Guest Blogger - Cathy Kizerian

Hello everyone!  I'm so pleased to introduce you to my first Guest Blogger - Cathy Kizerian.

Cathy and I met last Summer when I was in the depths of depression hell!  Like so many of my sweet blog readers, Cathy was very kind to me and shared her depression experience with me.  Please give Cathy a warm welcome and enjoy her blog post!

Hello!  I’m Cathy Kizerian (although once upon a time it was Cathy Flox), a benignly crazy fabriholic.  From shoelace-strung embroidery cards at age 4 to handmade felt troll doll clothes (age 10), to sewing, crocheting and embroidery as an adult, fabric and fibers have always been part of who I am.

Over the years, I’ve sewn clothing, stuffed toys and curtains, embroidered pictures, crocheted afghans, made beaded jewelry and quilted.  Although I still sew (it’s a basic skill, isn’t it? – like riding a bicycle), nothing really seized me as THE THING.

But in 2000, I discovered Crazy Quilting.  CQ is for me – as it is for Pam – a passion.  It opened my eyes and heart to the joys of whimsical and spontaneous creativity with fabric and thread – and laces and beads and buttons ...  you get the idea!  And so I began collecting all those necessary stash items.  But collecting is contagious, and soon I was adding hankies, vintage linens, vintage aprons, vintage patterns, vintage fabrics and whatever else caught my eye.  Whew!  As I said, I’m “crazy”!!

In 2002, my first contest submission was accepted by Quilting Arts Magazine, and my CQ’ed autumn block was published in their 2002 calendar.  I was “Miss November.”   Since then, I’ve placed in CQ stitching competitions, won the Crazy Quilting International Purse Contest (2008) and got second place twice (2009 & 2010).  I’m an owner/moderator of the Yahoo Crazy Quilting International group  and also I write a personal blog, Cathys Crazy By Design.

Pam and I have been friends for about a year, having met through her blog.  We’ve shared our common challenge: depression, and along the path we discovered so much in common that it would be too long to list!  I’m so thrilled to have the honor of being Pam’s first Guest Blogger!  I’m naturally gregarious, and jumped at the chance to meet new people and make new friends!

Honestly, I had hoped to present you with some whiz-bang, knock-your-socks-off tutorial (that would win international acclaim and change life as we know it), but my muse had different ideas.  I think.  She’s nowhere to be found.  So…. the next best thing that I can think of is a GIVEAWAY.    More about that in a sec.

I’d like to first announce the opening of my Etsy shop (FINALLY).
I’m in the process of listing things as you read this, so please come visit!  I’ll feature my unique hand-dyed Golden Laces.  These are those gorgeous laces you see in so many Australian publications, dyed with potassium permanganate.  Totally different from Pam’s beautiful laces – there’s plenty of room for both of us!  In addition, I’ll be selling from my vast collection of vintage laces and trims, vintage linens and other vintage collectibles.  Finally, my offerings will be rounded out with aprons – mostly the quirky Farmgirl (denim-bibbed) aprons, but also some cute and kicky styles using wild or vintage (or both!) fabrics and patterns. 

 To enter the contest, just visit my blog and leave a comment.  The two prize packages are pictured there.  You’ll get one entry for your comment, a second entry if you are one of my followers, a third entry if you link to my giveaway in your blog, and a fourth entry if you are one of Pam’s Kitty & Me followers.  Just let me know in your comments!

I hope to “see” you all soon.  Make sure I can contact you, because I’d love to visit YOUR blogs and see what you’re up to.  And big hugs to Pam, who is so creative and thoughtful – she epitomizes the Great Blogger/Great Friend!!  Thanks!



I would like thank Cathy from the bottom of my heart, for being my Guest Blogger today.  If you enjoyed meeting Cathy, please let me know and then hop over to Cathy's blog and leave a comment for her as well.  And please remember to enter Cathy's contest!!!

Crazy Quilt Peacock Purse - A Work In Progress

I've just been sitting here and stitching my crazy little head off!  I'm currently working on beading the lace applique piece on the left-hand side:



Once I have the applique beaded, I'll start stitching the peacock.  I've been wanting another peacock purse for myself but I think I'll put this one in the shop and do a pink peacock purse for myself.  I'll have to add it to the list as I sewed up a block yesterday with a Marie Antoinette theme and that one is definitely for me!

Speaking of my crazy quilt purses, I loaned this one to my sister:



I have a feeling I may never see it again!  Kathi just loves it and she has co-workers drooling all over it too!  LOL!!!  I'm really not a "red" person.  I much prefer pink and other pastel colors.  I know Kathi is enjoying it and that's what matters to me!

If you'd like to see my other crazy quilt purses, click here to go to my Flickr site.

A couple of weeks ago, I shared a photo of the 1929 Ford Model A Tudor Sedan that Bubba has been working on for years!!  I asked him if he a photo from when we bought it.  This is what it looked like back then:



And then this is what it looks like now:



I'm so proud of him!  He really has stuck with it and little by little, he's getting it together.  It's been a rough road restoring this car.  But perseverance does pay off!  It's not done yet, but it gets closer by the day.

In other news, be sure to stop by tomorrow to meet my Guest Blogger!  She's an incredibly talented Crazy Quilter, she collects many of the same things that I do and she will share her passions here!

I will be hosting a guest blogger twice a month now.  I want to introduce my followers to some of my favorite bloggers and heaven knows, I have many!  There are so many talented ladies out there!  Just so many!  And I'm sure I've found a few that many of my readers have never met.

So please be sure to leave my guest a comment here and if you would be so kind, please hop over to her blog and leave another comment there.  And please let me know how you like this new feature on Kitty & Me Designs blog!!!

Crazy Quilting Crazy Me!

I think I mentioned the other day that Crazy Quilting has been screaming at me again.  It started either Thursday or Friday.  It's all I've been able to think about doing lately!  It really is my true passion.  I enjoy doing other things and I've done quite the variety of projects lately but I'm definitely moving back towards my passion.

I pulled out a block that I had pieced awhile back (I always keep a few blocks sewn up and tucked away for when I don't have the time to run my sewing machine) and I started stitching:



I hand painted my lace pieces early this morning.  This block will have a peacock on it.  I've done several peacocks like this but it's been awhile:



The above purse is one I did a few years back!  I have always loved this one.

Anyway, I started the beading on the blue & green block this afternoon and will have another update for you tomorrow.  I wanted to start on the peacock but I'll have to turn my big computer on to print up my pattern for the body.  I was too lazy today!  LOL!!!

Actually, I wasn't lazy at all!  I pieced 3 more CQ blocks, all for purses with ladies on them:







They don't look like much at the moment, but you know, by the time I'm done piling on the stitching and embellishments, they'll look like a million bucks!

I'm assuming that my need to get back to Crazy Quilting is a sign that my depression is again receding some more.  I'm past the medication withdrawals but still feel the meds are too high.  I will get off this stuff. It might not be until next Spring or Summer, but I will get off of it!  In the meantime, I saw my Dr. again last week and she told me that when I see her again the end of July, she'll drop it again.  It'll be interesting to see if I feel better with another reduction in the dosage.  Will have to ask her if I can expect another week of withdrawals.  I don't care if I have withdrawals.  Trust me, I've been through worse!

One of my main concerns is that the Zoloft has parked 13 extra pounds on my butt and I refuse to tolerate that!  I'm having a terrible time getting it off. It just doesn't want to budge and with the way I eat, it shouldn't have gone up in the first place!  I mean, I live on fruit & salad!  Anyway, just a bit of a vent here.  I'll get on with my post!

In other news, I plan to do the finishing on my Mary's Garden Art Quilt tomorrow.  I'll write the final part for the tutorial and get that posted in a few days.

Oh, and I keep forgetting to mention that we're having a huge sale in the shop!! HUGE!!!  We're going to change directions just a twinge.  More crazy quilting, more embroidery with crayon tinting, more of Kathi's gorgeous jewelry and some embellishments!

I think I have some angels who are trying to tell me something.  Several of my long time readers have emailed me recently, asking I will ever offer hand-dyed vintage lace like I did a few years back.  It took 3 messages before it finally clicked in my ADHD brain!!!  So, I have decided (since I can't walk away from a bag of vintage lace at flea markets and antique shops) that I will indeed begin offering that again and I'll also offer some hand-dyed silk ribbon, perhaps some dyed fabric and some of the other little do-dads that I find in my junking travels!

So, we're having this huge sale in the shop to make room for Autumn & Winter things and for some supplies.  I know that many crafters and stitchers do not have access to the wonderful flea markets and shops that I do and it certainly would be fun for me to offer those treasures.  I just love playing with dyes!  It's like coloring Easter Eggs!  LOL!!!

So, please visit my Etsy shop and see if there is something that you can't live without.  I really need to make a section for Embellishments! 

I guess that's the news for today everyone!  I'm quite tired now so I'll leave you with a photo I took this afternoon in my "garden":




My garden is a mess.  It's overgrown with perennials and weeds.  I was way too sick last Summer to do anything with it and this Summer, I still don't have the energy.  Fortunately, in every mess, there is inkling of beauty!!!

This Weeks Treasures

Thank you everyone, for your sweet comments on my Pink Saturday post.  I am really enjoying being part of this fun and very pink blog experience!  I've already met some incredibly sweet and gifted bloggers who also adore the color pink. 

I did a bit of shopping this week.  A trip to Hobby Lobby on Wednesday resulted in some nice additions to my bead stash (like it needed additions!):



A few things were on sale and few were on clearance!!

I also picked up some large hole paillettes:



I plan to crochet some edges for my crazy quilt purses using my funky fuzzy yarn and these pretty sequins!

This morning, Scott and I headed up to Elkorn, Wisconsin for the Holy Grail of Flea Markets.  We got rained on but that certainly didn't stop me from finding a few goodies for my stitching!

First, a vintage machine embroidered handkerchief with strawberries on it.  In all years and years of junkin' I've done, I have never seen one of these with strawberries!!!  I also found a pretty little vintage shoe clip.  I love the Jadite colored flowers:



My vintage embroidery transfer patterns have been rather scarce this season!  Luckily, I found 2 today to add to my collection:



While dodging the rain in one of the buildings, I found this bagful of pretty trims.  Nothing terribly special but I use braided gimp for a variety of projects and the gold trims are suitable for so many things:



My final Flea Market find for today is a nice little collection of vintage millinery flowers:



By the time we were done, the rain had stopped, the sun came out and it was becoming quite juicy outside!  I was glad to get back to our truck and the comfort of being in air conditioning!

In other news, I'm suddenly missing crazy quilting.  CQ is all I've been able to think about so I plan to run my treadle machine this week and sew up a few blocks to stitch on.  I'm wanting to do some new purses.  In the meantime, I had this one sewn up and plan to stitch on it now:



This one will have a peacock theme.  Please come back to watch my progress as I stitch on it!

Happy Pink Saturday! My Pink Needlework!

Hello everyone!  I'm thrilled to be participating in Pink Saturday again this week!

Today, I thought you would enjoy seeing my Pink Needlework.  I adore needlework.  I always say I was born with a needle in my hand.  My mom and grandma taught me to stitch when I was around 8 years old.  I've done everything from old-fashioned outline embroidery (I've been collecting vintage embroidery transfer patterns for years), to needlepoint, punch needle embroidery, counted cross stitch, art quilting, Elizabethan Blackwork and so on.  I've done almost every type of needlework imaginable!  My absolute passion is crazy quilting. 

With that said, I will get on with my pink photos!  First, my little kittens in a basket:



I stitched this piece a few years back.  It currently hangs in my bathroom.  The pattern is a vintage Vogart embroidery pattern.  My dad made the simple frame and I hand painted it.

The next piece is a decorative towel that I made for my bathroom a few years ago.  It's a peekaboo kitty and also from a vintage Vogart embroidery pattern:



This pretty project hangs in my computer/craft supply room.  It's a design I did awhile back when I was designing counted cross stitch for magazines.  It's called, "Garden Jewels".  I adore hummingbirds and I thought they would be pretty with some colorful fruit.  I did not stitch this piece.  It was worked by my dear friend Kim:



This lovely pillow is another design from my large collection of vintage embroidery transfer patterns.  I crayon tinted the cardinal bird and then did the embroidery:



This pillow is a small piece that I stitched back in the 80's.  It was a pre-stamped design:



Here's how they look sitting in my white wicker rocking chair:



I bought this precious little sampler at a flea market this past October.  I only paid $12.00 for it!  All that stitching and it was only $12.00!!!  There's something really sad about that.  At least to me.  Anyway, it's dated on the back and was stitched in the mid-70's.  I left it in the original frame:



Last but not least, is my Pink Crazy Garden Quilt.  I know many of my followers have seen this numerous times but in case anyone visits who hasn't seen it, I thought I'd post it again.  As I said, Crazy Quilting is my true passion:



That's my Pink Saturday post everyone!  I hope you enjoyed seeing my Pink Needlework!

I'd like to thank Beverly at How Sweet The Sound blog for graciously allowing me to participate in Pink Saturday.  I so much enjoy it!  Please hop over to Beverly's blog and visit some of the other Pink Participants!