October 1, 2016

  • Looking Fidgety

    Saintvi is making fidget blankets for the Alzheimer's patients at the nursing home where her mother lives. She challenged us to help her make enough of them to provide one for each resident. The blankets are small lap sized blankets that are multi-textural with manipulatives added to it to keep hands busy. It is very much like the infant "busy blankets" that are to encourage exploration that stimulates the visual and tactile senses. I had been trying to decide on a theme since saintvi did one for her mother with hearts and then did another with bib overalls and John Deere fabric in a farmer theme. Since I had yesterday off I made the effort to start my fidget blanket. I decided to use up some scraps of fabric. I had shamrock print cotton, some neon lime fleece and a few scraps of a water color fleece. Since I had to head out to the store to buy a new mailbox (a story for another day), I decided to stop at the Salvation Army Store and see if I could find something to add color and texture to my blanket. I was very lucky - I even got them on half price sale! So here is the finished project:

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    So here we have the finished blanket complete with the Christmas hot mitt, ruffled elastics, and the red rick-rack attached.

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    The fabric of the mitt pocket is silky and the back is a textured quilted cotton. But I provided a surprise - a silky ribbon is sewn inside!

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    The back is the pretty shamrock fabric - at least I have two holidays covered...

Comments (11)

  • That is so awesome! My sister, my daughter and I are going to Wine and Canvas tonight in Granger. Maybe we can meet up before or afterward. Or maybe you could sign up and do the painting with us... It would require flying by the seat of your pants today.

    • I finished the second fidget blanket... They aren't as detailed as yours but my total cost was low. I'll see you tonight!

  • That's great, Val -- you are so creative!

  • That's such a good idea. I suggested it to my TX daughter for her special needs daughter who is terribly fidgety. She said Becca would destroy one in no time, and I'm sure she would.
    They should last well at a nursing home though. My mother is fidgety, but she is still able to walk around (with her walker) and re-arrange her things. She can still write too, although it's hard for her. She keeps a notebook with names in it so she won't forget who's who.

    • The point is to let them be destroyed instead of clothing, furniture and other objects... The Alzheimer's patients tend to be very destructive - picking holes in walls, peeling veneer from furniture, tearing up paper, twisting buttons off... anything they can take apart so the blankets are a way to channel the fidgety energy and if it is destroyed then it has served its purpose.

  • I loved saintvi's! I thought about doing one as well, but I'd get the big part done and find the fidget parts too fidgety and never finish it!!!

  • @murisopsis:Becca loves to tear paper, or cut up magazines. She's also very good at taking apart jigsaw puzzles and putting each piece back in the box. She's a little OCD about putting things away. If she finds a string on her clothes she pulls it until there's a big hole. If there's nothing else to do she picks her fingers until they bleed. It's very sad.

  • Such a nice thing to do for people. Love the busy blanket.

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