More Crazy Quilting

I finished up this little "Kitten In A Basket" ornament last night:



I'll be running my sewing machine for the next few days so I'll get this finished up along with a few other things that need finishing.

Today, I'll be sewing up my block for the Take It Further Challenge. If you remember, I chose "The Victorians" as my admiration theme. I also wanted to work with Sharon's color palette. The image I chose had a blue background and I knew it would be a challenge to work with it as it was. Allison suggested that I see if I can change the colors using my graphic software. Thank you Allison! That's exactly what I did.

Here is the original:



And here it is with a golden tint:



That gold tint gives it a definite antique look which I think will now work nicely with Sharon's color palette. I will pull the DMC floss colors out that match the palette and then from those, I'll pull my fabrics. Thank goodness for my large (and I'm not ashamed of it) stash! I like having a nice variety of things on hand to work from. I do not have a fabric store here in McHenry where I live. I have WalMart and although I'm thankful for the things I can get there, it most certainly, is not the ultimate in fabric choices!

Take It Further Challenge January Palette DMC Floss Colors

Sharon mentioned on her blog this morning, that perhaps someone could match up the DMC floss colors to the January Palette that she chose for the Take It Further Challenge. I left a message for Sharon saying that I would be glad to do that. So here it is:



I matched these based on the image on my monitor as well as from a printout. Please keep in mind, that all monitors and printers vary when it comes to color display. Also, these are the closest matches based on the floss colors that DMC offers.

I hope this helps!

Happy New Year!!!

We went to see National Treasure yesterday afternoon. Oh, that was so good! Just as good as the first one. These movies appeal to me because I have a fondness for American history. It's probably the same reason I like antiques so much. Moldy Oldy stuff as my sister puts it! Anyway, it was a very enjoyable movie. We went for dinner afterwards and when we came home, just sat and watched TV.

Sharon B. has announced the theme and color scheme for January for her Take It Further Challenge. Sharon's theme for January is "the feeling of admiration for another". I spent my morning thinking about this and was at first, a bit lost. I can't say I have a feeling of admiration for another person. Every person on the planet has unique gifts and abilities, no one greater than another.

I went through a list in my head of family members, friends, actors, singers, show hosts and I just couldn't think of anyone who I truly admire in any special way.

I finally just decided to put it out of my head for awhile knowing I would eventually think of something and if nothing else, Sharon also offers a color scheme to work with although for me, that feels like a cop-out. What I really want to do is to work with both the theme and the color scheme. So, I put it out of my head and started straightening up.

I sat down on the chair in the living room for a moment, looked over at my antique crazy quilt on the quilt stand and suddenly, I realized who I admired. It isn't actually a single person but rather a group of people, an era so to speak. The Victorians!

Now I can't say that I would want to actually live in those times. I really enjoy my modern day bathroom facilities! But the Victorians had a sense about them. A sense of style! They had a great love for ornate objects, beauty and elegance. They had a beautiful sense of fashion and etiquette. In the Victorian days, everything that had function also had form. Victorian women had incredible needlework skills, skills for the decorative art of needlework rather than the functional aspect of stitching and sewing. I truly admire the Victorians for their love of beauty and elegance.

So, my first block will be a tribute to the Victorians. I will find a photo of a beautifully dressed Victorian lady and use it as a focal point. I'll work around it using the colors from the palette that Sharon chose and I may even incorporate the years of the Victorian era 1838 - 1901 which are of course, the years that Queen Victorian reigned. Thinking about it now, perhaps I should just use a photo of Queen Victoria. It was really her love of ornate things which started the trend of that era. Something to think about. Of course, it was also Queen Victoria who said, "I take a bath once a month whether I need it or not". Ok, so I don't love every Victorian trend!

I'll need a sewing day to put my block together. I actually have a few things that need finishing and a few other blocks that need sewing up as well so perhaps tomorrow would be a good day to run my machine.

In the meantime, I'd like to wish everyone a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

New Year's Eve

First, I want to wish everyone a Happy and Safe New Year's Eve. I know our friends in Australia and New Zealand are already celebrating the New Year so Happy New Year those of you who have already changed calendars! I believe it's Summer there as well!

I started stitching this little ornament on Saturday:



I don't know what I was thinking when I did that Feather Stitch. Instead of stopping at the seam, I just kept on going! Guess I was into it!

There's no mistakes with Crazy Quilting so although it looks a little funny to me, I already have a plan for making it less conspicuous.

I'm not sure if I'll do any stitching later or not. Scott and I are going to go see National Treasure the afternoon and then have an early dinner. When we get home, I may stitch or I may read. Not sure yet. It depends on what's on television! I'm not much of a party girl and midnight is way past my bedtime so the New Year for me, will come without much notice on my part!

Have a safe holiday everyone!

A Quick Kitty & Me News Brief

I didn't post yesterday because I was in a "mood". It was just the weather. I could physically and emotionally feel the storm coming and going through and it was just better that I didn't post. Basically, like my mom always says, if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything.

The storm has passed and the driveway cleaned up so my mind is in a better place today. I did start on a little stitching project yesterday but it's a gift so I won't post a photo of it until a later date. This is a small project and I'll probably have it finished this afternoon and then I'll start something else. Haven't decided on what yet but I'll let you know when I know!

Just as a reminder, the 2008 Valentine Mystery Stitch-Along starts this coming Thursday, January 3rd. I don't mean to keep repeating myself here but I don't want anyone to miss out if they want to join in. I know there are still holiday festivities going on and I know there are holiday bills to deal with but I also know that January is one long, boring month and the Valentine Mystery will certainly be helping me get through it! No, I won't be stitching it but I sure do enjoy watching everyone else work on the project! Anyway, if you've been meaning to treat yourself to a fun project, you can find it here. There are also some new patterns there just released the other day so if you have time, you might want to check them out and think about your 2008 cross stitch projects!

As for my projects, I have a bunch of them planned but in no certain order for any of them. One of my first larger projects (and not large by any means) will be a new purse for myself. I have a vintage photo of a 1920's lady sewing on an antique sewing machine. Hmmmmm.......does that remind you of anything? Ha, ha, ha! Well, you know I had to do something with that! It's already sewn into a 9 inch block and it's at the top of my list for 2008. I just thought I'd do a couple of small things first to get back into the swing of my stitching routine.

I also joined in on Sharon B's Take It Further Challenge which will start on the 1st. That will be a fun project and I will most certainly need a sewing day next week! It's a year long project so expect me to do a lot of chattering about that.

I have an order for a purse with orange sunflowers so I want to get that one taken care of ASAP. I need to get up to Michaels and see if I can find some small orange sunflowers. Then there's my peacock quilt but I need a frame for the side panels. Yes, another good excuse to go to Michaels Craft Store! Twist my arm, ooooh, that hurt! Ha, ha, ha!

Oh and then there's the Valentine Purse that I sewed up with another 1920's lady on it dressed in pinks and then a lime green purse with a bright red cross stitched ladybug (one of my little designs) and of course, Comfort Cats and cellphone pouches and fish under the sea and my usual chatter. Then there's my crazy spontaneous ideas which you know will bug me until I do them......sigh!

I think 2008 will be an interesting year here at Kitty & Me. Be sure to tune in!