Black Friday Anyone?

Is it just me, or is there anyone else out there who can't stand the term, "Black Friday"?  I know what it means...it's better to be in "the black" than in "the red" but geez, it's so dark and ominous!  What was wrong with "day after Thanksgiving sales"?  That sounds so much happier!  And who comes up with this stuff?  Is there someone out there who has nothing better to do than come up with these goofy terms?  I guess I'm from the Disney generation.  I like everything to sound happy and uplifting.

Well, I don't go out the day after Thanksgiving anyway.  I did a little more shopping over at Etsy and I still need a few more things but for the most part, I'm done with my shopping.  I much prefer to buy handmade and vintage than to go out and put up with the noise and the crowds.

And I did some stitching!  I finished stitching up my Pink Kitty Pillow:

These always look prettier in person than they do in the photos.  Anyway, my next project is also kitties in a teacup:

When I finish up this one, I'll sew them both together at the same time.

Okay, I have some new things that mom made to photograph.  Be sure to listen to The Cinnamon Bear episodes.  Just scroll down and click on the links.

Pink Bee Crazy Quilt Purse

I'm still stitching on my Pink Kitty Pillow but I do have something fun to share today!  I made this Pink Bee Crazy Quilt Purse for my cousin for her birthday:

You may remember the Green Bee purse that I made for myself last Winter:

Kim had seen mine and she loved it so I decided to make one for her.  They're very whimsical and cheerful, aren't they?  Kim's birthday is December 7th, but mom and I gave her our gifts yesterday.  And yes, she loved the purse!  She loves bugs as much as I do.  Well, neither one of us want them on us or in our homes but we both love cute little bugs.

Well, that's my rambling for today.  Be sure to scroll down and listen to Episode 1 of The Cinnamon Bear!  It's a classic radio Christmas story from 1937.  Episode 2 will be available tomorrow morning (Saturday, 11/30 at 9:00 am Central time)!

Crazy Quilt Inspiration

I spent yesterday morning finishing up some things that I had stitched.  My little pink cat dolls are finished so I'll share photos of those over the weekend.  I also finished up this little door hanger for a friend:

I spent yesterday afternoon doing some Christmas shopping at Etsy.  I don't know about anyone else, but I really can't get into running from store to store.  I much prefer to sit here, with a cup of tea and some chocolate and just look around at all the wonderful things on Etsy or Ebay.  I have a little more shopping to do but I'll do that next week.

I did some more stitching on my Pink Kitty Pillow too:

Okay, I didn't get a lot of stitching done on it but it's coming a long nicely!

I was asked where I find the cute little pictures that I use on some of my crazy quilt pieces.  I have tons of clip art CD's and vintage photo cd's and Dover books but I also find lots of pretty images at Pinterest.  Yes, Pinterest where one can waste hours and hours of time!  I try to limit how much time I spend there because it's so addictive! 

Anyway, I've pinned tons of pretty vintage greeting cards, tinted photos, vintage photos, antique postcards and so on.  There are over 5,500 pins on my Vintage Images board.  So if you're looking for some Crazy Quilt Inspiration, or if you need a break from cooking and baking for tomorrow, hop on over and look at the pretty pictures!  I don't know if everything is copyright free or not.  Probably not but I'm tired of losing sleep over the whole copyright thing.  Most of the images are old photos, old postcards and old greeting cards.  I really don't think anyone will care if you want to use them.  Enjoy!

I'm getting ready to head over to mom's to help her with getting ready for tomorrow.  I need to get there early so we have time to Pin!  LOL!!!  Yes, mom loves pinning too.  Actually, she likes to look at the pictures but has no clue how to pin.  I'll have to set her up with her own board and show her how to pin if she wants to look around when I'm not there.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow to read about the fun holiday activity that I have planned for this coming Christmas season!  I know everyone will enjoy it!!!!

Until tomorrow......

More Pink Kitties

I finished up a little block that I was stitching on over the weekend.  This is a little door hanger for a friend:

I didn't get to sewing up my little pink cat dolls over the weekend like I had wanted to.  Maybe I'll have time tomorrow to sewn them up a long with this.

My next project will be more pink kitties!  No, not dolls but rather a couple of pillows starting with this one:

The kitty in the teacup is from a vintage greeting card.  I have another block pieced with a vintage kitty image but I'll do this one first.

We Gather Together......

I finished up my pink cat dolls.  Well, I finished stitching them.  I'm going to try to sew them together after I get back from getting groceries tomorrow:

As always, these will be so much cuter when I get them sewn and stuffed.  The cats never look like much at this point.  But they ARE pink!  And I do love stitching in pink!

Is anyone else here in the US looking forward to Thanksgiving?  I love Thanksgiving!!!  And it used to be a bigger celebration than it is now.  These days, it kind of seems like we go from Halloween to Christmas and completely forget to take the time to be thankful for what have. 

When I was in grade school, (eons ago), we always sang We Gather Together.  That was back in the day when no one had a problem with religious songs being sung in public schools.  Anyway, I found a nice version of that song on YouTube so I'll leave you to listen to it:

Pat Winter's Gatherings Magazine

Just a quick note to let you know that Pat's Crazy Quilt Winter 2013 magazine is now available:

You can purchase it here at Magcloud.

I'm working on my little Pink Cat Dolls and will have an update over the weekend.  They're just too cute!

Genuine Handmade

It's no secret that I have an Etsy shop.  And it's no secret that mom and I make things constantly for our shop.  Like everyone else, we need an income and we need to contribute something of value to society.  Everyone needs a purpose.  And it's no secret that I self promote constantly and if someone or anyone doesn't like it, I don't care.  Quite honestly, I've beat my head against the wall trying to make my shop work.  Short of standing on my head and singing The Star Spangled Banner upside down, I've pretty much had my fill of playing all the online marketing games, social networking and SEO nonsense and trying to stand out through the unbelievable amount of online competition these days. 

I no longer have the energy for a traditional job.  I've done my time with that.  I put up with a lot of BS over the years and that includes when I was working night and day designing counted cross stitch.  From here on in, I do things my way and in my time.

Now, Etsy, in it's infinite greed wisdom, is allowing it's shop owners to mass manufacture goods.  REALLY?!  This has always been a huge no-no with Etsy!  Shops could only carry handmade items, vintage items and craft supplies. 

Honestly, do those of us who work our butts off to make quality, genuine handmade items need the extra challenge of trying to break through that kind of competition?  And I don't want to hear that "if my items are good quality, they'll sell".  My items ARE good quality!  My mother and I are expert needleworkers and seamstresses.  But for some reason, it's damned hard to get consistent sales despite the quality of our work.  Despite my good photos, excellent descriptions and customer service which is second to none!  Despite my online reputation and despite everything I've done to make at decent living at this.

It's almost as if Etsy is deliberately trying to weed out the little guy who can only produce so much work so fast.  Quality takes time.  And as far as I'm concerned, if someone wants mass produced junk, then go down to the Walmart!  Etsy has always been about handmade.  I guess they've gotten too big for their britches and lost the mentality that handmade comes from the heart. 

But mom and I haven't lost that mentality.  Our handmade items ARE quality, they ARE genuine handmade and they DO come from our hearts!

So with all that said, and Etsy, I hope you're listening to this Handmade shop owners opinion, I will share our latest quality genuine handmade items.

My mom has made 2 more pretty Handmade Hanging Hearts:

And here is my latest stitched cat doll:

And I'll be starting on this one as soon as I get off my soap box:

Okay, I do believe I'm done venting now.  I hope I didn't offend anyone but I just can't think of anywhere better to post my opinions than right here on my own blog where I absolutely intend to say what I want to say (without being offensive to my sweet blog friends). 

 

Little Pink Kitties

It's been awhile since I made some of my signature cat dolls.  When my friend Michelle suggested that I make some pink kitties, I thought it was a fun idea.  Of course ya'll know, I love pink!  So no one had to twist my arm for these!  LOL!!!!

I have 1 completely stitched:

And I started on this one earlier today:

I pieced 4 pink cats all together.  These will go in my Etsy store.

In other news, be sure to stop back on Thanksgiving Day.  I'll be broadcasting something special through out the month of December and plan to explain further in my Thanksgiving Day post.  It's something that's very dear to me, from my childhood.  I know everyone will enjoy it!

Gingerbread Advent Calendar

Well thankfully, the cold I had passed rather quickly.  I pretty much feel normal today.  Well, normal for me!  Ha, ha, ha! 

We just had some bad storms go through our area but I think those are done now too.  Strong winds and lots of rain but like I always say, better rain than snow!

I wanted to share something my mom made for a friend.  This labor of love is the most gorgeous Advent Calendar I've ever seen:

Isn't this amazing!  The gingerbread men and the little trees are made out of felt.  The little faux candies came from Hobby Lobby.  Real mini candy canes go in the little pockets.  Mom and I spend a few hours just playing and arranging the candies to make sure it all looked good.  I'm going to see if I can get mom to make one for the shop next year.  I just think this is too cute!

I'll leave you for this evening with a rare photo of Lucy, Wrigley and Cotton all sleeping on the sofa together:

I hope this means that Lucy is starting to warm up more to the babies.  But until I see this happen a few more times, I won't hold my breath!

Little Heart Ornaments

I'm a bit under the weather today.  Bubba had a cold last week and apparently, he gave it to me.  He can take it back!  I don't want it!  But I'm stuck with it until it passes.

I do have some finishes to share today.  I put these together yesterday and just finished photographing them.  These are my Little Heart Ornaments that I made over the weekend:

I hand dyed some cheesecloth to use around the outside instead of lace.  I thought that would give these a soft, cottage style look.  I used vintage crinkled seam binding for the hangers.  I think they came out pretty.  I might make some more.

And here's a new picture of my two little partners in crime:

These 2 little monkeys steal everything they can find!  They don't chew anything up.  But they take my pens, my pony tail holders, my Beanie Babies, crumpled up paper, ribbons, lace....you name it.  They're little thieves!  But they're too cute and so sweet!  Still, Lucy isn't exactly amused with either of them but she is getting more tolerant of Wrigley.

Well, I'm spent.  I'm going to make Bubba something for dinner, put his lunch together, take a shower and go lay on my bed with my cats and IPhone and look around on Etsy.

Have a good night everyone!

Thanksgiving Is Coming!

I have to share this little funny Thanksgiving turkey image with ya'll.  My cousin sent it to me this morning and it made me laugh!

You probably all know that I'm easily amused!  But I just thought this was too cute!

Okay on a more serious note, here's the last of my heart ornaments:

I stitched this up this morning.  After I make out my Thanksgiving cards, I'll put these together.  If all goes well, I have photos of them again tomorrow.

I spoke yesterday of a special treat for this holiday season.  I don't want get into it too much but I'm sure you're all wondering what I have planned.  I'll just say that it will take you back to a time when life was more simple.  When Christmas was more joyful and less rushed.  When it was more child-like and innocent.  More magical.  Sweeter, prettier and more charming!  Be sure to stop by on Thanksgiving and everyday after.  You won't want to miss this!

Stitching Hearts With Vintage Mother Of Pearl Buttons

I've been stitching up some Crazy Quilt Heart Ornaments and decided, since my old mason jar of vintage Mother Of Pearl buttons is filled just about to the top, that I would use some:

Although I already had quite a few of these old buttons, I happened to find a ton more this past Summer in my flea market travels!  So here is what I'm using them on:

I have one more heart to stitch up and then perhaps tomorrow, I'll get them put together.

In other news, I have something really fun and special coming this holiday season.  Something you'll want to to tune in for every day!  For now, it's a secret!  More information coming soon!

Handmade Christmas Door Hangers

Well, I'm finally caught up on all the Handmade Christmas things that we've been making for our store.  Everything is finished, listed and ready to ship!  Here are the newest handmade Christmas items.  All are by mom:

The Santa door hanger is worked in the Crazy Quilt style.  Mom started cross stitching that santa years ago when her vision was better.  She never finished it and can't see well enough to finish it now so she worked it into this pretty little hanging Christmas pillow.

Mom made the Cottage Christmas Stocking from a vintage quilt that I found at a flea market over the Summer.  She still has quite a bit of the quilt left so expect to see something for Valentine's day from the rest of it!

Finally, that gorgeous Winter Snowman Door hanger features a vintage Christmas image.  Oooh, I would love to keep that one for myself but I was a good girl!  I listed it in the shop!

Okay so what's next?  Yes, Valentine's!  I know it seems so early for that but we have to work at least 4 months in advance to get things done for each holiday.  My mom and I love making things for our Etsy shop.  We have a great time getting new ideas and bringing them to life.  And there's so much satisfaction in knowing that our handmade things are enjoyed by others!

Crazy Quilt Christmas Pillow

I've been on the go all day but managed to sew up and finish my Pink Crazy Quit Christmas Pillow:

The little Victorian House is from a vintage Christmas card.  You probably all know that this is a favorite of mine.  Why?  Because it's pink!!!  Mary Anne, did you know I like pink?  LOL!!!

Handmade Snowmen

It looks like my mom has been running her sewing machine!  She gave me these snowman dolls and ornaments to photograph the other day:

These are just too cute!  Pink and Aqua Snowmen!  I love them!

And then here are mom's newest Snowmen Ornaments:

My mother loves snowmen so she always seems to come up with some clever ones for the holidays!

Have You Ever Been To France?

I've been stitching away and finished another project.  Well, I finished stitching it:

I'll finish this into a pretty Cottage style pillow with some lace around the outside.  My plan is to sew it up tomorrow afternoon.  The image is from a vintage Christmas card.  Can you find the little snowman?  It's a little Mill Hill charm. 

I also finished up my Peacock Purse:

This is a Christmas gift for my mom.  She'll have a cow I'm sure!  She keeps telling me that she wants one but she wouldn't use it because it might get dirty so I'm not to make her one.  Yeah, right!  You can ask my mom, I never do what I'm told!  Ha, ha, ha!  I'll let you know what she says on Christmas when she opens the package!

If you've never been to France, you might enjoy a visit to Allie's blog.  She recently won a trip to France from The DMC Corporation!  There are awesome photos on her blog:

Be sure to read Part 1 of Touring The DMC Factory first.

And Part 2 of The DMC Factory is here.

I was so taken with all the wonderful photos from DMC's archives.  I love history.  Esp. needlework history so getting to see DMC's factory through Allies experience has been wonderful for me!  I hope you enjoy it too!

Maria's Crazy Quilting

I received an email from Maria this morning with a photo of Block 9 from the Color & Composition class that I was teaching:

Just gorgeous!  Check out how shiny Maria's moon is! 

Maria was also kind enough to send me a photo of her quilt.  It isn't finished yet, but she has the blocks put together:

Be sure to look closely at the embroidery on the border!  Stunning!  Maria, I hope that you will send me another photo when your quilt is completed!  I can't wait to see the rest of the embroidery!