Cat and Mouse

Before we left the UK we had a few items shipped over and one was my sewing machine. It was new to me but not new to this world being a 1960s Bernina 730 Record! I found it in a local sewing machine shop by chance. I had actually gone in to look at another model but realised it wasn't for me when the owner let it drop that she had another Bernina but that I probably wouldn't want it. When I asked her the model I was more than keen! It is the same machine that my Mum had when I was a child and I learnt to sew on and which my Mum still uses now, even though she's upgraded it's the one that always finds favour and is set up in her sewing room!

Therefore I was somewhat upset when I unpacked the shipping and found that the only thing damaged was my machine - from the looks of it I suspected it had been dropped on it's poor little head! However, a brilliant man in the nearby town was able to revive it for me and so I was able to potter away whilst at the beach. Nothing serious happened because the only place for it to go was on the dining table and so had to be hefted on and off for each meal time!

I made these cats out of a book I purchased here. For the life of me I can't remember the title and it's still in one of the myriad boxes scattered around the house!

The one with pink trimmings was made first and when I made the second there were some alterations to the process. I just never seem to be able to do as I am told!

The happy couple!

Needless to say these were Christmas presents for my little ones!

What I like most about these is that all the materials are completely recycled! The green cord material was from a large men's shirt that cost me 30c (it was one of the items in a $2/bag stall from a jumble sale); the pink material was from a pillow case I bought for 50c and made a dress and bandana for Maia from (will have to see if I have a photo of it); the pink ribbon came on a gift and has been stored with all my other ribbon/trimming paraphenalia; the buttons for the eyes and the embroidery thread came from Freecycle and the bell on the collar was, if I recall rightly, from a box of chocolates! So I was actually really impressed what you could do with what someone else would call rubbish! But then again that seems to be the story of my life!

These little fellas came from a 1970s craft book for children, which again is buried in the depths of a box! (Note to self I really must start to unpack these boxes and leave this computer alone!) The green one is made from shirt fabric from a shirt going FREE at the local recycling shop and the floral material is an old bedsheet that I had cut into to make a reversible sunhat. The pink one is made fromn vintage Laura Ashley material that was once curtains and was kindly given to me by a Freecycler in Stratford. The filling in one is split peas, but when this really started to smell after I had finished it I used rice for the second!