Whoooo finished their first sewing project?

Me!
A few days after my sewing machine plunked itself under the Christmas tree, I started contemplating what I would attempt for my first sewing project. Well, ok, first I wanted to get the darn thing threaded. Which you know I did (pat on the back!). But I wanted something that would push me to just go for it, just something to get my foot on the presser foot. Or something like that. I guess I had bigger ambitions than real-life skills, because the very first thing I purchased was a frilly, pocketed apron pattern.
Like, really Stef? You don't even know if you can sew in a straight line yet and you're picturing yourself doing french seams?
So I tabled that idea for a little while, and instead came up with something much more fitting to my infant sewer status - a baby blanket!
And not just any baby blanket. A larger than you can dream to get in a store, cozy-cotton-flannel, Harvey Karp-approved swaddling blanket.
Hudson loved the swaddle. For six months, every nap and every night we turned him into a baby burrito. The only problem was that we had very few choices for blankets in which to wrap him. It's amazing how quickly a creature that size can wriggle out of a swaddle, and the larger the blanket, the easier it is to keep them contained. But they just don't make blankets that big in stores. So we had Ty's mom and grandma whip us up a few bigger blankets that would help us with this task, and we were set!

But now that I have my own sewing machine, there's no reason I can't do it on my own now. I first practiced on an old pillow case that I cut up and resewed, just to get the feel for how it would go. Then my beautiful Etsy fabric came to a post office box near me, and I decided I would just jump right into it!
I prewashed my fabric (cotton and flannel), cut into my desired size (about 40"x40") and just went for it. And I gotta say - it wasn't too bad at all! I had found a tutorial that was extremely easy to follow (I'll post it below), especially for a beginner like me.
And here is the end result! Don't mind the poor picture quality (except for the last one, which is my sister-in-law's doing)- my camera gets cranky when it's overtired (a.k.a. not fully charged), and I can't get it to focus properly (background is always clearer than foreground, lots of blurry pics, etc.).

Hudson loved to crawl on it and say "Owl! Hooooo!"

Fabrics were by Robert Kaufman: Gray and white polka dot flannel, and Critter Community Owls. I bought 1 1/4 yard of each.

My BEAUTIFUL new niece Eden Skye - also the recipient of my project!

 The blanket ended up being around 39"x39" after cutting , seam allowances etc. Cotton on one side, flannel on the other. It ended up being a little thicker than I thought it would be, but I suppose that's good for fall and winter babies. And if your baby isn't into the whole swaddling scene, it can be easily used for tummy time, crib blanket, car seat cover, or anything you wish (maybe not the first choice for cleaning spit up, but really, who cares!). The only thing I was concerned about was the fact that maybe I should have prewashed it twice. I've heard that cotton doesn't always shrink fully in the first washing, so maybe I'll do that next time. Any veteran sewers have an opinion on this?
Anyways, here's the link I used:

http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2011/05/how-to-make-a-flannel-swaddling-blanket.html

Happy sewing!