Colorful Cats Surprise

If you missed out on the Colorful Cats Surprise when she was a birthday gift, she is now available at Kitty And Me on Etsy.

 Use Coupon Code:  STITCH1

Dad

Shortly after my mom past away in April of 2023, my dad got sick.  I took care of him for a year and he passed away on November 4 2024.

I spent months and months packing up the house and finished up just a few weeks back.

So that's why I've been MIA for so long.  I try to stitch when I can but I'm burned out now and will get back to it when I can.

I'm just now starting to think about designing again.  It'll probably be a little slow going and I don't plan to go back to full time work, just part time.  

One of my little cats is sick with Irritable Bowel Disorder.  No rest for the weary right!  Giving him meds is a nightmare.  This isn't my first rodeo with cats and meds but I've never had one fight me like Bleubird does.  Thankfully, the meds aren't forever and hopefully he'll start responding to the treatment soon.  He's only 11 years old and has only been getting meds since Thursday.

A couple weeks ago, I was at the McHenry County Historical Museum.  They have several beautiful Crazy Quilts and some antique samplers on display among other cool textile things.  I'll share photos next time. 

Another Peacock

I finished up another peacock block:

 

This peacock was a pendant that I bought at a flea market. I think I only paid a dollar for it.

The branch is some fancy yarn that I couched on.  The gold trim is vintage as is the little tatted flower.

There's a lot of sparkle on this one but it's hard to see.  The camera just doesn't pick it up. 

Great Grandma's Buttons

I made some time to sew up a few blocks and stitched on one last week:

The 2 buttons on this block are from my Great Grandmother's button jar.  I gave them a good washing with water and little dish soap.  I used a small brush to get any dirt off but I didn't want to remove the patina so I was careful.  When they were dry, I just went over them lightly with a polishing cloth to brighten up the raised area.  There's a lot more in the jar!

One thing with old buttons....and no one knew this back in the day....never store metal buttons with glass buttons, plastic buttons, MOP buttons and so on.  The metal buttons tarnish when mixed with the others.  In this case, it's okay because I love old stuff and the old look but for anyone who collects them, it's best to store them separately.

I've been studying Jennifer Clouston's gorgeous embroidered vines.  And I've been experimenting!!  I ordered her books the other day and I'm expecting my Amazon delivery anytime now!  I also ordered a few other CQ books that I've been wanting so I'll talk about them when they arrive.

I'm going back and forth between CQ and cross stitch.  I have a pretty little pattern that I'm almost done with.  I'll post that too when it's completed.  

ATTN:  Lesa from CQforNewbies:  Please email me!! 

 

Avon Owl

This my latest stitched piece:

 

It's more orange than pink.  The photo looks a little washed out.  The owl is a necklace that came from Avon back in the 70's.  My mom was an Avon Lady for over 30 years.  I actually have 2 of these.  This one is mine and I have my grandmother's as well.  I'm thinking of using Grandma's on a Winter themed block.

The gold trim at the bottom is vintage, probably from the 30's or 40's.  I picked it up at a flea market years ago.  I still have quite a bit left so I'll be using more on future blocks.

I've been quite taken with the beautiful floral vines that Jennifer Clouston does.  I'm going to order a couple of her books .  You can see her inspiration in the vine on the top starting in the middle of the block.

In other news, I worked on updating my blog some more last week.  It needed some de-cluttering.  I still have a few more things to do which I'll get to later this week.  I also changed the banner in my Etsy shop to the plain black/white Kitty & Me Logo.  I'll change the banners on my future publications too.

I'll need to sew up some more blocks soon.  This was my last pre-sewn piece.