Large Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls and Seam Embroidery

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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.