Blanket shop sells warm hugs

A skilled Whidbey seamstress has been making people’s sleep warmer and cozier with a touch of love.

Walking around the Harborside Village Mall in downtown Oak Harbor, visitors can catch a glimpse of Mary Fyfe’s focused look through the window of her shop, “Blanket Creations by Mary,” as she sews one of the many thousands of double polar fleece blankets she has created in 15 years of being in the biz.

“It’s a labor of love,” she said, surrounded by a rainbow of blankies displayed on different tables around the shop — the tip of a giant fabric iceberg that has taken over the living and dining rooms and the garage, which her husband Doug ceded to make room for more fabrics.

Sharing a home with so much craft material is, however, a price that “the blanket lady,” as she calls herself, is willing to pay in the name of creativity and fun. As far as retiring, despite being in her late 70s, she has no intention to put down her sewing tools anytime soon.

“Why?” she said. “I mean, I’m doing what I absolutely love doing.”

After over a decade of selling her work at the farmers markets in Coupeville and Oak Harbor, Fyfe moved in February to a venue tucked inside the mall building at 830 South East Pioneer Way, where visitors can feel the fleece and the stitches and chat with the owner.

Fyfe particularly enjoys taking custom orders, learning about the things that make people happy to turn them into a warm embrace that can last a lifetime — and that can be safely thrown in the washer and dryer.

There is no limit to what she can put on a blanket, she said. No matter what your heart desires, Fyfe can make it, as the internet is a bottomless treasure chest for patterned fabrics. Her work has included subjects such as firefighters, Elvis Presley, Barbie, Freddy Krueger, Bruiser the Elk and even Oak Harbor’s very first — and long gone — burger joint, Kow Corner.

If she really can’t find the pattern she needs, she’ll just get creative, resorting to turning the largest pants she can find into blankie material or seeking help from two trusted business owners.

When she needs to turn an image into fabric, Fyfe can count on Elaine Torres, who owns Elaine’s Photo Studio in Oak Harbor. Torres has printed badges for blankies inspired by first responders and photos immortalizing wholesome family moments.

The embroidery is done by Troy Oppor, owner of Roppo’s Wood & Engraving in Oak Harbor, a business that specializes in embroidery, engraving and woodworking. Some of Oppor’s embroidery can be found on the Whidbey sweaters sold at Fyfe’s shop.

Fyfe has been sewing since she was a child, learning in school and from her grandmother, a seamstress and her inspiration. After decades of making clothes for herself and her family, she began making blankets for loved ones, eventually creating Wildcat-themed blankets for a fundraiser for families in need, put together by the Oak Harbor Schools bus drivers, including her husband Doug.

She soon grew tired of creating the same high school-themed blankets, focusing more on people’s unique requests — blankets for a newborn, a twin headed to a college out of state, a Whidbey lover or a grieving spouse.

Many of her creations can be found on different corners of the planet, often shipped to Navy sailors and loved ones overseas so that they can be hugged by a piece of home.

To give new life to memorabilia, Fyfe can sew baby clothes and bibs into a blanket or create a blanket with t-shirts from one’s high school days, creating a story. One of her most recent works tells a story that is 50 years in the making.

When she read in the Whidbey News-Times that her doctor of 30 years, Dr. Jerald Sanders, was retiring on July 31, Fyfe rolled up her sleeves to create one of her most complex blankets, a gift to thank him for taking good care of her and her husband for so long.

Over the years, Fyfe has created several blankets for Sanders depicting Labrador Retrievers, his favorite dog, but this time she wanted to surprise him with something bigger.

For his retirement, she chose to tell his story and passions, sewing together fabrics with various prints, including his favorite teams, the Seahawks and the Seattle Mariners; his school, the University of Washington; his favorite dogs, labs; the U.S. Navy, as he served in Charleston and on Whidbey; his hobby, hunting.

In the middle of the blanket, Fyfe sewed the Sound Off piece that tells Dr. Sanders’ story, printed on fabric, and a piece by artist Norman Rockwell, “Before the Shot,” which depicts a doctor preparing to give a vaccine to a child.

Though it took her many hours to finish the gift, Fyfe enjoyed the process thoroughly as she sees her job as playtime.

Because she is always busy, she has never had the time to make a blanket for herself. If she could, she said, it would have a Mickey Mouse print because he is a fun character, and fun is a major motivator behind her blankie enterprise.

“If I can’t have fun, I don’t want to sew it,” she said, showing some of over 400 stitch shapes that her sewing machine can create, including hearts and trees.

The average price for a blanket is about $100, she said, though depending on the complexity of the project, the cost of materials and the time spent working, she might charge more.

Fyfe is happy to teach inexperienced seamstresses how to create their own blanket. She offers four lessons for a total of $100.

To learn more about Blanket Creations by Mary or place an order, contact Fyfe at fyfed@comcast.net or call 360-675-2695.