Blue Santa Ornament - Stitching Complete!

I finished up this little ornament yesterday afternoon:



This one is already spoken for so I'll get it sewn up as soon as I get back from vacation.

And speaking of vacation, we'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning for Kentucky. We're going to the Streetrod Nationals in Louisville. So this will be my last post until Tuesday the 7th.

And guess what? I'm going to get to meet Karen South! As you know if you read Karen's blog, she lives in Louisville. I ordered some fabric packs from Karen last week and mentioned to her that we would be in her neck of the woods and she offered to take me to a big fabric warehouse store and a bead store! Oh, and she asked if I would like to see the antique crazy quilt at the Louisville airport! How cool is that? So Thursday is my fun shopping day with Karen.

We'll be at the fairgrounds for the car show all day on Friday and then on Saturday, Scott and I are going to visit Bardstown which is just south of Louisville. Bardstown is a pretty little historical town with buildings dating to the 1700's if I remember correctly. They have lots of little shops and ya'll know I love looking in little shops!

We'll spend Sunday morning back at the car show and then head home around noon. I'll need Monday to get my brains back in my head! I just get so "all over the map" right before and right after a trip. We'll have to get groceries and do laundry and all that stuff so I'll be back to posting on Tuesday.

Until then everyone, have a great week!

Labels: crazy quilting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 9:44 AM   4 comments

Another Vintage Pattern For Embroidered Doily

This is another antique pattern from my collection. It's from a newspaper dated May 18, 1913:



As you can see, it barely fit on the scanner. Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can download the larger version.

I'm not sure I'd want to stitch all of those French Knots but you can substitute seed beads for them.

If anyone stitches this pattern, I would love to see a photo.

Enjoy!

Labels: antique embroidery patterns

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 9:39 AM   0 comments

New Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments

I didn't get any stitching in yesterday. My sweet husband took me to see Harry Potter. I loved it! I just can't wait for it to come out on DVD!

Anyway, I'll have time to finish up the blue santa ornament later today. I'm starting to get things together for our trip to Kentucky on Wednesday but the majority of packing will be tomorrow.

I worked up these seam treatments quite awhile ago and have been saving them for right before our trip thinking it'll give you something play with while I'm away:







I've used all of these on my projects and they are lovely! I use 8.5 count waste canvas and #5 perle cotton.

Click on any of the images to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large versions of the patterns. If you're new to my blog, I have a whole album filled with charted seam treatments. Look for it on the right hand side of my Flickr site.

I'm off to get some more things together but please stop by tomorrow to see my finished santa ornament!

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:21 AM   1 comments

Some Finishing

I did the finishing on a few things yesterday. I like to wait until I have 3 or 4 projects to finish and then do them all at once.

Anyway, my first finish is on these little Comfort Cat Dolls for Pats Comfort Doll Project:



I absolutely love making these! So there will be more. My first one came out to be about 7 inches high and Pat asked for dolls that were 6 inches. I just shortened my pattern a bit and they're the right size now. Can't you just see a whole basket of these little kitties?

The next finish is my little embroidered squirrel:



I made him into a doorhanger for my aunt for her birthday. This design is from my vintage transfer collection.

I also had time to stitch a bit on my Blue Santa Ornament:



All that I have left to do is to add my little kitty and few more little snowflakes and this will be ready to sew together.

Labels: crazy quilting, vintage embroidery patterns

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:42 AM   6 comments

Dove Of Hope

I've been quite busy here and haven't had time to stitch on my Santa Ornament. I expect to have stitching time later today.

Since we'll be updating my website in the very near future, removing most of what's there at the moment, I thought I would go ahead and put this complimentary design on my Flickr site so that it's still available to anyone who wants it:



Please respect my copyrights. Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large version.

For now, I'm off to do the finishing on my recent projects including my 2 latest Comfort Cats to send to Pat.

Labels: breast cancer awareness, counted cross stitch

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 11:06 AM   3 comments

Antique Pattern - Embroidered Doily

This pattern is from an old newspaper dated May, 1913:



Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where can download the larger version.

Labels: antique embroidery patterns

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 11:03 AM   1 comments

New Designs by Kitty & Me

This is my latest leaflet from Imaginating Inc.:



Check with your local needlework shop for availablity.

Labels: counted cross stitch, pamela kellogg designs

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 12:15 PM   1 comments

Vintage Crochet & Tatted Edgings

This is another of the vintage patterns from my collection. It appears to be a complimentary sheet from The American Thread Company:





It isn't dated, but I'll ballpark it from the 50's.

Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large version.

Labels: crochet, tatting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 12:09 PM   1 comments

Santa Ornament

I started stitching on this little project yesterday afternoon:



Yes, I did do a similar ornament last Summer. Anyway, this is what it looks like now:



We'll be going on vacation next week so for now, I'm focusing on small projects. Today, I would like to trace out a few of my vintage transfer designs. Things I can work into crazy quilts at a later date. When we get back, I'll see if Scott can make me a frame for my peacock quilt. I'm itching to start on that!

Labels: crazy quilting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:12 AM   2 comments

Filet Collar And Cuff In Rose Design

This is an antique pattern dated February, 1915. It's from Modern Priscilla:



I scanned this at 200 dpi so hopefully, it's readable. Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can download the large version.

If you don't care to use it for Filet Crochet, you can do the rose motifs in counted cross stitch.

Labels: filet crochet

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:06 AM   0 comments

Comfort Kitty Dolls & New Autism Design

I finished the stitching on both the green & the pink Comfort Kitty Dolls yesterday:





I should be able to sew these up over the weekend and get them ready to send to Pat.

I also wanted to let you know that I've added a new Autism Awareness design to my Etsy shop:



All proceeds will be donated to Our Children's Circle.

Labels: crazy quilting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:41 AM   4 comments

Green Comfort Kitty

I have loads to share with you today! First, I thought you'd like to see this photo of one of our sunflowers:



Scott took this photo on Friday. It grew from seeds dropped by the birds. Actually, we have a ton of them and they're so pretty, we decided to let them just grow! I would like to use this photo on a purse one of these days. I've always loved sunflowers. They're so bright and cheerful!

As planned for yesterday, I finished the hand-sewing on my latest little seascape cellphone pouch:



This is a gift for Scott's step mom. I'll be seeing her the first week of August and I like to have something to give to her. She loves the cellphone pouches that I've made her so I thought it was time for a new one!

I also worked on Maxine's quilt during the ballgame yesterday. I'll have some highlights for you later this week. When I got tired of working on that, I started stitching on the green comfort kitty doll:



If I finish this one today, and I expect I will, I'll start on the pink one next:



I'm not exactly thrilled with how the pink one sewed up but I know I can work with it.

Last but not least for today, I sewed up the side panels for my peacock quilt:



I'm not thrilled with that bright blue in there. It matches the shading in the peacock's body but it looks a little bold to me. I think I can soften it with some ecru colored lace. I don't have any stitching frames that these will fit on so I'll have to ask Scott to make me something. It'll be a little while before I can start on these but I thought you'd like to see the pieced blocks.

Finally for today, I thought my cross stitch readers might like to check out a new blog. Felicia blogs about her stitching at Felicity In Cyberspace. If you have a free moment, please drop by and say hello to her!

Labels: crazy quilting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:07 AM   4 comments

Sewing & Stitching

I sewed for hours yesterday! I have a lot of new blocks to stitch on as well as a 2 new Comfort Kitty Dolls to work on for Pat's project:



I plan to stitch on this later today. The other Comfort Kitty is pink. I shortened my pattern just a bit so when finished, they should be just about 6 inches high. The purple one that I did came out to be 7 inches.

I also did the machine work on my latest Seascape. All I have left on that is the little bit of handwork. I'll complete that today and have a photo for you tomorrow.

I also finished the stitching on my little Squirrel:



I absolutely have to do more with my vintage transfer collection. I love stitching these designs. They're just so charming! This one will be a doorknocker. It's a gift for my aunt for her birthday in October.

So yes, I pretty much played all day yesterday and I plan to do much of the same today. I'll finish up that cellphone pouch, I'll stitch on Maxine's quilt for awhile and I'll start on the green Comfort Kitty.

Please consider doing a Comfort Doll for Pat's charity. They're really fun to make and it feels so good to stitch something special for someone in need of cheer and comfort.

Labels: embroidery

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 9:29 AM   2 comments

Cubs Win!

Finally, I get to see the Cubs win in person! That was such a great game and they beat the Diamondbacks 6-2! I have to say though, 9 innings sure goes by a lot faster at the ballpark than it does on television. It seems like no sooner do we sit down, have a hotdog and then it's over. It was so wonderful and I'm still on cloud 9 over that win!

I did a bit of stitching Thursday night:



As you can see, my little guy has a tail now! I'll stitch on this some more later. Probably during the Cubs game at noon!

For now, I'm sewing. And have been since 7 am! I've pieced 2 more Comfort Cat dolls, an ornament and now I'm getting ready to do the side panels for my peacock quilt. After that, I'd like to sew up a block for my mom for Christmas.

Labels: embroidery

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:07 AM   1 comments

A Beautiful Day For Baseball!

Just a quickie post today everyone. Scott and I will be heading out to Wrigley Field today to see our Chicago Cubbies play!

It's a gorgeous day today! Sunny & 78 degrees. Every time I've been to the ballpark, it's been hotter than Billy Blue Blazes outside! Today should be wonderful! Keep your fingers crossed that the Cubs win today! They've lost the last 3 games that I've been to!

Labels: Chicago Cubs

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 6:04 AM   0 comments

Embroidered Squirrel

I worked on Maxine's quilt for awhile yesterday but I must admit, I kind of started to feel bored. So I pulled out my vintage transfers and chose this little guy to stitch on:



I think he's a Laura Wheeler design. He's on a sheet with all different woodland animals. Anyway, I thought I'd stitch him with yellow & orange flowers. That would give this design an Autumn feel. Not that I'm in any hurry for Autumn!

I also decided that this coming weekend, I will be doing the foundation piecing on my peacock quilt:



I picked up 2 yards of muslin at WalMart today for this. Instead of doing a wholecloth quilt, I'll do the side panels and then the top & bottom borders separately. When I have everything stitched, I'll put it together. I think the side panels will fit on the 15 inch frame that Scott made for me a few years back and the top & bottom borders will have to be worked in my scroll frame. I really don't like the scroll frame but I don't know how else to do it. I dislike stitching in hand so that's probably my best bet.

For now, I'm heading up to Richmond where my showcase is to let the store owner know that I've decided to bring my things home. I'll go up there next week and get them. I'll also drop off the Tarot Card bags.

Labels: embroidery

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:54 AM   4 comments

Another Seascape Stitching Completed

I finished the stitching on this little project yesterday:



The colors are a bit muted because I used the scanner today rather than the camera. I'll have another photo for you when I get it sewn up.

I also worked on Maxine's quilt yesterday and will have another photo of that soon. I'm not sure what I'll work on next. As soon as I figure it out, I'll let you know!

Labels: seascape

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 11:37 AM   3 comments

Teneriffe Lace

This article on Teneriffe Lace is from a women's magazine called "The Designer". The article is circa. 1904:





Unfortunately, there isn't a pattern here to try. According to the article there was one in this issue but it isn't here in this stack of antique articles & patterns that I bought. I'm posting this for reference purposes and because I thought you might find it interesting. The examples are quite lovely.

Click on either of the images to go to my Flickr site where you can download the larger images.

Labels: teneriffe lace

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 11:27 AM   0 comments

Loads To Share Today!

I spent yesterday finishing up the Tarot Card bags. They're all completed now so I can run them up their new owner next week:









These were really fun to do. And a nice change of pace for me, but I don't think I care to do any more of them. I really prefer crazy quilting and iron-on transfer embroidery.

When I completed those, I pulled out a "ready to stitch" cellphone pouch and began another seascape:



This is a little gift for Scott's step mom. I'll be seeing her the beginning of August and I like to have something to give to her. She really loves the cellphone pouches that I've made for her and she gave me loads of seashells last year so I thought a seascape would be a nice design for her this time. I'm sure I'll finish this up later today.

I would also like to share a gift that I received the other day from Loulee:



Just look at all of these wonderful jewelry pieces! That dragonfly at the top is just screaming to be on a purse! And that little owl has to be on something that I keep for myself. He's just too cute! Thank you so much Loulee, for thinking of me and for sending me such a lovely batch of embellishments for my stitching projects! BTW - Loulee has a blog now so please hop over and say hello to her!

In other news, I've marked down all of the Crazy Quilt pre-sewn block kits in my Etsy shop to $5.00. Time to make room for some new things! If you've had your eye on any of them, they're all on sale now!

Last but not least, I will be discontinuing all of my cross stitch designs in the very near future (except for the charity designs). My friend Chris will be updating my website shortly and when he does, the designs on my website and the designs in my Etsy shop will no longer be available. If there is anything you want, please order them now.

Ok, today I plan to sew up a few new CQ pieces to stitch on. I'm just itching to do another Comfort Cat for Pat's project.

Labels: crazy quilting, tarot card bags

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:08 AM   3 comments

Lots Of Finishes!

Well, I did a lot of finishing on Saturday. The first thing I finished was my Breast Cancer Awareness purse:



One of these days, I'll get better at taking photos! I can't seem to get my things lined up right so they're straight in the picture.

Anyway, this is ready for it's new owner. I'll be doing another one down the road a ways. Kim was kind enough to stitch the ribbon again for me.

Next, I finished my little Patriotic Cellphone Pouch:



I have to run into town and when I get back, I'll list it in my Etsy shop.

Speaking of my Etsy shop, I've decided to drop my showcase in Richmond. It's costing me more than I'm making so I'll be bringing my things home at the end of the month and I'll list everything over at Etsy when I have time.

Last but not least, I finished up my kitty for Pat's Comfort Doll project:



I will be making more of these! I love how this came out. I also have an idea for an angel doll and a butterfly!

Also, my mom made 2 dolls for Pats project:



Aren't these cute? Mom always packages her things up so nicely! I'll get a box out and get everything ready to send to Pat in the next day or so.

In the meantime, I still have to do the finishing on my Tarot card bags. That's my plan for today. And perhaps, I might be able to squeeze in some time to sew up another cat!

Labels: comfort doll, crazy quilting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 8:46 AM   6 comments

Comfort Kitty - Stitching Complete!

I finished the stitching on this little kitty yesterday:



I have a huge stack of pieces that are ready for finishing so I'll be running my sewing machine most of this weekend.

Today's finishing will include this kitty, the B/C Awareness purse and my "better late than never" Patriotic Cellphone pouch!

Stop by tomorrow to see how they all come out!

Labels: crazy quilting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 11:00 AM   4 comments

Comfort Kitty Doll

I spent yesterday afternoon and evening stitching on my comfort doll for Pats Charity:



I'll probably finish this up today. If so, I hope to get it sewn up over the weekend and ready to send to Pat.

After that, I'd like to get to some more stitching on Maxine's quilt. I'm going to set myself up with a few small embroidery patterns to work on here and there. These may be things that I'll stitch and then applique onto Maxine's quilt later. I think it would be easier to embroidery them off-site and then sew them onto the quilt with some trim or lace around the outside.

Labels: crazy quilting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 11:28 AM   1 comments

Antique Embroidery Patterns

I've just scanned and uploaded 4 antique embroidery patterns from my collection. These are from a magazine but there's nothing on these sheets that indicate which one. Nor are they dated. Judging by the pictures in the advertisements on the back, I would say they are circa. 1900.









These patterns are by the Richardson Art Embroidery Club, 220-224 Adams Street, Chicago Illinois.

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

Labels: antique embroidery patterns

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 11:16 AM   1 comments

Tarot Card Bags - Stitching Completed!

I just stitched and stitched all day yesterday! I completed the last 3 Tarot card bags. The background on this one is simply metallic gold mesh over moire taffeta:



This one is a pearly mesh over a lame background:



Last but not least, another with Pat's technique:



For this one, I use bigger pieces of metallic fabric against a black cotton background. My intention was to have some of the black show through. Doesn't this look like cats had been scratching on it? Too cool!

I was at an absolute loss as to how to embellish this one. The first thing I did was to pull out my box of Cats Eye beads. Clever huh? Then I found that button in my stash that kind of looked like a double moon. Then I added the stars.

I can't say that I'd want to do a million of these but I did enjoy stitching on them. I'll pick up some satin cording over the weekend and get them assembled.

For today, I have decided to simply play! I bought a notebook and some plastic sleeves at WalMart so now I can organize my antique patterns that I found at the flea market over the weekend.

When I finish playing with those, I'll start stitching on my Comfort Kitty:



I pieced this one in shades of purple and lavender. Somehow, I know I'll be doing another one! And I then have an idea for an angel comfort doll.

I'm off to play!

Labels: tarot card bags

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 11:40 AM   3 comments

Tarot Card Bags

I recently met a lady who loved the purse I had with me and she asked me if I could make her some Tarot Card Bags to store her decks in. I don't know anything about Tarot Cards but when I saw the pictures on the boxes, I thought they were really pretty so I agreed to do it. She wanted something kind of artsy and embellished but not crazy quilting. This is the first one:



The background technique is courtesy of Pat Winter. She had made a purse awhile back that I fell in love with. Ok, so I love everything she does but this was particularly interesting. I emailed her and asked how she did it.

Basically, I chopped up a bunch of synthetic metallic fabrics, sprinkled them on a piece of muslin (Pat told me to use wool or felt but I didn't have any so I used muslin). Then I layered a piece of tulle over the top and machine quilted it with metallic gold thread.

Then Pat told me to use a soldering iron to burn away some of the layers. I wasn't getting the look that I thought I would get so I pulled out my handy-dandy heat gun and went to town. Wow, that was way more fun than it should have been! It made my house stinky but it was really fun!

I'm still not sure this is what it's supposed to look like. Well, it doesn't look like Pats purse but it's still cool looking so I went with it.

I scanned the card boxes, printed them on an inkjet fabric sheet and am now working with embellishing them. There will be 4 all together. I'm ready to start on the 2nd one now:



Stop by tomorrow to see how this one turns. I may even get to the 3rd one today since I pretty much just plan to sit and work on these and watch movies all day.

Labels: tarot card bags

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:54 AM   3 comments

2nd 1916 Tatting Booklet Uploaded

I just finished scanning and uploading the 2nd of my 1916 Tatting Booklets:



Old And New Designs In Tatting by
Sophie T. La Croix
Copyright 1916

Click on the image to go to my Flickr site where you can find the booklet (what I have of it) in it's own album.

Labels: tatting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:50 AM   0 comments

Breast Cancer Awareness Purse - Stitching Complete!

I completed the stitching on this project last night:



There was a lot of "empty" space to the right of the pink ribbon. I guess I wasn't paying attention to that when I pieced it! Anyway, buttons are a wonderful way to fill in voids like that. These buttons are vintage plastic from circa 1940's.

All I left to do now is to assemble it. When I go into town later this week, I'll pick up some handles for it and can hopefully put it together over the weekend. I still have my little Patriotic cellphone pouch to assemble too. Guess I'm a bit late on that one!

For today, I'm going to sew up a comfort doll for Pat's Comfort Doll project. Mine will be a kitty. I mentioned Pat's project to my mom yesterday and she is planning to make one too!

I'm not sure I'll be able to start stitching on mine right away as I still have some commitments that I have to contend with but at least it will be ready to go.

Labels: breast cancer awareness purse

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 9:48 AM   6 comments

1916 Tatting Booklet

I've scanned and uploaded one of my antique tatting booklets. This booklet is copyrighted 1916. It's titled Tatting Designs with instructions Book No. Five by Adeline Cordet.



The back cover is missing from my booklet but you can find the rest on my Flickr site.

The directions are obviously for shuttle tatting but so far, I've found that needle tatting can be worked from vintage and antique patterns.

Labels: tatting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 9:34 AM   0 comments

Treasure Trove Of Vintage & Antique Patterns

I mentioned in my post on Saturday that we had planned on going to the flea market on Sunday morning and that we did!

I went with an open mind, not looking for anything in particular, just going for sake of being there, looking at all the great junk and spending a nice morning with my husband.

My open mindedness payed off! I literally found piles of patterns:







Those 1st 3 photos were one bagful that I paid only $2.00 for! All patterns are complete and uncut! There are only a couple of duplicates to what I already have so I'll share my extras with my mom.

Next I found these:



2 old Simplicity patterns for stuffed toys. These are so cute! At first I didn't think I'd ever make them. I bought them because I just love old patterns. After thinking about it, wouldn't these make cute CQ dolls? Maybe for Pat's Comfort Doll Charity!

The 2 patterns in the plain envelopes are floral transfers for pillowcases. I have to check my collection and see if I already have those. If I do, again, I'll share the extras with my mom.

My next treasure trove of patterns are these:



Piles and piles of old crochet, tatting, embroidery & quilting patterns. There are even some here for tennerif lace (did I spell that right?) and some for hardanger. These patterns are from old newspapers and magazines. Some were manufacturer give aways and some were send aways. Some of the things here are just ads in newspatterns for patterns that could be sent away for. They date from the late 1800's through the early 40's. There may be one or 2 from the 50's but most are quite antique and vintage!

The first thing I want to do with them is to pick up a notebook and some clear sleeves so that I can store them safely. I plan to somehow organize them, probably by type. Then, I am going to one by one, scan them and share them here. This is a wonderful collection and I'm sure some of you will enjoy working the patterns. Also, they will be great for research. I will include as much information as I can find on each sheet. Many have dates although some do not. They'll be permanently stored in an album on my Flickr site. I just need a bit of time to get them organized.

So those are my flea market finds from yesterday. All for under $20.00! Is that amazing or what?

One more thing that I would like to mention today is a couple of "give aways" that I have. These were in with that last batch of loose patterns.

First, if I have any collage artists or scrapbookers who read my blog, I have a couple of old hand written letters along with their envelopes. They're from the early 1900's. I will gladly send these off to the first person who emails me with a request for them. I think one of them is dated 1915!



Also, if anyone collects vintage needlecases, I have one that I will gladly send to the first person who emails me with the request. Please, US Residents only! (pamkellogg at kittyandme dot com)

Speaking of old patterns, you may remember the 1919 tatting booklets that I found at another flea market a couple of weeks back. I'm going to be scanning those one by one and sharing those patterns as well. Again, they will be in an album on my Flickr site.

So I have alot that I'm going to be sharing with you very soon. I just need to organize things a bit here first.

Labels: vintage embroidery patterns

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 8:56 AM   6 comments

A Bit Of Stitching

Ok, so the world isn't coming to an end after all! I stitched for a little while last night while watching my Cubbies lose!



I'm feeling like I've been working on this for all eternity! It isn't as bright looking as it appears here. It's much softer in tone. I used the scanner today because my husband needed the camera.

Charlene asked me how big my oriental bird mats were. The oblong ones are about 11 X 8 and the square one is 10 inches square.

Allison asked me what "search words" I used to find these on Ebay. Honestly, I didn't use any search words. Sometimes, I look at Ebay for a few minutes while I eat lunch. I was just looking around in "Linens & Textiles" and I found these.

Speaking of Linens & Textiles, we're heading out to a flea market early tomorrow morning. It has to be early because it's supposed to be 95 degrees here tomorrow and I can only tolerate the heat for so long! Anyway, I may be late in posting but hopefully, I'll have some little goodies to share with you. Like I said yesterday, if I could only use my stash as fast as I can buy it!

Labels: crazy quilting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 11:14 AM   1 comments

Ebay Treasures & Spiderwebs

Last night, I was wondering what I would blog about today since again, I didn't stitch. Yes Sue, I do think the world is coming to an end! I haven't stitched since Sunday. What's up with that? Honestly, I've had a couple of very large design projects with tight deadlines and I'm pushing myself to get them done. I won't miss the "I need it yesterday" stuff when I retire!

Anyway, my husband came in with the mail and I suddenly had some cool "show & tell" for you today!

I found these pretty little machine embroidered bird mats on Ebay over the weekend:



I'm sure ya'll know what I plan to do with these! Yep, they were just screaming at to me to be the focal points on crazy quilts. Aren't they pretty? I'm not sure if I'll put them all together in one quilt or if I'll use them individually. I do wish I could stitch my projects as fast as I can collect stash! I'm sure I'll get to these someday. In the meantime, I'll enjoy having them and planning out my projects.

I think I was attracted to these because of my Crazy Quilt book. They must remind me of something in there. Looking at the all the old Victorian quilts, I do see a certain "oriental" flair in many of them. Until now, I never believed that crazy quilting was the result of Oriental Crazed Pottery. Now, it does seem a little more possible although I'm still a bit skeptical.

On another note, Angela asked me the other day how I do my spiderwebs and if I couch them:



Yes, they are couched on. I don't use a pattern, I just freehand them. First I do the long threads starting in the center and then I go around and around and do the connecting threads. Once the entire web is done, I go back around and couch everything down.

Does anyone else have any questions for me? I'll be happy to answer them. Just leave a message in the comments section.

Labels: crazy quilting

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 8:47 AM   5 comments

An Interesting Discovery

Scott and I went over to my parents house for a few hours yesterday afternoon. Mom hadn't seen my Crazy Quilt book yet, nor had she seen my little crazy quilt that I bought at the flea market two weeks so I took those with me.

While looking at the quilts in my book, we discovered that this little embroidered frog on my quilt:



is the same exact frog as on this quilt in my book:



They're reversed, but it's the same pattern. Was I at all surprised with this discovery? No. Embroidery patterns in the Victorian days were mass produced and "shared" almost as much as they are now. I just thought it was kind of cool!

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 10:40 AM   2 comments

Happy 4th Of July!

I was too tired to stitch last night so I don't have anything to share with you today.

Instead, I'll simply wish you a safe and happy 4th of July!

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 11:10 AM   3 comments

Your Wish Is My Command!

Loulee & Jo in NZ asked to see what Maxine's quilt looks like in it's entirety at this moment. Ask & you shall receive ladies! Here it is:



I do not know what the white sploch is at the bottom center of the photo. All I can think of is that the battery on my camera was just about out of juice so that's sitting on the charger now.

Anyway, it still doesn't look to me like I've done all that much on here despite my hours and hours of stitching. I can't tell you how much I enjoy working on this quilt!

I didn't have time to stitch last night. I worked on my computer until 7:00 pm and by then, I was so wiped out, I just sat and read a book for a bit.

I'm going to make a very informal announcement at this time. This is not my official announcement because I don't have a time frame set yet and I certainly have to finish up on the projects that I've committed to but I will be retiring from designing cross stitch patterns in the very near future.

I will make an official announcement when the time comes but quite honestly, I've reached a point of having had my fill of sitting here in front of this computer all day, every day. I have so many things I want to do and quite honestly, working all the time is not living. Like I said, when it's official, I will let you know.

Certainly I will continue to blog because I love doing it! I will continue on with offering my purses & my cellphone pouches in my Etsy shop again, because I enjoy it so much. There is just so much more to life than working constantly. Should I ever get a bee in my bonnet to design a charted pattern, I'll just offer it here as a free design. If by any chance it's too large to put on my Flicker site, I'll offer it in my Etsy shop.

One of the projects that I've been just itching to do but can't get to doing is this:



I stitched this beautiful peacock design back in the 80's. It was pre-stamped on black satin. I don't know why I never finished it into something but I'm glad I didn't. I want to work this into a very traditional Victorian style crazy quilt. I may even do the foundation piecing entirely by hand. I want to border each side of it with crazy patch and then do borders for the top and bottom the same way. I pulled this piece out over 2 months ago and I just can't get to it.

I've been wanting so much to sew up some new blocks for purses and I can't get to that. I also want to actually use some of my vintage embroidery patterns but again, that will have to wait for the time being.

Also, I'm eager to get back to the repairs on my antique CQ. That will certainly make for a nice Winter project and at moment, it's quite beautiful hanging on my quilt stand along with Maxine's quilt and my new little CQ from the flea market 2 weeks ago:



I have to tell you, I'm rather envious of all the girls in blogland doing all sorts of nice and interesting things. Pat Winter has started a charity project to benefit battered women living in shelters. She has asked the stitching community to donate art dolls. Pat will then send these dolls to various women's shelters across the country.

Jo in NZ has been working on some dolls to send to Pat and they are so beautiful! I have a really cool idea for doing a CQ cat doll. I want so much to contribute to Pat's charity and it's getting so frustrating to me, with my time being so limited.

I've had to pretty much give up on Sharon's Take A Stitch Tuesday project. I'll admit, there were several stitches that I wasn't interested in doing anything with but there's been a few stitches that I really wanted to try. This weeks stitch is The Bullion and I really could use the practice. I've never been good at that stitch and I would like to try to work it into my B/C Awareness purse if I can get back to that.

Allison is working on a beautiful flower quilt! You must hop over to her blog and check it out. Julia is working on a family quilt and Susan is getting ready to start on a mother's quilt. Oh and if you hop over to Pat's blog, be sure to check out her Chat Noir purse. I was drooling on my keyboard this morning when I saw it!

So that's where I'm at for now. Very frustrated, very tired and very appreciative of you, my dear readers for allowing me to vent a bit! I will say, that I'm very excited about the idea of being a "lady of leisure"! I probably won't know what project I want to do first! Again, I don't know exactly how or when it's going to happen, I just know that it is and that it's going to be very soon.

I'll end today with a lovely gift that I received yesterday from Bennie:



This nice little package of goodies includes some fabric, ribbon, charms and the ladybug & frog are beadwork that Bennie did herself! They're beautiful and I can't wait to use them on my CQ projects! Thank you very much Bennie for thinking of me.

Ok, I'm off for now. I have another full day ahead of me but I'll find something to share with you tomorrow.

Labels: antique crazy quilt, peacock

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 9:35 AM   6 comments

More On Maxine's Quilt

I added 3 more motifs to this quilt over the weekend. First, an antique crazy quilt is not complete without a spider and web! That's my opinion anyway! So I added one:



I love stitching the webs! That's why they show up on many of my CQ's. I just plain like doing them. As for the spider, I keep a big of misc. chunky beads in my bead cabinet. These are perfect for spiders. Because this quilt is so large, I used the biggest glass bead I had for the body and then a smaller glass bead for the head.

Next, I added a fan:



The fan idea came from looking at the pictures in my Penny McMorris book. Maxine had given me an 8 inch doily from her collection to use on this quilt. It was almost too large to use as it was so I cut it into 1/4's and used one to create this fan. I also had to "age" it which I did before I cut it. The trim that I used is also from Maxine's collection of vintage things and the tassel was from my collection. The flowers are a vintage corsage that Maxine gave me to use on this.

I'll be using the other 3 sections of the doily to create fans too. All will be different.

Last but not least, my mom crocheted a few more pansies for me so I sewed one on, did a chain stitch for the stem and used some large green beads that I had for the leaves:



All in all, I've been enjoying the process of further embellishing this quilt with the exception of not being able to use a hoop on it. I really dislike stitching "in hand". The easiest way I've found to work on this is to roll the excess up and lay it to the side of me on the sofa.

At the moment, I'm working on balancing it out with some more "points of interest". Once I feel that's done, I'll fill in with some small embroidered motifs here and there. It's a slow process really. It takes much longer to embellish a large motif on this quilt as opposed to the small motifs that I do on my cellphone pouches and purses. But it's a nice change of pace for me and certainly, an interesting challenge!

Labels: antique crazy quilt

posted by Pam Kellogg @ 11:26 AM   6 comments