My cat found my stash.

I’m not sure why I didn’t share this photo already – it’s my favorite cat doing a really cute thing.

Nikon (named after the type of camera I use professionally) is three, and has me wrapped around his big furry paw. He’s the best cat. Really docile and gentle, loving, and super tolerant of the shenanigans my 5 and 6 year olds put him through. He also is house broken. He taught himself. It’s pretty awesome to have a cat knock at the door when he needs to go out, and knocks when he’s done. And I save a ton on cat litter. But until this moment I caught him snoozing in my stash, he wasn’t interested in my sewing or fabrics. But look at his little head, using that jelly roll as a pillow. Best cat ever.

I’m big on Etsy…well, sort of.

I finally did it. I opened my Etsy store and scores of friends stop nagging me every time they saw something I had made with the proclamation “You should open an Etsy store!” I did it, and I have things to sell there. Here’s my shop, which I anticipate adding LOTS of goodies to in January:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/KraftyKateOnline

And, since blog posts are (almost) useless with photos, here’s a rag quilt I made, that is for sale. It’s nearly a twin size, featuring red and black stripes, and black paw prints with a pink background. It’s warm (flannel) and smells wonderful thanks to my fantastic dryer sheets. (Yay Gain!) And if you’re wondering, yes, I can do a custom rag quilt. Just email me what you’re looking for to get started!

Crafty gardening

So, being crafty isn’t all scrapbooking, sewing and quilting. In my book, it’s all the things that make me, me. And one of those things is gardening. I used to HATE being outside helping my mom plant flowers and water them. When I was growing up, you were lucky if I mowed the lawn without complaining (We had a 1/2 acre and a riding lawn mower. I was completely unreasonable as a teenager.) Somewhere along the way into adulthood, I realized that I needed Spring and Summer and the beautiful flowers it brought. I’ve spent what feels like a million dollars at garden stores all over Cincinnati.

I’ve fallen in love with dirt and mulch and compost. This last year, I even started a vegetable garden, a la raised bed variety. I got chickens, mostly because I like eggs and compost (but maybe not together!). Here it is December, and the world is supposed to end in two days, but I’m thinking I will still be here in Spring, and in 8 or 9 weeks, I should be all set up to start my tomatoes inside so when it’s finally warm enough, I can put the out in the raised beds. I’ll probably even spend another million dollars at the local nurseries, bringing home flowers I have no space for. I’m even considering a Master Gardening course. I have craft ADD, I think. I don’t care though, because I’m in love with dirt and mulch and compost.

I didn’t take many photos this year of my gardens, but I took some in 2011, and put them up on Flickr today. Check out the whole set here. Here’s a few to tease you of days where it was warm and green and flowers bloomed in mixed containers.

 

Kindle Covers!

One of my friends got a Kindle a few months ago, and I saw she was cruising Etsy to find a cute cover/carrier for it. I couldn’t help but say that I could make her one! I was excited when she agreed, so we met up, and found some awesome Halloween fabric to use with the Atkinson Designs Reader Wrap Pattern. My friend is OBSESSED with Halloween. It’s by far her favorite holiday, so I’m stoked that in the middle of winter, we still found this fabric for her!

Here’s the finished product (and I know, I’m not a product photographer!):

I’m Spring Cleaning!

It’s that time of year, when we go through our closets and clean out the clothes that don’t fit, we scrub our windows, we clean out our flower beds. But do you clean out your sewing machine too? If you’re not diligent about keeping your machine cleaned of all the fuzzies that grow with each project you do, you might find yourself with a costly repair bill. Would you like to add your sewing machine to your Spring Cleaning list, but you’re not sure where to start? Well, thankfully, I found another fantastic video from Jenny Doan over at Missouri Start Quilt Co. You all know how much I love how she teaches, and this is a great tutorial on just basic maintenance on your machine!

Watch this and get cleaning!

 

 

International Quilt Festival – Cincinnati

It’s a quilter’s mecca, and I get to live in the host city! I can’t wait to make my way to the convention center tomorrow to see all the gorgeous quilts and check out all the vendors! If you’re traveling into our beautiful city, downtown has SO many fantastic restaurants and a pretty great night life too, so enjoy yourselves!

For more info on the International Quilt Festival, visit www.quilts.com!

Sweet Baby Girl Rag Quilt

I finally have this adorable flannel rag quilt ready to sell! It is so soft and cuddly; I hope some adorable baby girl gets to snuggle with it for a long time! If you’re interested in purchasing it, please contact me! And please, excuse the horrible photography job; I grabbed a quick photo with my phone, so it’s not the best!