Embroidery ...buttons ... thrifting and my cat ...

What a lovely spring day...I must admit I could easily have spent the day in the garden.

However tempting.....I had to work. First things first... my car had to go in for it's mot.

 Whilst waiting with fingers crossed that nothing was wrong with it, I went on a continued search for some pea green material. I make owls....I make pussycats...and have been planning in my mind to make some pea green boats........ I have hunted every shop that sells fabric with no luck at all....I have green material, but not pea green...I wonder do they make such a colour....

I did buy some new embroidery threads....I wanted pink, black and white, but found it was actually cheaper to buy an assorted pack. I wonder how long they will stay all neat and tidy...how long before they join the tangled mess with my other threads....

I also bought these cute wooden heart buttons .....

And....after a quick look around the charity shop....I found this....

Well I never....another cat...very similar to the one I bought Charlie. So I bought him for Charlie as well, even though he is not keen on the first one...I like him. He was only 45p !

After a wash and brush up...here is my new stripy cat. Charlie thinks the new one is worse than the first.....I think they are fab.

And here is Bloopy having a snooze on what was my bed throw. He likes how squishy it is...you know..when cats do that pawing thing before they lie down...he purrs so loudly whist pawing it for ages that Charlie and I end up in hysterics. ....

Oh...and my car passed its mot..it just needed new wiper blades.....so all is well...

Embroidery .....

Below is a photo frame I made, with a cute photo of a very young charlie in it....I made the frame from two pieces of very thick card....from the back of an art drawing pad if my mind serves me right.  I used some cotton fabric that I had subtly tie dyed to cover the card. I put a layer of wadding between the card and the fabric, then stuck it down with uhu glue. When the glue was dry I used a blanket stitch to sew together the long sides and the bottom by sewing through both the front and the back at the same time.....I did each side of the top separately thus leaving an opening at the top. I remember hunting everywhere for some perspex to put inside to protect the photo....I cut up some that was packaging but I can't remember what it was now...

I cut stencils from cereal packets in the shape of flowers and stencilled using fabric paints onto frame. I just embellished the flowers with embroidery..some I outlined and some I sewed sequins in the middle.   The hanging cord is crochet with a couple of beads on each side.....The heart is full of lavender from my bush in the garden....

The design on this cushion represent....' Hands to work....hearts to god ' ...I think ..but don't quote me that it is a 'Shaker' belief....   Anyway I did my own design and printed it by doing a mono print from cardboard...then I embroidered it...this I sold on eBay...

My mum did this embroidery...this is just a section. She bought the kit in London in the 70s, I think she said from 'The Needlewoman', I'm not sure.... anyway, she did not make it up until a few years ago...and now it is mine :) .

This is how I work...in a mess !  I shall get told off by my mum now that she can see the tangle of threads that frustrate me every time I embroider.....I would untangle them but it would take up too much of my valuable time.....

And...this is just a little mushroom house that I made because I was in that sort of a fiddly mood....I did the 'Home' in tiny stitches... the door is applique and the flowers are beads....It now hangs on my kitchen dresser....  Oh...and the patchwork is part of a big blanket I made to cover the sofa...