Ebay, you saved me!

It seems my kids have a slight addiction.  All three of them.  They love their blankies.  They have a hard time sleeping without them.  If I had a quarter for every time I heard the word "blankie" in our house, I would seriously be rich.  They love them.  Ben has a blankie my Grammy gave him when he was born.  He still sleeps with it at night.  Josh has 3 blankies, which is a very good thing because if one is dirty, we always have a back-up, or if he leaves one downstairs when it's time for his nap, he already has another in his room waiting for him.  He has to be sucking on his fingers on his right hand and twirling the blankie ties with his left when he falls asleep.  Emma's blankie was made at a church RS night.  It was a tradition for the women to get together every couple months and tie quilts for the ladies having babies during that time.  My sweet friend, Bev, was RS Pres at the time and she chose the cutest Strawberry Shortcake fabric for the top, lime green gingham for the back, and red string for the ties.  Kara Smemoe, another good friend, meticulously sewed the edges for me.  I couldn't wait to wrap little Emma up in it.  Well, this blankie has become a sort of extra appendage for Emma over the years.  It has been to Oregon, California, Nevada, Malaysia and back, camping, sleepovers, picnics in the backyard, etc.  So it was no surprise that the fabric began to fade, the ties were eventually pulled out, the batting became thin, and the binding began to come apart.  We finally told Emma it was time to retire her blankie.  She was OK with it, as long as she could get a new blankie... that looked EXACTLY like her old blankie.  Oh crap.  How do you tell a 5 year old that fabric sold 6 years ago is going to be super hard to find, next to impossible?  I searched high and low for the exact match.  I found a few listings on eBay for Strawberry Shortcake paper doll fabric very similar to the one I needed, but Emma could tell it wasn't the same fabric.  Then magically, two weeks ago I saw a listing on eBay from a lady in Higdon, Alabama.  I FOUND IT!  1 yard.  1 precious yard.  The lady had bought it in 2004, thinking she would make doll clothes out of it, but never got around to it, so the fabric sat collecting dust.  The starting price for the auction was $5 ($3 for shipping) but there was a "Buy It Now" option for $8.  I wasn't about to let this slip away from me.  I paid the $11.  I would have paid much more.  (Good thing statelinegirls from AL didn't know that! ;) )  Last week the fabric arrived and Emma was beyond thrilled.  I bought some batting, the lime green fabric for the back, the red yarn, and I was ready to go.  I finished the blankie tonight, and tucked Emma in with it after I was finished.  And so begins the adventures of Blankie II.  (Let's just hope she grows out of this by the time 5 more years roll around.  I imagine that fabric will be a million times harder to find!)  Thanks eBay, and thanks statelinegirls from AL.  You made a 5 year old very happy today.

Here it is, Blankie II

 Emma, the day she came home from the hospital.

 Less than a week old.

And Emma with Blankie II.