Do You Want to Win a Gorgeous Quilt?

Hurry on over to Kellie's blog "Don't Look Now" for a chance to win this spectacular quilt.
Can you believe she's actually going to give something this beautiful away??

I'll be doing a much smaller giveaway myself...in honor of my birthday, i'll be giving away a prototype of the cat mats i hope to sell at a holiday craft fair in November. All you have to do is leave a comment and tell me why your cat would like a cat mat (a homemade version of the beloved Boogie Mats...i'll post a picture later this evening). The comment period will close on Thursday, September 3 and then i'll get the cats (or a random number generator *g*) to pick a winner.

Front of mat, in print to compliment the coat of any kitty!

Back of mat, with envelope-type opening so catnip can be inserted in the back. The next one that i make, i'll try setting in a zipper.

Oh shimmer paint!

Stampin' Up! has its new holiday mini catalog out, loaded with all sorts of tempting goodies crammed into its 40 little pages. We'll be able to start showing the catalog to our customers on September 1...in the meantime, demonstrators were able to pre-order a lot of the items for ourselves. One of the most tempting was the shimmer paints. I've been seeing them from other suppliers so was thrilled that Stampin' Up! is offering them. As a test i ordered "champagne mist" which is similar to an un-brassy gold.

I had planned to use it on the new snowflake stamp from the big catalog, but it wasn't that outstanding looking. Next i tried it on the new single reindeer stamp from the big catalog, and loved the result.
The recipe: Ink: champagne mist shimmer paint; Stamp: Dasher; Cardstock: elegant eggplant (card base), textured black and brushed copper from specialty papers taste of textiles, rich razzleberry; Ribbon: ribbon originals masterpiece; Accessories: gold brads.


While i was in the stamping mood, i decided to make a thank you card for my friend April, who took me out to lunch on Tuesday and gave me some very nice gifts for my birthday. The wrapping paper and ribbon that she used were the perfect inspiration! The recipe: Ink: melon mambo; Cardstock: whisper white (for the card base); Paper: double sided gift wrap (the big green piece is one side and the pink with polka dots behind the sentiment is the other side), candy lane designer series paper; Ribbon: white and pink satin ribbons from gift; Accessories: ribbon slide from hodgepodge hardware; Stamp: sincere salutations; Punches: large oval and scallop oval.

Another historical cat photo

It wasn't that long ago that Gingy suddenly decided it was o.k. for her to sleep someplace else on the bed other than on the cat towels at the foot of the bed. And then last week i came into the bedroom and found her sound asleep curled up against the pillows! That's now her favorite evening napping place. I wonder where she'll decide to sleep next!

The other day Fuzzy hopped up on the little bookshelf on the side of the desk my father made for me. After he'd perched there for a while, he relaxed and fell asleep...love those black pawpads amidst the white foot fluff!

Another Saturday Sketch Card Challenge

Gosh, it's been a long time since i posted last! I've been working on a "tastes of summer" post and keep adding things to it...think i just need to post it and get it done! Also need to put up some recent kitty pics for fans of "the guys."

In the meantime, there's another Saturday Sketch challenge from the folks at Stamping 411. I missed the deadline for the one last week. Here's this week's sketch:


I needed two cards this week: a birthday card for my friend Effie (whose birthday was actually on the 20th) and a thank you card for the generous friends who hosted the congregation's summer party at their house this past weekend. The sketch was a perfect jumping off point!





Both cards use my favorite "Here Kitty, Kitty" stamp set and variations on the same colorway, including the new Mambo Mango, old Kiwi Kiss, Certainly Celery grosgrain ribbon, and i think that's Raspberry Fizz design series paper.


I also made a couple of other cards. My brother-in-law is retiring from the government this week...he just turned 55 and i think he's worked for them for 30+ years. The red white and blue seemed appropriate. I used a similar color scheme for the son of friends of mine who graduated from high school and is heading off to college. When i last saw him, he was about two years old, so it's stunning to me how time has flown!

"Quilting Past and Present" at Sky Meadows State Park

It was hot on Saturday. And humid. But i had agreed on behalf of my quilt group that we would do a presentation about quilting at the historic Mount Bleak House, built in the 1840s, which is on the grounds of Sky Meadows State Park. The parks department likes to have events that reflect life at the time the house was lived in...crafts, music, history, etc. We would do a talk about quilts from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then demonstrate quilting from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

I recruited my friend Diane to do the presentation because she's very knowledgeable, has a lot of experience making quilts including some out of reproduction Civil War era fabrics, and is very confident in a group situation. I brought a bag full of quilting books and several quilts, Diane brought two baskets full of quilts, April brought a quilt rack and several quilts, and we set up on the lawn behind the house. And waited. And waited. We thought things would be slow, but had no idea that only a handful of people would come for the program.

I thought we'd be standing up in front of a crowd, talking, showing quilts, refolding them, answering questions...instead, we sat on the rocking chairs and had a fabulous day getting some quilting done. Diane had fun reading my books! April worked on a coiled rope basket bag, i did hand quilting on my fortune cookie quilt and on the bunny quilt for my sister, when Dee arrived she sewed the binding onto a Christmas kitty quilt, and when Jeanne arrived, she had a binding to put on a Christmas quilt as well.

Diane, April, my rocking chair, Dee

Jeanne

Afterwards the ranger/volunteer coordinator said that next time they would make the program shorter--the afternoon only, when people are more likely to have finished a day hike or to be in the park for a picnic. I don't think any of us felt the day was wasted...it was amazingly peaceful sitting under the huge hickory tree, looking out across a misty valley that didn't look much different than it would have looked 100 or even 200 years ago.

This week's Saturday Sketch Challenge

The sketch was pretty straightforward...just what i needed for a baby naming card! So here it is:

(I see that my friend and upline Robin used the same baby stroller stamp...great minds and all that!) I wasn't able to go to the babynaming ceremony because i had to attend an event with my quilt group (more about that soon), but i am sending this card and a copy of Patricia Polacco's The Keeping Quilt, one of my all-time favorite books.

While i was in the "stamping studio" (my mother's old kitchen table and my workbench piled high with stamping supplies in my basement) i also made a sympathy card for dear friends whose baby died at birth. I was reminded of this stamp (and similar color combination) by the pretty little boxes on Takatou's site.There's really not much a person can say at a dreadful time like this but i thought the card would help tell them i'm holding them in my thoughts and prayers.

I also started a series of cards "just because." The new Stampin' Up! lattice die for the Big Shot really intrigues me. I cut out five lattices from different c0lors of card stock (5 of the 6 new In colors) and then mixed and matched the little pieces that are punched out, to make what are essentially paper quilts. This is the first one that i completed.

Sylvie's Turn

Sylvie is a very opinionated and feisty little girl cat. Unfortunately, since Gingy came to live with us, she hasn't been able to spend as much time with me as she used to, because if Gingy is nearby, Sylvie gives her a wide berth or growls and hisses at her. Sylvie now cautiously checks to make sure Gingy's not around or asleep before she starts cruisin' the house, and if she hears Gingy's bell (i generally don't like bells on cats, but Gingy came with one on her collar and it seemed like a fair warning to the other cats to keep it), she dashes for the kitchen chair that's her sanctuary.

Here Sylvie's sitting on the file box they all like to sit on before hopping up onto my lap...looking very sweet but actually she sank her claws into my thigh moments later "just stretching!"

Nightcap

When i get into bed at night, if Fuzzy's not already sleeping on my pillow he comes into the bedroom, hops up on the bed, walks up on the pillow behind my head and settles in, kneading my hair and purring in my ear. (Eventually he moves over to the other pillow to sleep, often with his backside parked on my shoulder.) It was a bit tricky pointing the camera at ourselves in the dark and getting a decent picture, but i got a few fairly good ones.

Louie always sleeps between my knees...here he is with his head pillowed on my right knee....awake because somebody's taking pictures!

Historical Cat Photo

Yes, it's a pretty ginger girl kitty and a cute tuxie boy on the bed together...that's not news anymore, as Gingy has been sleeping on the bed with the boy cats and me since late winter. What's new is this is the first time (that i've seen anyhow) that Gingy was sleeping on the bed other than on the cat towel at the foot of the bed! I guess she suddenly realized that not only was it o.k. for her to be on the bed, she could be anywhere on the bed that she wanted to be!

That picture was taken this past weekend. Last night when i went to bed, Gingy was sound asleep on her back in the middle of the bed! She sleepily moved to the cat towel when Fuzzy leaped into bed. I'm not sure why it's taken her 4 years to come to this realization, but i think it's nice. Now if only she and Sylvie could learn to get along....

View Profile

A lot of blogger blogs have a place that says "View My Complete Profile," so Louie thought it only right that you should be able to admire his complete profile. He's even displaying a bit of frootbat effect, difficult for a tuxedo with black ear fur to achieve...and then i had to turn the flash off on my camera to keep it from washing out the light shining through his ear.

Some new cards

The first card follows a sketch (like a recipe, to be modified by the user) on the Stamping 411 site. Here's the sketch.


And here's my card. I used only Stampin' Up! tools and materials for all three cards shown here. For this card, i pretty much used the suggested layout, although the center is cut out with the new Bigz Lattice die in the Big Shot, layered over a piece of Bashful Blue cardstock that i ran through texturz plates on the Big Shot. The lattice, background, and belly band are all from the Tea Party Designer Series Papers. At the center is a square icy blue rhinestone brad. This is a get well card for my friend Violet, who tripped on her front steps and fractured her foot in two places this weekend!

Next i needed to make a congratulations card for my friend Janet, who is retiring on Friday. I had so much fun using the Bigz Lattice die for the previous card, i used it on this card as well, cutting the center from a piece of lilac Designer Series Paper. Different patterns of the same paper form the background and the oval that the sentiment is printed on. The sentiment is mounted on a scalloped oval of the same Tea Party Designer Series Paper as the layer under the lattice. That scalloped oval punch is one of my favorites! The ribbon is the brand new Crushed Curry polka dot grosgrain ribbon...yummy. This card also has a square rhinestone brad in the center, too...this one lilac rather than blue.

This third card i just made because i love how it looks...i saw this design or something very like it somewhere, but i don't remember where now...whether it was wandering on the internet or in a magazine. It uses all new "toys" from my most recent Stampin' Up! order...the card is on Crushed Curry card stock (gasp, so different than my traditional Whisper White card bases), the stamp is from the new Razzle Dazzle set. I stamped the whole design in Soft Suede, then cleaned the stamp off and colored in the flowers with Stampin' Write markers, stamped them on a scrap of Whisper White, cut them out, and mounted them with mini glue dots on top of the Soft Suede version. I double-matted the white layer on top of Rich Razzleberry and Melon Mambo cardstock. The ribbon is Rich Razzleberry polka dot grosgrain ribbon, the sentiment is stamped in Crushed Curry and mounted on Melon Mambo cut out with my pal, the scallop oval punch.

The Mom Meme

I've been tagged to take part in a meme by Jan, Milo and Alfie's wonderful mom. I love reading about Milo and Alfie's great adventures (and they are beautiful kitties) and Jan's answers to this meme are so interesting http://milocat.wordpress.com/2009/07/25/the-mom-meme/#comment-4868 that when she tagged to me to join this meme, i couldn't resist.

The rules are simple: Either 1) post 7 facts about yourself AND photos OR 2) post 10 facts about yourself with no photos, OR 3) post a childhood picture of yourself.

First, the picture:

This was my freshman year in college 1) at Oberlin College. (Can you see the teddy bear on the bed? He's the same one i posted about in November! http://quiltcatmews.blogspot.com/2008/11/my-teddy-bear.html)

2) This was my first cat. Her name was Franki. Actually, i think it was "Franki Farren Puppy" or something like that...she wasn't really my cat...she supposedly was my roommate Patty's cat, but i "somehow" became her main person. She was one of the kittens born outside in the cold Ohio winter to a college cat who was probably abandoned once her owners discovered she was pregnant. We weren't supposed to have cats in the dorm but i'm so glad that we took Franki in. She was a great kitten! At the end of the school year, i wasn't allowed to bring her home and Patty wasn't allowed to bring her home, so my boyfriend (at left in picture) took her home. He wasn't allowed to keep her past the summer, either...so she went to live with his cousins on Cape Cod and i think (fervently hope) that she had a very happy life as a companion to their black Lab who totally adored her from the first day.

3) On the bed is an afghan that i crocheted during one of my classes (education testing and measurement, i think). I learned how to crochet from a book. Then i had one of the girls in my dorm teach my how to knit because i wanted a ski cap with ribbing, and couldn't figure out how to do it from a book *g*. It turns out the style she taught me was "Russian," so i've always had to adapt directions to get the right gauge.

4) I was an archaeology major and went on a dig in New Jersey the summer before i started college (we camped out in tents all summer on the banks of the Delaware River; we excavated one of the first known Native American house sites in New Jersey) and in North Carolina the summer before my senior year in college (we lived in some cabins near the old dairy farm on the grounds of the John C Campbell Folk School; in cooperation with the Eastern Cherokee tribe, we excavated a contact period Cherokee village).

5) I discovered a newborn calf while taking a walk looking for wild blackberries on one of my days off on the dig. Its mother had left it safely curled up in the tall grass, just like does do with their fawns. A few days later, i helped a calf get born...the cow was having trouble pushing out the calf so the farmer attached chains to the calf's feet. As the cow pushed, we gently pulled...and soon *pop* out came the calf.

6) My advisor at Oberlin suggested that i really should consider majoring in social-cultural anthropology instead, because i didn't have the hard science background archaeologists need to succeed these days. He left Oberlin for another school and there were no anthropologists left there. I really wanted to drop out of college...Oberlin was starting to feel way too small (it's in the middle of Ohio farm country and in the interests of fostering community, no one was allowed to have a car on campus, so there was no way to leave other than getting on my bicycle and pedalling to nowhere a few miles out of town), the Vietnam war was on, and i questioned what possible good i could do for the world. My parents were extremely unhappy that i wanted to drop out of school, so we reached a compromise...i transferred to another college.

7) I transferred to the University of Pennsylvania, a school about 7 times larger than Oberlin, in the middle of urban Philadelphia. Of course i missed Oberlin-type people! But academically it was a very good decision.

whew...that's enough about me and my ancient past! I hesitate to tag anyone in case you're too busy...but would love to have my regular commenters (and any visitors, too) do this meme, too!