Elephants and Bears and Cats, Oh My!

I finally finished up the next round of baby blankets. I made another pink elephant, a white polar bear, and a white cat. The pink elephant is for a local friend who’s having a girl in September, right around my birthday.

The white polar bear is for a friend from college who is having a boy in August.

When I bought the minky, I wasn’t sure if this friend was having a boy or a girl, which is the main reason I choose white.  But, I wasn’t disappointed to choose white since I thought a polar bear would be really cute anyway. It wasn’t even 24 hours after I purchased the fabric that I found out this blanket was destined for a boy. Instead of getting more fabric, I  decided to just add a little blue bow. Now it’s meant for a boy, and it’s a little less ferocious.

(Speaking of bears, I just finished reading Mark of the Grizzly by Scott McMillion. Eeep.)

Finally, the white cat is for another friend from college who’s having a baby in October.

I’m proud of myself for drafting this cute little cat. I used the basic bear pattern, then altered the ears and tail and added whiskers. Here they are side by side for comparison:

Since the cat’s ears aren’t stuffed, its head ended up being much rounder than the bear’s, which I think is more appropriate for a cat – a happy yet unintentional outcome.  But, I’ll be making the ears a little taller for any future cat blankets.  I wish they were a wee bit more prominent.  Not enough to fret about them though.  They’ll be loved just the same by my friend’s child.

There will be three more blankets in my not-so-distant future.  One will be a giraffe, one another bear, and the other I’m not so certain about.  Maybe a brown dog with long floppy ears?  What fun!