Christmas in July

I stitched this sweetie on 14 ct Aida and trimmed it with some dots from Jacquelynn Steves.  I attached the ribbon to the back and it can either be hung up or rest in a basket.  I simply love these little guys!

Peggie's Mini Cat Finishes

It had been over 15 years since I had cross stitched when I finally bought an OttLite to help me see better. I was looking for a fun project to stitch when I discovered Lynn's sweet Mini Cat series.  I think it was when I was stitching my second one, that I decided to make a second set to give to my parents this Christmas.  To date, I think I've stitched 27 mini cats...guess I'm making up for those lost years,

I'll post each of my mini cats below.  It's been fun stitching two or more of the same pattern since no two turn out the same....they all have their own personality.

These cats are all 4 x 6, stitched on DMC Charlescraft Gold Standard and most of them are stitched on Antique White...a few are stitched on white.  I have mounted them on sticky boards.  

I like to back stitch and tend to back stitch almost everything.

JANUARY

I chose not to cross stitch the balls of yarn, but to use long back stitches to give it the look of real wool.  I also made long stitches for the knitting needles to make it look more genuine.

It wasn't until after the second one was mounted, that I noticed I missed a row in the cats neck.  It looks okay though, because he looks like he's just snuggled into his scarf more.

FEBRUARY

This was the first Mini Cat pattern that I stitched.  I was so much fun and I was hooked.  March was released before I got to stitch January, but before April was released I had 2 of the each of these months completed.

MARCH

The month of two designs. Both cute, but I love the sheep in the first one, so I'll be keeping that one for me.

APRIL

If you look closely at the three different April Mini Cats, you'll see the amount of back stitching decreases with each one.  I will be keeping the first one.   I made the third one for a  niece's birthday.  While I was stitching this one, I thought of turning the February design into a Birthday mini cat as you'll see below.

MAY

This is one of my favourite designs...love the sweet birdhouse.  I added a French knot to give the bird an eye.  After they were mounted I noticed one cat was thinner than the other...I forgot to add the extra stitch in  the row after his tail started.  

JUNE

Lynn's June design was presented in two different colours.  I had planned on doing both, but once I started with the green I loved it, so chose to do both in green.  I love Monarch butterflies, so I decided to turn this one into a Monarch.  My husband, (the engineer) suggested I add a second hinge to the gate.

JULY

July's design was interesting for me.  The second one posted above was actually the first one I stitched.  I always stitch the cat first and then I moved on to the wall. Things weren't working out so great for me.  I ripped out the planters and just used the lighter of the colour in the wall for them and then back stitched in the darker colour.  You'll see I changed the butterfly to a Monarch again.

When I started the second one, I did a different approach...after finishing the cat, I did everything else before the wall...it was pretty and colourful. I had the second one completed when Lynn posted her July finish. I loved some of the changes she made to hers and decided to change my second one (which is actually the first one you see).  I loved the changes in colour and my Monarch had to go...it clashed with the colours.  I do love the new butterfly though.

AUGUST

Another one of my favourite designs. The first August you see was actually the second one I did when I realized I missed a row in the first sail boat so that is why it looks smaller.  Still looks great, but I like the bigger sail boat better.

Happy Birthday/ Bonne Fête Mini Cats

Bonne Fête (Québecois for Happy Birthday).  This was the first Birthday Mini Cat I stitched and it was lots of  fun.  It was a birthday present to my French teacher from a few years ago.

Stitching Bonne Fête was easier than Happy Birthday.  You can see how I was getting creative with the "Y" in Birthday.

I just finished stitching these 3 mini cats for little people.   The happy birthday minis are for great-nephews (2 & 4 - not brothers, but cousins) and the Bonne Fête is for my husband's niece.  She loves the colour blue, so I used lots of blue in it for her.  I did frame these ones with glass so the cross stitch doesn't get destroyed . 

Saint Patrick's Day

The second one I actually stitch and gave to my mother last March... it's 5 x 7

HALLOWEEN

This is a design that I found on Lynn's blog from last year.  Love it!  My husband suggested that I put an orange French Knot on the spider.  My best friend loves Halloween, so I gave her the first one.

LOVE TO SEW

I don't sew, but when Lynn posted this design  I  knew I had to stitch it.  Luckily for me, I have a sister who sews.  The pattern was a lot of fun to stitch...my sister loved it.  I'm sure I'll end up doing one for myself someday.

I looked forward to seeing Lynn's sweet new designs every month...thanks Lynn!

September mini cat available on my blog

September Mini Cat now available

from my blog  

All small pillows stitched using 32 count

Edinburgh Linen with DMC stranded cotton threads.

Happy stitching!

Jo's 2012 Valentine Cat

Thank you for inviting me to join the blog, Lynn.  I am a fan of your Mini Cats and have diligently downloaded all the charts.  Now I just need to diligently stitch them all.  I think I will be getting lots of inspiration from this blog.

Here is a little Golden Oldie from me:

Threads - DMC

Fabric - 28 count evenweave dyed with fruit tea 

(smells delicious while you are stitching!)

My 10th finish for 2012 was the Needlecraft Haven February Challenge.  Every month Christine discovers a freebie chart and we all stitch it and finish it however we like.  We can't show anyone until the end of the month.  February's came from  Lynn B of Happiness is Cross Stitching.  We could choose either of the two freebies and I chose the cat.  Then I decided the "LOVE" would look good stitched over 1 underneath the cat.  I changed the "O" heart slightly, it was originally a dangler!  I do have an issue with DMC 310, it doesn't cover well on 28 count.  Does anyone have a recommendation for a good black?  Not an expensive one please!

Half year minicats

When I saw Lynn's minicats it was a sort of love at first sight :-)   But I didn't start immediately, I needed time to think about the 'layout'. Finally I decided to stitch the cats on one (big) fabric and in the colors I have used for my other works as well.

I am using Aïda fabric and use DMC 820, 798 and 809 for the blue colors and 904 and 470 for the green colors.

The July-minicat is done also and August is in progress, a picture will follow later.

What a great idea of Lynn (Thank you!) to make a special minicatblog, I am looking forward to see the stitchings of you all!
(Sorry if I make mistakes in writing, I am Dutch....:-)

Irish Mini Cat

My very first mini cat design by LynnB. I'm 1/4 Irish and my mother was 1/2 Irish. The Irish mini-cat was for her:

Please note the tiny bouquet, also one of Lynn's designs - and given as a gift to a friend. Please forgive the Bella Dog Easter Bunny - NOT Lynn's, but this was the only picture I have in my files of any of the mini-cats I've stitched (Bad Girl, Kim, Bad Girl!).

I've stitched so many others and given them away, no pictures! AUGH!!! However, more of the darling LynnB designs will be stitched in the VERY near future! They're addicting.

Cheers!