Staying Home Instead Of Joining The Shopping Frenzy?

 Festive Snowmen Pattern as well as all of my other patterns will be on sale this weekend. Sale starts at midnight Friday (eastern standard time)

I personally believe that the whole Black Friday craziness has gotten out of control.  It used to be one day of fun.  We didn't know what would be on sale until Thanksgiving Day, when we opened the newspaper full of store ads.
Now, I don't even bother to look at the ads ... I just don't want to be part of the crazy shopping frenzy.
I remember in my teen years, our local Kmart, which was long before Walmart or Target even existed, had a midnight madness sale on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  That was long before that day was called "Black Friday" too.
So, my mom and sister would go to the Kmart and just hang out, waiting for the flashing Blue Light Specials.  A big crowd of mostly females would stand around, anxiously waiting for the Blue Light on the pole with wheels to light up and give us an amazing bargain. 
This went on, late into the night...probably until midnight. It was so much fun.  I still use a pretty Christmas tablecloth with napkins that I bought way back then during one of the Blue Light Specials. 
Kmart should bring that Blue Light Special idea back. 
So, if you're like me and prefer to stay home on Black Friday, why not join me on my website and do a little bargain shopping!
This will be my 3rd annual Black Friday/Weekend sale.   I won't tell you what the sales will be until Thanksgiving day.  I want this to be a surprise.  I will give some hints though.
Pattern sale.
And I'm going to try something new to see how sales go.
I will offer some designs that I'm calling "Sew Easy, Sew Quick, Sew Pretty".  The offerings will be already cut and ready to stitch.  I'll give more info and some sneak peak pictures in my newsletter, which hopefully will go out later this afternoon.
So come back on Thanksgiving day to find out what my Black Friday and Weekend sales will be!
The sale will start at 12 am (eastern standard time) Friday.  My website: http://www.cathspenniesdesigns.com 

A Quick Note!

If you haven't already signed up for the newsletter, please do!  I will have my annual Black Friday/Weekend sale and the newsletter subscribers will be the first to find out about it when I send it out on Thanksgiving Day.

After signing up, please be sure to check your email for the confirmation.  Sometimes it goes into the junk mail box and it's missed.  If you're not sure if you're signed up or not, just sign up again. 

To sign up, just click over there on the left sidebar on the newsletter button.

I'll be back tomorrow with more info!

New Pattern! --->Snow Ladies!

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My newest design pattern is called "Snow Ladies".

I was inspired by hats after seeing this picture of Victoria Beckham:

See the green hat on the snow lady?  That is my own version of Victoria Beckham's hat.  :)  Silly, I know but it does go to show how odd things can give me ideas for my designs.
I've never been a hat person myself but I love looking at hats and I do wish that I could be a "hat person"  I remember going to church on Easter Sunday when I was little.  Easter bonnets were popular back then.  Every female, young and old had an Easter bonnet.  I wish we could go back to those times.  Corsages and Easter bonnets on Easter Sunday.

So "Snow Ladies" is something that reminds me of those special Sunday church services where all the ladies dressed up with their beautiful hats and bobbled necklaces.

The finished size is 14 1/2" across.  

The picture shows it made with 100% wool but wool felt can easily substituted for any or all of the wool requirements.  

Shipping is free for those of us in the US or in Canada.  

I have the wool kit available for this too.  That can be found on my website by clicking HERE

The pattern purchase may be made by either clicking the button by the picture over there on the left sidebar of the page, or visit my website, http://www.cathspenniesdesigns.com .

If you wish to pay by check, just email me cathspennies@gmail.com and I'll send you my mailing address.

Thanks ladies!

Oh, and I'm going to have my 3rd annual Black Friday special  this year so be sure to check back for the sale details  or subscribe to my newsletter to have the info delivered right to your inbox!

To subscribe, click on the Newsletter button on the top left sidebar of the page.

Happy Day!

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"Apple Pie" New Table Runner Pattern!

A few posts ago, I gave a sneak peak of a new design for Christmas.  Well, that design has been set aside for now because of my craving for Apple Pie.
This is the time of year that I always make fresh apple pie.  There are apple festivals in the towns and churches all around us.  There are apple orchards all around us with such a wide array of apple choices, each with their own distinctive flavors, I want to buy them all.  I love apples and I love apple pie even more!  However, hubby & I are on diets and apple pie is a big no-NO!
So, because I'm craving it but yet won't allow myself to have it...I'm resigned to stitching it.  :)

I present to you, my "Apple Pie" table runner design...

"Apple Pie" 

Wool Applique Penny Rug Table Runner Pattern

The finished size is 12" x 25".  

 The pattern is available on my website or you may purchase it by clicking the Paypal "Buy" button over there on the left sidebar of this page.

I have the wool kit available for this too.  It includes all of the wool needed to complete the entire table runner.  If you need the cotton backing for it, that's an option too.

If you just need the pretty red & black checked wool to make this, that's available too!

Click here to see the red & black checked wool.

 This red & black checked wool is in limited supply so once it's gone, I'll have to hand-dye the wool so the price will have to go up because of it.  If you need it, get it now! 
If you wish to pay by check instead of Paypal, just email me cathspennies@gmail.com and I'll send you my mailing address.


  I have to be honest and admit it now.  Stitching this did not help my apple pie craving at all.  I have the apples in my fridge right now to make the apple pie that I so desire.  I will have to break our diet for a day so that I can get my apple pie fix.  Gotta get the good vanilla ice cream to go with it .....

Happy Day!

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Snowman In The Pine Tree?!

I discovered the oddest thing in our pine tree outside.  Here's what I see when I look out the window while I'm working at the computer.  Do you see anything odd in the tree?

 

No?  Well, admittedly, I don't see it that well either, but while I work on the computer, since I'm near-sighted, I don't have my glasses on.  Looking out the window, without my glasses, I saw a snowman in the pine tree.

 

Look closer ... do you see the snowman in the area of the red box?  No? Yeah, it's not real clear to me either.

But, without my glasses .. I see a perfect, detailed snowman.

 This picture shows where the snowman is in the tree. The camera is not able to capture the blurred image that I see, so only the snowman outline is apparent.

 Without my glasses on, I see the details of the face and the long green scarf around his neck.  I even see buttons going down the center of the snowman. I also see a wide belt around his waist.
What you see in this picture is just a mere outline compared to what I see without my glasses.
It's amazing to me and as I'm typing this, without my glasses on, I can look out at that tree and smile, because I see that very large, detailed snowman smiling back at me.
If only it were an image of Jesus  ....  never mind.  :)

This kind of thing happens to me frequently and it's not like I'm staring at a cloud trying to figure out what shape it might be.  I just see it, without studying or staring.  The image just appears.
I even mentioned in my one blog posting how the eraser marks formed the image a standing mouse which showed me exactly how to draw it. Imagine...it was eraser marks from a dirty eraser that created this standing mouse for my "Popcorn Treats" design.

I always marvel at the things that I see, and always try to go back to the same spot to see if I see the same thing again...and sure enough, every single time, I still see the image that has formed just for my eyes to see.
There's this spot on our bathroom floor tile upstairs ... a lady with a pretty hat...gosh, maybe it's a sign of senility...
I know I could never be a radiologist because looking at any x-rays, I can see things like balloons or flowers, etc.  I'd have to tell my patients .."the reason you have headaches is because you have dancing clowns in your head" and then I'd draw the outline to reassure my patient that everything will be ok once we figure out how to get the clowns to stop dancing.

Ok, I'm going back to work now.  Since the snowman in the tree keeps distracting me, I thought I'd take a little break to share him with all of you.
I'm trying to finish up the instructions for my newest design. I think I'm going to call this new one "White Christmas".  I should have it ready to sell soon so check back later in the week!

Happy Day Everyone!

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Fall Is Here & I Love It!

I always welcome fall.  I love this season. 
The Marigolds that I always plant along the sidewalk to our front door are flourishing, as they always do this time of year.  The flowers have grown right over the sidewalk, leaving a small pathway to the front door.

 

I have a blog question and hope that someone can help me with it. I want to be able to start another blog that I can keep private so that just those people who I have approved can read it.  Is that possible?

I really REALLY enjoy writing and the last few years...you can tell by how my writing in here has virtually stopped...I've stopped writing in here other than business related things.  I've stopped writing for a reason and that reason can't be posted in here for the whole world to see.

Basically, it's my rule to follow that I "don't mess with crazy".  So I want to hide from crazy so that crazy doesn't become even more crazy!

And...actually, once I'm hiding from crazy, I can tell the story of crazy with no fear.

 

It's not that I have anything all that important to write about.  It's not that I expect a huge audience to read and shower me with praise and accolades for my amazing writing skills.  I don't want that at all.

Just as I have this desire to stitch, I just have a great desire to write and if all of you want to read my mush and are entertained by my mush, all the better.

I have to say that in 8th grade I won first place in a writing contest.  I won over the entire 7 & 8th grade class.  It was a short story and it had a really sad ending.  I think I made people cry with the ending.  The bad thing about it though was that all my classmates who didn't know me thought it was a true story.  They all felt sorry for me because of how much I suffered though such bad circumstances.  I wish now that I would've made the school principal announce to everyone that it wasn't a true story.

Anyway, if someone could help me figure out how to make a blog that I can make private/not public to the whole world, I'd appreciate it. Email me with the help please .. cathspennies@gmail.com

 

In other news... this weather has made me crave Stuffed Cabbage or "Pigs in the Blanket" as we call them here in Western Pa.  "Pigs" are popular in my family so I made a full roaster of them this morning.

I had a really good crop of tomatoes in my garden this year so I was able to use fresh tomato sauce too.   I love pigs!  It's starting to smell really nice here in the house.

 

Stitching news....I've been so busy doing so many other things around the house that I'm behind on getting the new design out.  Here's a little sneak peak ...it's a work in progress so there will be some slight changes in the finished design.

It has a lot of embroidered detail.  I've tried to stay away from putting too much embroidered details in the designs that I sell, because most of you don't really appreciate all the tedious stitching.

This is what I enjoy doing though .. and I know that some of you, like me, enjoy stitching embroidery details so this design will be just for us tedious stitchers! 

 

That's all I have for now!  Don't be jealous of my Pigs, ladies.  You're all invited over for dinner tonight...homemade mashed potatoes AND ... homemade bread too!  Be here for 5pm eastern standard time.  :)

Happy Day!

 

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New Pattern "Popcorn Treats"

 My newest pattern is ready!

I'm calling it "Popcorn Treats"  The cute little mice aren't so cute when they're eating the popcorn from the Christmas tree.

The pattern has instructions for the table runner, the wall-hanging and the popcorn garland.

The table runner measures 10" x 23"

The wall-hanging measures 10" x 12"

The wool popcorn on the garland looks real!

I have wool kits available for both the table runner & the wall-hanging.  The kits include all of the 100% wool needed to complete the table runner and the wall hanging.  If interested in the wool kits, just CLICK HERE to visit my website .

To purchase the pattern, either click over there on the left sidebar or visit my website.

http://www.cathspenniesdesigns.com

Shipping is free for US & Canada customers.  All other international customers will just need to pay whatever the extra shipping will cost.  Email for a shipping quote.

cathspennies@gmail.com

If you wish to pay by check, just email for my mailing info

The free step-by-step tutorial for the popcorn garland is given in the post below.  I hope everyone gives it a try!  It's easy to make and it looks so real!

Happy Day!

Wool Popcorn Garland !

Gosh, how time flies when you're busy!  I've been busy with summertime remodeling in the house and just haven't had the time to finish up the instructions for my new pattern "Popcorn Treats".  Since the pattern is still not ready, I decided to go ahead and offer the instructions for making the popcorn garland.  The instruction download is here:  https://cathspenniesdesigns.com/product/popcorn-garland-instructions-wool-kit/

Here's what the finished garland looks like on my small tabletop tree....

Every year for our Christmas tree, I've made a fresh popcorn & cranberry garland for our Christmas tree.  If anyone has ever made a popcorn garland, you will know how long it actually takes to make it.  I've tried saving the garland to use for the next year, but popcorn does not save well.

This wool popcorn garland is the perfect because once it's made, it can be used year after year after year.  And it looks so real that your visitors will have to look very closely to see that it's actually made of wool and not real popped corn.
I also discovered that while making it, the pile of wool popcorn in my bowl looked so real that I wanted to eat it!
The other good thing about this wool popcorn is that it can be made inexpensively using wool scraps. In fact, I finally found a use for the 1/2" salvage edges that I usually tear off and throw out.

This garland isn't just for the Christmas tree.  It can be used in many other decorating ways.

Although I don't really have my Christmas decorations out in the middle of August, I can show you that the popcorn garland looks really sweet on a fireplace mantel. 

I absolutely love this popcorn garland and hope you can use these instructions to make this for your home too!  

For complete step-by-step pictured instructions for making this popcorn garland, visit my website by CLICKING HERE

For my pattern, "Popcorn Treats" Table Runner and Wall Hanging, 

visit my website by CLICKING HERE

Popcorn Treats Wall Hanging & Table Runner Pattern

For  step-by-step tutorials and tips for working with wool, visit my "tips and tutorials" page on my website by CLICKING HERE

Happy Day and Happy Stitching!

New Design Sneak Peak and Kitty Kat Attacks!

If you scroll down the page a bit, you'll see that I wrote a post which shows a drawing of my newest design.  Here is how the wallhanging looks when almost finished...

It's going to be called "Popcorn Treats".  I'll also include instructions/pictures for a tablerunner too.

 I'm still working on writing the instructions which has proven to be a ghastly bear to do.
For me, writing the instructions has always been the most dreaded and time consuming part of being a designer.  Most times it takes longer to create and write the instructions than it does to actually stitch the design. In this case, both have taken a lot of time.  The problem I'm having with the finished product has to do with our CATS

Both of our cats have an equal love for wool.  Wool roving ...the furry stuff is especially loved.  Since I use wool roving to stuff the cranberries that you see on the popcorn garland, they both do whatever they can to rip the berries off and play with them while attempting to eat them. 
I've known it to be a problem and try my best to hide the roving so that they can't get to it.  Sometimes I forget to put it away and they instantly zoom in for the roving treat.
 They can even smell the stuff through plastic ziploc baggies.  I had a baggie of it buried deep down at the bottom of a box of odds & ends and sewing things  One or both of them managed to get it out of the box, rip open the baggie and make a mess...everywhere.

This design is especially  loved by them because not only does it have delicious smelling cranberries stuffed with roving which roll very nicely along the floor, it also has wool popcorn, which is especially fun for pushing about the room along with the cranberries.
They managed to pull off all of the popcorn and berries from the finished mat TWICE now.  I keep forgetting to put it away after working on it and they find it each time.  Also, I have the loose wool popcorn in a bowl ...storing it there until I make enough to string it into a garland.  Every day, I find pieces of wool popcorn throughout the house ...from the one day that I accidentally left the bowl out.  They must have carried them and dropped them at different places throughout the house.
It's been quite an ordeal and because of the missing popcorn, I've had to make waaay more because of those darned cats!

I do have to say at this point that hubby & I love these cats and most times, they are entertaining to watch. I could never punish them for their misdeeds ...I blame myself for forgetting each time to put my work up away from them!  Every time our grandson comes over for a visit, he asks me what kind of "mischief" the kitties got into since his last visit.  I ALWAYS have stories to tell him about these kitties. 
Thank goodness, Christmas season is still a ways away.  I will get this all done and have the completely finished pattern ready to sell, hopefully by next week.
Stop back then to hopefully see better finished pictures...or if the kitties attack it again, you might just see some bad mischievous kitty pictures instead.

Happy Day everyone!

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"Boo!" New Pattern!

This new Halloween design is called "Boo!" 

The finished size is 12" across.

The plastic big black spiders are scaring the pumpkin creatures.  

So easy to stitch up!  

The plastic spiders can be found at any party store.

 I've stitched this one up with the eyes looking in all different directions too ...up, down, to the left and to the right.

The price over there on the left($8.00) is a special discount price just for my regular blog readers. (US & Canada)  This price will be available for a few days ... then I'll change it to the regular retail price of $9.00.

The wool kit is also available for this and can be found on my website by CLICKING HERE

If you wish to pay by check instead of Paypal/credit card just email me for my address. 

cathspennies@gmail.com

Thank you ladies and Happy Day!

Sketching For Christmas

It's such a beautiful day today.  I should be out doing some yardwork...pulling weeds and hosing down the porch, but first, I'll show the new design that I'm working on.

It's going to be called "Popcorn Treats"

This is just the rough sketch of the idea.  I always sketch out my idea first.  The most difficult part of it is turning the sketch into a pattern.  Drawing it out so it's exactly the right size and shape takes a tremendous amount of time and even after I think it's all done and perfect, sometimes, I have to redo it once I actually cut the wool shapes and start the stitching.  

 The mice gave me a hard time.  When I initially drew this, I had so much trouble getting that standing mouse to look right.  Frustrated, I searched through Google images to find a mouse that would look similar to what I wanted.  But no luck.  After a whole lot of repeated erasing, I took a break from the whole thing, almost ready to give up.  When I came back, the oddest thing happened.  I mean, it was so incredibly odd, that I know that once you read this, you'll find it hard to believe too.
I took one look at all of the eraser smudges on the paper and the mouse design seemed to be outlined right in the smudges.  I followed the smudge lines and the standing mouse was created.
Now, I'm not saying that this was some kind of devine inspiration like seeing Jesus in a piece of toast, but holy cow, it was pretty amazing.
Believe it or not ... I believe, for some odd reason, I had a helping hand with creating that cute little mouse.

I'm just about done stitching this up and should have it ready to show in a week or two.  I had to make some adjustments in design with the center candle circle.  I did want to stitch some pine branches that had a popcorn garland intertwined in it.  Once I started stitching it though, I realized that there is so much going on in the design ..with the snowman face, the hat, the mice and the popcorn, the pine branches was just too much for the eyes to look at.  I needed to create less "busy-ness".  Other than that, this design will end up being almost exactly how I originally sketched it.

In the meantime, I have a new Halloween pattern called "Boo!" ready to go.  I'll introduce "Boo!" in the next few days.

Happy Day everyone!   ....

Oh, and an email from Blogger told me that I need to add the thingy that lets people add my blog to their "Circles".  I don't really know what that's all about or how the Google circles work but there are 4 of you who seem to know and have already added this blog to their circles.  If you would like to add me, just scroll all the way down to the bottom of this page and you'll see the little button that makes it easy to add.

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"Forget-Me-Nots" New Pattern is Ready to Go!

Finally this one is ready to go.  I had some big trouble getting the pretty butter yellow background to print properly for the pattern front.  After many many attempts, I got it right...or rather the printer got it right and the pattern is done!

Introducing "Forget-Me-Nots" Candle Mat Pattern

 The finished size is 14" across.  It's shown made with 100% wool but woolfelt can be substituted for any or all of the wool requirements.  The flowers are really easy to make and you'll find this a fairly quick design to stitch up.
The pattern comes with a layout guide and a pattern template  that makes it simple to place each flower stem exactly in the right place.
The pattern is a special price just for my blog readers.  It's just for a very limited time.  Price right now is $8.00 including shipping for US & Canada.  After a few days, the price will go up to the regular selling price of $9.00.
If you wish to pay by check instead of credit card/Paypal, just email me and I'll send you my mailing address.

 

I love this design made with Violet colors too.  I actually considered naming this pattern "Summertime Violets" because I couldn't decide which was prettier , the blue or the violet. The blue Forget-Me-Nots won out but only because I already have a violets pattern!

I imagine this would look really pretty with red or even bright orange and yellow flowers too ...or a mix of assorted colors would be beautiful too! 

Thank you for reading!

Happy Day!

And The Winner Is........!!!

Congratulations to Valerie LeBrun from Colorado.  Valerie has won the "Summertime Violets" candle mat!

It became obvious within 2 hours after posting the contest in my newsletter that I made it way too easy to win!

Those ladies who did answer all of the questions correctly had their names put into a hat. My husband, after watching Dexter tonight, picked the winning name.

Here are the answers for the picture match-ups.
  1. Let It Snow
  2. Cat Tails of Love
  3. Jacks & Cats
  4. Christmas Sparkle
  5. Apple Blossoms
  6. Floral Beauty
  7. Tulips
  8. The Melt  This one gave you ladies the most trouble.  A lot of you thought this was "Scarecrow Jack in the Pumpkin Patch"  Close but not correct.  :(
  9.  Love For Ewes
10.  Good Morning Roosters
11.  Witchy Things
12.  Oh Snowy Night

Thank you to all who participated.  I really enjoyed this and I only wish that my fingers could stitch fast enough to stitch up candle mats for everyone!

A Candle Mat Giveaway Contest!

It was a busy day yesterday here at Cath's Pennies Designs.  I sent the newsletter out yesterday morning and the response to the giveaway contest was delightfully fun and unexpectedly grand.
I really should end the contest now, but I did promise to include the blog readers in on the contest chances.
If you didn't sign up for the newsletter, or DID sign up for the newsletter, but didn't receive it yesterday, scroll down and I'll address the newsletter issues later in this post.

Here's a picture of my "Summertime Violets" Candle Mat that I will be giving away to one lucky contest winner...

This finished candle mat measures about 14" across.  It's a one-of-a-kind, which means it's the only one that I will ever make in this color.

 I will  have my "Forget-Me-Nots" pattern ready to sell tomorrow. (Thursday, June 27).

To get a chance to win the pretty "Summertime Violets" candle mat, I'm going to make you do a little work!

Below, you'll see some pictures which are cropped from assorted pattern designs of mine.  You'll need to match these cropped pictures with the picture that it was taken from.

So take a look at the 12 pictures below, then go HERE to my website pattern page to try to match the picture to the design that it was taken from. Make sure to look through all 4 pages of patterns on the website. I now have a total of 48 different patterns so it's going to take some time to find the match.
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2.

 

3.

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 5.

6.

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8.

 9.

 10.

 11.

 12.

Once you've gathered all of your answers, EMAIL them to me at 

cathspenniescontest@gmail.com

Don't put your answers in the comment section!  

Contest is over at 10pm Eastern Standard Time, Sunday, June 30.

At that time, all winning entry names will be put into a hat and the luck winner will be drawn by my dear husband. Winners will be announced here and also on my website.

Have fun and don't be like my sister and call me up on the phone to whine about how difficult it is!  

In other words, don't make yourself CRAZY trying to figure it out!

Newsletter Info

If you know you've signed up for the newsletter but didn't receive it in your email yesterday, please sign up again.  I've changed the sign-up system now to avoid misspelled email addresses.

Once you've signed up, the system will send you an email which you'll need to confirm that it is indeed your email.

I've had a record number of email bounces yesterday (over 40) due to bad addresses.

Happy Day Everyone!

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EDIT: LADIES!  Please remember to email your contest answers to the correct address:

cathspenniescontest@gmail.com

If it's mailed to my other email address, I have to manually forward it to the correct one.  That takes time AND I might miss your entry because I don't check that address as much.  

My Newsletter Sign-up Time!

Hey y'all, if you haven't already signed up for my emailed newsletter, please do so now.  I'm planning to send out my summer special newsletter either next Monday or Tuesday.  I will be offering some wool stash specials and a contest to win something ... the giveaway is a surprise too.

The emailed newsletter will give readers a little head-start on the contest before it's announced in the blog and on my website.

If you can't remember if you've signed up already, go ahead and sign up again.  Also, if you know that you signed up but have never received a newsletter, sign up again, making sure that your email address is correct.  I get quite a few bounced back to me due to the wrong email address.

To sign up, simply type in your email address in the little box over there on the left sidebar...again, double check to make sure you typed your email address correctly, then click the button that says "sign up" and you're done! 


So, on to some pictures of my almost finished and redone wool room.
It's so organized in there now that I marvel every time I walk in the room to pack up an order.

^^This is looking into the room from the hallway door.  ^^

The cupboard is perfect for storing my bolts of wool. The cupboard shelves hold my yardage wools which are felted and ready to go.  I have the bolts of felted wool on the table shelf (I will be painting that red table soon) in the corner too.

 I sorted all of my wool colors and now store the colors in plastic bins on this shelving unit.
To the left of this shelf is a nice big closet which stores all my mailing and packing supplies. It also stores all of the packaged pattern wool kits. 

 A nice big table for measuring & cutting wool orders.  My old sewing machine cabinet is right under the window. I have an old quilt on it so that the kitties can lay and look out the window in comfort without scratching the pretty wood cabinet.  The kitties love this window and I do believe that they have claimed this room as their own.  It's great that I have no wool exposed now for them to lay on or to play with.  That really reduces the time that I spend with the lint roller on wool.

The large bin under the table holds the pattern kit wools.  Each pattern has it's own ziplock bag which contains the wools that I use to pack kits.  I keep an inventory list now so that I know exactly which colors are running low.  My dye days are much more organized now that I know what colors I will be needing to dye.

 Another big table which I can use for cutting wool and for my computer station.
Best of all, I now have room to keep the ironing board up.  It's so handy having it here in the room.
I have wall book shelves that I will be hanging on this bare wall. Hubby will probably do that for me  this week.

 I've stacked two old chest of drawers.  I have all of my cotton fabrics in the black chest and I have more wool stored in the white chest.  I plan to paint both chest this summer a soft yellow with creamy white accents.  It will due for now the way it is but seeing this picture is a good motivation to get it done soon! 

 I still have some wall shelves to install and other things to hang on the wall, but I want to keep it simple so that it doesn't become too cluttered.  It's only a 11' x 12' space so I'm going to do my best to keep it cleaned and organized just as it is now.

  

That's all for now!  Some of you ladies will be happy to know that I'm working on another flower design. I get so many requests for flowers, I have trouble keeping up!

 This new one is really simple and pretty with a light yellow background,(like my wool room walls) and purple flower colors.  I might change it to blues instead though ...whichever it is, it should be done and ready by next week.

Happy Day everyone!

Trick? Or Treat? <-----New Pattern!

I designed this new Halloween candle mat just for my grandson ....

My grandson loves creepy bugs & snakes and he loves surprises.

He carries plastic bugs in his pants pocket and he loves to scare me by hiding them in different places around our house.  I've found a realistic rubber mouse in my fridge and a plastic spider under my wool project.  Last week during dinner, he tossed a handful of squiggy snakes onto the dinner table!

 This candle mat is my way to squelch his desire to scare me!

The mouths in each of these scarey faces have openings so that 

creepy tricks or sweet treats can be hidden inside.  

It's fun to watch his face as he slowly pushes his hand into a mouth, not knowing what's in there.

The price is $9.00 for the pattern which includes shipping for US & Canada customers.

The design measure 15" across and is shown made with 100% wool. To save on expense, any or all of the wool requirements can easily be substituted with woolfelt.

If you'd rather not pay with a credit card or Paypal, just email me at cathspennies@gmail.com and I'll send you my mailing address.

Wool kits are also available for this candle mat.  The kit price includes the pattern and all of the wool needed to complete the candle mat.  There's lots of hand dyed wool in this one!

Visit my website HERE for the wool kit.

I have to say that this candle mat is the first one, EVER, that my daughter has claimed for herself. She has always appreciated the different candle mats and things that I've made, but it's just not her decorating style to have any in her own home.  This one will be the first!

After I finished making this candle mat, I called my grandson to ask if he would donate a few of his creepy crawly creatures to use for display.  He immediately gathered up all that he could find and brought a large bag full of them for me.  We had fun choosing which creepy creature to use.

 He is so so proud that some of his "tricks" are featured on the pattern front picture . 

My grandson is anxiously awaiting the cicada appearance this summer. I'm NOT looking forward to his cicada pranks that he will surely be playing on me!

Happy Day everyone!

I'm Back!

After watching the dismal end to the Penquins/Bruins hockey game last night ....

I realized that I really missed blogging.  I need to vent and this is the best place to do it.
The Pens lost badly and they're done for this season.  This is the season that I thought....most people thought that they would go all the way.  But for whatever reason, they played badly.  Horribly.  The Bruins are deserving of this sweep.  I'm bitter. I'm embarrassed because they played so badly but I also feel sympathy for what surely is a huge disappointment for the team.

But anyway, I'm back because I need this place to vent.  I need to get back to reading what everyone else is doing. I've missed writing.  Just as my fingers miss stitching after I haven't done it for a while, my brain misses typing out all the things that rattle around in my brain. 
So, I'm back!
I'll start by showing what I've been doing these last few months.
When I last blogged, it was right before Easter and I had to get the dining room cleaned out.  I did get hubby to put up a display board for me so that all of my finished work could be hung properly.

Here's the board that he constructed for me.  It's a square wooden frame which is covered with heavy duck cloth.  I considered burlap but I was concerned that the burlap would stretch over time with all the pinned weight of the candle mats.  Duck cloth is heavy and thick and is working really nicely.
I don't have a picture right now of the candle mats hanging ... I took most of them down to send away for a quilt show and have yet to hang them back up. Later today, I'll hang the models back up and take a picture to show how nice the finished project turned out.
It's perfect for me because now I simply pin the finished candle mat on the board for display instead of flopping anywhere it would fit. 

Once that was done and Easter was over, I was motivated to get more organization done in the house.  My "wool room" which is the room where all of my wool is stored was a disorganized disaster!
I emptied it completely out, painted, had new carpeting installed and bought some shelving.
Here are some pics of the work in progress ....

 This used to be our daughter Jen's room.  She was a really decoratively creative girl even when she was a teenager so I permitted her to redecorate her room however she wanted.  She had the walls & ceiling painted a pretty light chocolate brown.  But with only one window in the room, the color is too dark for my taste so I wanted to brighten it up.

 Jen also hated her pale blue carpeting so one day during her 17th year of life, she purchased lots of packages of Rit Tan dye and guess what she did? ... Yes indeed, she dyed her carpet.  She blames it on the TV show "Trading Spaces" now.  She got the idea from the show.  Anyway, the carpeting, to my dismay and her great satisfaction, became a mottled brown mess.  I hated it every day I walked in that room!  But she loved her finished product so I quietly seethed and have lived with it for the next 10 or so years!

 Here's the finished room.  Pretty pale yellow brightens my spirit every time I walk in now.

 I made some light cotton curtains for the window and the ugly dyed carpeting is replaced with a nice neutral shade of golden brown.

I did have pictures of the room once I added the shelving and storage spaces, but I don't know for sure what happened to them.  It's a lovely happy room now and so completely organized that I marvel at it's wonderfullness everytime I step into the room.  :)

There are more renovations to come soon.  The dining room & living room are next and I hope to have that finished by the end of summer.  The upstairs sunporch will be redone in early fall. 

 I've been so busy with catching up on things around the house, I took a small break from stitching and designing.   I do have a new Halloween design ready to go though and I hope to have it shown on my website by the end of the day and announced/described here on the blog by tomorrow.
Here's a sneak peak of what's to come!

Happy Day everyone and I'll be posting the new Halloween design tomorrow!