New Year's Eve

I woke up yesterday morning with a bit of a chest cold. Nothing terrible but by the time we got back from running errands, I was tired and didn't have the energy to do much other than stitch and watch movies.

I so much wanted to sew up a new block but instead, pulled one already sewn from my stash:



Yes, this will be another purse. I love the colors in this! I plan to stitch on this most of today, once I complete my end of year paperwork and finish up writing the tutorial for the Dryer Sheet Pansies which is coming on Tuesday.

I'm really looking forward to Sharon's "Take A Stitch Tuesday Challenge" project. I have loads of fun ideas and will probably get in sync with what Sharon's doing once things get rolling. Since I needed time to write the tutorial (and make a sample) I thought I would start with the Pansy project as I know I have many readers waiting for that.

I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to offer their suggestions on how to clean that beautiful vintage collar that I found at the antique mall. Special thanks to Lynne for doing a bit of research on the store! It didn't occur to me that they might still exist!

I sent a photo over to my mom and she said it can safely be dry cleaned so that's most likely what I'll do. The foundation and backing fabric are satin.

I hope everyone has a safe New Year's Eve. We aren't planning to go anywhere. Instead, we'll make some shrimp cocktail, a Pina Colada and watch television.

Vintage Collar

Again, I don't have any stitching to share today. I'm having serious withdrawal symptoms! I've had a little trouble deciding on what I want to start on. Sometimes, it's not good to have so many ideas!

Today, I thought you would enjoy seeing this beautiful vintage collar that I found last weekend at the antique mall:



It needs to be washed but I'm a little afraid to do that. I thought about having it dry-cleaned but I have reservations about that as well. I'm not sure what to do. I'm not sure how old it is but I'm assuming it's from the 40's or 50's based on the style. What are you're thoughts? Do any of my readers have experience with cleaning something like this? Can anyone confirm the 40's/50's era for me?

There is a tag on the back that says, "Made In India" - Baar & Beards Inc N.Y.

I'm sure it won't be any surprise to you that I plan to use it to make a purse. I can see this along the edge of a purse flap, with crazyquilting in the center.

So this is what I really want to start on but until I can determine if I can clean it or not, I'll put that idea on hold and do something else instead. As soon as I can decide on what the "something" else will be!

We Have A Winner!

Congradulations to Lynne Gabbe-Harkcom for being the first person to post the correct answer to the question, "What was my first published design?".

The name of the design is technically, "Mr. Snowman" but the information online states it as "Snowman On A Blanket" so Lynne, you are the winner!

I sold this design to Leisure Arts in 1989 and it wasn't published until 1993! Talk about having to have patience!

Yes, the name of the magazine is Celebrations To Cross Stitch And Crafts, the Winter 1993 issue:



And here is a photo of the design:



I don't know if this was too easy or too hard! But I enjoy having contests and am already planning on another one!

Lynne, when you have a free moment, I need you to send me your snail mail address so I can mail your prize to you!

Thank you to everyone who took the time to search for the answer.

CONTEST!

As promised, I have a fun contest for you today!

You'll have to do a bit of research, but the answer is available on the internet.

Ok, here it is:

What was my very first published design and what magazine was it published in?

You have to give me the title of the design as well as the name and issue date of the magazine.

The first person to post a comment with the correct answer, will receive this beautiful Venice lace applique which I've hand-painted. I've also included some small pearly sequins, seed beads and tiny yellow pearls to embellish it with:



Ok everyone, do your research, have fun and good luck!

Crazyquilting Gifts

I thought you would enjoy seeing several gifts that I made for this Christmas. I couldn't post them until now:



Crazyquilting is a wonderful way to use photographs thanks to commercial inkjet fabric sheets!



I found that beautiful hummingbird pin at a flea market over the Summer. I don't know if it's vintage or not but it was in perfect condition and I thought it would be a beautiful focal point on a crazyquilt piece.

If you would like to see larger versions of these photos, just click on one to go to my Flickr site.

Rare Photos Of Me

Since I don't have any stitching to share, I thought I would share a few, yet rare photos of me. These are not great. My husband is not any better at photography than I am!

This one was taken on Christmas Eve at my mom's house:



As usual, I was busy yaking at Scott while he was trying to take pictures! I always feel like I look stupid in photos because I am always talking to him! That's why there aren't many photos of me. I don't allow too many!

This one was taken Christmas morning:



This one is a little fuzzy but at least I remembered to take my glasses off! That's my crabby-butt Garfield with me. I love walking around and carrying him. He's a big teddy bear but ornary as can be!

That's about all I have for you today. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Tomorrow is "Contest Day" so please come back to check that out!

Happy Christmas!

Good Morning everyone! And Happy Christmas to you!

I had a lovely day with my husband yesterday. He took me to The Dress Barn and told me to pick something out for my birthday. He's never been one to guess on what I would like. He much prefers to let me pick something out and I'm fine with that. I found a beautiful black skirt, pieced like a crazyquilt. Very Victorian Gypsy looking! I wore it last night and will post a photo tomorrow.

He also took me to the antique mall where I felt like I was in heaven. I just love antiquing! I guess it's the "thrill of the hunt". You never know what you will find! I found a beautiful vintage collar complete with beading and a big bag of lace, mostly crocheted! Guess what I'll be doing with some of that?

Well, as promised, I have a few stocking stuffers for you:



This pretty little Counted Cross Stitch Christmas Wreath design can be stitched on cross stitch fabric and made into an ornament or used as a motif on a crazyquilt.



And this fractal design can be printed on commercial inkjet fabric and worked into a crazyquilt, used in a collage piece, for scrapbooking and/or other mixed media or altered art projects. You can also print it on paper and use it to make greeting cards.

Click on the photos to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large versions of the patterns.

I enjoy blogging so much but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun if I didn't have so many readers who come everyday to see my stitching and read my ramblings about my passion.

This is my way of saying thank you for taking the time to read my blog.

Have a wonderful and safe holiday everyone!

Happy Christmas!

Christmas Baby!

I completed the stitching my Purple Painted Lady purse last night:



After adding my little signature cat, my husband looked at this and told me it needed a spider web. So I added one! You might want to click on the photo which will take you over to my Flickr site where you can see a larger version. The spiderweb is a bit obsure. I didn't want it stand out too much but I loved Scott's idea and it was the perfect motif for that space. When I get it sewn together, I'll post another photo taken with the digi. They always look a little dark when I use the scanner. It's much brighter in person.

We took a nice drive up to Crystal Lake yesterday and stopped at our Local Needlework Shop where I bought a few new Watercolor Threads:



I just love using these on my crazyquilts! They're 3 ply and I use only one strand which is pretty close to a #5 Perle cotton.

I won't have any stitching to share with you tomorrow. Not so much because of the holiday but because today is my birthday! I'm a Christmas Eve baby. Scott is taking me out for some antiquing today, which is one of my favorite things to do! We'll also be stopping at Michael's so I can use my 50% off coupon!

Tonight we'll head over to my parents house for dinner and to visit with them and my aunt & uncle.

Despite not having stitching to share tomorrow, I do hope you'll have a few minutes to stop by. I will be leaving a few stocking stuffers here for you. It's my way of saying thank you for taking the time to read my blog everyday!

Also, I'll have a fun little contest next week with a nice prize for the winner. I hope it'll help with the after-Christmas blahs!

See you tomorrow everyone! And Happy Christmas!

Almost Done!

I had a good few hours yesterday to work on this:



I so much wanted a pretty button cluster on this but no matter what I tried, it just didn't work. I really thought white vintage Mother Of Pearls would have looked great but they didn't. I tried grey MOP's, black glass buttons, rhinestone buttons and even some pretty yet simple shirt buttons. They just didn't work.

So instead, I did another beaded button frame to showcase a fancy button. This one is Lacey Glass Button that I bought a few years back at a flea market. It came in a little bag that had several pretty glass buttons. I thought it was a nice piece to use considering the lady theme.

Also, if you look closely, I changed the "brooch" on the ladie's collar. I had a tiny glass purple flower bead there. While poking around in my button boxes, I found some tiny cameo buttons. It really looked great so I removed the flower button and added this one instead.

I just have a bit more to do. The first thing I'll do this afternoon is add my cat. I've decided to stitch him in white in the bottom right-hand corner and I'll add some small pink flower buttons. I'm not sure it will need anything else after that or not.

I will have an update for you tomorrow.

The Cast-On Stitch

Ok, I've decided that I really don't enjoy doing these! Don't get me wrong, I love the way they look, but I find them time-consuming and fussy. I had a terrible time getting them to lay right, they twisted on me and I spent alot of time straightening them out:



Honestly, I got bored with doing them and decided to alternate the cast-on stitch grapes with some grapes made of beads. I can't say I'll never do them again because I know I will, but I'll be limiting them. I think too that they're easier done with #5 Perle than with #8 like I used here.

For me, crazyquilting isn't really about the stitching. You may have noticed that I pretty much use the same stitches over and over on every piece I do. Occasionally, I'll explore something new and sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't. For me, it's about balance. Working with color to tame the craziness and still allow the chaos that is "extremely embellished crazyquilting". Deep down, I still think it's my way of balancing the chaos in my mind. The creative mind can be rather complicated and noisy. Ideas race around, sometimes faster than I can write them down and certainly, I never get to trying everything idea that comes to me.

Truthfully, the beading is my favorite part. How strange that I can sit for hours and sew beads onto the various seam treatments and lace pieces but ask me to re-attach a button to one of my husband's shirts and I have to force myself to do it!

I love beading so much, that I've been buying several beading magazines. Bead & Button magazine is my favorite! I've so much wanted to try one of the freeform flower design patterns that they offer but my mind just will not comprehend beading without the security of a foundation fabric. I just can't grasp the concept of not sewing the beads onto something. They offer great diagrams and instructions but I think I need to make my trying it more gradual than just jumping in, which is what I usually do but it's not working for me this time.

With that said, I'm going try some of the techniques and patterns in these magazines but I want to see if they can be worked on a foundation. If I can get the hang of that, then maybe my mind too will convert and open to new possibilites. I will be exporing this during Sharon's Take A Stitch Tuesday Challenge project. Who knows what doors this will open up for us!

Dryer Sheet Pansies - Supply List

Sharon's Take A Stitch project will be starting on January 2nd. This will be a year long project and Sharon's focus will be basically, to take a given stitch and push it to it's limits. What variations are possible, what it can be used for and so on and so forth.

I will be participating in the Take A Stitch project offering patterns, examples and ideas in which to use various stitches. Since I don't know what stitch Sharon will be starting with, and since I need a starting point, my focus at first will be on the Blanket Stitch. It's a wonderful stitch with unlimited possibilities!

We'll be using the Blanket Stitch in making Pansies out of Painted Dryer Sheets. The pansies can be used to embellish all sorts of items, from crazyquilts to purses, lampshades to clothing, even traditional quilts.

As I promised yesterday, here is the supply list of things you'll need to make the Painted Dryer Sheet Pansies. You can find the tutorial for painting the dryer sheets in my post on December 21st. If you would like to make some of the Pansies from dryer sheets but don't care to mess with painting them, I still have several packs available in my Etsy Shop.

SUPPLIES

Painted Dryer Sheets – recommended colors are purple, yellow and green

Fusible Web either Heat & Bond or Wonder Under

Cotton Fabric – recommended colors are lavender, light yellow and light green

Light Weight Iron-On Interfacing

Threads – you can use 6 strand embroidery floss or #5 Perle Cotton. Colors should be a bit darker than the dryer sheets.

An 1/8 yard of the fusible web, cotton fabric and interfacing will make several pansies.

Feel free to make your pansies any colors that you would like. For me, I like purple and yellow pansies.

Gail asked me yesterday why I use the Lumier Paint from Jacquard and can other paints be used. I recommend the Lumier paint for several reasons. First, they soak well into the fibers and they dry soft. They were designed specifically for textile and fiber art although they can be used on paper and wood as well. They're a good quality metallic paint and have a slight transparent quality to them.

You're certainly welcome to try other fabric paints but I definately do not recommend regular craft paint. They will only sit on the surface and they dry hard. They won't be soft to the touch like the Lumier paint is. If you choose to stretch or tear your dryer sheets for other projects, regular craft paint will crack.

I have only used the Lumier Paint on the dryer sheets. To quote my husband, the mechanic, "if it works, don't fix it!" Honestly though, if you want to try something else, please feel free to do so. If it doesn't work, the dryer sheets are cheep! The Lumier paints are not. They sell for $9.99 at Michael's and they don't go far when painting the dryer sheets.

If anyone has any questions regarding this project before we start, please don't hesitate to leave a message for me here, on my Flickr site or you can send me an email. My email address can always be found on my main Kitty & Me Designs website. Even though it's the holidays, I will be around everyday for awhile so contact me if you need to.

Update On Purple Painted Lady Purse

I wanted to share with you, an update on my Purple Painted Lady purse:



I started adding beads last night. I must admit, the beading is my favorite part! I also started a vine to the left of the lady. I'm still leaning towards some cast-on stitches to go with that vine but I still haven't decided for sure yet. I guess I'll decide when I sit down to stitch! Stop by again tomorrow to see if I used them or not!

Also, if I have any sane quilters who read my blog, I packed up tons and tons of 2 inch charm squares. Perfect for a Postage Stamp quilt:



I don't know why I cut so many the last time I made a quilt. Maybe I like cutting the squares more than sewing them together! Ha, ha, ha! I know for sure that I like cutting fabric better than hand-quilting!!! Anyway, these are in my Etsy shop in case someone can use them.

Painted Dryer Sheet Tutorial

Supplies

-Dryer Sheets (run through the dryer with laundry or wet towels)

-Lumier Paints by Jacquard (available for $9.99 at Michael’s Craft Store)

1- inch wide Stencil Brush

Paper towels

Wax Paper or Parchment Paper

The dryer sheets that you need are the ones that look like interfacing.

Cover your work surface with Wax Paper or Parchment Paper.

Shake the Lumier Paint well. Squeeze a generous amount onto your dryer sheet.

It does take a lot of paint. Using the stencil brush, work the paint into the fibers.

You will probably need to add a bit more paint here and there. Make sure the paint is worked very well into the dryer sheet on both sides. This takes a bit of time.

Once complete, lay the painted dryer sheet on a paper towel and allow to dry over night. Using your iron, heat set the dryer sheet using a cotton setting.

I will add this tutorial to my main website sometime after the holidays. Tomorrow (Friday), I will give you the supply list for making pansies with the painted dryer sheets.

Purple Painted Lady Purse Continued

I spent yesterday packaging up 1,000's of 2 inch quilt squares. I don't know what I was thinking the last time I made a postage stamp quilt! I had a rubbermaid container filled with them! I packed them up in groups of 400 plus and yes, I actually counted them all out! It took hours and hours. I'll list them over in the shop later today.

In the meantime, here's an update on my Purple Painted Lady Purse:



The row of sequin trim above the lace is actually a rosey pink color. It doesn't show up well on the scanner. I'm going to have to add something to the feather stitch along the right side of the lady too. That seam doesn't show up well even in person.

On another note, I'll be writing up the tutorial for the painted dryer sheets later today. I expect to have the tutorial ready to publish here tomorrow. I know everyone is busy with Christmas but I want you all to have what what you need in time for the start of Sharon's Take A Stitch project.

Our first project will be Dryer Sheet Pansies with my focus being on the Blanket Stitch. On Friday, I'll give you the supply list for actually making the pansies.

And, to help with the post-Christmas blahs (I don't have that problem but I know alot of people do), I'm going to host a contest next week. That'll give everyone something fun to look forward to. There will be a nice prize for the winner and although you'll have to do a bit of research, the answer is available on the internet!

Ok everyone, have a good day! I'll see ya'll tomorrow!

Purple Painted Lady Purse and Crocheted Ric/Rack

I started the stitching on this piece yesterday:



I had a good couple of hours to stitch on it and as you can see, have most of the seams covered with embroidery. I'm thinking of doing some cast-on stitches to the left of the lady but haven't decided for sure yet. I still find them a little fussy but I really like the way they look!

Susan wanted to see my pieces of crocheted ric/rack. I've been hoarding these, saving them for something special. I paid a pretty penny for them at a flea market a couple of years ago. I don't see crocheted ric/rack very often so when I do, buying them is pretty much a sure thing!



Quite honestly, I don't care if ever use everything that I have. Some of the enjoyment for me is in having it, esp. beautiful hand-crocheted pieces like this. Sometimes, I just open my lace drawers and pull pieces out just to look at them and admire them. The same goes for my fabric, beads and buttons too! I truly enjoy my stash!

Susan also asked me what my Redwork Cupid will be. You know me, I like making doorknockers so that's what I'll do with him. I'll probably border him with some red piping and maybe a bit of lace. I'll post another photo of him when I get him sewed up.

On another note, hop over to Allison's blog and take a look at her Crazy For Flowers quilt. It's complete now. What a stunning crazyquilt!!!

Ok, I'm off to package up some "charm quilt squares". I got a little carried away the last time I did a sane patchwork quilt and I know I won't be doing another one anytime soon!

Loads Of Finishing!

I had a very productive day yesterday! After running to Michaels to pick up a few supplies (I didn't need any, I just wanted some!) I parked myself on my sofa and I did the finishing on my 3 cellphone pouches:







They are just so cute! I hand-beaded the bottoms and added snaps for closure. They're big enough for a cellphone, a little cash and Driver's License! I've listed them already in my Etsy Shop.

When those were completed, I added the embellishments to my Redwork Cupid:



I sewed on a few of those little Forgetmenot flowers that are often used on shower favors. 3 orange seed beads hold them in place. Then I added some leaves made of mint green seed beads. Those leaves are worked like a detached chain stitch using 9 green seed beads. I added a few small light yellow pearl beads and this is now exactly what I wanted it to look like!

If you've never done Redwork before and would like to give it a try, 2 strands of DMC #498 is a very good red to work with.

I'm now off to stitch on my Purple Painted Lady piece. And that's my plan for the rest of today!

Purple Painted Lady Purse

Well, my cellphone pouches are all sewn together but I didn't get to the hand finishing yet. I still need to add the cords and a snap on each one. That's my project for this afternoon! I didn't get to the do-dads on my Redwork Cupid either.

I did however, sew up a new block:



It will be another purse. Have I ever mentioned that I love fancy purses? Once or twice, right?

Anyway, I have several blocks already sewn but didn't feel like working on any of those so I did a new one. And I have an idea for another one, all pieced in white and then the stitching will be done all in black. I'll do the beading in various colors. That should be interesting. But I only had time to sew one block yesterday so I'll start on this when my little cellphone pouches are done and hopefully I'll have time during the week to sew up my white block.

Pink Cellphone Pouch and Redwork Cupid Complete!

I did some serious stitching yesterday! I finished the stitching on the pink cellphone pouch:



Susan commented on how perfectly spaced my Buttonhole wheels are. I have a trick for that! I took a coin, a dime actually and drew a line down the middle using a ruler and a black permanent marker. Then I lined the black line up on the dime along the seam line. I used a pencil and traced around the dime. It's best to start in the middle of the seam that you want to cover. That way you won't have too much space on either side of the row you're working on.

If you want larger Buttonhole wheels, use a nickel or a quarter.

You can also use a quilters blue pen to mark your piece. That only works on very light fabrics though. If working on a dark fabric, try a white caulk pencil. And if working on a plush fabric like velvet, you'll have to use tissue paper. Using a ruler, draw a line on the tissue, then mark the line with your coin. Line it up along your seam on your CQ. You can baste it or pin it on. Do your stitching and then carefully tear away the tissue paper out from under your stitches. Now I know alot of stitchers use Press & Seal. I've tried this and I don't recommend it. I had alot more trouble getting it out then I do with the tissue.

I guess with my cross stitch background, I feel the need for my stitches to be perfectly and evenly spaced. Eyeballing it just doesn't work for me. I use waste canvas for feather stitches and fan stitches but it doesn't work for the Buttonhole Wheels so this is a nice way to do it. I hope these ideas help you to have perfectly spaced stitches too!

When I completed the cellphone pouch, I worked on the little redwork cupid that I started back at Thanksgiving and completed that:



Since I love beads and do-dads, I will be adding a few embellishments to this. Probably just on the heart. Stop by again tomorrow to see what I do with it!

I'm off to run my sewing machine. I want to sew the cellphone pouches together and then work up another CQ block or two. I have such a cool idea for one! I have to see what my stash offers in the way of white fancy fabrics first!

Pink Cellphone Pouch Continued

I honestly don't know why these are taking me so long to complete. My pre-Christmas activities are done and aside from housework & laundry, I really don't have anything else to do at the moment:



I really just have a little bit of beading left to do on this one. I plan on completeing it today and sewing all three up over the weekend.

Susan asked me if I was planning on putting these in the brick & mortar store. Actually, I was going to put these in my Etsy shop. But first, I have to get them done!

A Quick Update

I'm going out with my parents for a little while today so I just have a quick update for you on my cellphone pouches. I finished the purple one:



And then started on the pink one:



I'll have some stitching time later today and will post another update tomorrow.

Lace Variety Packs and Cellphone Pouches

My newest batch of vintage lace is all packed up now and available for purchase in my Etsy shop:



Each package contains at least 12 pieces of handpainted lace and motifs, all suitable sizes for crazyquilting and other mixed media projects. Each pack is different too!

I also listed a few counted cross stitch things today. My mom asked me to sell a few more things for her. All orders placed today "Wednesday" and paid for with PayPal will be shipped in tomorrow's mail.

On the stitching front, I worked on the purple cellphone pouch last night:



I have a little more stitching to do on the purple one and then I'll start on the pink one:



When I finish these and sew them up, I'd like to do a heart shaped purse. I hope to have time on Friday afternoon to run my sewing machine. I have to think about how it'll be finished before I start on it. Sometimes, I have so many ideas! I wish I could do things faster! Too bad I need sleep once in awhile!

Lots To Share Today!

First, I want to share a photo of the vintage lace that I handpainted yesterday:



It took me over 5 1/2 hours to paint everything but I can't begin to tell you how much I enjoy doing this! So many different patterns and designs! Each piece is so beautiful in itself but once painted, the patterns really pop!

I'll be starching and ironing today and I'm sure that will take another good couple of hours but again, I so much enjoy this process and being able to see and touch such a variety of old lace pieces.

Allison asked me what fabric dyes I use. I use Dye-na-flow by Jacquard. I started purchasing the small sampler packs at Michaels. They were perfect for my personal use. But now that I'm doing this on a larger scale, I order the larger bottles online.

When I finished painting yesterday, I worked on my green cellphone pouch:



This is complete now so I'll be starting on this one next:



On another note, Sharon asked her readers to mention her "Take A Stitch" project which will be starting on January 2nd. To learn more about it, hop over to Sharon's In A Minute Ago blog and read her post for today.

I'll be joining in on this project too, sharing patterns, stitches and designs with you. In fact, sometime in the next week, I'll be writing up the tutorial for painting dryer sheets. One of my first projects will feature "dryer sheet flowers" which you can use on your crazyquilts and other projects. I want to get that tutorial to you before the "Take A Stitch" start date so if you want to make some of these flowers, you can have everything ready in advance.

If you want to make some of the flowers but don't want to mess with the paint (it is very messy and time consuming and the paints are rather expensive), I still have several of the Painted Fiber Sheets packs available in my Etsy shop.

Ok, I'm off to starch and iron all that gorgeous old lace!

Cellphone Pouch And More Vintage Lace

I started some beading on this little cellphone pouch:



I really like the way the stitching looks all in one color. The reason I wanted to experiment with this is because last week, I sewed up a larger block that feels a bit wild to me. The fabrics looked great until I had it all sewn up and now, it seems a bit too "all over the map". I'm thinking that using all white thread will help bring it all together. When I get to it, I'll blog that project so you can follow my progress.

I expect to complete the green pouch later today. For now, I have another batch of vintage lace to paint:



This batch is quite old! I would definately say pre-30's on 90% of it. There's are lots of small pieces and some nice motifs in here. I'll be putting it together in "variety packs". In the meantime, I'm off to paint!

Green Cellphone Pouch Update

I didn't have alot of stitching time yesterday. I wrapped Christmas gifts which took a good bit of my time, but I did manage to get the seams covered on this. I used DMC Ecru #5 Perle on all the seams and I must say, it has a nice look! I wouldn't do that on every piece but I thought it would be fun to experiment:



We'll be visiting with my in-laws today but I do expect to have a bit of stitching time this evening.

A note on tassels, first, one of these days I'll either learn how to spell or I'll start using the "spell-checker"! Ha, ha, ha!

My friend Cherry emailed me and suggested that I look at using some of the cool new yarns available these days. She said they're great for making tassels. Cherry, why didn't I think of that?!!! Thank you! Yes, those beautiful yarns would make great tassels and both my WalMart and Michaels stores have an excellent selection. Thank you Cherry! I'll be doing that next time! And whatever I have left over can be used on another Fish Under The Sea block!

Tassles

Nothing all that interesting to share today. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I wanted a big gold tassle for my Girl With A Kitten purse. Well, my only near-by fabric store option is WalMart and they didn't really have what I wanted. I bought 4 gold tassles and ended up just sewing them together. Then I wrapped some braid around them, the same braid that I used on the outside of the purse and sewed that on. I sewed the tassle on to the bottom of the purse and then added a pretty button:



It works. I do wish I had put a velvet ruffle at the top of the purse. I didn't think about it until last night when I sewing the button on. I guess that's a good idea for the next one that I do.

I was tired from being cold all day yesterday and didn't start on the green cellphone pouch. But I did paint an applique for it:



I will be stitching on this today. I want to experiment with stitching all in one color. Maybe just white or cream thread on this piece and then embellish as I would normally. I'm not sure what kind of effect that will produce. Maybe a sort of lacy look. Or maybe not. Stay tuned to see where this goes!

Cellphone Pouch

I'm really running late today! I've been grocery shopping, been to WalMart, went up to Richmond to put a few more things in my showcase and stopped at the Post Office on the way home. It's a bitter cold day here and I'm frozen solid!

Among my other finishes from earlier this week, I completed this bookmark:



Last night, I did the beading on top and bottom. This is one of the items I took up to my showcase. I can't say that I would enjoy doing a bunch of these. The horizontal piecing made it difficult to handsew the opening shut after turning right side out. I added a piece of heavy duty interfacing to the inside to give it a bit of body. And as you can see, I kept the embellishing to simple flat beads and seed beads.

My next CQ projects will be several more little cellphone pouches. I have three of them sewn and ready to stitch. Here's the green one:



Like the last one I made, this one will measure 4 inches wide X 5 inches high. I want to start on it tonight but I first want to make a tassle for my Girl With A Kitten purse. WalMart didn't have what I was looking for and I didn't have time to run to the fabric store in Crystal Lake. I bought a few things that I think I can work with so stop by tomorrow (Saturday) to see what I come up with!

Well, I'm off now to curl up on my sofa with one of my warm patchwork quilts, one of my cats (whichever one will stay) and a cup of hot tea! More tomorrow!

Completed Projects

As I mentioned yesterday, I planned to do a bunch of finishing on my sewing machine. And that I did! I love days that turn out to be so productive!

First is my Blue Painted Lady pillow:



I just love this one! The lady has a sort of sassy look on her face! And I love the colors too. I might have to use the lady again on another piece for myself.

It's an 8 inch pillow and a gift for a friend.

Next, is my little cellphone pouch:



It measures 4 inches wide X 5 inches high. Jo in NZ asked me for the dimensions and to take a photo of it with my cellphone. Here you go Jo! I lined it and backed it with the black fabric that I used on the front and I added a snap for closure. I'm thinking of making a couple of these for either my booth up in Richmond or for my Etsy shop. It worked up very quickly and who couldn't use a cellphone pouch? Well, I don't think I would use one because I just keep my cellphone in my pocket but I'm sure there are lots of ladies out there who would love to have something like this! This one is a gift.

Last, is my Girl With A Kitten purse:



This one is almost done. I want to pick up a pretty gold tassle for it. I'm hoping I can find something at WalMart tomorrow. I would love to use this purse this coming weekend. And what I would give to have a regular fabric store here in McHenry! We have a Michael's so I don't understand why we don't have a JoAnn's or a Hancock Fabrics. If I want to go to a regular fabric store, I have to drive over 1/2 an hour into the next town. Arrggg......ok, enough moaning! This is why I have such a large stash. But I don't have any big gold tassles!

I did a few other things yesterday too but I'll save those for tomorrow. I think today, I'll sew up another CQ block to stitch on. Maybe a few cellphone pouches too. I have a few boring things to take care of first!

On a final note, today is Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day here in the US. Several years ago, I came across an interesting website called, "Ginger's Diary". Ginger was a 17 year old American girl living at Hickam Field, Hawaii at the time of the attack. Published on this website are her diary entries from December, 1941.