Cat number three is complete on the Bucilla felt wreath kit.
I changed a couple small things on the brown cat, giving it three stripes of sequins on the forehead to break up the space, and making the eyes green rather than the pattern indicated white.
Two more cats to go, and I am feeling particularly rebellious.
The felt wreath sewing kit now has two cats. I didn’t deviate from the instructions on this second cat like I did for the candy cane with the first cat. I sense more deviation coming in my future, though. The thought of finishing the wreath and it looking like the picture on the kit is disquieting. It won’t ever look exactly like the picture, a head tilt difference here, a slight color variation there, but I’d like to make it mine, specifically. I have lots of scrap felt. Hm.
I keep working on the Bucilla felt kit to make a cat themed wreath. So many tiny stitches. I laid it down to take a progress picture and Izzy the cat decided to investigate.
The stuffed candy cane the cat is holding is the smallest stuffed object I have ever done, so far. The project has many, many tiny stuffed details.
As with all my crafts, after I’ve made a few my mind wanders and I wonder how other variations might work. With the reed coasters, I tried weaving with hemp cord, and a different rim finish.
The “bob” edge (behind, over, behind) leaves the ends of the reeds sticking up. I trim them flush, but being a belt and suspenders type person, used hot glue and a layer of felt to make sure they don’t wiggle free and to protect any surface they are set on.
When we hide rocks for the Kindness Rocks project, we put some simple instructions on the back. I wanted to put something similar on my worry worms. I started with a scarf idea, with a simple slit for the attachment and words burned into man-made felt. After a couple tests, I thought the scarf looked more like wings, so changed my design in Adobe Illustrator, saved it as an SVG, and imported it in my laser cutter’s program.
I just love their little wings! I did find it interesting that the thin stencil font was easier to read than a bold stencil.
I took these to my regional chorus competition and my chorus had a great time “hiding” them for other competitors to find.
Critters and Craft 