You can almost smell the Baby Magic

Tonight was a good night to make one of the flannel receiving blankets I've had on my list. My mother used to make these snuggly blankets and my daughter had two of them as a newborn. In recent years, I've many happy memories of my mom while making similiar blankets. This particular one is for my niece Amy and the little one she and her husband are expecting this summer. They're great for hospital giving as well.

These are insanely easy to make and the process doesn't really need illustration, but I was in a mood to fiddle with photos tonight.

Each blanket takes about 2 1/2 yards of flannel. Be sure to wash it, because flannel really shrinks. Trim off the selvages, double the fabric, and square it up:

With right sides together, stitch all the way around the edge with a 3/8" seam. Leave an opening of six or seven inches:

Trim excess fabric from the corners and turn blanket inside out through the opening:

Press the edges:

Topstitch around, 1/4" from the edge. You'll stitch the opening closed in the process. This is a nice chance to use one of your machine's decorative stitches if you're so inclined:

You can whip one of these together in 20 minutes. Seriously.

These always make me think of wrapping up my daughter, all snug and cozy and clean, after her bath. And they make me remember how sweet my mother was to make those wonderfully cuddly blankets.

These aren't the show-stopping sort of blankets that will become family heirlooms and make people gasp in admiration. But they're useful, much more generously sized than purchased receiving blankets, and stand up to hundreds of machine washings.

Twenty minutes in the making - and a lifetime of snuggly memories.