Princess of Purses

I admit it.  Whenever I pass a purse department, I have to look.  Sometimes I just glance and more often than not, I have to go on in there and check out what's new.  Purses, totes, carryalls -- I like them all!  I'm pretty fussy about what features a purse should have, so I don't have a gigantic collection, but I do have a few.  Ahem, OK, more than a few.  One time I went over to my sister Sheila's house and my niece, Grace asked me, "Is that a new purse, Auntie Cathy?"  And I told her that indeed it was, because I'm the Princess of Purses.  The look she gave me was either awe or total disbelief.

So for a long time, I searched for the ideal tote bag pattern to sew.  Nothing appealed to my discriminating eye until I found an online tutorial on how to make a bag.  These were good, no-nonsense instructions that I had no problem following.  I made the first one out of a remnant of fabric and it turned out to be sort of a weird shape.  So I adjusted the measurements to my liking, added heavy interfacing and a bottom reinforcer for body, sturdier and longer handles, interior pockets and a button and loop closure.  And there you have it! Cute and totally usable tote bags!

Sheila uses hers (not pictured) for her cross-stitch stuff and Suzanne says that hers is perfect for her knitting.  I even made some smaller versions of these for Emily and Grace.  (Sorry, I had some trouble adding some photos.) 

I've been thinking about how to improve on these totes.  How about a zip top?  An inset where a cross-stitched piece could go?  A smaller version that could be truly called a purse? 

It will be back to the drawing board as I contemplate these changes.  One thing I know is that I'll always be able to find fabrics I like for these.  Mainly I just go to the quilting fabrics display.  Quilting fabrics work well for these bags and there are so many beautiful choices. 

I know that I'm not the only Princess of Purses, and I hope that the others will approve.

Incense & Peppermints

This has been a week of finishing, completing, and wrapping things up.  Last Saturday was another fun Saturday Stitch In at The Stitch Store and I finally finished "Joyful Summer".  I love the way it turned out and can't wait to give it to my nieces for their room.  Now to frame it.  What kind of frame?:  white?  light wood?  silver?  Opinions?  The little turtle is not part of this stitched piece.  He was just too cute to leave out.

We also got some no-so-much-fun things sorted out and wrapped up.  And hopefully we won't have to think about them for a while.

There was a pretty surprise in our yard when our gardenia bush decided to give us one more beautiful, perfect flower before resting for the rest of the year.  This shrub flowers in May and June, so it's kind of unusual to see one of these little blooms now.

Also, this week there was some sad news in the stitching/blogging community.  Gazette94 has decided to stop her blog.  This talented blogger and designer has been posting her lovely cross stitch designs for several years.  And what's more, she was generously offering these designs free for the downloading.  The blog is a treasure trove of hundreds of charts.  I had just started following her blog a couple of weeks ago, and had been looking forward to what we would be seeing in the future  So she will be missed.  As she said on her final post:  "Au revoir".

I'm continuing to work on my current project - Val's Stuff Kitty Kalendar.  I am so glad that I stitched all of the little boxes first.  Now that the measury-fussy part of it is done, I can just enjoy filling each one in.  It just makes me smile and I have the perfect place in the craft room to hang it.  Hopefully, this doesn't certify me as a crazy cat lady.  It doesn't, does it?  Because I'm not.

Wait!  This is the only project I'm actively working on right now!  My "serial starter" side says I must start a new one.

My blog now has 24 followers, and I am grateful for each one.  Give me a comment once in a while and let me know how I'm doing.  And for those of you who aren't followers yet, go ahead and follow!  There is no cost or obligation.

Oh, and the "Incense & Peppermints" thing?  That is just the song that has been stuck in my head for the past couple of days since I was on YouTube viewing 60's songs.  It's not a bad song, but it's stuck and won't leave.  And one word of warning:  if you decide to watch and listen to this on YouTube, and if you choose the one with the peace symbol, be careful looking at that crazy color-strobing peacock that appears.  It will make your eyes go wonky.  And you may get this song stuck in your head.

For The Cat Fashionista

I have a great appreciation for all kinds of things that people make by hand, whether it be cross-stitch, quilting, sewing, beading and jewelry making, woodworking or scrapbooking. The handmade items in this website, www.petoffice.co.jp/catprin/english/ , are no exception. I want that to be clear. But "The Tailor of a Cat Catprin" is saved in my bookmarked favorites mainly for one reason: my entertainment. The cats, or models, are adorable and look like they're patiently putting up with their owners' silliness because they are such good animal companions. But you know they're thinking, "OK, you got the picture. Now TAKE THIS OFF OF ME!"

I try to imagine what would happen if I were to try to put, say, the Anne of Green Gables headpiece on Moxie, or the Hat of Leopard on Cosmo. If I was even successful at putting these on their squirming and twisting heads, they'd spend the rest of the day trying to slap, bite or chew them off. So no, I won't be sending any yen to Japan.

But you have to appreciate the workmanship and the entrepreneurship here! I hope that they're successful in their venture and that there are felines all over Japan sporting Young Lady Blouses and Hats of Rabbits. And what's more, there is apparently some luck to be gained if you dress your cat up in one of these and then take his picture. Just something you might want to think about.

This is the only time I've ever put any kind of clothing on any of my cats. I think.

Joyful Summer

This past week turned out to be a busy one, so not much time for creativity or craftiness. I did get a little stitching during the season premier of Project Runway. Quit laughing.

One highlight of the week was movie day at Sheila's! Emily, Grace, Sheila and I spent a fun afternoon eating popcorn and watching the Beatles movie Help! The girls had never seen the movie before, and Sheila and I hadn't seen it in a long time. It was as good as I remembered it and it was easy to see why the Beatles were so popular in their heyday and still are. Emily and Grace even opted for a double feature -- of Help! I guess they enjoyed it!

I also got to spend a couple of days working at The Stitch Store. It was a pleasure spending the days helping so many nice people. The store was visited by some "regulars", along with a few new faces! Needless to say, my scissors were busy cutting a whole lot of fabric! People seemed to be in the stitching mode during the last couple of days.

Hopefully I can get a little time this weekend to work on my current project, Joyful Summer by Country Cottage Needleworks. I'm stitching it on "Summer Sky" Jobelan, which is a fabric I love.Pretty floss colors and a summery fabric make this a good project to work on at this time of year.

Two Patriotic Finishes

This must be the year of finishes. I don't think I've ever completed so many cross-stitch projects in one year. And it's not like I'm stitching all day, every day. Wait, I did stitch all day last Saturday, but that's not the norm for me. Maybe my needle is just going faster?

This first finish is not cross-stitch at all! It's some very cute cupcake creations that were made by Grace and Emily on the fourth of July. Now this is creativity! I have to say that these are very well done!

I put the last stitch in "America" by Little House Needleworks last Friday.

With all of these finishes, I really need to start doing some framing. With that thought, I wonder how many stitchers frame as they complete, how many complete and never frame, and how many just frame some projects. I'm in a fourth category: I have a few finishes, and will most likely frame all of them. More about that in an upcoming blog.

A Priceless Day Stitching With Friends

This past Saturday was a Stitch-In day at The Stitch Store . Sheila and I hadn't been to one in a while, so this was something we'd been looking forward to. As usual, it was a lovely day stitching with a group of wonderful ladies. The attendees vary from Stitch-In to Stitch-In, but that doesn't change the fun level. As I thought about our day, I realized that we stitchers vary in so many aspects: age, where we're from, children or no children, married or not, education, employment, etc. But it seems that we all like to talk, laugh, eat and most importantly, stitch. It's the thread that holds us together, pun intended. We probably disagree on things too, but those things are trivial when we're working with fabric and thread.

There's a Glory Bee chart called Stitching With Friends that expresses this perfectly. It says "spending an afternoon stitching with friends is priceless". How true!

So, Terrie, thanks for the day at your store and for all that you do for us. And the cake. Oh yes, the cake.

What Makes A UFO?

Before you start thinking I've gone a little kooky and am going to start talking about aliens and flying saucers, just wait a minute. If you keep reading, you'll find that the UFO's I'm referring to are known to us stitchers (and maybe other crafters) as UnFinished Objects. Do we all have them? Probably not all of us, but my guess is that many stitchers have a UFO or two hiding out somewhere in their stash.

Now, a Work In Progress (WIP) is a totally different thing than a UFO. In my book anyway. A WIP is something you're actively working on. You may not have picked it up in a couple of months, but it's an ongoing project that you intend to complete. The UFO, though, is more likely to be years old and your needle has not passed through that fabric in an embarrassingly long time. Nor are you sure that you will ever finish it. They're not necessarily bad projects; there is just something about them that makes it a) not fun; or b) difficult to work on. Maybe you've just come up with things to do that are more interesting. Or it's possible that the fabric you chose is suddenly a challenge for your aging eyes.

Case in point: my two UFO's: English Cottage Sampler by Theresa Wentzler and Angel of Divinity Stocking kit by Dimensions. When I bought the TW chart, I didn't know how, um, involved these can be. They're beautiful and that beauty comes with a price: blended threads, 7 shades of green, tons and tons of backstitching. And the stocking, well, it may look like it's almost done, but no. It's one of these designs that's 100% stitched over the surface, so there's so much more to do.

It's not totally out of the realm of possibility that I'll someday pick these up and start stitching, which is the reason I haven't thrown them out or given them away. I just have so many other things, I'd like to stitch in the meantime. So, alas, these two will just have to retain their UFO status for a while. But who knows? I might surprise you, and myself, someday.