Under A Blanket of Stars — by Guest Mom Stacy

I have always been fascinated by stars. The ones in the sky. We used to visit the planetarium all the time when we were little. I even recall wanting to be an astronomer for a brief moment, until I realized that there was more math involved than I was willing to commit to. I just wanted to look at the stars. All the milky, glittery shapes they swirl in the night sky. Under a blanket of stars.

Flash forward—2002. Jasper had just been born, & one of the books I had purchased for his room was H.A. Rey’s The Stars. The colors on the cover, not to mention the content, were a must-have. Plus anything by H.A. Rey is pure genius. I had been toying with the idea of starting a baby blanket business with a friend from college. I had another dream about turning the zodiac constellations into a blanket (I dream a lot! Not sleep, just dream). But how?

We tried a bunch of things. There were a few “for-sures”—muslin, gingham, & ric-rac, especially the giant ric-rac we got in New York. As for the stars, we settled on felt circles. The results were less than stellar. Not bad, but not exact.

2007—after sharing countless felting books & ideas, Jen & I were well on our way creating seven smooches. I wanted to incorporate the constellation blankets. Still wasn’t sure how to do the stars. Then, I discovered needlefelting. Perfect! Not only are there a zillion brilliant shades of wool out there, it’s fun! Pounding that roving into the muslin & batting can be cathartic.



The constellation blankets have now had three incarnations in 7 years. Don’t stop believin’.