Transferring the cat image to black felt.

Transferring the image of the cat to the black felt is the first thing needed to be done.  I add fusible tricot to the back of the felt.  It keeps the felt from stretching and is light enough to mark on with a permanent marker.  I have a tutorial below my header but often when I use the technique I will review as it is SO cool.  I also used this method to transfer a VERY ornate peacock tail... http://olderrose.blogspot.com/search/label/cut-away%20transfer

Once I have my felt backed with tricot and I have made a reverse image I am ready to start...  I cut around the entire image and place it on the tricot and trace around it.

 Then I cut the ears off and place the image back in place and mark where I cut the ears away.

The eyes are the keys to everything and I not only want them correctly on the face but focused in the right direction.   So I start by cutting out just the pupils and replacing the imaging and marking where I have cut.

Once the pupils are marked I cut out the entire eye and repeat the process.

Next is the nose and the same process

Finally I want a general position of the mouth and chin so I keep cutting away and tracing.

The last step on the back is to do a running basting stitch along the main lines.  I used a medium gray thread... not too visible on this side but.....












when I turn it over all my lines show up on the black felt and I am ready to stitch.  I always start with the eyes whether it is a painting or stitching.  If I get the eyes right everything falls into place.  If the eyes aren't right I need to start over.

Those of you who have followed the blog know my DH insists he NEVER eats chicken...but if the truth were to be known, he eats chicken all the time.   I just call it "turkey."  Forty-two years and he has never caught on..

But tonight I served him chicken and actually told him it was chicken...but it was a Hungarian recipe.  Well his grandmother immigrated from Hungary and according to him she was the world's best cook... I made a Hungarian Chicken Paprikash and told him I'm pretty sure it is the same as the recipe that his Aunt Alice had that was his grandmother's...   Sounded plausible to him, he ate it and loved it.  And it was pretty darn good. The Hungarian name was Csirkepapriká