This And That And More

I haven't been feeling well for the past few days.  More Zoloft withdrawals.  But I do feel a bit more on the planet.  Not sure I'm liking reality these days but I certainly have my diversions.

Bubba cleaned and resealed our deck over the weekend.  It looks so nice!  This coming weekend, we're going to dig all the perennials out of the garden.  Come Spring, I want to put together a container garden with herbs and annuals.  Should be easier for me to take care of and I just love herbs.  They smell so good!  The weather this coming weekend looks like it will be about 75 degrees and sunny.  Perfect for getting that job done.  Scott will dig and I will haul it out back.

Mom is doing pretty well.  She's having some withdrawals from cutting back on the pain medication.  It's aggravating her BiPolar but other than that, she's healing well.  She only has to wear the brace for 8 more days.  I've been able to do her hair for her and will do it again tomorrow.  I'll see if she's up to writing.  If she is, I'll take the laptop over so she can write a blog post.  Mom really enjoys doing that.

Kathi and I went to a Fiber show on Saturday.  It was on a farm in Delavan Wisconsin.  Wonderful and so fun!  We saw how they shear the sheep!!!  Too cool!  I picked up a few things.  I really love needle felting.  It gives me something more to stitch on!  Will share my latest needle felting project later.  I just have to do the finishing on it.

I added a few more things to shop over the weekend.  A couple of mom's Christmas Tussy Mussy's:

And I added 2 more of my framed Crazy Quilt pieces:

I'm finishing up on a custom order today and I'm looking forward to starting on my Marie Antoinette quilt.  The seasonal affective disorder is already setting in.  But it really is pretty outside.  I do love October!

I made a big pot of Italian soup yesterday.  I want to share the recipe with you since it's easy and healthy.  I'll try to get that posted later today.

For now, I need to stitch.

Kitty & Me News Brief

Today is the 1st of October.  Where did September go?  And for that matter, where did the Summer go?  Whew!  It was a very hot and humid Summer and I confess, I'm enjoying the cooler weather.  Flea Market season is winding down and I'm looking forward to having more time to use my great junk treasures that I've collected.

I usually host a Guest Blogger on the 1st of the month but my guest for today has taken quite ill so I will reschedule her when she's feeling better.

For today, I thought I would just share our latest Kitty & Me Designs news.

First, we have a new packaging & shipping manager.  My dad is now taking over that end of Kitty & Me.  Running an online shop properly can be quite time consuming.  I spend so much time listing things, taking photos, uploading photos here, there and everywhere, packaging, shipping, promoting and so on, that it's getting a little hard for me to get my things made.  So dad is now our new Shipping Manager!  That should free up a little bit of my time.  All orders will be shipped within 2 business days as usual.

And speaking of new items, here are some of the latest:

I have loads of gorgeous Christmas things to list and will do so as I can.  I have a 2 new Crazy Quilt frame pieces and my plan is to add them to the shop later today.  I'm currently working on 2 customs orders and will share photos of those soon as well.

So let's see, what else is new here.  Well, I joined Handmade Spark.  Here's the link to my site.   I joined them because it helps with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  It helps bring my items to the top when keywords are Googled.  Yeah, I can't believe how complicated this has become.  But I have to face facts.  My shop is my income.  And the only person who can make it work is me.  You get out of things what you put into them so I've done my research and I'm taking the steps I need to take to make my shop successful.  It can be loads of fun but I won't beat around the bush here.  Waking up to no sales every day is not fun.  Anyone who wants to sell online has to be willing to do the work.  You can't just list your items in your shop and expect people to find you.  The shop owner has to take the necessary steps to be found.  So that's what I'm doing.

I've also started to invest a bit in some advertising.  My sidebar ad at Craftcult starts tomorrow:

 

I think this came out nice.  The ad will link directly to my Etsy shop.

Oh, before I forget, I'm almost at 300 followers!  Yeah!!!  You know what that means, don't you?  As soon as I hit 300, we can have our drawing for my Sewing Art Quilt:

I'm so excited to see who wins this!  And I'll let you in on another secret....as soon as we have a winner for this quilt, I'll have another drawing for another prize!  

News on Mom - Mom is doing very well!  I've been able to wash her hair for her twice and yesterday, we went down to our craft area and worked on some projects.  Yes, mom was glue gunning!!!!  She hates the brace that she has to wear but told me that crafting helped her to feel better.  Yes, creativity is a powerful healer!

Mom has been so taken by all of your sweet comments and well wishes.  She'll put together a new blog post next week sometime.

I guess that's my news for today!  Happy October 1st everyone!  Have a great day!

Vintage Floral Hats

I hit the jackpot on Vintage Floral Hats yesterday at the Elkhorn, WI flea market.  I found 4 of them.  Actually, I found more but ya'll know what I do with these so I refuse to pay more than $4 or $5 for each.  Yes, I cut them up for the flowers:

I try to save everything I can from these.  The netting, the ribbons, the fabric as well as the flowers.  I kind of hate to cut them up because they're so pretty but this is a great way to get vintage millinery flowers for crazy quilting, art quilts and mixed media projects.

If you would like to see how to take them apart, click here.

In other news, mom is doing well and thanks you all for your kind wishes and comments!  She's just thrilled that you all accepted her and enjoy her blog posts so much.  She's looking forward to writing Part 2 of her Creatively Coping With Bi-Polar article.  We'll get that article up as soon as she can sit comfortably with my laptop.

And speaking of creatively coping, my article on coping with Seasonal Affective Disorder Syndrome will be available soon.  I plan to work on that this week along with my next Crazy Quilting For Newbies article.

Today is a sewing day for me.  My treadle machine is just screaming at me!  I have 2 custom orders to piece up and I want to start putting together the blocks for my Winter project.  The theme?  It's a secret!!!!

Before I head out for now, I'll leave you with Kathi's newest pair of earrings:

These are so elegant for Halloween but they don't scream "Halloween".  And Kathi's insists on keeping her pieces very affordable!  They're available for purchase in my shop.

Tutorial - How To Clean A Non-Washable Quilt

Crazy quilts, art quilts, antique & vintage quilts....many are not washable or dry cleanable.  So how do you clean them?  It's easier than you think.

All you need is a vacume cleaner and a piece of plastic canvas:

I lay my quilts out on a towel on the floor.  For the most part, decorative quilts are just a bit dusty.  Using your vacume cleaner hose and a piece of plastic canvas will remove any surface dust and hopefully, any dust mites that have made their home on your quilt:

The plastic canvas will hold your quilt & embellishments in place, allowing the dust and dirt particles to be vacumed away through the holes.  I do both the front and the back of the quilt this way.

Just vacume through the plastic canvas.  Vacume with one hand and hold the plastic down with the other.  Move your plastic as you need to until you've cleaned the entire quilt.

To remove any stubborn pet hair, a small piece of masking tape or blue painters tape will working nicely.  Be careful not to pull on your stitches or embellishments.  I use making tape sparingly but it does work to get the cat hair off.

Please visit our Cottage Boutique!

Update On Mom

Mom is doing well.  Still in pain but doing well.  Kathi & I spent yesterday afternoon with mom.  When I left, she was watching QVC and looking through some of my Somerset Studio magazines.



The surgery went well.  2 vertebrae were removed and a metal plate was put in to relieve a pinched nerve.  Mom has to wear a neck brace for 3 months.  Still trying to figure out how to wash mom's hair for her.  She can't bend over and she can't take the brace off.  The brace goes up the back of her head.  I'm open to suggestions!

I'd like to thank everyone for your sweet emails.  Your kind wishes mean so much to Mom & me!  Thank you!