After the felt cats, the next step of the Bucilla wreath kit is a large red bow. This post almost had a different title, because as I put the bow together I realized that there weren’t enough red sequins left. Hm. I had a choice, do another deviation from pattern and use a different color sequin, or source more red sequins. I’ll admit that I raided my kid’s felt kits for the sequins (that have sat unused for two years, so there were no tears or admonishments).
I changed almost everything on the last felt cat for my Bucilla kit. I took felt from my stash, cut new parts, cut different pieces from the pattern, altered the angle of the head and feet slightly, and mixed up the sequins so that I could have a black, orange, and white calico cat.
I have had two calico cats with one orange leg and one black leg, Shadows and Izzy. Izzy was born after Shadows passed and we joke about reincarnation.
I have a few more things to finish on the wreath: a large bow and some bells. I don’t think there will be much more deviation in the sewing.
A white cat with gray stripes was next in the order of cats on the Bucilla felt kit for the house cat wreath. Hm. I grabbed a piece of darker gray felt from my stash and substituted parts of the white felt in the instructions to make a gray tabby with white face, chest, and feet.
I used the stamped white felt as templates to cut the gray felt, and appliquéd one on the other. I also changed the eye color to gold, and used up all the silver sequins so the back leg and tail tip have white instead.
You may recognize the model. Thor the gray tabby was the inspiration for the cat color. It amuses me that the felt cat is wearing a bright red collar bow, the real cat removes any collar placed on him by biting through the buckle.
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.
Critters and Craft 