Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls

Some of you may remember the little Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls that I was working on back in August.  I have them all finished now:

As you can see, no two are ever a like!  Just like real cats!  I so much enjoy making this little kitty dolls.  I'll have to sew up a few more blocks the next time I have a sewing day.

In the meantime, my Crazy Quilt Pink Ribbon Purse is done!  I'll have photos of that over the weekend and I'll make that Counted Cross Stitch Pink Ribbon design available soon as well.

Handmade Glittered Christmas Cards Sets

Ya'll know I love my glitter!  That's why I like making cards.  I can add loads of glitter to them!  I put together a couple of sets of my Handmade Glittered Cards for Christmas:

My plans for today changed slightly so I'll be sewing up my Pink Ribbon Purse this afternoon.  I'm very excited to see what it looks like as a purse and I'm excited about this project because it will help the cause in a small way.  But every little bit helps, right?

First, I have to run to the grocery store.  Then I can get my sewing machine running!

Pink Ribbon Crazy Quilt Purse Stitching Is Complete!

I had a lot of stitching time yesterday so I was able to complete the beadwork and embellishing on my Pink Ribbon Crazy Quilt Purse:

If the rest of my week goes as planned, I will do the sewing and hand finishing on Friday.   Then I plan to do a YouTube video on it and make it available for purchase.  At the same time, I will make my counted cross stitch Pink Ribbon design available to anyone who would like to do something to help the Breast Cancer Awareness cause.

In the meantime, I thought I'd share a few of mom's new things.  These are mini Christmas Stocking Door Pillows:

Are these too cute or what?  You'll never guess what they're made from!

And here is mom's Victorian Style Christmas Stocking with Roses and Lace:

I just love the oodles of ruffled lace on this!  I'll be adding more of our new items today!

Pink Ribbon Crazy Quilt Purse Almost Complete!

I did the silk ribbon embroidery on this Pink Ribbon Purse last night during Dancing With The Stars and then this morning, I did some more beadwork on it:

A little more beading and embellishing and this will be ready to assemble into a purse.  I will make this available in my boutique and a portion of the sale will be donated to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

I have quite a few new items to list in our shops and then I'll get back to working on this and I'm hoping to complete it tonight during Dancing. 

I'm really excited about this project.  Way too many people cope with this horrible disease.  I have lost 2 friends just this year to it and although my donation won't make a huge difference in the race for the cure, every little bit does help.

Pink Ribbon Purse Progress

I did a lot of stitching yesterday.  Actually, all I really did all day was laundry and stitching and that's okay!  I made quite a bit of progress on my Pink Ribbon Purse:

I'm planning on some Silk Ribbon Embroidery on that vine and I have some glittery pink ladybug buttons that I'd like to add to this.

In other news, Scott and I are heading up to Elkhorn Wisconsin this morning for the final Elkhorn Flea Market of the season.  :(   At least we have Grayslake Illinois Flea Markets all Winter.  And speaking of Winter, I think my Hummingbirds have left for the season.  I always feel sad when they leave.  It seams like it'll be a long time before they return the end of April.

I have loads of stitching planned.  Perhaps I need to do a purse with a Hummingbird?

Pink Ribbon Purse - Ready for Beading and Embellishing

The other day, I mentioned that I'm working on a Pink Ribbon Crazy Quilt purse.  I know way too many people who deal with Breast Cancer in some way and I want to do something to help the cause.  Here is an update on my progress so far:

This is ready for beads, sequins and other embellishments.  When I complete this, I will make it available in my Boutique and I will donate a portion of the sale to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  I will also make the charted cross stitch design for the pink ribbon available as a free download.  I designed that pink ribbon a few years back in my cross stitch designer days.  I hope to have this ready on or about October 1st since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

Purple and Green Crazy Quilt Door Pillow

Just a few updates on things I've been working on.  First, is the little door pillow that I made as a class example this past weekend:

Then this morning, I started stitching on my Pink Ribbon Purse:

I'm going to make myself get off the computer now, take my shower and then stitch on this some more while I watch Dancing With The Stars.  I'm not particularly thrilled with any of the "stars" this season but hopefully it'll get better.

Victorian Thanksgiving Tussy Mussy's with Turkeys

Mom has been busy working on new things for the Boutiques.  These are her latest creations, Victorian Thanksgiving Tussy Mussy's:

I just love these pretty little paper cones!

Tomorrow, I'll share the little door pillow that I made as a class example.  It really came out nice!  For now, I need to get dinner ready so I can sit and enjoy Dancing With The Stars!

Crazy Quilt Class Example Block

Just a quick little post for today everyone.  I thought I'd share a photo of the crazy quilt block that I stitching on as an example for my class this weekend:

There will be buttons!  LOL!!!  Today, we'll be doing some more beading and embellishing and then I'll be sharing the process of how to sew these into door pillows.  For now, I have to get myself together and get my cats their pills.

Hand Painted Lace Appliques

I played with my lace and appliques yesterday and chose a few things for my Pink Ribbon Crazy Quilt Purse:

I've already hand painted the appliques and now this is ready to start stitching on.  I have a student coming today so we'll be working on a small project this weekend.

Pink Ribbon Purse

Where did Summer go?  The leaves are turning orange and starting to fall, it's quite cool in the mornings so I've had to turn the furnace on and our Pumpkin Patch is ready for picking!

 I finished stitching up my 5th cat doll for this "litter":

I plan to sew these this little crazy quilt cat dolls up during the week.  It's always fun to see a bunch of them all together!

So what's my next project?  Well, I have to tell you, the word "cancer" is starting to go through me like fingernails on a chalkboard!  Every time I blink an eye, someone I know is coping with this horrible disease.  I know way too many people who are coping with it, have coped with it or have died from it than I can even count!  And I blame much of it on all the crap that's put into our food!  But that's not where I'm going with this.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month so I thought I would make a purse and donate a portion of my fee to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.  This is the sewn block:

The pink ribbon cross stitch design is one that I designed years ago.  My friend and model stitcher Kim, worked up that cross stitch piece for me.  I plan to embellish this with lots of white, feminine lace and I'm thinking it needs some white Mother Of Pearl buttons but I'll worry about that when I get that far!  For now, I thought you would like to see the block before I start stitching on it.

When this purse is ready to list in my Boutiques, I will also make the cross stitch chart available again as a free PDF file download for anyone who would like to help the cause.

For now, I have a student coming this weekend to perfect her crazy quilting techniques!  I'm looking forward to it.  And I know when she leaves, I'll feel sad.  I always have a good time with my students!

Crazy Quilt Class Project Door Pillow

I had a great time with my crazy quilt students these past few days.  I was feeling a little sad when they left because I enjoyed their company so much!

I finished up the little door pillow that I made while they were here:

I think I'll send this to my aunt as a little surprise!  I have another student coming this weekend to perfect her crazy quilt techniques.  I'm looking forward to it!

Teaching Crazy Quilting

I had a wonderful day with my students yesterday!  2 sweet ladies from DeKalb came up to learn Crazy Quilting from Start to Finish.  I taught them how to do the Sew & Flip method of foundation piecing and how to embroider the seams with both my Waste Canvas Technique as well as Carol Samples Dream A Seam Templates technique.  I also showed them how to do basic Silk Ribbon Embroidery stitches.

Today, we'll be beading, embellishing and finishing into a door pillow.

I'm thinking of offering another class for Crazy Quilting.  I see the need for Basic Embroidery stitches such as the Lazy Daisy stitch, Stem stitch, Feather stitch, Herringbone stitch and so on.  I could combine it with Silk Ribbon Embroidery.  I'll start working on putting that class together in a week or so and then offering that option.

For now, I have to get myself together for today!

Teaching Classes

I'm teaching today so I don't have anything new and exciting to share with you.  This is my 2 day, Crazy Quilting from Start To Finish class.

I still have to finish up my last Crazy Quilt Cat Doll and then I'll be doing a couple of purses.

If you would like to enjoy some eye candy, please hop over to Kitty & Me Designs or Kitty & Me on Etsy. 

Handmade Christmas Tree Ornaments Inspired By Nature

These beautiful Christmas Tree Ornaments are mom's latest additions to our Boutiques.  All are inspired by nature:

A pretty white bird on a glittered pinecone!  These sold out in just a few days last year so mom has redesigned them for 2011.

These Partridge In A Pear Tree ornaments also sold out in a heartbeat last year.  Again, mom has redesigned them for the 2011 season.

This is a large ornament measuring about 7 inches wide.  Perfect for a very full Christmas Tree!  We only had one red bird so mom only made one of these Red Cardinal Bird Ornaments. 

In other news, I hope to have my Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls all finished up the end of the weekend.  I'll post photos as soon as they're ready!

Pinterest

Just a quick blog post for today.  I have a list a mile long of things I need to get done.

I wanted to share this awesome website that I found.  Pinterest is a virtual pinboard where you can post photos of things you find all over the web and organize them into your own catagorys such as recipes, home decor, craft ideas, things to buy and so on.  It's really fun to collect these photos in one place.  A link back to the original source is included so you can go back to the website if you want to.

 This is a lot of fun!!!  If you join, look me up!

Back To Stitching On Kitty Dolls

After a lovely weekend in Galena, I'm back to my normal routine!  I finished stitching on my Pink & Black crazy quilt kitty doll:

Be sure to click on the image so you can seem my little spider up close!

I have one more cat doll to stitch and then I'll sew them all together!  I hope to have plenty of stitching time this afternoon!

Home From Galena Illinois

Other than the rain all day on Saturday, Galena was beautiful as always!  Scott and I had to have walked miles and miles and miles!  Main Street in Galena is 1 mile long in 1 direction and if we walked it once, we walked it at least 30 times!

I was rather annoyed with my AT&T phone service though.  I had no internet access west of Rockford and once in Galena, I had no phone service most of the time.  What is up with that?  For what we pay for these phones and our service, we should be able to have internet and phone in the Sahara desert!  I will be contacting AT&T today with a complaint!  I was able to get a few text messages through to my sister.  She said that we were at a getaway and I shouldn't be worried about phone service and internet access.  LOL!!  Yeah, right!  I wanted a getaway in Galena.  I didn't want to leave the planet!  Ha, ha, ha!

Here are a few photos from Galena:

Post Civil War home of Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States (1869 - 1877).  We toured Grant's house a few years ago when we where here.  It's beautiful inside but surprisingly small!
.

Statue of U.S. Grant in Grant Park. 

Well, that's my post for today everyone.  Enjoy the photos and if you'd like to learn more about Ulysses S. Grant, you can read about him here.

Good Morning From Galena Illinois!

Yesterday, we drove 2 1/2 hours west of where we live in McHenry, Illinois to Galena, Illinois for the weekend.  We always come to Galena for Labor Day weekend.  Unfortunately, it rained all day yesterday so walking up and down Main street was not quite as much fun as it usually is.

We spent some time at the Antique Mall which is on Route 20 (Grant Highway) just east of town.  I found some really great goodies there!

I found some pretty ruffled lace and an old hat with velvet millinery flowers which I'll take off and use for my crazy quilting and other crafting projects:

 I also found a little bit of old lace which will be wonderful on my crazy quilting:

Next, I found some vintage embroidery patterns.  It's fun to fine some that I don't have since my collection is now quite extensive:

Next, I found some gorgeous vintage hankies!  I love vintage hankies!

Last but not least, I found this pair of embroidered pieces.  I thought perhaps mom could make something pretty out of them.  The stitching is very nice!

Thankfully, it will be sunny all day today so we can walk up and down Main street and enjoy all the wonderful little shops and boutiques!

Before we head out for today, I thought I'd share photos of this pretty Praying Mantis that we found outside by the hotel door:

I was afraid he would get stepped on so I picked him up and moved him to a safer place.  He didn't want to let go of me though!  He has little barbs on his front feet for hanging on to things.  Scott had to carefully pry his little feet off my finger!

These are beautiful, harmless creatures.  We usually only see them in late Summer and early Fall.

If you would like to see some photos of downtown Galena, you can find them in my blog post from last year when we were here.