I am expecting a brand new niece any day now... as in every time the phone rings, I jump for it wondering if there is a new baby in the family. I wanted to make my new niece something special for Christmas, but I was hitting a brick wall. I looked through the patterns I have and free tutorials for newborn/baby clothing, but nothing jumped out screaming 'Make me, Make me!!!'

Robin mentioned the Patchwork Minky Blanket from our amazing sponsors Bailey Girls Fabric. I took one look at their website and was instantly in love. This was the perfect gift - a blanket that can be wrapped around this bundle of joy to keep her warm, that she can play on in the early days of tummy time, and that she can carry around with her as she starts to toddle and explore the world around her.

Now it should come as no shock that I can't run out to the store a leisurely browse fabric on a daily basis. With three toddlers nipping at my heals, outings to stores must be kept short and sweet, and the fabric store rarely makes the list. The Bailey Girls take all the hardship out of it for me. They have pre-packaged kits ready to sell. The kit includes the coordinating cotton fabrics and the minky for the back. If you want to add batting, you would need to buy that separately from the kit - but I made my blanket without, and it is the perfect cuddle weight.

With a price point of $19, I feel like you are getting some great bang for your buck. Five quarter yard cuts of the designer fabrics, 1 fat half of the minky, and a detailed PDF Pattern. This is certainly in my budget for baby gifts. Pair it with a onsie, a softie, or even some care items (like diaper cream, baby wash, or some lotion) and you have a bountiful gift for a baby shower. There are a ton of kits available for every style and color variation, boys, girls... I am completely in love with the Ahoy Matey and Les Amis (which has a great grey fox!) kits too!

I went with the Andrea Victoria Kit - I love the color combination and style. Modern with a touch of Parisian elegance, this fabric line fits my Sister In Law's style to a T. The combination of black, grey, and magenta is perfectly girly without being limited to the pastel baby pink that is commonly purchased for new baby girls - so bonus points in knowing that my gift would be one of a kind and stand alone.

The blanket took me less than one nap time to put together from start to finish. I am NOT a quilter - in fact I have a quilt top cut and stored in a shoe box because I was so tired after cutting all the gazillion pieces, that I never sewed it together (yeah, it has been sitting there for about 5 years now ;op). So if you are like me, and not a quilter, have no fear - this thing is easy and is going to turn out gorgeous! If you ARE a quilter you are probably laughing at how long this took me to put together ;o) With your kit, you will receive a detailed PDF Pattern for putting it together. The instructions are clear and easy to follow.

I love this thing - I really didn't want to let it go! But, I know my niece will love it when she arrives, and for now her mama can look at it in anticipation of the baby girl who will soon wriggle and squirm in her arms.