Receiving Blanket Inspired Crochet

If you have seen pictures of new born babies or have had babies of your own then you have seen the most used receiving blankets in the USA. The famous blue and pink blankets are part of the Kuddle-Up line from the health care supply company called Medline. These flannel blankets are soft, warm and absorbent. This is the first fabric that touches the baby’s skin once it comes into this world. They are gender neutral so there is no arguments with boys wrapped in pink or girls wrapped in blue. They date back as far as the 1950’s.

I confess that the only thing I have ever stolen in my life was the receiving blanket my daughter was wrapped in and the little hospital tshirt and beanie she was required to wear during her stay. Now days parents can dress their babies in anything they want too on the first day of delivery. In the early 90’s, all I needed to pack for delivery was an outfit for her to wear home. It was a frilly light blue dress and silk booties. 

The other day I was in the mood to crochet another baby blanket to sell in my shop. I needed three skeins of yarn but I did not have three of the same colors. The only full skeins I had available were a blue, white and pink. Then the idea struck me to crochet a hospital receiving inspired blanket. I pulled out a note pad and wrote down how many rows and stitches I needed to work for each color to somewhat mimic the popular receiving blanket.   

Two nights and four tv programs later, I pulled it off. I think a baby will be cute wrapped up in this blanket as it exits the hospital just days after birth. This blanket is the perfect size for car seats, laps, and strollers. It may even become a child’s favorite cuddle blanket that will last for years.  

Feel free to visit my Etsy shop at LiLiDi or on the page tab at the top of my blog. 

Growing Mushrooms

Do you like to eat mushrooms? I like mushrooms. They are great in spaghetti, on pizza, in salads and even sauteed and eaten as a meat substitute on a sandwich. You can find mushrooms in a lot of Mexican and Chinese dishes.

I think I am the only one on my side of the family that will eat mushrooms. My brother says they are fungi and he ain't eating nothing like that. 

Nature proved his “fungi” remark correct because I am apparently growing eatable mushrooms in my front yard. As I was finishing up my walk the other day, I noticed my butterfly tree had this funny looking stuff growing up the stalk. 

It looked soft like rose petals and shaped like ears. I hope my neighbors don't think I’m some mad scientist growing ears in my front yard. 

I was curious so I had to snap a photo and do a Google photo search. It came back as a “Wood ear Mushroom”. Also known as a Jew’s ear or Jelly ear. Wood Ears can be found in just about all Chinese cuisine and eaten regularly in China. They do not loo appealing but have a great taste. 

I think I remember seeing something like this in my hot and spicy soup before.

I had to snap a few photos but left it alone. I have no intentions of cutting it off the wood to make any meals with it. I will leave that up to Ku fung chu.