Blessed Mother Blanket with Five Radiant Images of Mary

Blessed Mother Blanket shows the Virgin Mary in five panels, each one framed in blue and gold, and it is meant for anyone who keeps Marian devotion close. Five images of Mary share one field, so you can take in each figure in turn. The design carries no printed words, so its meaning rests on the figures and their setting.

The design panel by panel

The central figure stands in a tall oval set inside a gilded baroque frame, her head crowned with a ring of stars that glows against a pale blue sky. Her white robe falls straight to the floor, and her hands are held low at her sides. On either side, a Mary in a deep blue mantle with a white veil stands with her arms open, her head bowed in quiet attention. Above them, a softer figure drifts through the clouds with her face turned down, as though she is listening. In the lower left, a Mary with a gold halo presses her hands to a red heart rayed with light, and in the lower right, a crowned Mary in a blue cloak spreads her arms toward the viewer. Scrolls of cream and gold scrollwork run along the navy border, and small cream cartouches break the edge at regular intervals. The palette moves from sky blue at the center to warm gold at the corners, giving the whole piece a sense of an altarpiece folded into a blanket.

Everyday moments

People who pray the rosary, keep a Marian shrine at home, or simply feel drawn to Mary's image will notice the central figure first and then search out the smaller panels. You might spread it across the couch during a quiet evening of reading or wrap it around your shoulders while you sit with a cup of tea before morning prayers. It also works in a bedroom, where the gold scrollwork picks up lamplight after dark, or on a reading chair in a room where you keep your devotional books. Each time you pull it up, the five figures give you a different view of the same scene.

When you need a gift

This blanket suits a first communion, a confirmation, or a baptism, when a family wants to mark the day with something that will be used long after the ceremony. It also fits a mother's day, a godmother's birthday, or a gift for a friend who has recently lost someone and finds comfort in Mary. Choose the Fleece Throw Blanket, Sherpa Throw Blanket, Fleece Blanket, or Sherpa Blanket, depending on whether you want a lighter layer or a warmer one for cold evenings.