Thursday, October 22, 2009

New blanket

I may live in Southern California, but I get cold easily. And we don't have heating in our apartment due to a combination of factors (laziness and a desire to appear bad ass being the main two). We do have a large supply of blankets, for those winter nights that drop below 30 and leave us cursing our lack of heating.

I've been lusting after Swiss Army wool blankets like this one for over a year, but I just couldn't justify the cost. But when I saw a piece of boiled wool in the remnants sections of F&S a few weeks ago, I jumped on it, clutched it to my chest and danced around.

boiled felt

At 60" wide and 1 3/4 yards long, it's almost a perfect square and I love the deep burnt orange color. A piece of good boiled wool this large would normally run around $75 (wool is expensive, guys - there is a reason those fabulous blankets cost what they do), but it was marked down to $15!

boiled felt

I'm pretty sure this was a once in a lifetime remnants find, but if you can't mange to drum up almost $300 for a Swiss Army blanket, I would recommend checking out the boiled wool selection at your local fabric store.* This material doesn't even require hemming, so all you have to do is bring it home.

*It does need to be a good fabric store. You won't find high quality wool at a craft store like Joann's, so save yourself the disappointment and don't even try.

25 comments:

  1. I love the Sundance catalog. We go to Utah every year to ski and finally drove up to the resort last year. I stocked up at the store there. Love the orange color.

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  2. what a great idea! love the color

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  3. BEAUTIFUL color! What a great find!

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  4. Love the color! (My favorite!) I just LOVE the Sundance Catalog! I have a couple of pieces from there!

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  5. Oh OH that looks cozy.

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  6. I love boiled wool. And that is an excellent orange.

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  7. nice- I have never heard of boiled wool. Now I'll check it out!

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  8. nice find and i absolutely LOVE that color!

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  9. WOW- Such a find! I too would love the Swiss Army blanket...but not THAT much. Something to keep an eye out for though. Lucky you- bet your wishing for a cool evening.

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  10. oh this is a good warning for a new la resident. i don't have heat either. going to have to keep my eye out!

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  11. i am so with you on the swiss army blanket! i've been haunting ebay and hoping to find one there for the better part of a year. some of my blanket-love hops over to traditional wool pendletons, which are a bit easier to find and nearly as satisfying when you spy a good one.

    this is a lovely piece, and a clever get!

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  12. I've never heard of boiled wool before. Something new for me to look at. I wish I knew about it when I was still back in Chicago.

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  13. the color itself just exudes warmth, beautiful!

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  14. Wow--SoCal nights drop below 30?!

    Freaking gorgeous color, by the way! Orange is one of my favorites.

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  15. What a gorgeous colour. I can imagine you love wrapping yourself in a blanket like that. And oh, to live somewhere where it is possible to not have heating.. I am a little bit jealous! :-)

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  16. I stole my wool blankets from an ex (a military diver)...
    I find them at thrift stores every once in awhile too.
    I love the orange colour though. So nice for a cool day.
    :)
    a

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  17. As someone who lives in a locale where night temps are already in the 30s, I somehow find the notion of no heat romantic. We haven't turned ours on yet, we just snuggle under blankets on the bed. I honestly never thought to use a boiled wool blanket indoors; I have an old worn one that I keep in the car if ever I were to get stranded due to a winter storm.

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  18. oh i love a great blanket. great color.

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  19. I hope it doesn't go below 30 very often.

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  20. Oh my, definitely snatch worthy! I love a heavy wool blanket, and this one's in is my favourite shade of orange.

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  21. what a great idea....and I love blankets all year round...especially now as winter is coming closer and closer to us....

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  22. My family has started getting wool army blankets at the Army Surplus store and usually find them pretty cheaply there. We've started sewing a simple binding around the edge in a fun color and it dresses it up and adds such a fun flare and makes a perfect gift!!

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