Wool applique and embroidery

This is my sister’s Christmas gift for this year. She has two dogs but has fallen in love with cats. Hopefully, she will like this wall hanging. I had no idea what to do for the border. Then, looking through my stash I
found this fabric which had all the colors of the applique. Plus, the
yellow brightened the piece.

I had made the center block a little while ago, but revisited it by changing the color of the cat’s facial features, adding borders and quilting it. I did quilt all around the wool applique to add depth. The simple echo quilting finished everything off.

As you can see by my simple embroidery, I am no Sue Spargo… I do like to add embroidery to applique in general, and on wool applique in particular. The many textures enrich the design. The wool I used for the leaves is my favorite because it is very thick
(felted from some clothing). I back stitched around each leaf but, due
to its thickness, the stitches look different: I love it! Wool applique
is really fun, and I am quilting another wall hanging showcasing it. I
am hoping to have it ready by tomorrow or Monday.

My design is actually an ode to my first cat, Jamie, who lived to be 18 years old. As I write this, my other cat, Sapphire, has just reached over the computer mouse and scratched me! (&#$@!!!). I ain’t putting her on a quilt any time soon…

I hope your Fall day is as beautiful as mine.