It's "Bow Wow Blankie" Time!

About a week ago, I finished a small quilt as a gift for Liam's 2nd birthday.

Liam is the son of Chris and Jennifer, good friends of mine. I would have posted this earlier, but I wanted to wait until after the quilt had arrived at its final destination in Reston, VA. I've received confirmation that it has been received, and is already being enjoyed, so now I'm able to share my little accomplisment!

I used a pattern called "Bow Wow Blankie," by All Through the Night. The instant I saw it, I knew I wanted to make it for Liam. I was originally planning to make it as a Christmas present, but I came up with other plans for that, and I didn't want to ditch this idea... So with two weeks to get it done, start to finish, I decided to take on the challenge!  I love that the quilt incorporates both pieced blocks (the stars) and applique (the doggie pull-toys). Applique is a skill that I've only had for the past year, so I'm still not completely confident in my abilities with it yet.

Surprisingly, I had the top finished in two days! 

Yes, just two days!  Granted, two insane days of cutting and late-night sewing, but still.... Two days!  The actual quilting part, where I had to sew the quilt sandwich together (top, batting, and back) took quite a bit longer. Pulling the quilt through and around the sewing machine wore my shoulder out really quick, so I had to do it in little spurts with long breaks inbetween.

Justin, a great friend of mine, and, coincidentally, Liam's uncle, helped me design a label for the back. My mind was coming up with this picture of a little girl, wearing an apron and glasses, but I cannot draw to save my life, so I enlisted Justin's help. I added the "For Liam on his 2nd birthday" and the date the quilt was finished, but everything else was pure Justin!  I ADORE how it turned out!  I'll be sending the design in to have actual woven labels made that I can add to the things I make!  I can't wait to see how they turn out!  Even though this particular label was created using my printer and a product called "Printed Treasures," it does not run!  Trust me, I washed and dried the quilt after I finished it, just to make sure!  :)

I have to say, even though I know that I didn't do a perfect job on this quilt (it's obvious, to me, that I'm still a beginner at this) that I'm pretty proud of how it turned out!  I was downright giddy to get this feedback from Jennifer (Liam's mom):

"... By the way Yvonne, thank you SO MUCH for the incredible birthday gift. We came home and the package was there waiting for us. We immediately opened it and were just blown away! Liam LOVES the blanket! Within 15 minutes of opening your gift he was curled up in it, taking a nap given the exhaustion of his wild birthday party. :-) I took a pic with Kaylee's camera and will have her send it to you. It made the trip with us and he used it all day in the car yesterday. It's really too cute...oh, and the tag is the coolest! THANKS AGAIN!"

Oh, to give credit where credit is due... All of the fabric (and the pattern, too, come to think of it) was purchased at Fabrics, Etc. here in Bellingham, WA.