Traditional Christmas Cat Doll

I mentioned in my post yesterday that I would be making a Cat Doll in Traditional Christmas colors.  Here he is:

My next Crazy Quilt Cat Doll will be worked entirely in white and silver.  I hope to have time for that one today but I do have to get groceries and do the finishing on a few projects. 

Mint Green Christmas Cat Doll

It doesn't look like much but it'll be really pretty cat doll once I sew it together:

I wish I had some more interesting things to talk about but at the moment, I'm dealing with Zoloft withdrawals (what else is new) and I feel like I've been hit by a truck.  I spent most of the day yesterday laying on the bed and watching Food channel.  I have zip for energy and just folding laundry takes everything I have.  I finally had to make myself stitch so this cat is ready to sew together.

My next cat doll will be more traditional Christmas colors.  Be sure to stop back to see that one!

Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls for Christmas

I spent Saturday morning running my beloved treadle machine:

I sewed up 6 cat dolls and 5 snowman dolls.  When I finished sewing, I immediately started stitching!  This Christmas Cat doll is ready for sewing together:

And I started on this one yesterday:

They really don't look like much now but when finished, they'll look like this:

I have a project to sew together today and then I'll be back to stitching on my kitty dolls.

BTW - It's Tuesday so that means Tuesday's Treasures at Shabby Lane Shops!  My cat dolls are on sale today!  Offer only good at Kitty And Me Designs Website.

Embroidered Spider Webs with Kreinik Metallics

Awhile back, I wrote a tutorial on how to create Embroidered Spider Webs on Crazy Quilts.  I also wrote a tutorial on how to make a Beaded Spider.  I love stitching spider webs on my crazy quilts so I thought for today, I would talk about making them with one of my favorite threads, Kreinik metallics.

Kreinik Mfg. Co. Inc. produces a variety of beautiful embroidery silk and metallic threads.  As you know,  all that glitters is gold to me so I naturally gravitate to anything that sparkles and Kreinik threads are at the top of my sparkly thread favorites!

Kreinik offers metallic threads in a variety of sizes including #4 and #8 Braids which are excellent for Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments however, for spider webs, my thread of choice is Blending Filament.

Blending Filaments are intended for blending with other threads such as 6 strand embroidery floss.  1 or 2 strands of Blending Filament added to a couple of strands of embroidery floss will certainly add glitter and sparkle to any cross stitch project!

A single strand of Blending Filament, used alone for a spider web on a crazy quilt will most definitely give the look of realism since the thread is so fine.

There are a few challenges to stitching with a single strand of Blending Filament.  Here are few tips:

• These are very delicate, thin threads so gentleness and patience is a must.

• Use a needle with a large enough eye.  Getting a strand of this thread through the eye of a tiny needle is impossible.

•  Use a length of only 12  - 15 inches and keep a long tail.  Without a long tail, it will keep sliding out of the needle.  You can also try a slip knot and tie it to the eye of the needle however, I don't care for this option.  Once that knot is on the needle, it's difficult to remove.  

• Be gentle with it.  Blending Filament breaks very easily so don't tug on it too much.

With a little patience, beautiful, natural looking spider webs can be created using these gorgeous glittery threads.  Take your time and you'll be thrilled with the results.

Kreinik Blending Filaments are very affordable and come in huge variety of colors.  Be sure to visit Kreinik's website to see what they offer!

Christmas At The Boutique

I think I'm finally caught up on everything!  I finished my custom order and just have to sew it together.  I have all of our new Christmas products listed, my email is all caught up and I'm ready to make some more cat dolls!  I'll be sewing this weekend and I can't wait.  It's been quite awhile since I've been able to run my sewing machine just for fun!

Here are mom's 2 new Christmas Door Pillows:

And Kathi made these gorgeous Needle Felted Holly Leaf Ornaments:

We can be found on Etsy as well!

Today, I'll be heading over to mom's house to work on Christmas cards for the Boutique Bags at Shabby Lane Shops.

If you're a crazy quilter, be sure to stop back over the weekend.  I'll be talking about making spider webs with beautiful Kreinik metallic threads!