If there is one thing I love nearly as much as cats, it’s books. My idea of a lovely quiet afternoon involves curling up with a good book, a cup of tea and a few cats.

When I saw this fabric I just had to have it. I love all the titles of the books.
The skirt did use a fancy sewing pattern, just a simple elastic waist (because I was being lazy!)

I bought a new jumper on Friday and it wasn’t till after I bought it I realised it had elbow patches (I saw chunky purple jumper and just had to have it!)

Well you guys know me, I can’t help but add cats to things so I sewed a cat onto one of the elbows. It’s the first time I’ve embroidered anything and it’s a little messy but still cute. I used a special pen to draw the cat on, it disappears after a while leaving just the stitching showing.

I might do something different on the other elbow.

I was so happy with the purses that I made last week that I decided to work on a bag idea. This is one style I’m trying out, I’ve another idea too which is similar but more simple to sew. I think this one is a little deep (or narrow!) so back to the sewing machine :)

I love seeing how other people draw cats and interpret their silly little ways. I’m always buying postcards etc with cat illustrations, not to mention all the cards I get from friends and family that always have cats on. I did just have them in a pile which got lost all the time so I’ve finally got round to organising them. I bought some amazing washi tape from Little Happy Things which has cats on – perfect for sticking all the cards into my scrapbook. I’ve used a label maker to add the names of the artists which are normally on the backs of the cards.

Up until now I’ve been keeping the change I use on my stall in a cash tin but it can be a bit annoying to have to go to the tin to get change for people etc. I decided to turn a pair of Daz’s old jeans into a pocket belt so I can put all my change in it and other bits and bobs that I need with me. I added an extra pocket and put a few of my badges on it.

I got a wine box for £5 last week for Arty. He loved it straight away but it was a bit deep as he likes to rest his chin on the side. With a bit of foam and a pillow case I’ve transformed it into something a lot more comfy and a better depth.

I got the foam cut to size, it cost about £3. It’s 5mm smaller than the inner dimensions of the box which seems the perfect size to allow for fabric etc. The pillow case was from a charity shop for a few pence.

All I did was put the foam in the pillow case, tucked the edges in and put it in the box. No need for any sewing!!

Arty loves it. He likes boxes that are on the small size so he is a snug fit.

I saw this yarn (Sirdar Bohemia) outside a shop the other day and just had to go in a buy it. It’s the most chunky yarn I’ve ever used and it’s so quick to work with. It took less time to make this than it did to watch an episode of Fringe.

I got the buttons years ago and they are just perfect for this.

I got some more samples of fabrics from my Spoonflower shop and thought I’d make up the kind of thing that I hope to sell in the future. This is a simple cat purse with a zip. I love it! I’ve ordered more so I can get making some for my Etsy Shop.

Since getting the swatch I decided to update the design slightly so there was less space between the cats. You can buy the fabric here if you want to use it in your own projects

You will have seen yesterday that the chair in my office is really boring. It’s the cheapest office chair Ikea do and is a very dull grey colour. I can’t really complain seeing as it was only £12.99.

The back rest has two main pieces that are just pushed together so it’s easy to open it up to reveal how the fabric is fastened on. It’s just a flat piece of fabric with a string around the edge that has been tied tight to hold it in place.

I took the fabric off, flattened it out and used it as a template to cut out cat fabric. I simply stitched the cat fabric onto the original chair fabric, making sure to not go too close to the edge to interfere with the draw string.

Then I just put the fabric back onto the plastic and foam back-rest and tied it back up.

The back of the back-rest just pops back in with a bit of pressure and seals in the edges of the fabric.

It’s that simple, it took about ten minutes.

The seat of the chair is covered in much the same way so once I’ve got some more fabric I’ll cover that too. A once boring grey chair is now a cool cat chair.

I finally had the courage to chop up the fabric sample that I got earlier in the month. I only had a fat quarter so I made it into a little bag which will be perfect for taking small orders to the post office in.