Pointy Kitty

A while ago, when I was researching on the internet for a free cat pattern, I stumbled across directions for Pointy Kitty. I was smitten. I made this as a present for my daughter's 9th birthday. Her (ever-growing) collection of toy cats are named after characters in the Warrior Cats series, so this one has been renamed.

Her body and head are unbleached calico and the stripey bits are some cotton fabric scraps. The body is embroidered with lazy daisies. The eyes and nose are cut from felt. Instead of stitching the whiskers on, I used fishing line, which is knotted inside the head part. I'm not saying that we've ever had a cat with nylon whiskers, but I do think it makes for a more realistic look (which Miss 9 appreciates).

If the fabric and colours look familiar, it's because this kitty helped inspire my mini block quilt.

What I learned from this (my first foray into toy-making) is that even when you think you have enough stuffing, you oughta add some more anyway. This poor puss doesn't stand too well, due to her legs being a bit too bendable. By the time I realised this, I'd sewn the head on, and really didn't want to redo any tricky stitching.

Big thanks to Hillary Lang from Wee Wonderfuls for the pattern.

Quilter's block

This is a quilt that I made for my daughter. Or rather, for her toy cats. It was an experiment, and a lot of fun to make.

Instead of following a pattern, or designing it first, I decided to just start from the middle and work my way out, adding pieces as I went. No overthinking allowed.

The centre square is unbleached calico, embroidered with lazy daisy stitches. I know they aren't uniformly even and perfect, but I'd only recently learned how to do them. The next round was from some leftovers from a fat quarter I'd used in another project (more on that in a future post). The next round features border strips, recycled from an old skirt. The skirt had been pleated, which shows alternate strips of worn/new colour. I could've turned it over and used the even colour on the "wrong" side, but the subtle stripey effect appealed more. Lastly were some triangles of more calico, with appliqued stars attached with a single strand of embroidery floss. The buttons were an afterthought. My first instinct was to not have them, but then I reminded myself that there were no rules to follow, so just go with whatever felt right!

For the curious, the backing is calico, which shows up the quilting rather well (I was just pleased to achieve straightish, even lines!). The outline quilting around the stars is done by hand, which I unexpectedly enjoyed.
The batting is low-loft polyester.


What did I learn from this?

• I really like handstitching;
• small projects are quick and easy to do;
• "letting go" every once in a while is very therapeutic if you're like me, and tend to plan everything down to the last detail before even picking up the rotary cutter;
• and looking at it now, I'm not drawn to the plain colours - the next one will feature more prints.

 I don't know if this can be classified as a true quilt, as it measures only 13.5" square. But if it does, then it's my entry into the Blogger's Quilt Festival.

First time entering anything anywhere. Yay!