Can you make me this?

Most makers are asked to make something for someone else from time to time.  I often find myself saying 'yes' when I haven't really thought through whether I can actually make the item in question.

At Easter, a friend from knitting group asked if I could crochet a rabbit from her Woman's Weekly pattern.  I'd no idea if I could but I enjoyed the challenge of making this bunny for her.

Shortly after, I was contacted by a former colleague from the National Trust for Scotland who also had a request for my creative self.  We'd  worked together in the shop at Pitmedden Garden last summer.  I was part of a small friendly team who worked hard to maintain a beautiful garden, farming museum and tearoom and support all the people who came to visit from all over the world.

At the helm was a very special lady, the much respected and loved Head Gardener and Property Manager.  She was moving on after 24 years with the Trust and my friend was making a special leaving gift for her from all the team.

Pitmedden Garden not only has a dedicated workforce and volunteer task force who look after it, it also has a resident cat called Ben.  Ben is very popular with younger visitors especially and even has his own merchandise!

It was Ben I was being asked to make in miniature to include in the presentation piece!

My friend sent me this image from the internet and said, "Can you make me something like this?"

I'd little experience of felting animals.  This blog post shows my wee felted dog (which I thought looked more like a sheep!) so I sought out this excellent tutorial to guide me through making a cat's face.

First, I made the basic shapes for Ben's face.

Then I fashioned  his nose and made ears which were far too big for a start so I had to trim them down! 

I then added his eyes, whiskers and distinctive eyebrows.

Here is Ben with 'Ben'

And here is the finished presentation wreath my friend made, complete with tiny Ben peeking out from the garden paraphernalia!

Needless to say the gift was very well received and I was delighted to have been able to make a small part of it.

So what am I being asked to make next?  Well, I'm currently knitting a jumper for my daughter's 20th birthday next week at her request for the first time ever - pattern and wool colours chosen by her. 

But I suspect that's a whole blog post on its own...