Squirrel!

The dog blanket is finished, and I have to admit I’m pretty pleased with this puppy.  Even my embroidery is starting to get better.

Making the dog’s head was simple. I used the pattern for the bear head, sans bear ears.  Instead, I drafted ears that would flop to the side and were about as long as the head is tall.  For the tail I used the elephant tail length, but I made it smooth and tapered instead of knobby.

When I finished the final bit of hand stitching, I asked my husband to guess the number of animal blankets I’d made this year.

“Five,” he guessed.

“Higher…”

In growing disbelief, he upped his answer to seven, then nine, and finally eleven.

“Eleven,” I confirmed.  Three bears, three elephants, a hippo, a cat, a giraffe, a unicorn, and now a dog.  Craziness.

This dog is destined for a little girl of a close friend from college who lives in Boston.  I’m excited I’ll get to meet her this April when I go to Boston to run the Boston Marathon.  Until then, hopefully this cute little dog will let her know I’m thinking of her.

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UPDATE:  It reached Boston today, and my friend just thanked me for the bear.  The poor puppy will live its life mistaken for another animal.  As long as it’s loved, it doesn’t really matter though.

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YET ANOTHER UPDATE: Later that evening my friend called me. She began with, “Amy, you have to settle an argument my husband and I are having.”

I knew exactly what was coming.

“He thinks it’s a dog, but I think it’s a bear. So, is it a dog or a bear?”

I sheepishly replied dog, and we laughed for a full five minutes. This friend is one of those perfect kind of friends who’s laughter is contagious. It was wonderful. And, even better, the dog gets to live its life as a dog!