DinoRAWR Blanket!

It seems like only months ago that our nephew, L, came into our lives, and like that I found myself trying to decide what to do for his second birthday!

Our brother and sister-in-law had just bought their first house - a fixer-upper that, in time, will be a beautiful craftsman style farmhouse, including the classic four bedrooms upstairs. Of course this means no more nursery style room for L, but an actual big-kid room! I asked my sister-in-law what colors or themes they'd decided on, and she said she was thinking of camouflage green and grey with red accents. And also maybe dinosaurs. Very appropriate for a high-energy, curious little boy. I stumbled upon this fabric while out shopping, and I knew I had to do something with it. 

Two factors made up my mind for me - the impending deadline of L's birthday, and the fact that I didn't really want to make anything too precious. A simple square patch tied quilt was it!

To break up the busy dinosaur pattern, I grabbed some leftover off-white and green cotton fabric from my own supplies. L is in a toddler bed, so I decided on a quilt size somewhere between oversize crib and small twin. If it survives long enough, it can be a foot blanket for a standard twin or full size later.

After basting the top and a thin layer of batting to a plain off-white backing fabric using giant stitches and quilting thread, I used a variegated cotton yarn and an upholstery needle to tie knotted bows at the corners of each patch. The edges of the quilt are finished using wide bias tape.  There was also enough left-over fabric that I made a pillowcase to match.

My sister-in-law later texted to say that L loved his "dino-rawr" blanket. I hope the little quilt will shelter many good dreams in the years to come!