The Accidental Embroiderer

An unusual project

 I just don’t know where the time goes – it’s ten days since I posted here, and I usually like to put something up weekly. Never mind – as it happens I have a nice large finished project to show

Some time ago I mentioned that I was doing some designs for someone who wanted to make a quilt for a young relative. She asked for some very unusual designs - mushrooms, snails and a frog among others – which I found really interesting to do. I stitched out the designs while she assembled all the stitchouts and came up with this fascinating version

An unusual layout

It’s not a conventional quilt layout, but none the worse for that. It could be used as a bedspread or hung on the wall, and it’s such an imaginative piece that I think it will be appreciated by the recipient for many years to come

Finally - a freebie for June

Well, I’m back again after some time away – some of it VERY enjoyable (in the English Lake District) and some of it not so enoyable – we both came down with mild cases of Covid. However it wasn’t really terrible – not unlike a summer cold – and I hope things are now back to normal. But it’s well past time for June’s freebie, so let’s see what you make of this one!

A stripy furry cat

It’s a little cartoony cat made with the “scribble” technique that I’ve been playing with so much. It’s simple enough to do, but you will have to consider the colours carefully. I stitched this example with a kind of light-brown applique fabric, and you can of course use any colour of fabric that you like, but you will have to choose the colours of thread to “tone” with the fabric

Also, although the cat is appliqueed on, there is no finishing edging on the cut fabric, which means that the edges are raw and may be a little rough here and there. But I did this deliberately, because even if there are any loose threads or rough edges, they will just contribute to the hairy appearance of the cat. If you really don’t like the threads around the edge, you can pick them off with a pair of tweezers

The cat is quite heavy and textured, so it would probably be best stitched on a firm fabric – I don’t think it would sit well on anything very lightweight. A robust cotton or a light canvas should be fine, but skip the voiles and the chiffons this time!

Here is the design, in .pes v.6 and here is the worksheet. Good luck!