I, too, would have been upset.........and I am a HUGE animal lover. My husband and our DIL exchange gag gifts at Christmas (it's not the quality as much as the quantity, they joke) and this year she gave him an Oriental themed lap robe. Turns out it was a wedding gift, given to their neighbor, who had done missionary work in China. The giver saw the oriental markings on the fabric & mistook it for Chinese, when it was actually Japanese. The quality of the work was rudimentary, but obviously a gift of love. They were going to toss it out when my DIL took it as a gag gift. It broke my heart and I wasn't even involved in the whole process. Right now it is in our closet, with two matching pillows.
When our son and DIL had our first grandchild I made her a flannel baby quilt of 3" HST. It was my first FMQ and I took great pains to stitch perfect roses all over the quilt. It was often on the floor for our granddaughter to lay on, which also meant the dog would lay on it or walk all over it, as well. I was stunned at first, but quickly got over it. To this day, our 3 yr. old granddaughter loves that quilt because she was allowed to use it.
I made a friend of theirs a quilt for their first child. I wasn't sure if they would use it so I put the following label on it:
This ABC quilt was sewn especially for ............
It is made of 100 % cotton, sturdy enough to be used and hopefully loved,
Some quilts are folded and put away in closets, never to be seen again.
They might not match the nursery decor or the prints are too gaudy.
Or maybe they are considered too precious to use.
I hope this quilt will see peaceful slumbers and hours of play.
May it comfort "boo-boos" and dry tears,
get drug across the floor in pursuit of destinations yet to be determined,
see toys parade its borders,
experience green grass and gentle breezes in the shade of a tree, and /or
shield tender skin from winters chill.
Then it will be a happy quilt.
Who knows...............it may even teach him the alphabet !
I heard later that they LOVE the quilt and take it with them everywhere. That made me happy.
P.S. I backed it in a black background print so the grass stains wouldn't show : )