Crazy Quilting and Embroidery Blog by Pamela Kellogg of Kitty and Me Designs

Irish Lady Pillow continued

2012-01-28T05:54:00.000-06:00

A quick update on my Irish Lady Pillow:

And this is something that I'm going to be experimenting with more on upcoming projects:

"Fill in" patterns using my waste canvas technique. Basically, Blackwork but in this case, I used a single strand of Kreinik metallic #4 braid. Just a sneak peek of things to come.

Victorian Irish Lady

2012-01-27T06:07:00.000-06:00

My family thinks I'm goofy! Okay, I really am! But I love St. Patrick's Day! My grandfather was Irish and I don't know if that has anything to do with it or not but I really think that I like it so much because it's the beginning of Spring.

The thing that gets me through the cold, dark, snowy months of Winter is the fact that Spring is the next season and Spring is my favorite!

So, I started another St. Patrick's Day Crazy Quilt piece:

I have always loved this pretty lady image in the green hat! I don't think I've ever used that image on a crazy quilt piece before so here she is, in all her Irish glory!

This will be a pillow. When I finish up on this project, I'll be putting together an online class and then starting on my 3rd Elegant Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments Ebook.

Although I no longer design or spend my stitching time doing counted cross stitch, the background that I have in that will probably never leave me. I like the perfection of working with charted patterns. I like how I can apply charted patterns to crazy quilting. And therefore, I will move forward in the direction of applying my charting skills to my beloved passion, crazy quilting.

So, stock up on 8.5 count and 10 count waste canvas! There are loads of great new crazy quilt ideas and techniques coming this year to Kitty & Me Designs!

What Is A Door Pillow?

2012-01-26T05:13:00.000-06:00

I've been asked this question several times recently. What is a Door Pillow? I've made 100's of them over the years. Cross stitch, embroidery, crayon tinting and of course, my beloved Crazy Quilting.

I thought I would answer this question today and share my thoughts on it.

A Door Pillow is nothing more than a small pillow with ribbons or cording sewn into the top for hanging on a door knob or hook. It's purely decorative and a lovely way to finish and display small needlework pieces without the cost of framing. They can be changed for the holidays and seasons.

Door Pillows are wonderful for gifts because everyone has a door knob! And they're sweet little home accent pieces. Just a nice touch to make a home even more cozy.

They've also been called, door knob pillows, door hanging pillows, door hangers and door knockers. My cousin Kim calls them door knockers! LOL!

These are my latest Door Pillows for St. Patrick's Day:

Door Pillows can also be used to sit on a shelf. The ribbons can be tucked behind the door pillow and displayed on shelf with other decorative items.

I love them and I have dozens of them for the different holidays and seasons. They're easy to store because they're small and because they're made of fabric, they don't break!

Pink and Green Heart

2012-01-25T07:40:00.000-06:00

My final heart shaped door pillow for St. Patrick's Day:

And here are close up photos of my embroidery:

All of these seam treatments, including the Feather Stitch are worked with my waste canvas technique.

I spent yesterday afternoon sewing all of these up. They're all finished now so I'll post photos of them as soon as I can.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share my ORTS Jar with you:

ORTS stands for "old raggedy threads". I use to save my bits of threads, ribbons, lace and scraps of sheer thin fabrics in a jar years ago. Come Spring, I would chop them up teeny tiny and sprinkle them in my garden for the Robins to use in their nests. I don't know why I stopped doing that but with everyone sharing their ORTS jars on their blogs, I thought I'd start doing it again. With as much stitching as I do, I should have plenty of little bits by Spring for the birdies to use when it's time for their babies to come!

You can read more about ORTs Jars on Connie Eyberg's Blog.

And if you would like a pretty label for your ORTs Jar, visit my sweet friend, Pat Winter!

Traditional St. Patricks Day Heart

2012-01-24T07:10:00.000-06:00

Here is another of my crazy quilt heart shaped door pillows for St. Patricks Day. This one is quite traditional in color:

And here are closeups of my embroidered seams:

You can find more of my seam embroidery here.

I have one more that I started stitching on yesterday. I'm going to finish that up now and I think I'll spend the afternoon putting them together.

It's cloudy and dreary here again today. I sure could use some sunshine! But I'm sure that putting a few miles on my sewing machine will help!

Little Heart Pillows

2012-01-23T07:14:00.000-06:00

Another of my little St. Patrick's Day heart shaped door pillows is ready for assembly:

The pansy is a little brooch that I picked up a flea market awhile back:

And here are close ups of the stitching:

You can see more Crazy Quilt Seam Embroidery worked with my Waste Canvas technique on my Crazy Quilt Inspiration page.

I started another one of these little door pillows yesterday. I'll finish it up today and have more photos tomorrow. I expect to sew these up later this week and have them ready to add to our boutique this weekend.

Another Heart Shaped Door Pillow

2012-01-22T06:58:00.000-06:00

After doing a bit more straightening up in my craft supply room, I started another St. Patrick's Day heart shaped door pillow:

I probably could have finished this yesterday but if you remember, my husband surprised me with a new 60 inch television for us for Christmas. I've been having me a Harry Potter movie marathon this past week while I'm stitching but I'm so blown away by how beautiful these movies look on our new TV, I keep getting caught up in the movie! It's like seeing these Harry Potter movies for the first time. Anyway, I'm going to sit here and stitch for an hour before I do anything else. And I'll save Goblet Of Fire for this afternoon!

St Patricks Day Hearts

2012-01-21T05:57:00.000-06:00

I think we only got about 5 inches of snow yesterday. More than I care to look at but better than 8 inches! I made my soup, I put a Harry Potter movie on to listen to and I stitched a heart shaped, St. Patrick's Day door pillow:

The robin on the nest is a little brooch that I found at a flea market last Summer:

I guess you can see where my mind is right now! I always say, Winter wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't cold and it didn't snow! LOL!!!

Here are close ups of the seam embroidery on this piece:

Be sure to click on the photos to see them up close. Both of these seams are worked with my waste canvas technique.

I have a few more of these little hearts sewn up so I'll start on another one today.

Mad As A Bluebird

2012-01-20T05:47:00.000-06:00

4 - 8 inches of snow is in the forecast for McHenry, Illinois today! Okay, so I'm not as mad as a bluebird but I don't like it! I was really okay with a Winter without snow! Arrgggg......well, I guess it'll be a stitching day.

I think I'll make a pot of Ham and Potato Soup and a loaf of bread. My dear husband has to drive an hour and 1/2 home from work in that! In snow, it'll take 3 hours! Thank goodness we have a truck! And I'm sure he'll welcome a nice hot bowl of soup tonight.

I finished up my St. Patrick's Door Pillow yesterday morning. It's a subtle message of Spring:

I have a few heart shaped, St. Patrick's Day door pillow blocks that I sewed up earlier this week. I'll be starting on one of those today while my soup is cooking.

St Patricks Day Door Pillow

2012-01-19T06:37:00.000-06:00

I was horribly restless yesterday. But hey, my house is clean! Nervous energy will definitely produce a clean house! LOL!!! But I couldn't sit still long enough to finish up on my St. Patrick's Day Door Pillow. This is what I have so far:

And here are close up photos of my stitching:

These are both worked with my Waste Canvas technique.

I'm going to stitch on this for awhile now. We're supposed to get a few inches of snow tomorrow. Ewww.....I usually go to mom's on Fridays but decided to go today instead. I don't like driving in snow and my car doesn't like it either!

So speaking of snow, isn't it Spring yet? LOL!!! No, I know we still have awhile to go yet. I bought myself a new coat and it arrived yesterday:

This is a Dennis Basso faux fur mink coat. I have a full length Dennis Basso faux mink that I bought last year and love it! It's so gorgeous and luxurious! But I wanted something that was a little more comfortable to wear while driving so I saved my money and bought this one as more of an every day coat. Oh, it's so beautiful! I bought this from QVC.

I have a weakness for beautiful clothes. And my philosophy is, if I have to put up with Winter, I might as well put up with it in a beautiful coat with pretty accessories!

Have a great day everyone!

A Sewing Machine Day

2012-01-18T06:01:00.000-06:00

I did absolutely nothing yesterday but what I wanted to do! Sometimes, we need one of those days. I don't mind in the least, doing laundry, dishes, the floors and so on but sometimes, I feel like a slave to my house. So yesterday, I ran my sewing machine. I finished up my little Mint Green Cat Doll:

This one is a gift for a friend so I'll be getting this packaged up and ready to mail over the weekend. I also sewed some small blocks for St. Patrick's Day door hanging pillows. That was fun! I could have kept going but decided that 6 blocks were good for one day and that it was time to stitch.

I started on this little St. Patrick's Day door pillow:

I'm going to paint the edges of that lace piece with some purple. That should make it stand out a bit more.

For today, I need to run uptown and pick up some groceries and when I get back, I plan to pull out my steam cleaner and do my hardwood floors. I expect to finish up this block today.

Stitching On Green

2012-01-17T06:47:00.000-06:00

Despite not being home most of the day yesterday, I did manage to finish stitching on my little Mint Green Cat Doll:

And here is a closeup of the seam stitching:

I'll add this photo to my Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment Inspiration page.

And here is my next little project:

This little green block will be a St. Patrick's Day door pillow. In case you weren't able to figure that out! LOL!!!

If my day goes as planned, and I'm not holding my breath, I'll have a sewing machine day today. I want to piece a few new blocks. I like having a pile of ready to stitch on blocks just sitting here waiting for pretties! It feels like it's been forever and day since I've had time to play with my treadle machine! I also plan on sewing up that little green cat doll so stop back tomorrow to see him!

Mint Green Cat Doll

2012-01-16T05:43:00.000-06:00

I didn't have much stitching time yesterday. Just a little bit. Here's what I have so far on my Mint Green Cat Doll:

I spent much of my day yesterday, organizing my fabric stash. I still have to go through my dresser where I store my lace stash. I'll do that later this week. I do feel like accomplished something and now, when I get to my sewing machine, it'll be easier to choose fabrics and just play.

At the moment, it's 5:30 am and I plan to sit here and stitch for the next 1 1/2 hours before I do anything else!

Crazy Quilt Pillows

2012-01-15T05:50:00.000-06:00

Last week, I was able to do some finishing and finally completed these Crazy Quilt Pillows that I stitched before Christmas:

These are so sweet, aren't they? I think I'll do a few for St. Patrick's Day!

Today, I'll be working on organizing my craft storage room. I really want to run my sewing machine but if I don't neaten up my fabrics and laces a little bit, it'll be like parting the Red Sea to get in there!

These are available in our Boutique!

Tussy Mussys

2012-01-15T05:40:00.000-06:00

I've had so many requests for more of mom's Victorian style Tussy Mussys! No one does these beautiful paper cones like mom does! Here are her latest tussys for Valentines Day:

These are now available in our Boutique!

Crazy Quilting and Waste Canvas

2012-01-14T07:36:00.000-06:00

I've received several emails recently regarding my use of Waste Canvas and stitching the seam embroidery on crazy quilts. One of the big concerns is that the manufacturers packaging recommends wetting the waste canvas to pull it out after the stitching is completed.

Wetting the waste canvas is not necessary and I do not recommend it for crazy quilting.

Waste canvas was designed years ago for working charted patterns on non-cross stitch fabric such as sweatshirts and tee shirts.

As many of my long time blog followers know, I am a retired professional counted cross stitch designer. I worked with many magazines and manufacturers such as The DMC Corporation, Bucilla, Kreinik and Zweigart.

I discovered modern crazy quilting about 10 years ago but struggled with keeping my seam embroidery evenly sized and spaced. I decided to apply my cross stitch skills to crazy quilting and tried using waste canvas for my seam embroidery. I was so pleased with the results that I eventually put the directions together in my Elegant Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments book and offered it as a PDF file download.

This book contains complete directions for working with waste canvas on crazy quilts.

Early in 2011, I released Volume 2 of Elegant Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments which is also still available and contains another 180 charted patterns for crazy quilt seam embroidery. There are however, no directions in Volume 2. Only patterns.

Back to my discussion of working with waste canvas, the reason I don't recommend wetting the waste canvas is first, because in crazy quilting, we use many non-washable fabrics and we also use many hand-dyed threads and fibers that aren't washable. If these fabrics and threads get wet, thread colors may bleed and fabrics might be damaged.

8.5 count waste canvas and 10 count waste canvas threads pull out very easily from beneath the stitching without wetting it. The trick is to pull the excess waste canvas threads out, from around the outside of the stitched area first. Then, pull all the short (width) threads out from underneath the stitches and finally, the long (lengthwise) waste canvas threads will pull out very easily.

Waste canvas will only allow you to pull out one thread at a time so don't get in a hurry with it. Patience is necessary but the results are very worth the little bit of extra time it takes to use it. If you find you have a stubborn waste canvas thread, get yourself a pair of tweezers, grab the waste canvas thread as close to stitching as you can (without grabbing any of your stitches) and give it a gentle pull and it should release for you. If you're waste canvas thread breaks underneath your stitches, do not panic! Try pulling it out from the other side. If that doesn't work, try pulling the waste canvas threads out from another direction.

Honestly, it's much easier than you think. It probably sounds complicated and fussy but it really isn't! It's actually a lot of fun!

I am pleased to announce that there will be an Elegant Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments Volume 3 coming later in 2012. It will contain yet another 180 charted borders for crazy quilting and cross stitch samplers.

With all that said, working crazy quilt embroidery with waste canvas and charted borders opens a whole new world of seam treatment options! The possibilities for unique, embroidered borders are endless!

Both books are available only as PDF downloads. I send the files manually within 24 hours of receiving an order. Shipping fees are refunded via PayPal, also within 24 hours.

Before I run into town for errands, here is the progress on my latest Crazy Quilt Cat Doll:

One More Cat Doll

2012-01-13T06:30:00.000-06:00

It felt so good to have a "stay at home" day yesterday! I didn't get to sew up any new blocks but I did all my finishing done and a ton of other things so I feel like I finally accomplished something!

I finished this little Yellow Cat Doll:

I mentioned yesterday that this cat is a gift for a friend who recently lost her kitty. I'll package him up today so I can mail him tomorrow.

I also finished up my Valentine Pillows that I stitched before Christmas. I'll have photos of those over the weekend.

I'm going to stitch one more cat doll. This one will be a gift for a friend too but it's a "just because" gift:

Today, I'm going to go over to mom's for awhile. I have to wait for my "driveway cleaner upper" to come and shovel for me. I think we got about 5 inches of snow yesterday.

For now, I'm going to stitch for at least 1 hour before I do anything else! Have a great day everyone!

Yellow Crazy Quilt Cat Doll

2012-01-12T07:27:00.000-06:00

Well, we made it 1/2 way through Winter without snow. Today, they're calling for 3 - 6 inches. I'll spare you my complaints! You may be thinking, "Winter just started on 12/21. What's she thinking?" You see, I have my own system of determining the seasons.

According to my calender, Spring always starts on March 1st. It has to! Therefore, Summer starts on June 1st, Fall on September 1st and then Winter starts on December 1st. It has to be that way. It's the only way I can get through the dark, cold days of Winter. Ha, ha, ha!

Okay, so I hope I've amused ya'll with my odd way of dealing with the cold and snowy months of the year. Mom always asks me how I got to be so weird. I tell her, I'm not weird, I'm eccentric! LOL!!! Now that I'm 50, it's ok for me to be eccentric! Besides, you know the reputation we artistic people have!

Anyway, I somehow managed to finish up my little yellow cat doll that I started last week:

This one is a gift for a friend who recently lost her little fur baby. When I can, I like to make a cat doll for my friends when they lose a kitty. It gives them something pretty to look at and something to hold when the emptiness gets to be too much to handle. Our fuzzy babies give us so much while they're here with us and when it's time for them to go, the empty space that they leave in our hearts is almost unbearable. My cat dolls truly are, still Comfort Dolls.

Anyway, here is a close up of the stitched seam that I did with my Waste Canvas Technique:

Since I'm planning to put a few miles on my sewing machine today, I'll sew this one up so I can get it mailed to my friend either tomorrow or Saturday.

I'm going to stitch up one more cat doll and then I'm going to move on to some other things. I want to sew up some new blocks but haven't decided yet what to make. I'll guess I'll wait and see where my muse takes me!

A Little Too Busy These Days!

2012-01-11T07:06:00.000-06:00

I'm feeling a little too busy these days. Seems every day I have some dumb thing I have to do or some place I have to go that takes too much time away from what I really want to be doing.

Today I see my Dr. regarding my medication. I know she'll let me take the final step when I'm ready. I confess, I'm a bit frightened now that I'm down to getting off of it. It's been a long road. A very long, hard, bumpy and frightening road. And now that I'm at the end, it's a matter of being "ready". I assume that it'll be like everything else. When I'm ready, I'll know.

I have not had much in the way of stitching time. 5 minutes here, 10 minutes there. Too many interruptions.....no sooner do I start stitching and someone's pounding on my door or my phone is ringing or I have to drop what I'm doing and run somewhere.

Tomorrow, I hibernate! In my house, by myself. Just me and my cats. We're supposed to get a few inches of snow tomorrow. We made it 1/2 way through this Winter with no snow! And I'm okay with that! So I guess I'll let it be my excuse to have a "do what I want to do" day! I will be running my sewing machine and I will be stitching!

In the meantime, I've added a few more of my mom's beautiful door pillows to our Valentines Day Shop:

These are both made from vintage handkerchiefs!

Well, I think I'll get offline now and squeeze in 10 minutes of stitching time before I have to get myself together to head out. Have a great day everyone! I think I'll be back to my regular daily blogging schedule now! LOL!

Valentines Day Cat Dolls are Here!

2012-01-09T18:46:00.000-06:00

I'm pleased to say that my Valentines Day Cat Dolls are now available! These are numbered and dated as will be all future Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls. Be sure read about my numbering system!

To order, visit Kitty & Me Designs!

Coming Soon

2012-01-07T06:02:00.000-06:00

Arrggg.....No Stitching Time

2012-01-06T07:30:00.000-06:00

Ok, so I didn't get to stitching yesterday. But I did get my floors cleaned and my laundry all caught up! I finished my little Valentine Cat Dolls and will post photos of those soon. They are so cute! I did a bunch of other things too but at the moment, I just can't recall what it all was. Whatever it was, it seemed to take me the majority of the day yesterday.

I did get the rest of our handmade cards listed in our Boutique:

At the moment, all I have left to list are my cat dolls. I do know that mom has been sewing on more vintage hankie door pillows and she'll be working on some new Tussy Mussys today. I'll be heading over there shortly and I'll make a few more cards.

We're not planning on too much more in the way of "crafty" things. Mom and I really love stitching and sewing so we're moving in mostly that direction. But I have always loved paper and I love making cards so there will always be a few of those in the works!

Old Fashioned Valentines

2012-01-05T07:02:00.000-06:00

I didn't get to any stitching time yesterday. I've always said, if I don't stitch, I don't feel good. But there are days when it just doesn't happen for what ever reasons. I will be stitching later today!

I was quite productive yesterday. I sew up my 4 Valentine's Day cat dolls and now they just need stuffing. That's at the top of today's "to do" list! I also plan to pull out my steam cleaner and clean my hardwood floors. And want to get my laundry done. Yes, laundry is what I live for! LOL!!!!

Before Christmas, mom and I made some Old Fashioned Valentines Day cards:

I also have a few new every day cards to add the shop which is also on my list for today!

I also listed this gorgeous Victorian Fairy pillow that mom made:

I don't know about anyone else, but I just love Valentines! I think they're so pretty!!! Ok, I'm off to stuff those little cat dolls!

Crazy Cat Lady

2012-01-04T06:32:00.002-06:00

I can't help myself! I'm one of those eccentric crazy cat ladies who dresses like a gypsy and has cat figurines all over my house! I'm going to stitch 2 more crazy quilt cat dolls before I move on to something else. The next 2 cat dolls will be gifts. First a yellow cat doll:

After stitching this is shades of yellow, I'll add aqua blue flowers and embellishments. I'll share the next one when I finish this doll.

I stopped at moms yesterday to have a cup of coffee with her and she surprised me with 2 more beautiful door pillows for the shop. Both are made from vintage hankies:

You may remember seeing the vintage hankie with the red rose last week. I bought it at the antique mall. Mom really has a knack for turning vintage hankies into little works of decorative art! These are both available in our Valentines Day Shop!

Handmade Valentines

2012-01-03T07:01:00.000-06:00

Busy day yesterday! I went through some old paperwork and weeded out a ton of stuff. I had tax stuff going back to 1997! Needless to say, I sat with my shredder for over an hour and got rid of what was no longer necessary to keep. That felt good!

I also finished up on my little pink Valentine Cat Doll:

It's very pink, isn't it? And here is the seam treatment close up:

Be sure to see my Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment Inspiration photos here.

I'll get this litter of Valentine Cat Dolls sewn up in the next day or so. They never look like much until they're all put together!

I also added some new Valentine Door Pillows to the shop. Mom made these from vintage linens:

I still have a bunch of our Glitter Cards to list. We made them before Christmas but I just didn't have time to add them until now. I'll do that this afternoon.

For today, I have some errands to run. I'll stop over at mom's and have some coffee with her and then go from there!

Normal

2012-01-02T07:14:00.000-06:00

Finally, after a very nice holiday season, life returns to normal. Sorry, but I like normal! The tree is down, the ornaments are wrapped, boxed up and put away in the closet and all my pink things are back in place!

I didn't actually do any stitching yesterday but I did pull some lace pieces for this Valentine Cat Doll:

I plan to sit here and stitch for 1 hour before I do anything else today!

Our New Year's was quiet. Mom and dad came over and while Dad and Bubba watched football (I hate football!), Mom and I planned our projects and deadlines for our Boutique items for the year.

We had Chinese food for dinner and ate some cookies and now I'm ready to have my routine back.

I have some new Valentines to add to the shop this week so I'll start on that this afternoon. Later this week, I want to sew up my Valentine's Day pillows and Cat Dolls so I can add them to our Valentine's Day Shop which by the way, is now open.

The new issue of Shabby Lane Shops magazine will be available on January 5th in Barnes and Noble, Hancock Fabric Stores and at Shabby Lane Shops:

Have a great day everyone! I'm off to stitch!

Happy 2012!

2012-01-01T08:27:00.000-06:00

First, I'd like to wish everyone a Happy New Year! Our New Years Eve was nice and quiet. Scott took me to Joann's for my annual New Year's Eve shopping spree. I was very selective about my purchases since I already have a stash that most crazy quilters would die for! I bought 6 - 1/4 yards of fabric. 3 Brocades which I absolutely love stitching on! And 3 organzas with glitter. Ya'll know how much I love my glitter!

I can't wait to have me a sewing day! I also bought a couple packages of heart shaped buttons since I use a lot of them and then this cherry blossom garland to drape over the top of my Pink Garden Quilt:

I have this hanging in my living room over my electric sewing machine.

After Joann's, we went to WalMart. Heaven help us! It was a zoo yesterday! But we wanted to pick the final 2 movies in the Harry Potter series so we bought them, came home and then watched Part 1. Later today, Scott and I will know how things turn out with Harry and his friends. No, I didn't read the books. I do love to read but I love to stitch more and I can stitch and watch a movie at the same time.

Today, my mom and dad will come over for a few hours, we'll get some Chinese food and just take it easy. Mom and I are going to work up a simple plan for our Boutique. Basically, what we want to make and when we need to have it done by. We've basically decided that we want to do more needlework and sewing and less in the way of craft things. Needlework is our specialty so we're going to focus on that.

Yesterday, I forgot to share a close up photo of the seam treatments on my last Valentine Cat Doll:

The top border is worked with my Waste Canvas technique and the bottom border is worked with Carol Samples templates. Click here for more Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment Inspiration.

Finally for today, I thought you would enjoy seeing this picture of my Lucy:

I took this on Friday when my cousin Kim was here. She laid her coat in the chair and Lucy made herself quite comfy cozy in it! Oh, to be a cat and live with me!!!

Have a very Happy 2012 everyone!

Another Valentine Cat Doll

2011-12-31T05:13:00.000-06:00

I spent yesterday shopping in Crystal Lake with my cousin Kim. I had a very nice time with her as I always do. Before she picked me up, I had a little stitching time and finished up my red and white Valentine Cat Doll:

Very traditional, isn't it? And here's a photo of the next cat in Hot Pink:

It easy to see the outline of the cat on this one. As you can see, I run a basting stitch on the sewing line. This way, I can see how far I can go with beads and other embellishments. When I complete the stitching, I just pull out that basting stitch.

Today is my annual New Years Eve shopping spree at JoAnn Fabrics. I really don't need a thing. I picked up some of my favorite Watercolour threads by The Caron Collection yesterday along with another yard of waste canvas. I received some nice CQ supplies for my birthday and Christmas too so today, I'll try to be selective about my purchases. Wish me luck!

Slow Motion Stitching

2011-12-30T06:04:00.000-06:00

I feel like I'm in slow motion these days. The problem with Christmas is that it seems like it never ends! I did have a little stitching time yesterday and worked on my Valentine Cat Doll for a little while:

I am so looking forward to Monday when life goes back to "normal"! The tree and other things get put away tomorrow. I like a very routine and structured life style and for the entire month of December, my routine is gone! It's not that I can't bend enough to have fun, it's just too much all at once.

Anyway, I will have a little time for stitching today and hopefully, I'll have this little kitty doll finished for my blog post tomorrow.

Crazy Quilt Dragonfly Purse

2011-12-29T05:49:00.000-06:00

I've been looking forward to sharing this project with you. It was a commissioned piece that I did but I had to wait until after Christmas to post photos:

I'll be staying home for the most of today. I feel like my house is a mess. It's really not but it feels that way. I'll be taking the tree down after my annual New Year's Eve JoAnn's Fabric Store shopping spree. The tree is very pretty and surprisingly, I have been enjoying it but I'm ready to have "normal" again.

Valentine Cats

2011-12-28T06:04:00.000-06:00

I finished up on my Pink Cat Doll yesterday:

The little pink flowers are not the Cast On stitch. I tatted them while watching television the other day. Simple little tatted flowers in variegated #8 Perle cotton. I just sewed them on.

And here are the seam treatments for this piece:

Click here for more Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment Inspiration.

This will be my next Valentine Cat Doll:

I'm going to stitch on this now for an hour before I get myself together to run up to the WalMart.

More Vintage Hankies

2011-12-27T06:08:00.000-06:00

After going out for breakfast yesterday, Bubba took me to the Colonial Antique Mall in Woodstock Illinois where I wandered around, in my own little world for awhile. I found some gorgeous vintage laces but some vendors seem to think they have gold and I know better so I didn't buy any. Instead, I found a few more pretty vintage handkerchiefs:

So Springy! 2 are for mom and 2 are for me.

If you remember from my post yesterday, I said I would share a photo of the pink Mile A Minute afghan my mom made me for Christmas:

It's crocheted in strips and then the strips are crocheted together. Yes, I have white wicker furniture in my living room. When we remodeled our living room a few years back, it just wasn't in our budget to buy new furniture but I couldn't live with what we had so I bought a set of white wicker patio furniture. It's really pretty. Light and airy and gardeny however, it is not particularly comfortable for living room furniture. The plan is, at some point to get something more Victorian looking. Either a set of antique furniture that we can have reupholstered or something new that looks antique. As you can see from the photo, it has to be cat friendly so I'm thinking of leather. It comes in soft, pastel colors like pink and aqua blue now. I can't live with anything dark. We also plan to put a wrap around front porch on our house so we'll then move our wicker furniture outside to enjoy.

Anyway, that's the afghan mom made for me. As you can see, mom is well aware of my love for the color pink!

Finally, I did do a little stitching yesterday:

When we got home, I put my Marie Antoinette movie on. I may have mentioned that my husband has been working on Saturday's and doing a lot of side jobs and saving his money. Last week, he bought us a 60 inch television. Christmas has been very lean for the past few years and he wanted to do something nice that we could both enjoy. All I can say is wow! It was a surprise and I was blown away.

Of course, when you upgrade one thing, you have to upgrade everything. The picture was quite grainy so we had to buy a new DVD player and we also have to upgrade our Direct TV box and service. It's crazy.

But anyway, the new DVD player made a huge difference in the picture quality and so I decided it would be nice to see Marie Antoinette in all her pink fluffiness!

I was so taken with the quality of the picture and sound that I couldn't hardly tear my eyes away from the TV long enough to stitch! Ha, ha, ha! I felt like I had never seen the movie before. Too funny!

After that, Bubba put National Treasure on and again, I was just in awe of how different it looked and sounded on the new TV. I'd better not plan on any movies today or I'll never get that cat doll done!

For today, I actually plan to do some straightening up and hopefully, I can finish up on that cat doll.

Pink Cats

2011-12-26T06:02:00.001-06:00

I hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Ours was very nice. We spent the day at my parents house and I was able see my sister and nephew for awhile too.

My mom made me a gorgeous Mile A Minute afghan in pink! Pink, are you surprised? I'm going to drape it over the back of my sofa later so I'll take a photo of it for tomorrow. I've always loved Mile A Minute afghans.

I haven't had any stitching time but I thought I'd share my current pink cat doll since I have a bit of stitching done on it:

Both borders were worked using my Waste Canvas technique. If you look closely at the white border, it's the Creten stitch with lazy daisies on the points. Yes, even the Creten stitch can be worked using waste canvas. It's the only way I can get it straight!

Scott is going to take me to the antique mall in Woodstock Illinois today. One nice thing about the holidays is that I get extra time with him! And he's willing to go anywhere I want to go. He's a good man. Anyway, if I find some cool goody's, I'll share pics tomorrow.

Happy Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:35:00.000-06:00

I had a lovely Birthday yesterday. It was sunny and almost 40 degrees outside. I sure couldn't ask for anything better as far as the weather goes!

As planned, Bubba took me to the antique mall in Volo, Illinois. It's a huge antique mall and just a hop, skip and jump from where we live. I found a few nice vintage goodies to add to my stash.

First, a few vintage hankies:

The blue one is flocked! I have a few in my collection from my flea market travels.

Next, I found 2 yards of this beautiful machine embroidered fabric:

I love the scalloped edge on this! And 2 yards will go a long way for what I do with it.

Next, I found this gorgeous vintage apron:

I almost hate to cut it up because it's in mint condition. It just needs a good hand wash. But I did buy it to cut up for my crazy quilting.

Last but not least, this pair of sweet vintage bunnies:

Yes, I'm always thinking of Spring!

Today, we'll be going over to mom's for a few hours.

I hope ya'll have a wonderful Christmas Day!

Christmas Eve

2011-12-24T07:45:00.000-06:00

First, I would like to say thank you to everyone who sent me "Happy Birthday" wishes for today. Your comments, no matter what time of year, truly mean so much to me! Thank you everyone!

Well, it's December 24th and to date, we've had no measurable snowfalls! And I am absolutely okay with that! And there's none in the forecast all the way to New Year's so one month of Winter down, 2 months to go. I can honestly tolerate the cold of the Winter months. I don't like the bitter cold but we've been around 30 - 40 degrees so far and it's quite tolerable. It's the snow that I don't like. I'd much rather look at brown grass than endless amounts of white snow which in time, becomes dirty and ugly looking. So if Winter continues like it has so far, you won't much in the way of complaints from me! LOL!!!

I didn't get much in the way of stitching done yesterday. Just a little bit. I went to mom's to help her with preparations for this afternoon and tomorrow. I'll post an update of my current cat doll when I get a little more stitching on it.

For now, I have to get ready for my shopping spree at the antique mall. I only ask my husband for one thing each year for my birthday. I ask him to take me to the antique mall so I can walk around and see all the vintage things that I love! Hopefully, I'll find some nice little do-dads to add to my stitching. Although I have quite a nice collection, I'm always on the hunt for more beautiful little vintage handkerchiefs! So perhaps I'll have some new ones to share here with you tomorrow.

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve everyone!

Wisdom On Turning 50

2011-12-23T06:47:00.000-06:00

Well, tomorrow is my 50th birthday. It sounds worse when I write it than it actually feels. My aunt always says that age is just a number. And I always say it's not the years, it's the miles.

Some people have a terrible time turning 50. I like to think of it in terms of condition. You know, like on Ebay. There's new, used, vintage, antique and ancient. LOL!!! I've reached the point of vintage and I'm ok with that.

Vintage is endearing. It's charming and usually has a lovely patina. It's worn but soft and still quite useful. And in my opinion, extremely attractive! LOL!

With age comes wisdom and heaven knows, I've reached that point! Like I said, it's not the years, it's the miles.

I prefer not to reflect on the first 50 years of my life but rather look at the (hopefully) next 50 years as being where the fun is. Heaven knows, it's time for some of that. Especially after the last 3 years. Those of you who have been reading my blog for some time, know what I'm talking about.

For some people, life is a walk in the park, a picnic and a piece of cake. For others, life comes with many challenges. I hope I learned the lessons I had to learn by now. I've always been one of those people who has to learn the hard way.

One nice thing about vintage, is that it's reached a point of being loved for what it is. It doesn't have to "prove" itself anymore. It is what it what is. It's respected for it's age and withstood the test of time. And so have I.

Well, now that I've amused you with my age and condition analogy, I'll move on to my stitching. In between baking a couple batches of cookies yesterday and listening to some Christmas music on the radio (which I have not done in 3 years), I finished up on my Pink & Blue Valentine Cat Doll:

And here is a close up of the seam treatment on the right:

See more Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment Inspiration here.

I pulled some lace and trim for this little Pink cat doll before I went to bed last night:

They never look like much of anything until I get them sewn together. If you're new to my blog, you can see my Cat Doll Collection here.

Today, I'll head over to mom's to see if she needs help with anything. For now, I'm going to sit here and stitch for awhile.

Valentine Cat Dolls

2011-12-22T05:49:00.000-06:00

I had some stitching time yesterday between wrapping my Christmas gifts and doing laundry. Here's an update on my Pink and Blue Cat Doll:

Today, I plan on doing a little baking and then some more stitching. I don't care to spend the entire day making cookies, just 2 or 3 batches. I'd really like to do some sewing but that's going to have to wait until after Christmas.

I expect to finish up on this kitty doll today so I'll post an update photo tomorrow.

2012 Series Of Cat Dolls

2011-12-21T06:02:00.000-06:00

I finished up on my Green and Pink Valentine Pillow last night:

I doubt I'll have any sewing machine time until after Christmas. But when I do get these pillows sewn together, I'll post more photos.

For now, since they're small and I have several sewn up, I thought I'd start on my 2012 series of Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls. These are the little 6 inch kittens. Again, when I have some sewing time, I'll work up some of the tall cat dolls:

Yes, this is the first of the Valentine Cats! Since these are small, they're perfect for me to work on in between holiday activities.

Finally for today, my mom asked me to see if anyone would like to have this Better Homes and Gardens book:

It's free for the cost of shipping. I can ship it in a flat rate Priority envelope for $5.00 (USA only please.) The first person to leave a comment telling me they want it can have it. I accept PayPal so let me know.

Seam Embroidery on Valentine Pillow

2011-12-20T05:29:00.001-06:00

Not too much in the way of stitching time these past few days. Typical for the week before Christmas but for today, I thought I'd share what I do have.

Here is an update on my current project, a Valentine's Day pillow:

The little red heart is a brooch that I found at a flea market this past Summer. And here is the seam embroidery on this piece:

Be sure to click on the photos to see the seam embroidery up close! I'll add these to my Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment Gallery for future reference.

As you can see, I used a lot of cross stitches in these borders. It's the perfect way to add hearts to the design. These are all worked with my waste canvas technique.

How Nightmare Got His Name - A Christmas Story

2011-12-18T05:03:00.000-06:00

I didn't get to doing any stitching yesterday. After taking mom and her dog to the vet, I was so tired when I got home, I laid down and fell asleep for a few hours. I woke up when my husband got home from work. He surprised me with a new, big screen television. We've been wanting one for years and he's been working his butt off every Saturday for months now. Well, there was a method to his madness!

Once he got it all set up, we ordered delivery and watched Christmas Vacation. That has to be the funniest Christmas movie ever made!

Anyway, back to my Lucy....I talked to my vet yesterday when I was there with mom and yes, he said Lucy did indeed have a stroke. The reason she was so frightened is that a stroke causes temporary blindness. She's almost back to normal now. She's always been a happy, little bouncy kitty. Not afraid of anything, very independent and very talkative. She's talking like crazy again. Huge relief. Our vet said that she may never have another one. I sure hope not.

I shared photos of Simba and Lucy yesterday but not my Nightmare. Did I ever tell you the story of how he got his name?

We adopted him from our vets office when he was only 3 weeks old. His litter was found on a construction site in Woodstock, Illinois. One of the construction workers was able to rescue the kittens but not the mother. He took the kittens to our vets office.

We had taken Garfield in for his shots one night just before Thanksgiving and the receptionist was holding the tiniest little kitten I'd ever seen. Scott and I adore black cats so we asked if they had a black one and they did. The next week, I called the girl that handles the adoptions. Normally, they don't adopt kittens out until they're 6 weeks old but she knew that I would do what was necessary for such a young cat and she let me take him home at 3 weeks.

Anyway, a week or two later, Scott was putting the Christmas tree up, trying to get the lights on it and our tiny kitten, whom we had not chosen a name for yet, kept climbing up the tree. Scott kept pulling him out and finally, after about the 5th time, Scott said to him, "you are a little nightmare!". LOL!!!

Well, we looked at each other and both knew at that exact moment, that "nightmare" was the perfect name for our little black kitten. And Nightmare has lived up to it!

Nightmare is 16 years old now. He's had a heart problem (cardio myopathy) since he was 1. You would never know it. He bounces off the walls and he's always into something! So far this year, he hasn't tried to climb my tree.

Bubba always says that Nightmare will live to be 25, just out of spite!

Crazy Quilt Valentine Pillow in Green and Pink

2011-12-17T06:30:00.000-06:00

My seam embroidery is now beaded so this is ready for larger embellishments:

I'll share close up photos of the embroidered borders when I complete this piece. I hope to have a few quality hours of stitching time later today.

I also thought you'd enjoy seeing this photo of my Simba:

As you can see, I put up a Christmas tree and wrap a quilt around the bottom so my cat has a comfy place to curl up and sleep! LOL!!!

In other news, my dad's surgery went well and it looks like he will be fine. The cancer was superficial meaning, it was on the surface. Let's hope it stays gone.

Finally, Scott and I suspect that our Lucy had a stroke earlier this week. Lucy is my little girl kitty in my blog banner. I got home late Monday afternoon and I couldn't find her. When I did, she was hiding in the corner under the bed. She didn't come out to sleep with us that night but I didn't think much of it. Tuesday morning, I woke up quite early at 2 am. I spent 10 minutes looking for her and finally found her cowering in the corner behind my rocking chair. She looked okay but wouldn't come out. When I moved the chair to pick her up, she ran under my sewing machine. I took her food and she did eat so I figured something just had her quite frightened.

The rest of Tuesday was much the same. She kept hiding under the bed but she looked okay. On Wednesday morning, she looked at me like she didn't have a clue who I was. She seemed disoriented and confused and terribly frightened. For the record, Lucy isn't afraid of anything.

Anyway, I was driving to WalMart on Wednesday and all of a sudden the word "stroke" popped into my head. When I parked my car, I called mom to ask her what the symptoms of a stroke were. She said that the symptoms where a little different in animals than in humans but the main signs are confusion and disorientation.

I looked it up on my IPhone and those were really the only symptoms that she had. Lucy wasn't walking in circles or leaning to one side. Just confused, disoriented and terribly frightened. The article I read did say that cats recover from feline strokes very quickly. Usually within 1 to 2 weeks.

By Wednesday night, I was seeing improvement. Thursday morning she was better and then more improvement by Thursday night. She's still hiding here and there a little bit but she spent most of yesterday sleeping in my rocking chair rather than hiding under it.

It's the improvements that are making me think it was a stroke. It took us so long to figure out the symptoms that she was having. Anyway, let's hope the improvements continue and that she'll be her normal self in another few days.

Sometimes I wish they could talk so they could tell me what's wrong. I have to take mom to the vet today with her dog so I'll talk to our vet about it. I at least want to know what to look for in advance if it happens again although from what I read, cats can have one stroke and never have another and go on to lead a normal, healthy, long life. Lucy is 12 years old. She my youngest kitty.

Isn't she a beauty? She the sweetest little thing. I took this photo about a year ago. Bubba rescued her back in 1999. She was 8 months old when he found her. Just a kitten. I hope she recovers and that this doesn't happen again.

Update On Green Valentine Pillow

2011-12-16T06:41:00.000-06:00

Finally, a day that I can stay home! At least that's the plan for now. I've been running like crazy lately and can feel that I need some down time. If all goes well, I don't have to leave the house today!

Here's an update on my Green Valentine's Day Pillow:

This is ready now for beads and other embellishments.

My to-do list for today includes cleaning my bathroom, getting laundry caught up, baking some chicken for salad and stitching, stitching, stitching! Wish me luck!

Another Valentines Day Pillow

2011-12-15T06:49:00.000-06:00

I started on a new project yesterday. This will be another Valentine's Day pillow:

As you can see, I'm getting ready to stitch another seam!

Marjolein asked a few questions about my Pink Valentine's Day pillow:

I thought I would answer her questions here in case anyone else was wondering about them. The silk ribbon work is simply French Knots worked with 7MM silk ribbon that I hand dyed myself. French Knot cluster flowers require a lot of silk ribbon so be sure you have enough of whatever color you choose.

The large, light pink flowers are vintage millinery flowers that I took off of an old hat. I just sewed them on.

The small, dark pink flowers are new. They're just silk flowers from a floral stem that I got at Michaels or Walmart at some point. I just popped them off the stem and sewed them on then added beads for centers.

A quick note to Gail, I tried to reply to your message but I don't have your email address. Thank you for your comment on liking my tall cat dolls and thank you for "Pinning" it on Pinterest!

Pink Valentine Pillow and Seam Embroidery

2011-12-14T06:41:00.000-06:00

I finished up my Pink Valentine Pillow yesterday:

It just needed a few hearts and some butterflies. I added a bee too!

And here are the seam embroidery photos:

If you click on the photos, you can see them closeup!

These will be permanently available to view in my ongoing series page of Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment Inspiration photos found at the top of this page.

It seams that the vote for my tall cat dolls is unanimous! Everyone seems to like the tall ones. Thank you to everyone who took the time to let me know. I will plan on a series of tall cats for 2012.

For now, I'm off to start on a new project.

Crazy Quilt Valentine Pillow Almost Done

2011-12-13T05:02:00.000-06:00

I didn't have too much in the way of stitching time yesterday so this is almost done but not quite:

This just needs a few little hearts and some bugs. I love bugs on crazy quilts!

Flea Market Beads

2011-12-12T06:06:00.000-06:00

I mentioned yesterday that Scott and I were going to Grayslake Flea Market and Antique show. I really enjoy that one because it's all indoors! Many of my favorite sellers weren't there which surprises me. We've been going to this flea market for years and years and December has always been a "productive" treasure hunting month.

Anyway, onto my treasure. Now I usually don't find cool beads at the flea markets. Vintage hankies, vintage lace, vintage jewelry pieces, old cook books yes, but not beads. I think I hit the mother load yesterday! LOL!!!

These are all all vintage glass rice beads from Japan. They were still on the original strings and had the old paper "made in Japan" tags on them. Check out all the colors! And they were not all from the same vendor!

These are all vintage glass seed beads and vintage glass pearls. Again, still on the strings with the "made in Japan" paper tags on them:

Those aqua blue ones on the right are absolutely gorgeous!

There was a new vendor there who had some strings of crystals so of course, I had to have a few of those too:

I usually find tons of pretty vintage handkerchiefs at Grayslake Flea Market but yesterday, not too many. I only found this pretty one with pansies on it:

In other news, thank you to everyone who left me comments regarding my cat dolls. I will definitely plan on a series of the taller cats for 2012. I personally like the little ones but the taller cats definitely give me more room for stitching! LOL!!!

After our trip to the flea market, we stopped at Kohls. I needed a new pair of shoes. After that Bubba wanted a Christmas tree so we stopped for one of those. I could have lived without it but we haven't had a tree in 3 years so I conceded. We decorated it last night so I'll take a photo of that later today. It is pretty and does smell good so I guess I can live with it in my living room for 3 weeks.

Finally for today, here's an update on my Pink Valentine Pillow:

I can stitch on this for about an hour before I get ready to go into town. I think I'll use a few of my new vintage beads on it!

Pink Valentine Pillow

2011-12-11T05:19:00.000-06:00

Well it doesn't look like I've done much stitching on this but it does take time to sew all those beads and sequins on!

When I finish adding beads to the last seam, I'll start adding some larger embellishments. This definitely needs flowers!

We're going to the Flea Market and Antique Show in Grayslake Illinois today. Maybe I'll have some goodies to share later!

Back to my cat dolls, Sandie told me that she likes the taller cat doll:

I'm open minded so I'm thinking of doing a series of these in 2012. What do ya'll think? Does anyone else like this taller version of my Crazy Quilt cat dolls? Let me know please!

Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls List Complete

2011-12-10T06:54:00.000-06:00

This is the original, the very first, Crazy Quilt Cat Doll that I designed for Pat Winter's Comfort Doll Project:

As you can see, he's a little goofy looking. Too tall. So I shortened my pattern to the size that I use today.

I've completed my list of all the cat dolls that I've made over the years and I've dated them so if you have one of my cats, you can now find out when he was made. Also, if you have one of my cat dolls and you don't see him on the list, please email a photo to me and I will gladly date him and add him to the list.

Starting in 2012, I will be dating and numbering my cat dolls and of course, I will continue to add them to the list. The newest cats will always be at the top of the page. Enjoy my Collectible Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls page.

Rose Garden Cat Doll

2011-12-09T06:34:00.000-06:00

I've been asked many times, how I manage to get so much stitching and finishing done. I've told my story before but I'll post it again. I have ADD with high anxiety and I've found that keeping my hands busy helps to manage my nervousness. When the hands are occupied, the mind is occupied!

Yes, my house is always clean, my laundry always caught up, I do make healthy meals and I bake. I have time with my husband and I help my parents out. All in all, I guess I'm just one of those people who gets stuff done.

So with that said, my Rose Garden Cat Doll is my latest finish:

And here are closeups of the seam treatments from this project:

I keep an ongoing photo gallery of my Crazy Quilt Seam Embroidery so if anyone needs some inspiration, it can be found on a page at the top of my blog. The newest photos are always at the top of the page.

Back to my cat dolls, photos of all the Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls that I've made are now available to see on the Collectable Cat Dolls page, also found at the top of my blog. Again, the newest photos will always be at the top of the page. Now that I have all the photos available, I'll go back and date them. I hope to get that taken care of over the weekend.

I've decided, since I've made so many of these little kitties, and because I have several ladies who like to collect a few of them, that it would be fun to start dating and numbering them. Starting in 2012, all of my cat dolls will be dated and numbered on the back.

If you own one or more of my cat dolls, check that page again in a few days to date your doll.

Finally for today, I've started on a new project:

I thought I'd better start making a few Valentine's Day projects. I know, it's not even Christmas yet but since I like to make things for my Boutique, I have to start long before an upcoming holiday! Anyway, this will be another pillow. I sewed a few Valentine pillow projects up the other day so I have a nice little pile of things all ready to stitch on! And I must tell you, I just love Valentine's Day! The soft pastel colors, the little hearts and cupids and the pretty flowers are quite soothing on the eye!

Crazy Quilt Pillows

2011-12-08T05:51:00.000-06:00

I am absolutely thrilled with how these turned out:

I finished these pillows with lots of lace and extra buttons. They're so pretty! And both are now available in my boutique as well as my Etsy shop.

I started adding my cat dolls to my "Collectible Cats" page. I still have to pull some of them off of Flickr. Once I have them all posted, I'll start adding the dates as to when I made them.

Collectible Cat Dolls

2011-12-07T05:50:00.000-06:00

I did a lot of sewing yesterday. I have both pillows sewn up but still have a bit of handwork to do on them before they're ready for photos. I'll share those tomorrow.

I also finished up my little Green and Pink Cat Doll:

And speaking of my Cat Dolls, I have a few ladies who like to collect them. I thought it would be fun to start dating and numbering them so starting in 2012, my little art doll cats will be dated and numbered on the back.

I will also start a page here on my blog for dating purposes. It'll take me awhile to put this together since I've made so many of these cats over the years. I'll start on that in the next few days and if nothing else, it'll be fun for everyone to see all the pretty little cats that I've made.

Yes, A Few More Cat Dolls

2011-12-06T06:25:00.000-06:00

As always, between larger projects, I like to stitch up a couple of little things. I always gravitate to my little crazy quilt cat dolls. I stitched this one up the other day:

And this little one is what I'm working on now:

They never really look like much until I get them sewn together!

Anyway, at this moment, I don't have to go anywhere today. Unless mom calls and needs me to run uptown for something, I plan to sew these 2 pieces together today:

I'm thinking pillows but we'll see.

Little Girls In Yellow Roses Stitching Completed

2011-12-05T05:08:00.000-06:00

This bright and cheerful crazy quilt block will most likely be sewn into a pillow:

I just love the little Victorian girls in the roses! I was looking at it yesterday and thinking it would make a pretty pillow so I'll add a green border and some pretty lace. I'm hoping to have some sewing time tomorrow.

Here is the crazy quilt seam embroidery:

Be sure to click on the images to see closeups!

Also, you can find more of my seam treatments on my Inspiration Page!

ATTN: Cheryl who commented on this piece!!! Please email your blog address to me!

Pink and Green Crazy Quilt Christmas Pillow by Mom

2011-12-03T09:27:00.000-06:00

Just a quick post for today everyone. Dad is home and doing well. I need to run to WalMart and pick a few things up for my mom.

For now, I wanted to share mom's latest crazy quilt pillow:

Yes, mom caught the crazy quilt bug! Mom's beautiful Christmas Crazy Quilt Pillow is available in our Boutique and in our Etsy shop.

Little Girls In Yellow Roses

2011-12-02T05:47:00.000-06:00

Sandie told me that I must stitch in my sleep! LOL!!!! Stitching is therapy for me as it is for many people. I make sure I have plenty of time for it every day. And I don't always sleep well so it's a good way to spend my early morning hours! Here's my newest piece:

I've always loved the Victorian images of the little girls in the flowers! The lace appliques are a bit bright but I'll soften them with beadwork.

My dad's surgery is today so please keep him in your thoughts.

White Cat In A Rose Garden

2011-12-01T05:26:00.000-06:00

My newest Crazy Quilt piece features a vintage image of a white cat in a rose garden:

I haven't decided yet on how I'll finish this. I'm going to stitch a few more pieces that are the same size and then we'll see what I do with them.

Here are the embroidered seam treatments for this piece:

If you click on the photos, you can see a larger version.

If you're new to my blog, you can more of my crazy quilt seam treatments here.

More Little Cat Dolls

2011-11-30T05:30:00.000-06:00

I like to stitch these little Crazy Quilt cat dolls in between larger projects. Here are my 2 newest along with closeups of my embroidered seams:

It was a very windy day here yesterday so I did a lot of stitching! The only good thing I can say about Winter is that I have a lot more stitching time than I do in the Summer!

Crazy Quilt Gatherings Volume #4 Winter 2011 Issue

2011-11-29T03:11:00.000-06:00

If you're a crazy quilter, you don't want to miss out on ordering the latest issue of Pat Winter's Crazy Quilt Gatherings Magazine.

This issue is loaded with beautiful crazy quilt photos, tutorials and articles! You won't be able to put this down!!!

Kathi's Gingerbread Muffin Recipe

2011-11-28T05:57:00.001-06:00

After braving a trip to WalMart yesterday to pick up a few things, I decided to bake some muffins. This is Kathi's recipe for Gingerbread Muffins. It's the first time I made these and I must say, they are good!

Twice Ginger Gingerbread Muffins
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 19 Minutes
Makes 18

2 1/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground Clove
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup unsulfered molasses
1 cup boiling water
1/3 cup coarsely chopped crystallized ginger

1) Sift together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves & 
nutmeg into a bowl.  Mix the butter and brown sugar together in another 
bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until well blended and 
smooth, about 3 minutes.  Add Eggs one at a time and blend after each.  
Reduce speed to low; beat in dry ingredients.  Add the molasses; beat 
several seconds until blended.  Add the water; beat a few seconds until 
blended.
2) fill two standard-size muffin tins, coated with nonstick spray, about 
3/4 full.  Bake until tops are set but mixture beneath is jiggly,  10 
minutes.  Remove pans from oven; sprinkle muffins with crystallized 
ginger.  Return to oven; bake until a tester inserted into the center 
comes out clean, 9-10 minutes.  Cool muffins in tins, 15 minutes.  Serve 
warm or at room temperature.

Calories=207

I've never been huge on Crystallized Ginger but

it's a nice added touch and I really like this recipe!

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Large Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls

2011-11-27T07:31:00.000-06:00

I finished up the large versions of my Crazy Quilt Dolls:

I love them all but as you know, I'm quite partial to pink! Anyway, these are available at our Boutique and as well as our Etsy shop.

Blue Crazy Quilt Cat Doll

2011-11-25T06:30:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. Ours was very nice. A traditional turkey dinner at mom's with my aunt and uncle. Good food (mom is an awesome cook) and quiet conversation.

I'm almost done with the stitching on this crazy quilt cat doll:

I just need to add a few little do-dads. Perhaps a butterfly or 2.

And here is the seam embroidery:

I'll be sewing these up and finishing them today so stop back to see photos over the weekend.

Don't forget, we're offering 10% off at both Kitty And Me Designs website and Kitty And Me Designs on Etsy. Use coupon code: BlackFriday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T06:20:00.000-06:00

Wishing all my blog friends a very Happy and Safe Thanksgiving Holiday!

Crazy Quilt Cellphone Pouches

2011-11-23T05:00:00.000-06:00

I finally finished up my little Crazy Quilt Cellphone Pouches:

I love making these little pouches. Well, except for sewing the snaps on! LOL!!! I think I'll sew up a few more the next time I have a sewing machine day.

Today I'll be heading over to my mom's house to help her with Thanksgiving for tomorrow. First, I have to run to WalMart for a few things. I want to get there early before everyone else does!

A quick update on my dad. It wasn't a kidney stone. Surgery is scheduled for the first week in December. May I say that I absolutely hate the "C" word!!!!! I think everything will be okay. I hope so anyway. It hasn't completely sunk into my crazy ADD brain yet. Please keep him in your thoughts for me.

On a final note, we offering 10% off at our Boutiques now through Sunday, November 27th. Use Coupon Code: BlackFriday at Kitty and Me Designs & Kitty and Me on Etsy.

Large Pink Cat Doll

2011-11-22T06:28:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, at 2 am, I somehow managed to bump my electric wax tart melter that I keep on my stove. I keep it there so it's away from the cats and I can't burn candles because I forget to put them out. What can I say? ADD. So I use a little wax tart melter and Yankee tarts to make my house smell like I'm always baking. Well, I bumped it while making coffee so I had wax all over my stove and all over the wall behind my stove. It took me over an hour to clean it all up!

After all that, I said AMEN! I'm stitching!!! And I did. I finished up my Pink Cat Doll:

If you look closely at the photo at the top, you can see his little ears! I have one more large cat doll to stitch up. That one is blue. I'll start on it later today.

In the meantime, here is the seam embroidery from the Pink Cat Doll:

I also finally got my little cellphone pouches all sewn up. All I have left to do on those is to sew on the trim and the little snaps. I plan to get that done today.

My dad has a Dr.'s appt. today for that final test. The others all came back normal. Mom and I are thinking he passed a kidney stone. I'll be going with him today in case he needs me to drive home. I suggested that he just let me drive my Towncar because I'm more comfortable driving my own vehicle but that was a "no go". Men! They're so stubborn!

Large Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls and Seam Embroidery

2011-11-21T03:15:00.000-06:00

Here I am at 3 am. Blogging and getting ready to stitch. Is it Spring yet? I sleep better in the Spring and Summer than I do this time of year.

My insomnia does pay off at times. I finished up the stitching on my Purple Cat Doll yesterday:

If you look closely, especially at the top where the dark purple fabric is, you can see the outline of the cat.

And here are the seam embroidery closeup photos:

I'm keeping a Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment Inspiration Gallery page (at the top of my blog). It's a quick reference for seam treatment ideas. I was adding the newest photos to the bottom of the page but I've decided to add the new ones at the top. That way, for anyone who follows my seam treatments, you don't have to keep scrolling down to the bottom to see what's new.

I didn't get my cell phone pouches sewn up but I did pull the fabrics out for finishing them. I'd like to get them sewn today.

And I did do a little straightening up in my room and I made a double batch of Pumpkin Muffins and a double batch of Banana Muffins. I got the laundry done and I started stitching on this Pink and Green Cat Doll:

I'll be working on that momentarily.

The one other thing I did yesterday was to switch out my stitching thread basket. I had a small one that I kept my threads in but they really didn't quite fit. I decided to use my Garfield's basket to keep my threads in since my little kitties don't use it. I don't know why. Garfield's been gone 2 1/2 years now so I would have thought one of them would have taken it over but they didn't.

Garfield was a big boy. 18 pounds at his healthiest! So we had a good size basket for him. Anyway, it's my thread basket now and it makes me think of him. I like that.

Purple Cat

2011-11-20T02:27:00.000-06:00

Don't you just love waking up at 1 in the morning? You get so much extra stitching time!

Here's an update on my Purple Crazy Quilt Cat Doll:

I'll probably finish this one today. I also plan to sew up my 4 little cellphone pouches so I can do the hand finishing during the week and I have to get some clutter out of here. I don't know where it comes from but it makes me insane! Actually, it's really just my little computer room that needs straightening up. That's where I store my supplies and it tends to get cluttered easily. And I admit, I've had enough of looking at bright orange pumpkins now so I'll be taking those outside today and putting my Fall stuff away. I really just want my soft pink, everyday things out. And of course, there's always laundry!

Large Purple Cat Doll

2011-11-19T05:13:00.000-06:00

Scott suggested, that since I love making my little crazy quilt cat dolls so much, that it might be nice if I made a few larger cat dolls. He said they would be pretty sitting on a bed by a pretty embroidered pillow. I took his advice and sewed up 3 of them. One in purple, one in blue and one in pink and green. I started stitching on the purple cat doll yesterday:

These will be approx 10 inches high X 6 inches wide. I want them to have a very Victorian feel to them.

In the meantime, I have another bout of Zoloft withdrawals setting in. I really can't take too much more of this. I'm down to only 12 1/2 milligrams now. The withdrawals should be done by January 8th.

Winter Lady Purse Finished

2011-11-18T05:25:00.000-06:00

All that's left to do on this is to sew the snaps on:

Yesterday morning, I hand sewed the braid around the design, added the lace and the trim to the bottom. I'll do the snaps tonight while I watch Gold Rush.

If all goes as planned, I'll sew up my cellphone pouches over the weekend and then I can do the hand finishing on those.

In the meantime, I'm starting to stitch on a new set of projects. Stay tuned!

Purple Cellphone Pouch

2011-11-17T06:09:00.000-06:00

When one wakes up at 2 in the morning, one finds themselves with a lot of stitching time! I completed the stitching on my purple cellphone pouch yesterday morning:

And here are closeups of the seam embroidery:

If all goes according to plan, I will sew these up and do the hand finishing over the weekend. In the meantime, I'm working on the finishing on my Winter Lady Purse:

Be sure to stop back to see it! It's very foo-foo-y!

Pink Rose Cellphone Pouch Stitching Complete

2011-11-15T06:59:00.001-06:00

I finished up on my Pink Rose Cellphone Pouch yesterday:

Look closely at the lace appliques. I didn't want the leaves to cover my seam treatment on the right so I gave it a 3 dimensional look by bending that leaf on the right in a downward position.

I loved the way it looked so did something similar with the other 2 leaves and then beaded it all. I also left the edges of the pink flowers floppy meaning, I didn't tack them down a the tips of the petals. They're only tacked in the middle and then further supported with the bead work. It's a little hard to see in the photo but it's quite 3 dimensional and a very interesting technique which I plan to do again on future projects.

Click on the photos to see larger versions.

And here is the seam embroidery for this pouch:

Both of these seam treatments are worked using waste canvas.

I have more 1 cellphone pouch that to stitch and then hopefully, over the weekend, I can assemble them and do the hand finishing:

The colors on this one feel a little odd to me but I know I can work with it. Let's see where this one goes!

Pink Rose Cellphone Pouch

2011-11-14T05:48:00.000-06:00

Just a quick update for now on my Pink Rose Cellphone Pouch. I've hand painted the lace appliques, stitched the seams and started embellishing:

I really like this color combo! I'm off to do some more beading on this!

Crazy Quilt Snowman Pillow

2011-11-13T14:49:00.000-06:00

Mom has out-done herself this time! Here's the newest in mom's crazy quilt pieces:

Is this gorgeous or what?!!! This beautiful Crazy Quilt Snowman Pillow is available for purchase in our Boutique.

Treasures from the Flea Market in Grayslake Illinois

2011-11-13T13:50:00.000-06:00

I had a lovely morning with my husband today. We went to the Antique and Collectable Flea Market in Grayslake, Illinois. One of my favorite Flea Markets in northern Illinois! A perfect "something to do" the 2nd weekend of every month. Especially in the cold months because it's all inside!

I found some nice treasure there today! First, a couple of vintage rhinestone brooches. Well, one is a brooch and the other little bee pin:

Next, I found some pretty vintage buttons in pink, green and purple:

Some of my prize flea market and antique shop finds are vintage handkerchiefs. I found quite a few today. First some Christmas ones:

And then some everyday hankies with pretty flowers:

Something I've been collecting for many years are little vintage cat figurines. Are you surprised? LOL!!! I have quite a few but they have to have a certain look to them. They don't have be really old but they have to have that old look. I found this little one today:

Last but not least, the piece de resistance. I found this gorgeous old hat box:

And you'll never guess what it was filled with!!!!!

And can you believe, I only paid $15.00 for the box and all the old lace? Talk about a Crazy Quilter's dream day!!!!

Blue Cellphone Pouch

2011-11-13T06:32:00.000-06:00

Last night, I finished up the stitching on my little Blue Cellphone Pouch:

And here are closeups of my stitched seam treatments:

The Herringbone Stitch, a Fan Stitch and finally a Satin Stitched Leaf, all worked with my waste canvas technique.

I'm keeping a Seam Treatment Inspiration Gallery (found at the top of my blog) so take a peek for other seam treatment ideas.

This is my next little Cellphone Pouch:

I'll start on this one later today. I first want to hand paint those lace pieces.

Crazy Quilt Snowman Purse Completed!

2011-11-11T05:34:00.000-06:00

Well, it's almost complete! I still have to sew the snap on:

I made this purse for my sister Kathi. She isn't into all the fluffy, ruffly, foo-foo stuff that I like so I kept it more simple for her. The crazy quilt piece is actually a flap and the purse is larger than my normal purse style. The trim is all sewn on by hand and put a strap on this one rather than the purchased handles that I usually use. I also hand sewed the sequin trim on the strap.

Kath, if you want to come see me this weekend, I can give this to you!

Pretty Cellphone Pouches

2011-11-10T06:08:00.001-06:00

I'm working on some pretty Crazy Quilt Cellphone Pouches for Christmas gifts. I mean, who doesn't have a cellphone and who wouldn't like a pretty pouch to keep it in? Mine is a IPhone and I like to keep mine in a pouch to protect the screen from getting all scratched up just in case my keys decide to have a party in my purse!

Anyway, I finished up my purple and green pouch yesterday:

I didn't want to do any Silk Ribbon Embroidery on these because that can also get caught on keys and other purse contents. So I figured, buttons are a safe addition. These are vintage Mother Of Pearl buttons accented with large seed beads.

And here is the seam embroidery up close:

All of these seam treatments, including the feather stitch, are worked with my Waste Canvas technique. Click on each photo to see a larger version.

And here is my next little cellphone pouch:

I painted the appliques and sewed the lace and trim on last night so now it's ready for embroidery and beads.

Needful Things

2011-11-09T15:08:00.001-06:00

My sweet friend Pat Winter always refers to crazy quilt supplies as "needful things". Ok, so I stopped at my favorite stitching store yesterday afternoon, Welcome Stitchery in Crystal Lake, Illinois. I needed waste canvas. And I of course came out with more than just that!

My favorite threads to stitch with are the Watercolours by The Caron Collection. These are a 3 ply thread and I use a single strand which is pretty equal to a #5 perle cotton. I love the shaded threads and since I have a tendency to pile on the embellishments, I like a little bit heavier thread so my stitching shows up! So, I needed 3 new colors of that.

My second favorite threads are the Kreinik metallics! I needed (I really did) a gold #4 braid but I've also been collecting the Hologram Blending Filaments for my spider webs. So I picked up the silver and the red Hologram Blending Filament and those are my needful things for the day! It's my story and I'm sticking to it!

When I got home, I started stitching a little cellphone pouch:

I thought I'd make a few cellphone pouches for Christmas gifts. And speaking of my sweet friend Pat, purples and greens always make me think of her!

Here's the news on my dad, so far, none of the test results found anything abnormal. They're going to do one more test, and if that's normal, then it was most likely a small kidney stone. Mom is already trying to get him to drink more water!

Thank you everyone for keeping him in your thoughts.

Snowman Dolls

2011-11-08T11:36:00.000-06:00

My Crazy Quilt Snowman Dolls have arrived! Here they are:

I also thought you'd enjoy seeing the latest additions to Kathi's Pretty Gemstone Jewelry line:

Snowman Purse Complete

2011-11-08T05:52:00.000-06:00

When a person doesn't sleep well, they tend to have a lot of stitching time! I finished up this Crazy Quilt Snowman Purse:

Talk about a Winter Wonderland! Be sure to click on the image so you can see it up close. I used tons and tons of sequins for sparkle and lots of snowflake buttons.

This purse is for my sister Kathi. She gave me the cross stitch piece earlier this and asked if I would do a crazy quilt purse for her.

Here are close ups of the seam embroidery:

Due to the size of the cross stitch piece, I didn't have a lot of room for elaborate seam embroidery. These are examples of what can be done in small spaces.

In other news, I'll have a diagnosis on my dad later today. I'm really trying to stay out of the "worst case scenario". I'll know when I know. I guess it's human to go to the worst and it's certainly how my crazy mind works. For now, I'm really trying to stay in today.

Snowman Purse

2011-11-06T06:23:00.000-06:00

Earlier this year, my sister Kathi gave me this little cross stitch snowman piece that she stitched and asked me if I would make it into a purse for her. I sewed the block up earlier this Summer and decided, I'd better make it for her now so she can enjoy using it at Christmas:

This should be a fun project! I've sewn all the lace and trim on and embroidered all the seams. Now to get onto the beadwork!

Before I head offline, please keep my dad in your thoughts. He may require surgery. I'll know more on Tuesday.

Winter Lady Crazy Quilt Purse - Stitching Complete

2011-11-05T06:16:00.000-05:00

I finished up the stitching on my Winter Lady Crazy Quilt Purse last night:

It's very glittery isn't it? The leaf sequins to the left look a little orange in this photo but they're actually pearly white and sparkle in a pink tone. And yes, I know that snowflakes and butterflies don't exactly work in the same scenario but hey, I call it art!

Here are some of the interesting seam treatments that I used on this block. All are worked with my Waste Canvas technique:

These designs are available in my Elegant Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments Ebooks. I've started a new page (found at the top of my blog) titled, Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment Inspiration. I will keep an online photo gallery of my seam treatments there for your inspiration and eye candy enjoyment!

Winter Lady Crazy Quilt Purse Continued

2011-11-04T07:02:00.000-05:00

Other than going into town for groceries and doing some laundry, I spent most of yesterday stitching on my Winter Lady Crazy Quilt Purse:

I'll be sitting here and doing some more beadwork on this before I head over to mom's for the day.

Also, I've decided to add a new feature to my blog. As I stitch on my Crazy Quilt projects, I'll take close up photos of some of my seam treatments and post them on the page titled, "Crazy Quilt Seam Treatment Inspirations". You can find it at the top of my blog.

Since I use my Waste Canvas technique for the majority of my embroidery on crazy quilts, I thought this would be a nice way to give my readers some ideas for seam embroidery and how to embellish them. I'll start doing this when I complete this purse.

Finally for today, we're having a nice Christmas Sale at our Boutique:

Christmas Village Houses and Bottlebrush Trees are on sale. We won't be doing anymore of these of so please, get them while you can! The sale is only available at our Boutique.

Winter Lady Crazy Quilt Purse

2011-11-03T06:13:00.000-05:00

After running up to WalMart for a few things yesterday and doing a little laundry, I spent a quiet afternoon with my cats, Food Network and my Winter Lady Crazy Quilt Purse:

I love the soft, feminine colors on this one. Perfect for a Winter Bag! And it'll go quite nicely with my faux fur coat!

I also sewed up my Snowman Dolls and I stuffed them. Tomorrow, I'll make the little stocking caps so their heads stay warm! ;)

White Snowman Doll and Crazy Quilt Winter Purse

2011-11-02T06:17:00.000-05:00

First, I'd like to say thank you friends, for your kind words of encouragement. I know at some point, I'll be off this medication and past the debilitating withdrawals. I know the day will come when I feel human again. Just don't know when that'll be and that's the hardest part of all this. For now, it's a one day at a time thing.

I finished up on my white Crazy Quilt Snowman Doll:

One of these snowmen is already spoken for. I don't know which one yet and I might keep one for myself because I just love them! I'll get them sewn together in the next few days and then I'll post most more photos.

For now, I decided I needed a new purse. This is a block that I sewed up earlier this Summer:

I loved the lady image. I'm not even sure where I found it. I think it's on one of my vintage image CD's. Anyway, I sat on the floor in my little supply room yesterday playing with my laces and trims and decided that pink accents would work nicely with the background. Are you surprised? LOL!!! I just love pink!

Anyway, I'm going to try to do this purse in a little different style. I love Pat Winter's Boho Bags so I may do this as a flap with lots of lace and fringe around it. First I have to get it stitched. When I'm done with this one, I think I'll make a purse for my sister.

I was going to start on my Winter project, the Peacock Crazy Quilt that I posted last week. At the moment, it seems a little overwhelming to me. I'm sure it's just because I don't feel great right now. I think a new purse will be nice.

Pink and Blue Crazy Quilt Snowman Doll

2011-11-01T05:44:00.000-05:00

As many of my long time blog friends know, I'm in the process of trying to get off the Zoloft that I've been on for the past few years. Although I don't care to talk about the horrible depression that I went through 3 years ago too much anymore, I have to tell ya'll, these withdrawals are killing me. I really don't know how much more of this I can take.

I'm down from the 100 milligrams that I was on in the beginning to about 18 milligrams a day. The process is so slow and it has to be but I often wonder if I will ever feel good again. After all these years, it's really hard to hang onto that hope.

I'm doing my best to focus on my stitching. It's always been my #1 coping skill. I finished up my Pink and Blue Snowman Doll yesterday afternoon and have started on my 5th and final Snowman Doll which is all worked in white. Here's the pink & blue one:

I had planned to do some sewing today but I'm not sure I feel good enough to pull out my fabrics. I guess I'll see what things are like later. Honestly, I could lay on my bed all day and watch Food Channel. That's so not me! Where's that motor on my ADD butt? I know it's there. I can feel it in the background but the side effects and withdrawals are dominating. Why is this stuff so addictive? And why don't they make antidepressants that aren't addictive? And why don't they make a pill to get off this stuff? They have a pill for everything else! Arggg.....

Ok, I think I just needed to vent for a few moments. I keep looking at the clock thinking, ok, another hour and 1/2 and I can take that pill and then I'll feel better. Yep, that's the medication talking. Then I get these thoughts that go, "maybe I can't get off this stuff. Maybe the depression isn't gone yet. Maybe I still need this stuff." Withdrawals will drive a person nuts!

I have my Dr.'s permission to drop the dosage again when I'm ready. I'm just holding out until this trip to "withdrawal hell" passes.

Well, that's where I'm at at this moment. I keep telling myself, I made it this far. Like the song goes, "hold on for one more day."

Victorian Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls

2011-10-30T16:12:00.000-05:00

I just finished photographing my latest litter of Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls! Without further adieu, here they are:

Enjoy the photos! I'm going back to stitching on my Snowman Dolls now.

Blue Snowman Doll

2011-10-30T07:19:00.000-05:00

I had a wonderful time with Linda, my student yesterday. I taught her a variety of embroidery stitches including how to work with my Waste Canvas technique as well as basic Silk Ribbon Embroidery stitches. For lunch, I made homemade creamy Chicken & Rice soup, homemade rolls and Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Sugar Cookies. YUM!

I had some stitching time last night and finished up on my Blue Crazy Quilt Snowman Doll:

Is he too cute or what!!! I have 2 more to stitch and then I'll be sewing them together. Can't wait to see what they look like!

I'll be taking photos of my Christmas Cat Dolls this afternoon so be sure to stop back and see them!

Little Pink Snowman

2011-10-29T06:13:00.000-05:00

Here's my little pink snowman doll:

This little one is complete. As you can see, I added a lot more beadwork and lots of sparkly snowflakes. My next snowman doll is blue!

In other news, my Christmas cat dolls are complete! I'll post photos of those in the next day or so. And wait until you see what my mom is making! Christmas Crazy Quilt Pillows! Lots of crazy quilting to come!!!

For now, I can't wait to sew these snowmen dolls together and see what they look like! I might crochet little scarves for them. And I want to do little stocking caps for them if it works out. Stay tuned!

Pink Crazy Quilt Snowman Doll

2011-10-28T06:58:00.000-05:00

I didn't get him finished yesterday. Was getting things ready for my class tomorrow but I did have some stitching time:

I am going to sit here and stitch for 1 hour before I do anything else today! Don't you just love pink! I may have a hard time parting with this one. I want to get more pink into his little face but I think I can do that with some pink snowflakes.

Crazy Quilt Snowman Dolls

2011-10-27T04:32:00.000-05:00

My cat dolls are all sewn up and ready to stuff. I'll do the stuffing tomorrow and have photos of the finished dolls on Sunday. I'm teaching a class on Saturday.

For now, I've starting stitching on my Snowman Dolls. Here's the first:

Do you recognize the little face? It's the same face I used to use on my snowman cross stitch designs! These will get little stocking hats with pom pom's. I think they'll be sweet! My next one is white and pink!

And speaking of pink, I made a couple of Button Brooches:

The backgrounds are needle felted with a bit of crocheting for texture and added color. I guess I'm already looking forward to Spring!

Pink Ribbon Cat Doll

2011-10-26T08:44:00.000-05:00

Anyone else have issues with Firefox today? I've been trying to blog since 5 this morning and it just won't go anywhere! It's almost 9. I finally gave up and am using Explorer but I hate it and all my passwords are stored in Firefox.

Anyway, I finished up my Pink Ribbon Cat Doll:

My plan for this afternoon, if I don't get ten tons of interuptions, is to sew my 6 new cat dolls together! Wish me luck. I feel like I can't get anything done these days!

I also started on my snowman dolls! Wait till you see! I want some stitching time later too!

Win A Heart Shaped Crazy Quilt Keepsake Box

2011-10-25T06:33:00.000-05:00

Kitty & Me Designs is proud to be the sponsor for today's Tuesday's Treasures at Shabby Lane Shops.

Stop by Shabby Lane Shops today and enter for a chance to win my Heart Shaped Crazy Quilt Keepsake Box.

Blue Christmas Cat Doll

2011-10-24T06:47:00.000-05:00

I didn't have any stitching time yesterday. I finished my blue Christmas cat doll on Saturday:

I can't wait to sew these cats together! I don't think I've ever made Christmas cat dolls. Anyway, my next one is Pink Ribbon Cat Doll. I received my crystal Pink Ribbon charm on Saturday so I will be spending the next 45 minutes stitching and then hopefully, I'll have time to stitch some this evening!

Fabric Ornaments Handmade By Mom!

2011-10-23T18:38:00.000-05:00

Just a quick post for now. I've been trying all day to get to some stitching time but so far, no luck! We went to a Flea Market this morning, I made some Chicken and Rice Soup, have been doing laundry and trying to finish burning up that pine tree that we had cut down 2 weeks ago.

Anyway, I have a few more new Fabric Ornaments by mom:

Aren't they cute? Mom hand stamped the images on fabric and then hand colored them. Lace, fancy yarn and snowflakes surround the images. Available at Kitty And Me Designs and Kitty And Me On Etsy.

Handmade By Mom

2011-10-22T18:12:00.000-05:00

Just a quick little update on a few new things made by mom. First, this little Cross Stitch Door Hanging Pillow:

Mom must have stitched this piece a few years ago. With the glaucoma that she has, she doesn't see well enough to do counted cross now. At least not on 28 count fabric over 2 threads!

Mom also made these old fashioned Candy Cane ornaments:

Bubba has a bonfire going now so I'm going to go sit outside for a little while. Then I'll take my shower and finish up on my little blue Christmas Cat Doll.

Christmas Cat Doll in White

2011-10-21T06:25:00.001-05:00

It's a little hard to see the outline of the cat on this white crazy quilt cat doll but I finished the stitching on him last night:

I have one more Christmas Cat Doll to stitch up. The next one will be light blue and I'm thinking of stitching and embellishing him in gold.

I also have a Breast Cancer Awareness Cat Doll to stitch. I ordered a Pink Ribbon Charm with crystals to use on him but it hasn't arrived yet.

If all goes as planned, I'll have my cat dolls all stitched up by the end of the weekend and then I'd like to sew them together next week. Be sure to stop by again to see the Christmas Litter of Kitty Dolls! Then I'll be making Snowman Dolls!

Traditional Christmas Cat Doll

2011-10-20T07:49:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in my post yesterday that I would be making a Cat Doll in Traditional Christmas colors. Here he is:

My next Crazy Quilt Cat Doll will be worked entirely in white and silver. I hope to have time for that one today but I do have to get groceries and do the finishing on a few projects.

Mint Green Christmas Cat Doll

2011-10-19T07:30:00.000-05:00

It doesn't look like much but it'll be really pretty cat doll once I sew it together:

I wish I had some more interesting things to talk about but at the moment, I'm dealing with Zoloft withdrawals (what else is new) and I feel like I've been hit by a truck. I spent most of the day yesterday laying on the bed and watching Food channel. I have zip for energy and just folding laundry takes everything I have. I finally had to make myself stitch so this cat is ready to sew together.

My next cat doll will be more traditional Christmas colors. Be sure to stop back to see that one!

Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls for Christmas

2011-10-18T07:21:00.001-05:00

I spent Saturday morning running my beloved treadle machine:

I sewed up 6 cat dolls and 5 snowman dolls. When I finished sewing, I immediately started stitching! This Christmas Cat doll is ready for sewing together:

And I started on this one yesterday:

They really don't look like much now but when finished, they'll look like this:

I have a project to sew together today and then I'll be back to stitching on my kitty dolls.

BTW - It's Tuesday so that means Tuesday's Treasures at Shabby Lane Shops! My cat dolls are on sale today! Offer only good at Kitty And Me Designs Website.

Embroidered Spider Webs with Kreinik Metallics

2011-10-15T06:44:00.001-05:00

Awhile back, I wrote a tutorial on how to create Embroidered Spider Webs on Crazy Quilts. I also wrote a tutorial on how to make a Beaded Spider. I love stitching spider webs on my crazy quilts so I thought for today, I would talk about making them with one of my favorite threads, Kreinik metallics.

Kreinik Mfg. Co. Inc. produces a variety of beautiful embroidery silk and metallic threads. As you know, all that glitters is gold to me so I naturally gravitate to anything that sparkles and Kreinik threads are at the top of my sparkly thread favorites!

Kreinik offers metallic threads in a variety of sizes including #4 and #8 Braids which are excellent for Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments however, for spider webs, my thread of choice is Blending Filament.

Blending Filaments are intended for blending with other threads such as 6 strand embroidery floss. 1 or 2 strands of Blending Filament added to a couple of strands of embroidery floss will certainly add glitter and sparkle to any cross stitch project!

A single strand of Blending Filament, used alone for a spider web on a crazy quilt will most definitely give the look of realism since the thread is so fine.

There are a few challenges to stitching with a single strand of Blending Filament. Here are few tips:

These are very delicate, thin threads so gentleness and patience is a must.

Use a needle with a large enough eye. Getting a strand of this thread through the eye of a tiny needle is impossible.

Use a length of only 12 - 15 inches and keep a long tail. Without a long tail, it will keep sliding out of the needle. You can also try a slip knot and tie it to the eye of the needle however, I don't care for this option. Once that knot is on the needle, it's difficult to remove.

Be gentle with it. Blending Filament breaks very easily so don't tug on it too much.

With a little patience, beautiful, natural looking spider webs can be created using these gorgeous glittery threads. Take your time and you'll be thrilled with the results.

Kreinik Blending Filaments are very affordable and come in huge variety of colors. Be sure to visit Kreinik's website to see what they offer!