An 'Orrible Cat

Emily’s cat bagpuss

The most important

The most beautiful

The most magical

Saggy old cloth cat in the whole wide world

“Bagpuss, dear Bagpuss

Old fat furry cat puss

Wake up and look at this thing that I bring

Wake up, be bright

Be golden and light

Bagpuss, oh hear what I sing”

Oh how I loved Bagpuss, the children’s television series from 1974.  Does anyone else have fond memories of this?  The magic I felt when those words were spoken and Bagpuss and his friends came to life.  As a child I desperately wanted to believe in magic.  I was sure it existed, if only I could access it.

But anyway, this isn't a story about Bagpuss; it's the story of an ‘orrible cat.

Every Christmas, without fail, I give myself too much to do.  Mainly I plan too many handmade presents and decorations, recipes and outings to the extent that my husband doesn't believe it can be Christmas unless I'm in a state of total stress. So this year I vowed I would not do this to myself or the rest of the family again.  All I planned on doing were 2 handmade presents and some hand sewn and painted cards.  No proper plans because of “you know what” (and its mutant sibling).  I made one present in September and the other was half way finished early in November but then I received a letter.  It was from my mum’s partner commissioning me to make her an embroidery in a design of my choice as a surprise - but possibly she’d like a picture of an ‘orrible cat.  He isn't a man keen on pets and to my knowledge he's never had a pet.  Saying that though, in spite of the harsh words used, he’s quite soft with animals really.  My mum, on the other hand, has had pets all her life.  Dogs and cats growing up and then always cats since I was born.  Her last beloved cat Sam, died maybe 15 years ago and after that there have been no more, probably because her life changed when she became part of a couple again.

Well what could I say; it was November but I could manage it.

I'd been given a postcard of a cat lounging on cushions by my lovely friend Yola and it occurred to me that I could adapt this idea.  I'm afraid I don't know who the illustrator is or I'd credit them here. 

Due to the pandemic creating postal delays, the hoop I'd ordered took 10 days to arrive and by this point it was the end of November.  Panic started creeping in.

I sketched out a similar design and personalised it by adding a stem of lilies as they are my mum’s favourite flower.  Next I cut out the design to make rough templates and drew around them with a fabric pen.  It was quite hard to see as the background linen was navy.  The light at this time of year is appalling and once I started stitching I realised just how long it was going to take.  Normally when I do embroideries they are smaller and there is no deadline.  It's one of the reasons that I don't do commissions as the amount of time these take makes it impossible to price them or sell them at a price anyone would pay.  If you are a famous embroiderer you can charge the price reflecting the time taken, but nobody has heard of me so it's why I stopped making work to sell in any serious way.  I knew I had to get it made in time to post, bearing in mind the terrible postal delays again.

It's a long time since I've been so stressed about finishing something.  I didn't want to let my mum’s partner down and I think also, having had the year we've had and only seeing my mum for a few hours this year, I wanted to do a good job.  My psoriasis and migraines flared up and I actually lost my appetite for a couple of days.  Shocking I know!

Most of the embroidery on the cushions is chain stitch and also the stems on the lilies.  The cat and the petals were worked in stab stitch I suppose.  I don't think there is a name for what I did, as it's not long/short stitch or anything technical like that.  I was really filling in the spaces in the way that needle painting is done.

Of course I did finish it and it did arrive in time for Christmas.  Parts of it worked well but I wasn't happy with the cat.  Something was lost in translation from the sketch to the embroidery.  By the time I knew it wasn't working, it was too late and the time to unpick or change it just wasn't there.  I worked on it but although I managed to improve it, it still wasn't right. Quite a ‘gremlin crossed with racoon’ rather than the short haired tabby I'd been imagining!  I just hope my mum is happy with it.

Writing this on Boxing Day I have to conclude that it has been a strange Christmas.  It has been good in parts and difficult too.  I can feel myself retreating, after a brief return to being semi-active on social media.  I don't think I can even face staying up for New Year as for the first time in my life, I have a very good idea of what 2021 will bring and I am feeling so weary of this pandemic situation now.  Any novelty has well and truly worn off.  I know that personally speaking, we are very fortunate that we are still healthy and solvent. So far.  Even so, I’m finding it harder and harder to stay cheerful.  I have slumped!  But  I do have a new, much anticipated book to escape into and I'll be including the books I've read (or listened to) this year in my next blog post, in case any of you are interested.  A good book helps me escape better than anything else I know - other than perhaps sleep.

So I will end this post here, clear up a bit of the Christmas Day debris and maybe start that new book...