Finally something to post about!

As some of you may know, I am afraid of Crazy Quilting! Yes...I have finally admitted it. I know the basics. I can sew. I know the specialty stitches used for seam treatments and I love to embellish. I have been an avid cross stitcher for more years than I care to admit and have become addicted to specialty stitches. But for some reason the thought of putting all these things together and actually doing it as a Crazy project is just overwhelming to me. So what did I do? you ask. Well what any normal cross stitcher would do. I improvised! I designed a cross stitch/specialty stitch design that looks like Crazy Quilting! I decided if I can do it on cross stitched fabric then I can do it on regular fabric. So here it is:












It is the Flutterby Garden Pocket and it is a bit unusual but I love it. It is an IPod/Cell phone pocket with two different looks. I first stitched the basic design and then began to add embellishments to give it a bit of Zing! It was easy to use what I had on hand--fibers, ribbons, lace, buttons, charms, beads, pearls. As you can see I added a tatted butterfly to mine! Just use your imagination!

After I finished it, I decided to make it available for others--both cross stitchers and crazy quilters! I have included some seam treatment suggestions and finishing instructions for this as well as the cording and tassel making instructions. This pocket is very versatile. It can be used not only for your IPod or cellphone but also for your credit cards/cash, your keys, Driver's License or anything else you like!

This design is being released this week and I am so excited. For purchase information check here or visit your local needlework shop!

Now that I have broken the ice maybe I will actually get my crazy quilt started!

I Cannot Beleive it!

I just learned from Cathy at Cathy's Crazy By Design that I won her giveaway! And I had my choice of the Paris theme or the Lace and Fabric theme. It was truly a difficult decision as I love the blues and Paris themed items and can just see using them but I also love the laces and fabrics and can see using them as well. I decided on the Lace and fabrics to give me a starting point with my quilt until I find all of my quilting stash which is packed up in boxes! Thank you Cathy, so very much. I cannot wait to see your gorgeous laces!

Art Quilting from Pam Kellogg.

As you know Pam Kellogg is the person who got me started in Crazy Quilting. She is now doing Art Quilting as well. Check out here blog at Kitty & Me Designs! It is a very interesting technique and she if offering a full step by step tutorial on how it is done. I am sure you will find it interesting.

Happy Independence Day!

I do hope you are enjoying your weekend! We are getting ready to swim and then we will grill burgers and enjoy the fresh veggies and lemonade! I will be watching my baseball game, of course. Go Braves! It really wouldn't be the 4th of July without baseball after all. And I will be stitching on the model for my newest design which is still on target for an August release.

On the CQ front I want to thank my dear friend Julie for the wonderful package she sent me. It contains lots of *scraps* from her sewing room as well as some beautiful trims and buttons. I think she is getting tired of me saying I am going to start my quilt. She wants me to just DO IT!! So as soon as this model is finished I plan to do just that. I will be pulling out the things I can find and the realtors and house visitors can just *stuff it*. I am so tired of trying to keep everything put away and neat when I want to have my stash and work around me and convenient!! I will try to get something to show you-and Julie- in a few days.

Until next time...

A Wonderful Blog!

Over the last few weeks I have discovered so many new blogs and have received so much inspiration from them. The latest is Cathy Kizerian from Crazy by Design. When you get a chance you must check it out. I will be watching her a lot in the future. And the best thing is that she, too, is having a giveaway. Check out her blog to see how to enter. She has two prizes shown.

A French Theme:















and a Lace Theme:

















I now have so many ideas running through my head that I hardly know where to start. I have begun a special notebook just for my CQ ideas! And I hope soon to be able to put them into practice.

Until next time....

Giveaway

I hope you have been enjoying the summer. To celebrate Pat Winter is having a giveaway so if you haven't done so already then please check it out here. I am hoping to win as I would love to do this as a part of my quilt and with all the things here I wouldn't have to scrounge around looking for my fabrics and trims to do it with. Keep you fingers crossed. She has challenged us to do a giveaway as well but since most of my quilting stash is packed up and inaccessible at the moment I cannot do that. However I can giveaway one of my designs for cross stitch. What says summer better than flowers! So I will give away the cross stitch chart for either the Tulip Tapestry Garden or the Daffodil Tapestry Garden. I will draw the name on July 4th! Just leave me a comment and let me know which one you like best and make sure there is an email address so I can contact you if you are a winner.










Until next time...

Great Website!

I know it has been a while since I was here but things are about the same. I changed real estate agents but still nothing. I have been blogging though, gathering inspiration and ideas and I have discovered a wonderful website that I wanted to share with you. It is Pat Winters Gatherings. She is a wonderful Crazy Quilt Artist and I think you will enjoy her site. I know I do.

Until next time...

Well, here we are again. Another year behind us and my house is still on the market!! It has been almost a year and I am so frustrated and tired of living under a microscope! If I had known it was going to take so long I would not have packed up a lot of things I did! But I am going to change my Realtor at the end of this contract if the house hasn't sold by then. Or I might even take it off the market. I know the economy is bad right now but I cannot keep living like this. I want my life back.

I am still focusing on stitching right now. Pulling out my fabrics and sewing machine would be just too much if someone called for a showing. So the quilt is still on hold. I am still getting some wonderful pieces from friends around the globe and I will try to get some photos up of some of them as soon as I can.

Until next time....

Update...

I have had to put my quilt on hold for a while since I am having to keep the house *ready* for showings all the time. I will be so glad when I sell and can get my stash around me once more. I have been focusing on my models and consignment stitching but I will be back to this one soon I hope.

Until next time...

Still Here

I know I have been away for a while. Still trying to sell this house. Still recovering from the break-in. And still discovering things that are now gone forever. I discovered, also, that my son put some things in storage that I had boxed up for a closet--all of my DVDs including a couple of boxed sets that are no longer available!!

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know I am still here. Until next time....

Devastated!!

We just discovered that my storage unit has been broken into and vandalized and the things that were not taken were totally destroyed. Even my father's bible was ripped to shreds! And all my family photos were strewn about and trampled! Anything that they felt had no *value* was destroyed! All of my kitchen things, my fine china, my crystal stemware--everything that I had put in for temporary storage is gone! I am so distraught over the entire thing! Most of it cannot be replaced. Right now I am still in shock and cannot even begin to list everything that was there. How many people make lists of every item they place in a box? I am just hoping I can remember the most of it. I am so glad that I did not have any major amounts of stash in it but the few things that were there have been taken--some costume jewelry that I was going to take apart and use on my quilt and some laces and trims that I had gotten a while back when my Mom and I were into sewing. These will be missed of course, but at least I didn't lose my stitched pieces and fabrics!

Off to cry some more...Until next time...

Well, I am getting ready to sell my house. Since my husband passed away I really need to downsize and my son and I agree that now is the time to do. So I am in the process of de-cluttering and packing up the unnecessary things for temporary storage. So if I am away for a while you will know what is going on. I will try to keep updated.

Until next time...

Cool Fabric

A dear Friend sent me this wonderful piece of Aquamarine fabric. She thought it would look great to stitch a small design and use in my quilt or just to use it as is and I agree. I may just use it as is and embellish it when I get it pieced together. Thank you Jeannie. I love this so much.


Until next time....

Peacock for my Quilt

This is a small peacock (design compliments of Pam Kellogg ) that I stitched up to add to my Friendship Quilt. You know how much I love peacocks and when Pam offered this freebie I couldn't resist it. I used metallic threads and beads to add sparkle to this. I just love it and some of the Thai silks will be wonderful for this block. Thank you Pam for being such an inspiration for me. I never would have started this had it not been for you.

Can You Believe...?

It is a new year once more. Time does have a way of getting away from me. I have been spending most of my time stitching models and gifts for friends for Christmas. But I haven't forgotten about my quilt. I am still gathering trims and fabrics and I have found some beautiful things. A dear friend who is currently in Thailand has been kind enough to send me some gorgeous Chinese and Thai silk fabrics and genuine pearls to add to this project. I cannot wait to work with some of them. I will try to get a photo of them but my camera has decided to die on me and I am not sure when I will be able to get another one. I am going to borrow my son's when he isn't using it but it may take a few days.

Until next time....

Off to Stitch...

Okay I am off to stitch for a while then I will take some more photos.

Bells By Jeanette

Bells by Jeanette, originally uploaded by The Mad Stitcher.

I received the second stitched piece for my quilt from Jeanette in Alberta, Canada. And again the stitching is beautiful. She chose my favorite colors of red and green and this is so wonderful that I want to make it into a pillow! (See how perfectly it matches my sofa fabric!) I'm afraid that cutting it down will take away from the piece. But it was stitched for my quilt so I will see when I actually get to making this square.

Jeanette also, graciously agreed for me to share her words:

Stormy's Crazy Quilt Project
Thought out and voiced by Stormy
Captured Thoughts from the CBB

Dearest Kathy:

This piece is submitted with the greatest respect and I hope this will show you how much I wish to 'honour' you as the wonderful person that you are.

May the 'bells' of your life be as full as these with Love, Joy, and Peace throughout your life here on Earth.

Hugs,
Jeanette

Thank you, my dear friend. You know how much I love it.

Sunflower by Ness

Sunflower by Ness, originally uploaded by The Mad Stitcher.

I received my first stitched piece for my Friendship Quilt from Ness in MN. It is so beautiful and from her note I know that she spent a lot of effort choosing just the right design, fabric, and colors for me. She has graciously allowed me to share what she wrote in her note to me. (All the notes are going to go in a scrapbook with the quilt.)

Her note reads:

Dear Kathy,

I hope you like this square for your quilt. It's from the Garden Alphabet freebie by Ellen Maurer-Stroh. I picked "S" for Stormy, as I've thought of you w/ that nickname since the old TWBB. The sunflower reminded me of your sunny pic (smiling blonde). I chose opalescent fabbie because I know you like it's sparklies. (I do, too!)


Best Wishes,
Ness

Thank you, Ness! I do appreciate your time and your thoughtfulness in stitching this for me.

Lost Posts

Well, in trying to update and revamp this blog I somehow managed to screw things up and lose my posts. But luckily I do have copies of them in my Journal so over the next few days I will repost those and begin the updating. Please don't give up on me. I will get there. Thanks for your patience.

My Friendship Crazy Quilt

Last year I decided to do a Friendship Crazy Quilt. I have been putting info in my blog but decided I needed to start a separate one just for this. So I am reposting my original info and will go from here.

My thanks goes to Pam Kellogg (http://www.kittyandmedesigns.blogspot.com) for her help and inspiration and Vikki Clayton (http://hand-dyedfibers.com) for her help and advice on getting started.

I have started by moving my original post from my website over here. Over the next few months I will try hard to keep you all updated on my progress.

Crazy Quilt Gidelines

I was asked to post this to help those of you who have offered to stitch a motif for my Crazy Quilt. Basically it is *anything goes* but a few guidelines might be helpful.

1. No time limit
2. Any fabric--color, style, etc--of your choosing
3. Any style--as simple or elaborate as you like
4.Any size--within reason, of course! Just something small for the quilt!
5. Any shape--this is going to be a crazy quilt, after all!
6. Design something yourself if you wish or use a motif from something already published--your choice
7. Please include your name (at least first name) and where you live--ie Stormy, Chesnee, South Carolina
8. Let me know what I can do for you in return




--------------------------The Original Post----------------------------

Another thought....

Yes, I know that's dangerous for me but....

Recently several things have converged to get me thinking about this so I thought I would ask for opinions.

As you know a couple of weeks ago I attended my annual stitching retreat/workshop in Myrtle Beach which is hosted by by LNS owner Nancy Hall (The Stitch & Frame Shop) and Meg Thompson Shinall (The Flower Thread Company). This was my third year attending but many ladies (and gent) have been attending since it's inception about 6 years ago. In March some of us decided to do *Friendship Squares* for Meg and Nancy. Each square was to be 4 inches square and edged with a buttonhole stitch so they all could be joined together in a wallhanging. Some of us stitched published designs and some of us designed our own but the wallhanging turned out beautifully.

Then I saw a thread about Pam Kellogg's Crazy Quilting and I discovered what it really is as opposed to what I had always *thought* it was.

Well, last night during one of my sleepless periods I began thinking about all the wonderful friends I have made in the last few years--not only from across the US but also from the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Finland, and many, many more places that I don't mean to leave out. But you get the idea. Because of my health issues and travel difficulties I will never meet most of these friends unless they come here. But I value their frienship none the less.

So all things converged and I began to think how neat it would be to have a *friendship quilt* of my own. With small bits stitched from as many different friends and as many different places as possible. I would then add these in with pieces I have stitched through the years and never *finished* and all the tidbits of lace and ribbon and buttons that I have never thrown away. (I am such a pack rat!) I probably won't have to actually buy anything except maybe backing fabric--if that!

So what do you think? Is this a crazy idea or what? Would any of you be willing to stitch a little something for me--no rules...no edgings...no particular fabric, style, etc.--just something from you and signed, of course. In return I would gladly stitch something for you--a similar square or bookmark or ornament or whatever you would like to have from me. There would be no deadline as this will definitely be a long term project but I really think I would like to do this.

Opinions?"