Handstitched Heidi Boyd Fox Whimsy Stitches Kit

Soooo.....back on August 2, I was checking out at the City Quilter in NYC before sprinting to get the bus home, and saw this kit, all stitched up, on the wall.

As I was already forking over my credit card, I decided I would buy the kit online. I was disappointed to find that CQ didn't sell it online, and couldn't remember the name of the company. I did a google image search for fox embroidery kit to find it is by Heidi Boyd. There was free shipping that day on her etsy site, and when it arrived it was wrapped like a present, with a turquoise bow, felt flower and little fox pin, and even a handwritten note with a little fox drawn on the note. Sooooo cute.

I stitched this up one afternoon during my week-long vacation waaaay back in early September, the day after I stitched up the Mollie Makes foxes.  Remember these cuties???

Unlike the MM kit, this kit came with a high quality needle, yay!

It was awesome to be in my sewing room on a weekday afternoon, just stitching in a sunbeam.

I had never done anything like this before, but it has some parallels to garment sewing:

• Iron your fabric (the embroidery cloth)!  
• Cut out your pattern pieces!  
• Cut your fabric pieces (the felt)!

Pop the fabric into the hoop, and start arranging the pieces.   Pin some of them on. bI was dying to use Wonder Tape, but I restrained myself.

Start hand stitching.

And stitching

And then, a few (was it 4?) hours later, it's done!  I didn't give my fox whiskers; somehow I didn't like how they looked.  I added my initials and the year.

I really liked the clever way to finish off the cloth.  The directions say to cut the fabric about an inch away from the hoop.  I went the extra mile and serged that part off (if you do that, take extra care around the metal part of the hoop, as far as its "interaction" with your metal presser foot!)

Then I made a running stitch by hand to pull it together, as per the instructions.  How neat and tidy is that??  I cross stitched as a teenager and had no idea that's how you're supposed to finish the back!

YAY!  I bought this kit again as I'd like to have a fox with me at work and a fox at home too.  Why not???  I may have bought a few other kits as well, uhmmmmm.....

Overall I enjoyed the slow, meditative stitching and the lack of fitting.  I did rip out here and there and started again, but that is par for the course for me.  And since I didn't know what I was doing, I really appreciated the clear instructions.    It is very straightforward.    Foxy!


Here's a lineup of 5 of the 9 pumpkinettes I grew this year.  The printer ran out of ink....(silly joke I borrowed from the internet....you know, where they line up kittens...)

Be well!!!  (After having norovirus this weekend, I feel that takes on special significance!  Tonight was the first time I really felt like eating again, hurrah!)