Pokemon Part I

As "the Cool Aunt," my SIL loved to play Pokemon Go with my kids. Now that she's a mom, I wanted to gift of those memories back to her own child. One of my favorite fabric hosts has a really active Buy/Sell/Trade page, and one day on a lark, I offered up a panel I wasn't planning to use in exchange for one I might.

This led to the acquisition of a fun "Gotta Catch Em All" panel. I haven't quilted in years, but I figured a blanket might be a fun gift to give back. Of course the panel only came in Cotton Lycra, but people online assured me that I could back C/L with Minky, and it would be "fine".

In practice... not everything you read on the internet is true. After a teeny trial run that turned out mostly OK, I found that some problems (like fabric spread) scale up just fine. My first make of the blanket grew as I stitched it until the sides took on a not-so-lovely clamshell appearance - and after several hours of stitch removal, ultimately I was forced to simply cut the area off and try again. I didn't take pictures of this process, because I was in "heavy troublehooting mode" at the time, but it turned a one-night project into a 1.5-week drama.

That said, the end result did work out, mostly:

The second time I got smarter about lengthening my stitch length. I also hand stitched the blanket closed rather than relying on topstitching close to the edge I'd left open for turning. Topstitching through only 2 layers of fabric rather than 4 made a really big difference, and if I ever get brave/foolish enough to sewing with minky again, that's what I'm going to do the first time around.

Emphasis on if, mind you.

In the end, I think this will be a blanket loved for the beauty of the artwork, and appreciated for the time I spent identifying just the right fabric for my nephew. The craftsmanship is... not as elegant as I would have liked, but some projects are meant to be loved, not displayed. And with the bright colors and soft backing, this one is being loved for sure.