I’ve just started some ‘proper’ embroidery! I’m always a bit nervous about embroidery as I feel it’s got to be perfect, cross-stitch is fairly easy to keep neat as there are holes to guide you, ‘proper embroidery’ is a bit more scary!!

I’ve been sewing another Gabriola skirt (this time in chiffon) but I need some kind soul to pin the hem. Whilst waiting for such a person to appear I decided to make a Christmas present for a special friend.

The design is from Bustle and Sew, I get the on-line magazine and the design was in the July issue. Helen has some really pretty designs on the website. The original design includes a fox, a very cute fox, but as my friend is very much a cat person I decided to swop heads and thin the tail out a bit, hey presto its a cat!!

I’ve appliqued the image with bondaweb, I’ve just to embroider it now. I traced the design using a fabric pen that disappears after a while, only I did hope I would have more than five minutes!! I traced it, chose the colour for the writing, and the pen markings had already faded!! Maybe my pen is a little old!! My second attempt was slightly more successful, I only traced the writing and wrote a little heavier. I then stitched very quickly!! The dogs nearly didn’t get a walk as light was falling fast as I tried to stitch it before it faded.

Despite having a large selection of embroidery threads of my own and also a large box of my mothers, I haven’t got the specified colours, isn’t that always the way! Anyway I think with this design I can choose my own colours, just hope I have more success with tracing 🙂