What to do with Mom's crocheted blanket???
 

My Mom has recently passed after a long illness. I was in her home in CT looking through the upstairs closet and found bags of crocheted blankets. I knew during the times she felt well she would crochet blankets for futute use, but had no idea of how many there were. I can envision making pillows?? or incorporating them into a quilt?? I have never seen anything like it but know somewhere out there one of you may be able to help me bring something together. The challange is cutting the crocheted items!!! without them ravelling into nothing. Help! I can envision a quilt block with the blanket square in the middle. Any ideas?

I would just use them as is. I would definitely not cut them up. Crocheted afghans are great all by themselves. They do not need fabric to make them better. Enjoy your Mom's blankets.

Please don't try to cut them, you'll end up with a pile of yarn and ruin your mother's work. Use them, love them and give them to other family members so they can have a piece of her also. It's a great find!

I agree with everyone who has posted. I have a queen size crocheted bedspread that my late DMIL made. I don't use it because it is white and very heavy. I plan on giving it to my late DH's niece. She lost hers in a fire and I know she will treasure it. I can't give it to her until she drives this way. It s way tooooo heavy to be able to afford postage to mail it.

I have a couple of afghans that my grandmothers made - I still use them - they are always draped over the couch - give them to your kids or just clean them and put them up - or I rotate them in my living room - I think you will cherish them more in their complete form.

If there are more than you and other family members want, please consider gifting a long term care or assisted living group. Also any group in the area that helps the homeless or those who've lost homes to fires etc.

Stop and think about how you would feel if someone were to find your quilts and just cut them up. And they would survive it, but crocheted afghans won't. I crochet, and have made quite a few afghans for friends and family members, and I would never attempt to cut one. Keep them or pass them on to family members who would like to have one. I am sure you will find takers. Don't sell them cheaply at a yard sale....even tho I have to admit I have taken advantage of the people who do exactly that with their family quilts.

If they don't want them, I give them a good home.

I guess I need to explain, me, my sisters, my children, every relative or friend has already received many... of her afphgans, I just wanted to get creative to find a new way to display them, rather than keep them in a box.

I am in there with the rest of them..........Save them to give to your grand family............your grand children ect..
I have a quilt that my husbands greatgrand mother made it hangs as a head board over my bed those things can never be replaced............

I agree...Please don't cut them...My Mom crochets baby blankets and throws all the time...it helps with her arthritis...We have stacks of them...I sometimes will donate one that she didn't care for, but...we will have them for a long time to remember her with.

Use them!! Don't cut! Are they made whith yarn or crochet thread? If thread they would look great on a bed with a colorwd sheet under them. My daughters each have one that my grand mother made using white thread and they have both used them as table cloths with a bright colored sheet under them.

Me to I agree with everyone, don't cut them up and treasure them I am just learning to crochet so can appreciate the work. I love crochet blankets

IF they are made from yarn rather than crochet thread your local Linus organization would probably love to get them. I am involved in the monthly sort of our local county Linus Chapter. At least half of the "blankets" we have donated to us are crocheted or knitted from yarn. Many of them are outstandingly lovely. Linus accepts everything from infant size to bed size.

My passion is crochet- as was my mother's, and her sister and mother. I inherited a lot of crochet, as well have a lot of my own. Please consider donating your mom's afghans to either the nursing homes, or to your local county child welfare department. Children are usually removed from their homes after 8pm and most times, for safety reasons, do not have time to grab personal items before being placed in a foster home. If newborns test positive for drugs, they are immediately placed in foster care. Having an afghan to curl up with would be a comfort to a child who doesn't quite understand why the police have taken them away from their home. I'm sure your mom would love knowing that her afghans are a comfort to either a scared lonely child or a senior citizen who gets little company.

I have several crocheted and knitted afghans from my DM and DGM who have both paaed away. I rotate them. I put one on the back of each couch, across the foot of the beds, over the cedar trunk and the others are in the cedar trunk. I have probably 15 of these. I am currently thinking of donating the smaller/lighter ones to the Nursing Home where I used to work because they are large enough for a bedspread and not too heavy. If everyone has one, why not pick out a few you REALLY love and donate the rest. As I get older, I think, what good is it if it has to stay packed away for future use (I'm 53).

I understand when you have too many. Just keep a special one, even if you have to keep it in a box, and then find a good home for the others. Nursing homes can always use them. Some folks in nursing homes don't have any family left to bring them anything and one of your mother's blankets would mean a lot to them. Talk to the activity director. Also, there's a group in my area that makes them for foster children, so they have something of their very own and comfort to take with them as they move on to other homes. Check with your local DHS. Your mother's treasures can live on and bring much happiness to others and be a blessing to you.

Take pictures of them, and give them to a charity that your mother would of liked. They would really appreciate getting them. And everyone in the family can enjoy looking at the pictures and remembering how much you and your mother help others.

Another thing you might do is donate them to your mother's church. I know our congregation has been blessed with a few from time to time --- they aqre placed in the sanctuary and used to ward off drafts by the more fragile amongst us who can remember when the person worked on the afghan at this meeting or that.

I agree about the donations. My father had a stroke when I was 14 and was paralyzed and in a nursing home for two years before passing. My mom crocheted my dad a blanket to put at the bottom of his bed over his feet. I still have that blanket and he's been gone over 40 years. There may be people who need blankets like he did.

My MIL crocheted and quilted, she backed her crochet blankets with quilts, and sort of did her own type of joined them together with hand stitching in large meandering squares with embroidery and pearl cotton. I have saved one that she had upstairs, as the ones she stored in the basement got attacked by silverfish and stink bugs. she cut old squares out of old ladies pants (all types of fabrics) and made crocheted quilts to keep warm while she watched tv and read. she also would wrap herself in her creations and sit outside and read in the winter sun. She was very creative with colors, I wish I appreciated her skills years ago.

Since you said blankets, I assume that they are made with yarn? If you would like to make a pillow: decide on the size of the pillow. Mark a long strip, as you want to make as few seams as possible. You will then need to serge on your mark, on a baby lock as this will hold the stitches. The baby lock will cut and serge at the same time, so as soon as you have serged that part out, go back and serge the seam that is left on the rest of the blanket to keep the seam secure.

You can then fold your strip up and machine sew both sides and finish your pillow. You can line or not, depending on what your pillow form is made of.

I can understand you wanting to create something else if you have so many of them. I can't think of anything else. I have given away some I had as I can't see keeping them in a box, when they were meant to be used. I would donate the ones you won't use to shelters etc....

The question is what are they made of: yarn or crochet cotton. Yarn - you can just use as a blanket, crochet cotton would be nice tacked to a solid color background and used as a bed spread. But if you cut them into pieces, either will unravel. If you have so many, why not consider donating some of them to a charity.

If you want to fashion the crochet into a sewed item I would prepare the crochet before I cut. Determine the size of say the pillow you'd like to make. Then using some light weight sew in interfacing sew the interfacing to both sides of the crochet at your predetermined measurement. You should then be able to cut the crochet beyond the interfacing and treat the crochet as fabric.

If you are not comfortable trying this on your Mother's items first, use something you've made or an item from a thrift store. Let us know how it turns out.

Depending on how attached you are to them, you could donate them to palliative care or nursing home. That's the sort of thing people in my area make for palliative care.
If you want to keep them, I suggest you don't cut them. Use them as you would use a blanket of course.

if you aren't going to use them then there are a lot of organizations that will give them to the homeless or to veterans. Don't keep them in a box give them to someone who could use them.

If you do not want them and family members have enough, then wash them and donate them to a shelter or nursing home. There are places out there that would be so grateful to have them.

share them...there are sooo many people in need and would appreciate them........

If you don't have family to share them with, I would run an ad and try to sell them or give them to Goodwill so someone else can enjoy them.

I agree. Keep the ones you like and give the rest to family, or donate them to a hospice or some other charity.

My mom and I talked about this thread yesterday she crochets lots of Afagans and has many stored away, She has gifted all her Children Grand children and Great grands with Many so we discussed them going to a nursing home after we choose what we want she agreed as my MIL was just placed in a Nursing home and is always afraid someone will steal her afagan. There are many people there that could use a little extra warmth.

You will ruin them if you try to cut them apart. I have some that my husbands mother made. He uses one all the time to lay down on the couch or sitting in his recliner. I think it somehow makes him feel a little closer to her. I would definitely leave them as they are.

I have thought about this problem you have. It has made me look around my own home and wonder what will my heirs do?? My daughter would never be able to give away anything homemade. And thus the dilema. The question - did she make them for herself or to keep to give as gifts? Did she just make them to keep busy or for a reason?
If they are of colors you could use - keep them. Clean them before you store them. Drape them around the house.
If the colors are not what you or your family would consider - than bring them with you when you visit the hospital, nursing home, church, friends, and ask if anyone could use one.
i dont' know what the size is - and if you cut them up to make one or two - would you use it? What would you do with the leftovers?

I agree with everyone else, do not cut them apart. One can't have too many afgans. I even have them in the car just incase the weather is bad or something happens. Use them knowing they were made with love.

If you had blocks she made those could easily be stitched onto squares to use in a quilt. Any afghans she made that were made out of blocks and then stitched together could be taken apart and done the same way. Just stitch it on like you see doilies done. I crochet and would rather know that my work was repurposed and loved rather than put in a box.

I am sorry for your loss and I hope you can find a way to enjoy the extra afghans.

Kris

I agree with Bev. Wait a year before making such a huge decision. Go ahead and clean them, if needed, and store them properly, but then wait. You have no idea what these beautiful creations could mean to future generations. I just stumbled across 3 quilt tops my Great-Grandmother made. They are in wonderful condition, colors still bright, because they had been stored in a box, in an attic, since shortly after they were made (1950's) when she died suddenly in an auto accident, until August of 2011 when I found them in my father's attic. I am positively thrilled to have them, and am restoring two for my sisters, and keeping one for myself. We were all there (the three sisters) when the box was opened, and believe me, the tears flowed freely. Even if we hadn't remembered her, and we all did, and loved her; even if she had been just a figure from our history, it still would have been our history, reaching out to touch us in a very meaningful way. These quilt tops from the past were such a gift. We will all have something my Great-Grandmother made. You have no idea what that means to us. So special. Beyond words. I don't even mind having to do most of the repairs by hand. Please think about this before you give them away. Sure, current generations have all they want. How about future generations? How about us great-grandchildren, and farther on down the line?

Just something to think about. I'm not trying to lay a guilt trip on you or anything like that. But please do give it some time, and don't rush into a hasty decision you might later regret.

Cheers!