In my hoop Ann Williams’ cat cushion story
Ann Williams knew just how to brighten her friend Alan’s day! A keen stitcher for only a year, she created a purrfect project for Alan, inspired by his beloved cat, Ginger Eric
What to stitch for a special friend? For Ann Williams, from Devon, the answer was simple – anything that would remind her pal Alan of his feline friend, Eric…
Ann Williams, who moved to Devon when she retired, and has always enjoyed sewing, kni ing and needlework throughout her life, only got hooked on cross stitch last year. “In January 2020 I visited my younger sister Carol. She had problems with her eyes and so she gave me all her cross stitching equipment including many editions of CrossStitcher, and so began the learning of a new skill at 83 years old,” she recalls.
Carol sadly passed away last May, but Ann continued to stitch, “I decided to take out a subscription for CrossStitcher, firstly because it was the magazine Carol had used, but I look forward to seeing the different projects printed, the informative articles, and what other stitchers are doing.”
PURRFECT PROJECTS
Last Christmas provided Ann with the ideal opportunity to use her new skills to bring some joy to her old friend Alan, who now lives in Coventry. “I sent Alan a li le Mouseloft card with a ginger cat si ing by a wood burner, he loved it and has kept it on his windowsill,” she explains. “Eric, as a ki en, was a gift to Alan from his niece Sue – four years ago, he had lost a previous cat which had been a stray. I think Eric rules the household, he is very independent and when Alan goes into hospital, in Alan’s words, ‘Eric packs his bags and goes next door and miaows until they let him in’. The bond between them is very special, mutual adoration I think, and having lost his partner two years ago, having Eric at his side makes the house so much less empty.”
With the success of the ‘Eric’ Christmas card under her belt, Ann next saw our ginger cat cushion (issue 367) – a much harder project than she’d ever a empted before – but knew she’d rise to the challenge. “When I saw the cushion pa ern, although for me it was a big project, my first thought was ‘that’s for Alan and Eric’,” she says.
“It took me about seven weeks to do and as we have been shielding with li le else to do, long days cross stitching many, many hours into the night. Because there were four pieces of pa ern to it, I realised I needed to get them into line and also the border must be correctly aligned – those were my main concerns. That I managed to make it at all was a huge reward for the hours of work and I was so pleased with the result, and to be honest a bit bereft when it was done, for it had become part of my daily life for those weeks.”
Alan was delighted with his new tribute to Eric, “As Alan lives in Coventry I arranged courier delivery, he didn’t know I was making it. I received a phone call from him to say he’d received a surprise parcel, he was overjoyed and appreciated the work that had gone into it.”
NO STOPPING ME
Ann admits that cross stitch was her saviour during lockdown, “Last year I made all our Christmas cards, 60 of them, and everyone’s birthday cards. After the Ginger Eric cushion I bought a kit of a rabbit in a plant pot, but I continue to make birthday cards for special friends and relatives and at some point will stitch more Christmas cards – the lovely thing is that the recipients ring me up and tell me how special they are.
“As for what next – well who knows what I might find in next month’s CrossStitcher to give me inspiration?”
Although for me it was a big project, my first thought was ‘that’s for Alan and Eric’