The PVC Poncho with Hood is a full-size cut and is made out of waterproof PVC Material. Keep one in your car and in your emergency kit, so you won’t be caught unprepared in bad weather. Lightweight and reusable. Each emergency poncho includes an attached hood. One size fits most.

The reflective blankets are very affordable, too. They're under $2.00, and can be critical in keeping body heat in. This is what Emergency Essentials has in their description about them:

This lightweight and compact blanket fits in any emergency kit or bug out bag. The Emergency Blanket’s unique reflective material maintains up to 80% of your radiant body heat to help preserve crucial warmth. The emergency blanket is large enough to cover from head to toe (84" x 52") or to wrap around the upper body front to back. Small enough to fit in a pocket. It's lightweight and waterproof. Thicker material than other reflective blankets of this size and price range. With an Emergency Blanket you’ll have a powerful pocketful of warmth.

I think I'll get a few more of those, too. Can't hurt to have plenty of them on hand.

And of course, hand warmers. If you've ever used these beauties when your fingers feel like they are so cold they'll fall off your hand, then you know they can really come in handy. Here in Utah, we get cold winters, and I can imagine how useful handwarmers might be in some wintery situations:

These hand warmers provide up to 8 hours of continuous warmth—in any place, at any time. Keep several on hand in emergency kits, camping gear, and the trunk of your car. The Hand, Pocket & Glove Warmers heat up in minutes. Ideal for winter sporting events, outdoor activities, camping, fishing, and other outdoor situations. Invaluable as an instant heat source in emergency situations. Environmentally safe and disposable. Inner contents are biodegradable. 

Decide what you and your family might need in an emergency situation. This is aside from your 72 hour kit, remember. Just imagine that your family is without heat, or without shelter for some time. What can you provide, in your emergency supply, to help your family through a catastrophe? If you have extra blankets in your home, you can stack those on the shelves, too. Make sure they're plenty warm and optimally have at least some wool in them.

Once you have decided what you think you'll need, start collecting the items. Purchase what you need either online or at a store. Get the items on your shelves and update your inventory sheets, and feel at peace that you have provided warmth and comfort for your family for an emergency situation.

If your budget doesn't allow you to purchase all of the items at once, begin with one or two of the items, and get them on your shelves. As your finances allow, add to your storage, or next year, when this week comes up again, finish up the list. Just be sure to do something this week, even if its just putting a few blankets on the shelves, or buying a couple of reflective blankets for a couple of dollars each.

If you would like the full info on the Week-By-Week Food Storage Plan, just click on the tab at the top of the page. You can then click on any single week and it will take you to the most up-to-date post that featured that week's items. It also has the information as to how you can get a copy of the weekly schedule as well as the complete inventory sheets.

Remember, for those who are working on 72 hour kits, we are on Task 2. Click the "72 Hour Kit" tab above to find the current information. You still have more than a week to gather the items for Task 2.

Surprises in the October Garden

Our fall garden clean-up is in full-swing. Everything seems to have given it's all, and is ready to be put to bed for the winter (that strikes a familiar chord with me). Anyway, it does feel good to get things cut back and pulled out and ready for the blanket of snow that will surely come.

This has been an incredible fall. Every day seems like a special gift. Here we are in October, and we're still experiencing temperatures in the 70's. Perfect. And because of these warm days and cool nights, there are little surprises in my garden.

The lilac bush seems to think it is spring. I have some gorgeous blossoms blooming as we speak. What a thing to see!  It makes me think of the lovely people I know who are lilac blossoms in the midst of October... spreading beauty wherever they go. Doesn't it make you want to be someone's lilac blossom today? 

72 Hour Kits: Task 2 - Food

Now that you've found some containers for your 72-hour kits, we're going to start filling them... ever so slowly. If you were to look at my 4 page list of items, any sane person would be overwhelmed by it. It is a lot of stuff. But, if you and your family were living on your roof (if there was a flood) or camping in a parking lot down the street (you never know... ), you would probably need a lot of stuff. Hence the comprehensive 72-hour kit. Mind you, I'm not a crazy "the sky is falling, the world is ending" type of person. I'm pretty much the opposite of that. In fact, maybe it's in part because I have a pretty good storage of emergency items, that I don't think of those kind of dire emergencies, or world-ending catastrophes at all.

We are going to break this down into do-able tasks. And now that you have finished Task 1, you're ready to roll on to the next task. My 72-hour kit is made up of three separate containers: a five gallon bucket with a lid, a good-sized rolling cooler, and a small-ish duffel bag. When we had kids in the home, their items were kept in their own large school backpack. You can read more about containers (Task 1) here.

Task 2 will involve the food for your 72-hour kit. Now, I basically have two different 72-hour kit lists. One is for each of the kids' items, which are kept in their own backpacks. And the second list is for Bob and I. Even when we had kids in the home, Bob and I kept our food items combined with the main 72-hour kit (instead of us also having to carry backpacks for ourselves). I hope that makes sense. For those of you without kids in the home, you won't have to worry about a list for your kids' items. For those of you who have others living in your home, you'll want to keep up on both lists.

On to Task 2. I keep all of Bob's and my food items in the 5 gallon bucket. Again... when we had kids in the home, their own food items were kept in their own backpacks.

For the parent(s), the food items that are kept in the 5 gallon bucket are as follows:
-hard candy (1 package of something like Jolly Ranchers or Lifesavers)
-water bottles (4)
-chunky soup (4 cans)
-chili (2 cans)
-tuna (4 cans)
-granola/cereal bars (12 bars)
-honey
-peanut butter
-fruit leather (12)
-roasted, salted almonds (1 pkg)
-crackers (2 pkgs)
-beef jerky (2 pkgs)
-salt and pepper

For the kids' backpacks, the food items are as follows:
-hard candy (1 package of something like Jolly Ranchers or Lifesavers)
-water bottles (2)
-chunky soup (2 cans)
-chili (2 cans)
-tuna (1 can)
-granola/cereal bars (6)
-fruit leather (6)
-roasted, salted almonds (1 pkg)
-cracker/cookies (2 pkgs)
-beef jerky (1 pkg)

There will be some nay-sayers out there who think that this is too much or too little, or who think that we should be using dehydrated food so that it lasts longer and is lighter to carry. You can and should adjust this list for what you think your family might need. I try to keep in mind that we don't have to eat like kings for the 72 hours. We all will just need to survive, which I think we can do with this list. I don't like the idea of dehydrated food for my kits, because I don't want to have to rely on a stove to cook the food. All of the food in my kits can be eaten out of the can without warming it up, if needed. It may not be our first choice of how to eat it, but we could do it in a pinch. Part of our 72-hour kit is a little propane stove (which we'll get to later on), so we definitely could warm our food, but we wouldn't have to.

So, adjust this list to what you think you'll need for your family. And when you have a good list, start working on accumulating the items. It may take a couple of weeks to gather it. You could take from the stocks you have on your shelves, but be sure that the expiration date is at least a year away, so that you can rotate through the food when you check it next year. Put the items you need on a grocery list, and when you are at the store in the next couple of weeks, pick up the items. Once you have them, divvy them out to either your 5-gallon bucket, or your kids' packs, wherever they belong.

This is also a good time to figure out where you will keep your 72-hour kits. It should be in a place that is easily accessible for an emergency grab. A coat closet or pantry or some such place works nicely. We have ours in a closet right by the door leading out to our garage. We all know where it is, and it would be easy to grab during an emergency. Be sure to clear the space now and keep your containers there as we fill them.

Start working on Task 2. We'll give you a good couple of weeks to complete this task, and then we'll move on to Task 3.

To read each of the posts about the 72-hour kits, or to find instructions on how to receive an email with the complete 72-hour kit lists, click on the tab above. 

October Week 3: Apples of all Kinds

This week's food storage items are:

October Week 3: Apples -- applesauce, apple butter, dried apples, apple pie filling etc.

Couldn't be easier. If you and your family eat apple sauce, estimate how much you will eat in the coming year, and either buy it or can it. Same goes with the apple slices. I like to can the dried apple slices at the Family Home Storage Cannery. They last for 30+ years, so they seem like a good thing to have around for those long-term emergencies. And since I have started drying my own apple-pears, I have some of those on my shelf also (and I'm told they'll last for at least a year). If you use any other apple product (apple filling, apple butter, etc), think about how much of that item you may need in a year's time, and write it down.

Make your shopping list of what you will need to complete this week's items, and in the next couple of days, get to the store. Once you have the items on your shelves, update the inventory sheet, and voila! You've got another good week under your belt.

Now, you may be saying to yourself that you and your family wouldn't eat apple sauce or apples slices, or any other apple product. If that's the case, then you will have this week to catch up on any weeks you haven't quite finished. But remember... in a long-term emergency, it may be really nice to have some dried fruit that you're able to eat in place of fresh fruit. Just saying.

If you would like the full info on the Week-By-Week Food Storage Plan, just click on the tab at the top of the page. You can then click on any single week and it will take you to the most up-to-date post that featured that week's items. It also has the information as to how you can get a copy of the weekly schedule as well as the complete inventory sheets.

Check back on Thursday for the second installment 

of our 72-hour kit plan!

Recipe: Apple Chicken Pasta Salad

This is a yummy, hearty salad that makes enough for a good crowd. In fact, I have made it as the main course, served with bread or crusty rolls. It's filling, and has plenty in it to feel like you've had a round meal.

Apple Chicken Pasta Salad

4 c. diced, cooked chicken breast

2 c. halved red grapes

1 20 oz. can pineapple tidbits, drained

2 c. apples, unpeeled and diced

1 package bowtie pasta, cooked

Dressing:

8 oz. Kraft Cole Slaw dressing

1 c. mayonnaise

onion powder to taste

3/4 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

dash of thyme

pinch of ginger

Cut and combine the first five ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a separate mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Pour the dressing over the salad ingredients and fold in until all is combined. Enjoy!

October Week 2: Wraps and Bags

This week's food storage/emergency supply item(s) are:

October Week 2: Wraps and Bags - aluminum, saran wrap, wax paper, garbage bags, freezer bags, etc.

This week, you should decide on which items you use or might use in case of a long-term emergency. Aluminum foil has many uses in an emergency, so I keep a couple of rolls of that. I also keep plastic wrap, wax paper, garbage bags (kitchen bags and also a heavy-duty garbage bag), gallon size freezer bags, and baggies. All of these items, I keep on a non-rotating basis. So, I do my best not to delve into my supplies. But, I sometimes find myself without foil or baggies, or some-such thing, and I gratefully remember I've stowed some away for emergencies. 

Each year, on this week, I go down my inventory sheet and check that my supplies of wraps and bags are what they should be. If I have taken from my supplies sometime earlier in the year, this is the time to restock my shelves. I make a note of what I need and in the next couple of days, pick up the items at the grocery store. Then, I get the items on the shelves and update my inventory sheet. Yay! Another week of items on the shelves. It is SUCH a great feeling!

If you would like the full info on the Week-By-Week Food Storage Plan, just click on the tab at the top of the page. You can then click on any single week and it will take you to the most up-to-date post that featured that week's items. It also has the information as to how you can get a copy of the weekly schedule as well as the complete inventory sheets.

And remember... if you are working along with us on your 72 hour kits, you should be gathering the containers you will need. To read information on the current assignment for the 72 hour kits, click here.