Crazy Quilt Christmas Purse

I just finished sewing my Crazy Quilt Christmas Purse together.  All that's left to do is to sew the snap on:

I have a friend coming next week who asked me if she could see this one.  These are even prettier in person than they are in photos.  Hard as I try, the camera just doesn't capture the texture and sparkle of my bags.

If you haven't been following my progress on this purse, the poinsettia fabric at the top is from a vintage hankie that I bought at a flea market earlier this year.  All the various lace pieces are either antique or vintage.  I used a lot of pretty Kreinik metallic thread because Christmas is all about the sparkle.   And heaven knows, all that glitters is gold to me!

I'll leave you today with a cute cat picture!  Cotton and Wrigley laying in my white wicker rocking chair together:

Christmas Poinsettia Purse

I woke up at 1:30 this morning, sweating buckets!  Oh, does that ever end!!!!  So, since I'm not one to waste time, I got up, made coffee, put QVC on and stitched.  My Christmas Poinsettia Purse is done and ready to sew together:

I added some more Kreinik metallic to the border on the left.  I stem stitched around the leaves with a #4 Braid:

The leaves needed a bit more definition and I'm always up for more sparkle!  I love those Kreinik metallic threads.  Always have!  BTW - the free cross stitch design on Kreinik's main webpage is one I did for them a few years back!

And here is a close up photo of the antique lace piece at the top:

I had first used red seed beads on the antique lace but it was too much red.  I rarely take anything off once I sew it on but the red just didn't work so I replaced them with green seed beads and now it looks more balanced.

Finally, I added centers to the red Silk Ribbon flowers:

If you look closely at the photos, I scattered some clear snowflakes here and there on the block. 

I'll have to run up to JoAnn's tomorrow and get some purse handles for this bag.  I have a few sets here but nothing that works with this piece.  So, just twist my arm and make me to go to JoAnn's!  LOL!!!

And now for some more cute cat pictures.  Here's my little Cotton ball:

A rare photo of him with his eyes open!  He's on the top shelf of my garden window.  No, he's not allowed up there.  But I can't reach him when he's way in the back so instead, I grabbed the camera!

And apparently, Wrigley discovered the sink in the bathroom:

Oh, those little faces just melt my heart!  I'm still trying to get some new photos of Lucy but she's still a little crabby and fussy.  She's had a hard time adjusting to losing Nightmare (I know that feeling) and having 2 little aliens in the house.  Slowly but surely, she's coming around.  I'll try again later for some new photos of her.  She's always been a beauty!

Green Cat Doll

I'm only doing 1 Cat Doll for St. Patricks Day this year.  This one will be a gift for a friend who loves my Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls:

I'm still experimenting with Blackwork style fill-in patterns and waste canvas.  Here's a closeup photo:

Blackwork embroidery is a beautiful way to show off the sparkle of Kreinik metallic threads.  Here, I used a #4 Braid.

This fill-work came from me wanting to put more embroidery on my crazy quilts but also wanting to use lots of lace and trims.  I truly feel that variety is the spice of life when it comes to crazy quilting.