Story of a blanket

On Saturday afternoon I went to an old fashioned jumble sale in a small town nearby. It must be the season for them, as I have noticed that some other bloggers have been doing the same thing recently. I have not been to a jumble sale for a long time, but it was quite exciting peering through the doors and seeing tables laden with heaps of clothes and bric a brac. In fact, the excitement was a bit premature as it wasn't the best jumble sale ever, but I did find a few lovely books, and this old wool blanket.

Now, I find it almost impossible to walk past a real wool blanket in any charity shop or car boot sale, and especially at a jumble sale, when the price is only 50p. It is a problem, because blankets take some storage and that's something I do not have any more, thanks to my vintage addiction. I tried to leave this one on the table, but I just kept thinking, '50p for a real wool blanket, 50p for a REAL WOOL BLANKET?' So I bought the blanket, promising myself that if I did, I would not move it around the house, I would actually do something with it. I washed it in a hot wash as soon as I got it home, dried it on the line, but there were some marks which wouldn't shift, so I cut it up into pieces.

And then I remembered the pattern for this cat....(yes, it is a cat, in case you were wondering, oddly enough I think it looks like a mongoose. I think whiskers might be needed)

This is a book that I got for Christmas when I was eight or nine.My Learn to Sew Book.  I made so many of the things in it, bodging my way through, just as I do now. But it is a great book, the instructions are clear, and in those days, there was no faffing about with enlarging templates on photocopiers. The template was the size it should be, so you can just trace the pattern and off you go. So, my Seventies cat became a 21st century version. I whizzed up his seams on my mini machine and then filled him with lavender. I love the clever design, it is a 3-d triangle, so the cat stands up on his own. And it could be adapted into other creatures. 

Whiskers are on the way....