Cath's Pennies Designs

“Shamrocks!” New Pattern!

2012-02-01T18:24:00.001-05:00

This is shown made with 100% wool and my own hand-dyed green shamrock wool, but woolfelt can easily be substituted for any or all of the wool requirements to save on $$.

The finished size is about 12 1/2” across and it’s really quick to stitch up. The pattern has a layout sheet which shows the exact placement for each shamrock and the vines. Super easy!

Special introductory price for this new pattern is only $8.00 which includes shipping. Just click on the Paypal button over there on the left sidebar to purchase. (Note:, this price is for US & Canada only. International customers will just pay a small additional amount for the extra shipping)

I also have an E-pattern available for download which is $5.25. The epattern is available at PatternMart or at PatternCupboard.

I have my own special hand-dyed green wool available for this design too.

For $4.00, which includes shipping, you’ll get the three different textured wools. It’s enough green shamrock wool to make one candle mat plus a little extra.

Total size of all three wool pieces together is about 6” x 7”

Of course, if you don’t wish to pay with Paypal, I accept personal checks or money orders. Just email me at cathspennies@gmail.com to get my mailing info.

Happy Day Everyone!

Getting Around To It!

2012-01-10T11:58:00.001-05:00

I’m going to have to admit it now. I’m bad at organizing my time.

Procrastination isn’t really the problem because it’s not that I want to put things off, it’s just fitting the time in to actually do the things that need to be done.

Oh, I’ve been wanting to write in this blog … I have plenty of things to write about. It’s just that there’s always something else that manages to take up my time.

Ok, wait, playing a PlayStation game this morning instead of writing in my blog or doing the end of the year bookkeeping stuff is actually procrastination.

So I guess I do tend to procrastinate a bit and this kinda proves that I’m full of contradictions too!

I’m going to do my best to start being more organized with my time.

I think I’ll make up a schedule and stick to it…

**Right here in this spot you should see a picture of a STICK with “TUIT” engraved into it. I couldn’t find a picture in Google images so you’ll just have to imagine it!**

Just thinking about organizing my time is rather overwhelming. I’d much rather hire someone to do it for me. I wonder if someone would be willing to follow me around every day and give me suggestions about what it is that should be done next. That makes me giggle a bit because that would probably last about 10 minutes and then I’d secretly want to shove a sock in my organizer’s mouth and shove him/her into the closet.

I think that a better idea would be to hire someone to do all the work for me!

I made a friend at the grocery store yesterday. My new friend is 92 years old and he was out grocery shopping by himself. His shopping cart had all kinds of goodies and he told me that this was the second grocery store he was shopping at because the first one didn’t have the mushroom caps he was looking for.

He went on to tell me that he was going home to cook dinner for his 61 year old daughter. Stuffed mushrooms … some stuffed with crabmeat and others stuffed with sausage. Sooo much energy for 92.

Now, I tell you, if I ever reach 92 years old and I’m of sound mind, like my new friend is, I certainly would not be grocery shopping and then cooking dinner for other people … but then again, maybe that’s why this guy is 92 and of sound mind. He’s active, driving, cooking, and extremely friendly with strangers. I don’t think that’s going to be me at 92. I do tend to be extremely friendly with strangers though….and someday when I get a ROUND TUIT , I’ll tell more about how I am a magnet to strangers.

I’m going to stop rambling now!

Happy Day everyone!

Chalk Pencils / Markers

2011-12-27T11:23:00.003-05:00

Wow, I’ve really been ignoring my blog and I’m going to make an attempt to correct my ways. I’m back!
Did everyone have a wonderful Christmas? I sure did!
So, I just received an email with a question about chalk markers and which ones are the best to use.

I use chalk markers quite a lot. It helps to keep my embroidery stitches straight. For some reason, and I’ve tried and tried, but I just can’t stitch straight lines without a drawn line to stitch on. Even if it’s a short 1-2 inch straight line, I can’t stitch straight!
So my chalk marker is my like a best friend and I always keep it handy.

A Good Tip! Removing white chalk from your wool…..
First of all, when marking your wool with chalk, mark LIGHTLY.
This way the chalk stays on the surface and is not embedded in the wool.
After stitching along the white chalk line, I lightly brush the white chalk off with my fingers and then give the wool a good shake. Most times, this removes all residue of chalk. If there is still visible signs of chalk lines, simply take a scrap of wool which is the same color and lightly rub along the line of chalk. Then give the wool a good shake. This should take it out completely.

Now, I do have to say that the two markers that I’m going to show are my own personal preferences. I’m happy with both of these so I’ve never tried any others. If you have a marker that you love to use, share it with us in the comments.
Both of these were purchased long ago from my local quilt shop. Your local quilt shop probably carries nifty little notions and gadgets. The helpful staff loves to give suggestions and help to find you exactly what you need.
The first one is the one that I use the most.
This pencil comes as a set which includes a sharpener and lots of chalk sticks. The chalk holder holds one long chalk stick. When the yellow button at the top is depressed, it releases the chalk to lower it as the chalk wears down. I’ve used this for years and I’ve only used two white chalk sticks so far. I never use the colored chalk, just the white.

And just a word of warning: I never use colored chalk because it tends to stain the wool and can be very difficult to remove from the fabric.
The white chalk, if used lightly will always either brush off or can be rubbed off, leaving no signs of marking. More on that later …

The other marker that I use is this one:
This one hold powdered chalk and has a little metal wheel for drawing the line. It makes a cute clicking sound as it’s rolled across the fabric and my grandson used to love to draw on fabric ..and his arm and face and legs with it.
Extra powder can be found at quilt shops or at Joann’s and it’s easy to fill. This marker makes a real fine line and sometimes it’s too fine of a line to use on thick wool which is why I mostly use the other marker instead. I used this one all the time when I quilted with cotton fabric. This can be purchased with yellow chalk, but again, I always use white chalk in it so that it won’t stain my wool.

I just now did a search on Joann fabrics website and see that both of these are available on their website. I believe I’ve seen them in the stores too so next time you’re there, look in the quilting section for the rack of quilting notions.

Click on the link to go to the website: --->>Chalk Pencil at Joann’s

Click on the link to go to the website:--->>Chalk Marker at Joann’s

Another word of warning about colored chalk: If you’re tempted to use colored chalk for marking your cotton fabric or for wool, do a test sample first. In all of my experience, the colored chalk never comes out completely, no matter what I do to try to remove it.
I don’t even take a chance anymore. If I have white wool, I’d rather draw lightly with pencil to mark it rather than use colored chalk. The pencil line is easily covered over with the thread whereas the chalk colors tends to spread/bleed outside of the thread line.

Ok! That’s it for today. I know some of you ladies have favorite chalk markers that you use. Share your favorites in the comment section so that we can help those who are chalkless!

Also, my website has lots of other helpful tips for working with wool …just click HERE to find the list on my website.

Happy Day!

Thanksgiving & Black Friday Weekend Celebrations!

2011-11-23T01:21:00.002-05:00

I’ll tell you something … We here at the Cath’s Pennies Designs house really have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.

Oh yes indeed, we are thankful here.

To celebrate our thankfulness, I’m having an Open House at my brand new website.
Details for the Open House and the special sale are on the website.
I just sent out a newsletter which also gives details of the open house.
If you have not received the newsletter but are sure that you signed up for it, go check your spam folder to see if it’s in there.
Or, if you signed up for it but never confirmed the subscription, then check your spam folder for the email confirmation notice.
Or, just try signing up again and then watch for the confirmation notice.
Anyway, my new website is http://www.cathspenniesdesigns.com/
I’ll tell you, it wasn’t fun getting it up and running, but I do have to pat myself on the back for being determined to figuring it all out. I admit there was that one Sunday night that I was so frustrated, I wanted to just pay someone to do it all for me. I didn’t give up though.

So, special celebrations for Thanksgiving day are …. on my new website … all patterns are only $6.00 each. Shipping is free for US and my lovely Canadian friends. From 8am to midnight on Thanksgiving. (eastern standard time) So get yourself outta that kitchen, sit back with your computer for 10 –15 minutes and order yourself some patterns!
If you can’t get to it on Thanksgiving day, then Friday, all day, I’ll sell you any and all of my patterns for only $6.75 each. If you take a look around on the website at different times during the day on Friday, you might even be able to snag something up for free! I’m doing some quiet little giveaways but you have to pay attention!
If you can’t shop on Thursday or Friday, I’ll still give you a chance for special sale priced patterns! On Saturday & Sunday, all patterns are $7.85 each.
Just go to the website for more info and the exact times but basically, the earlier you shop, the better the deal. You need to take a break on Thanksgiving. The guys all sit and watch football while you work… take a break and make them go in to peel potatoes while you do some shopping!

I do have a favor to ask of you ladies. I have a special place on my website that will be devoted to pictures of the projects or “art” you have made. I’d love it if they are pictures of a candle mat from my pattern but it can be anything else that you wouldn’t mind sharing with the viewing public. I will credit your name and website and give any info you wish about it. If you’re selling it, I’ll give links to where it can be purchased. But the page is devoted to my oh so wonderful online friends who just happen to be customers also.
I’d especially would love to show one of my pattern designs made up differently than the pattern picture. If you’ve done that, we would all love to see it!

With all of that I want to wish all of you very special readers a very happy and thankfully thankful Thanksgiving. I treasure my customers who have become friends and I’m ever so thankful for all of your kind words of support and encouragement!
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

“Two Olde Crowz” New Pattern For Valentine’s Day!

2011-11-16T13:29:00.002-05:00

Did you know that real crows mate for life?
Granny and Gramps Crow are still in love after all these years!
Granny is decked out in her Sunday hat and Gramps has his reading glasses on

The finished candle mat measures 14” across. The picture shows it made with 100% wool but woolfelt can be substituted for any or all of the wool requirements to save on expense.
The crows eyeglasses are made with jewelry jump rings and for a limited time, the pattern will include one set of the rings.
To purchase more, they can be easily found at Joann’s or Michaels in the jewelry/bead aisle.
Basic hand-stitching … blanket stitch, french knots, straight stitch & whip stitch.
Wool kits are available too

To purchase the mailed pattern CLICK HERE

To purchase the instant download E-Pattern, Click Pattern Mart OR Pattern Cupboard

To purchase the Wool Kit with Pattern CLICK HERE

Wish to pay with check instead of credit card/Paypal? Just email me
cathy@cathspenniesdesigns.com and I’ll send you my mailing info.

Thanks so much ladies!
Happy Day!

New Design … With The Help Of A Friend!

2011-11-14T00:24:00.003-05:00

I always have ideas for designs in my head. Only a few of them make it onto paper though. The rest of the ideas are either stored away, deep in the file cabinet of my brain or just forgotten.
When I do draw out the design in my head onto paper, sometimes it flows easily and quickly onto paper. Other times though, it’s a battle between my brain and my fingers.

My fingers sometimes just can’t draw what my brain wants them to draw and it turns into frustrations.
This is what was going on with me one day a few weeks ago. My brain and fingers were having a battle.
I had a Valentine design in my head with cute bumble bees and hearts. I just couldn’t draw the bee’s legs to dangle over the edge of the heart the way my brain wanted it to look. My eraser was smoking hot from all the work it was doing and I was in complete frustration.

In between my battle and eraser smoking, I was exchanging emails with a customer. This customer was making me chuckle because she seemed to be having a battle of her own …only it was with her computer and trying to figure out how to correct a problem with her order.

We finally got it worked out and she was a sweetheart during the entire time. In and out went our emails and I noticed at one point that her email name was “TwoOldeCrowz”.

Now, I have a thing for crows, you should all know. I’ve said many times in my blog that I really dislike crows. They’re obnoxious and loud and they wake me up in the morning with their caws.

But yet, I did a crow design a few months ago which sold pretty well and then I did a turkey design which is …at least in my design head … a relative of my crow …

So anyway, to make a loooong story short, Dawn of the twooldecrowz, gave me the inspiration to scrap that bumble bee idea and to stick with crows.
So here is the birth of my ~~bumble bee Valentine~~ 2 Olde Crowz.
I don’t know about you but two olde crowz makes me think of a sweet elderly couple that have been happily married for 50 years. The gentleman has his spectacles and the lady has on her special Sunday hat.
This is what my bumble bee candle mat turned into ….

And this is the entire candle mat finished …..

“2 Olde Crowz”

This new design pattern should be ready to sell on Wednesday so stop back then if you like it. I’ll have it at a very special price just for my blog readers. I know it’s early to think about Valentines Day, but c’mon, Christmas will be here and over before you know it and you’ll need to have something ready to work on when that time comes!

Dawn, thank you for helping me through my bumble bee turmoil.

Bless her heart for her sweet emails and her touching story that gives even more meaning to that two olde crowz name!

Happy Day everyone!

Thinking Outside of the Pattern!

2011-10-18T09:44:00.001-04:00

About 15 years ago, I remember walking into my local quilt shop, with quilt pattern in hand, and asking the owner for the exact fabric colors that were called for in the pattern.

Maxine, the owner told me that sure, she could show me the exact colors to use, but she suggested that I think outside the ~~box~~ pattern.

She explained that so many ladies want to make something exactly like the pattern picture shows but they could so easily make it look completely different if only they would choose the fabrics they really loved instead.

She offered to help me select colors using the fabric colors that I really loved in her shop. And I learned then to think outside of the pattern.

And this is why I always encourage customers to visit their local quilt shops. Each time I visited that store, I learned something new. They are there to help you become a better stitcher/sewer. You might pay a little less at your local Joann fabrics, but you will never get the service or the lessons like you do at your quilt shop.

So anyway…. haha … I was messing around with my pattern pictures, resizing and touching up, when I discovered a feature in my photo program called “metallic gold”.

Here’s what it did to my “Apple Blossoms” candle mat picture:

What pretty Fall colors!

So what used to be a Spring/Summer candle mat:

Can be made into a pretty candle mat for Fall, just by changing the colors!

So take a look at your patterns again and try to imagine what it might look like if you changed up the colors a bit!

And speaking of Fall. Rachel bought some deeelishous pumpkin cookies from the grocery store bakery. They were puffy and cake-like with a thin frosting on top. If anyone has a good pumpkin cookie recipe, please send it my way. I’ve found it to be so much better to use recipes that other people recommend rather than opening a cookbook.

Happy Day everyone!

New Pattern ----> “The Melt”

2011-10-07T08:43:00.003-04:00

My new pattern …. Just in time for your holiday gift-giving stitching!
I’m calling this one “The Melt” It’s really a trick for the eyes…
Take a look at this picture…

Were your eyes naturally drawn to those cute little red cardinals?
….and then did you look down and discover that the cardinal is nesting on a melted snowman? Yeap. It’s a surprise for the eyes!

It’s smaller than most of my other designs. It’s just a little over 12” across … just the perfect size for a votive candle holder or a small pillar candle.
The really nice thing about this is that it takes very little wool to make this. 12 1/2” wool for the front and backing and then all the rest of the wool is just small scraps with the white wool just needing 4” x 12” . So for very little $$, this can be a wonderful gift for anyone!
The picture shows it on a blue background but black would look just as nice.
Just click on the Paypal button on the left to purchase the mailed pattern.

The e-pattern is also available for this. You can purchase it from my PatternMart site CLICK HERE or from my Pattern Cupboard site CLICK HERE
Oh yes, …almost forgot… if you wish to pay by personal check instead, just email me and I’ll send you my mailing address. cathspennies@gmail.com

I really do hope to start back to my regular posting. Life has been rather hectic this past summer, but I will fight to get myself back on a regular posting schedule …simply because I miss it!
Happy Day everyone !

“Stuffed Turkey!” New Pattern!

2011-09-10T01:46:00.001-04:00

The finished size of the beauty is 14” round.

Those turkeys just make me smile. We have a lot of wild turkeys in our area and I’m always amazed that something so big and heavy can get itself up off the ground and fly. But they do! They look like bombs falling from the sky when they land too … I’ve been scared a few times while driving to see a turkey bomb landing along the side of the road.

But these turkeys aren’t flying anywhere. They’re stuffed full!

It’s a lot of stitching and all the wool along with the detailed stitching makes this a really nice heavy mat.

I recommend 100% wool to make this but woolfelt can be substituted for any or all of the wool requirements.

Pattern price is a special $8.50 for the next few days. After that, the price will go up to the regular price of 9.50. This price includes shipping for US and those super friendly Canadians. (I love Canadians :) Just click up there on the left to order and Paypal pay.

I will have wool kits available too. Unfortunately, I’m completely out of the wool that I need for this. I’ll get my Woolrich wool order delivered Monday for sure so wool kits will be ready to go by the end of next week once I get it all dyed and ready. More info about this in the next few days.

Don’t want to use Paypal? I accept personal checks! Just email me

cathspennies@gmail.com and I’ll give you my mailing address.

Do you like E-Patterns instead of mailed patterns?

I have that available too!

Go to my Pattern Mart site HERE

Or go to my Pattern Cupboard site HERE to order the E-Pattern.

Happy Day everyone!

I Made a Turkey! New Design Soon!

2011-09-09T10:09:00.002-04:00

Last year, I had several requests to do a turkey candle mat.
I spent quite a bit of time drawing out and stitching a really nice turkey mat and it turned out beautiful! There was a problem with it though … and it was a BIG problem. I couldn’t get a good picture of it for the front of the pattern because I made it with muliple dark colors.
I just couldn’t get the picture to show the details, so I gave up, thinking that I’ll do another one for this year using different, lighter colors.
I can’t bring myself to making another one though. It wasn’t fun for me to make to begin with because it was basically 8 turkeys in a circle. They had no personality.
I sat down last week and gave my turkey some personality….

It was inspired by my Crows in my “Those Blasted Crows” design…

But yet different….

As I was stitching it, I got the comment from hubby …. “it looks like the crow” …. I didn’t listen to him.

Then I got the comment from my 4 1/2 year old grandson, Kaiden,

“It looks like the crow, granma”.

I didn’t listen to him either.

My best designs came from not listening to the comments while I’m stitching. *chuckle*

This is my turkey with personality….

Introducing: Stuffed Turkey!

I should have the pattern ready to sell tomorrow so come back if you wish to make this for yourself!

Also, I have a newsletter almost ready to go out. If you haven't signed up for my newsletter, just click up there on the left sidebar. I am trying to get one out once a month, but it's been hectic lately and I haven't been able to. Be assured that I won't bother you more than once a month with my mail in your inbox...mostly because I haven't the time!

If you think you've signed up but haven't received any newsletters, sign up again and then be sure to check your spam inbox to make sure the newsletter confirmation wasn't delivered there.

I will be offering a Christmas stitching special in the newsletter so be sure to watch for it!

Happy Day everyone!

New Pattern! Black-Eyed Susans

2011-08-31T12:13:00.002-04:00

It’s that time of year when I see the Black-eyed Susans everywhere.
They remind me that Fall is approaching.
This is a design that I created a few years back and sold as finished candle mats. I had so many requests for the pattern recently, I decided it was time to sell the pattern.
Here it is…

“Black-Eyed Susans”

Wool Appliqué Penny Rug Candle Mat

Finished size: 13” round

This one is really easy to stitch. Since the flower petals are loose, they only need stitched in the center to attach them. The center green circle and stems are done with a stem stitch and the gold scallop circle that weaves in and out are done with a simple backstitch.

So pretty! So easy!

The pattern price is only $9.50 which includes shipping to US and Canada.

Click on the Paypal button on the left to purchase or if you wish to pay with a check, just email me cathspennies@gmail.com .

Wool kits are available for this too. Kit price includes:

*The pattern

*Pretty speckled black wool for the background & backing

*Hand-dyed gold and green wool for the flowers and leaves.

*Shipping (international customers will need to pay a little extra)

Kit price is $36.00

If interested, just email me cathspennies@gmail.com

I have a downloadable E-pattern available for this too. Patternmart and Pattern Cupboard will have the E-pattern available soon … links will be added here soon .

Happy Day everyone!

Cutting a Perfect Background Candle Mat Scallop

2011-08-18T10:19:00.002-04:00

I have to say, I have the best customers! I really REALLY appreciate all the thoughtful and kind emails I get from them.
I welcome any and all questions and always invite customers to please ask for any help they might need along their stitching way.
I even get questions about how to stitch other designers patterns and I help when I can.
Recently, it was brought to my attention that perhaps the instructions for creating/tracing the background scallop needs to be more specific. I’ve done literally hundreds of these scallops in so many different shapes and sizes that it’s a simple, non-thinking process for me but I do have to keep in mind that those of you who are new to this might not find it so easy.
So, I’m here, right now, to make this step-by-step and easy!
To get started, you’ll need one of my candle mat patterns, a pencil, and a sheet of Freezer Paper.
Tear off a sheet of freezer paper that will be large enough to fit the entire background shape …usually about 15” square or so.
For my patterns, I try my best to have the background shape printed on a legal size sheet of paper( 8.5” x 14”) so that the shape only needs traced twice for the background.
For those ladies who have downloaded my epatterns or for a few of my patterns where the shape is too large to fit on a legal size sheet of paper, the background shape will need to be traced 4 times to create the background. Sorry, there’s no avoiding that issue.
Lay the sheet of freezer paper over the pattern background. You should be able to easily see the black lines of the pattern through the freezer paper. If not, then try taping the pattern to a sunny window.
Trace the shape onto your freezer paper.
Here, you see, I have half the pattern drawn. At this point you might be tempted to line the straight edge up on the fold of your wool and cut through double thickness of the wool. DO NOT DO IT!
The wool is too thick to be able to cut it accurately that way. The pattern needs to be laid out on a single thickness of wool.
Take the little bit of extra time and do this right!
So, flip your sheet of freezer paper to the opposite side …
Line up the straight edges and draw it once again to create the complete scallop.
If the pattern needs traced four times, just line up all four corners in the center to create the entire scallop.
Once the pattern is traced, simply rough cut around the drawn shape …
Take it to your ironing board . Turn the iron on to the wool setting with NO STEAM. You need a dry iron for this.
With the plastic/shiny side down, and the paper side UP, iron the freezer paper onto your wool. The center doesn't need much but be sure to iron the edges well so the paper holds well when it’s time to cut. The heat of the iron will warm that plastic coating just enough to stick to the wool.
Once it’s cool, simply cut the shape along the traced lines.
See!? We’ve created the perfect scallop shape.
The freezer paper peels off easily but be sure to slide your fingers around the edges to loosen first before peeling so that the wool doesn’t stretch.
This is why I always so highly recommend using freezer paper instead of just pinning the pattern onto the wool.
Wool stretches so easily, pinning the pattern and cutting just doesn’t give the accuracy that freezer paper gives. The freezer paper holds that wool tight so there’s no stretching. It’s especially good to use when a lot of detailed shape cutting is required … like my “Jingle Bell Candy Cane” pattern or the “Christmas Sugar Cookie” pattern. Those backgrounds have a lot of twists and turns so a tight holding freezer paper will give you accuracy when cutting.
The traced freezer paper shape can be used over several times too so one tracing can get you sometimes (depending on the wool) 4-5 uses before needed fresh freezer paper.

Ok, I really hope that helps to clarify the instructions for the backgrounds. As always, I welcome any suggestions that will help me to make your stitching easier.
Happy Day everyone!

.

“Christmas Sparkle” <<-----LQQK!! ---->>New Pattern

2011-08-08T10:05:00.001-04:00

Heeey y’all! Yes, I’m alive. I’ve not been around in blogland for a while, I know. I’m going to try to do a better job of keeping up simply because I really miss it. It’s been extremely busy here at the home of Cath’s Pennies Designs. Summer has whipped me with lots of heat and lots of outside work, leaving me no extra morning time for blogging.

But, I’m here to announce my newest design fresh from the printer…

Christmas Sparkle!

This wool candle mat measures 15” round and it’s difficult to tell from the picture, but I used special metallic threads for just about all of the stitching, These metallic threads make the entire mat “sparkle” in the light.

Don’t let the thought of metallic threads scare you off from stitching this though. The DMC red and the gold threads are easily found at Joann fabric or anywhere that DMC embroidery floss is sold. The metallic threads hang right next to the floss.

This is what you’d look for at Joanns or at Michaels Crafts.

The pattern is available for sale right now.

I’m offering the mailed pattern to my blog readers at a special price of $8.00(US & Canada, all others will just have to pay a little extra for shipping)

After next Wednesday evening, the price will go up to the regular selling price of $9.50.

Click on the Paypal button over there on the left to purchase the mailed pattern. If you wish to download the E-pattern for this, then go to PatternMart HERE or at Pattern Cupboard HERE

If you wish to pay by personal check, just email me for my mailing address cathspennies@gmail.com

Wool is available for this. The special hand-dyed red mottled wool used for the ornament and the green wool for the ivy leaves can be purchased for $11.99 plus $1.50 shipping.

Email me with your interest and I’ll send you a Paypal invoice .

Happy Day everyone!

“Those Blasted Crows!” NEW PATTERN!

2011-07-05T09:06:00.002-04:00

Did you know that crows are considered one of the smartest birds?
This new pattern is to honor those smart, but obnoxiously annoying birds.
There must be something to like about crows … I just haven’t figured it out other than to make them somewhat cute on a candle mat design!
The finished size of this candle mat is 14” round. The picture shows it made with 100% wool but woolfelt can easily be substituted for any or all of the wool requirements to help save on expense.
The special new release price for this pattern is $8.00 which includes shipping to anywhere in the US or Canada. It will be $.75 more for all other international orders. (i’ntl customers email me before paying please) The pattern price will go up to the regular selling price of $9.50 on Thursday, so order now to save $$.

An instant downloadable E-Pattern is available for this design. The price for the E-Pattern is $5.00. The E-pattern can be downloaded at Pattern Mart or at The Pattern Cupboard

If you wish to pay by check instead of Paypal, just email me
cathspennies@gmail.com and I’ll send you my mailing address info.
I have wool kits available to go along with the pattern too.
The price is $38.00 including the shipping cost and the pattern.
That price includes all the washed and felted wool fabric* needed to make this.
(100% wool …no woolfelt)
*my own hand-dyed green background, orange & gold wools. The wool for the crows is a speckled black wool.
If interested in the wool kits, just email me cathspennies@gmail.com and I’ll send you an invoice for payment.

Happy Day everyone!

Oh Those Annoying Crows!

2011-07-01T10:32:00.001-04:00

Somewhere, in a previous post, I made mention of how much I dislike crows.

Real crows are annoying, obnoxious, loud and GIANT PESTS. If you’ve ever had crows nesting in trees close to your house, you will understand completely.

I know they’re popular in primitive decorating so managing my distaste for them, I have included crows in some of my designs.

However, I have always said that the crows that I draw for designs will always be nasty and realistically crow-like. I’ve refused to make them adorable and cute …..

Gosh …. until now!

My newest design doesn’t have a name yet…. I really want to name it

“DaMn Crows” but that really wouldn’t be appropriate, I guess.

We’ve been fortunate the last year or so to NOT have nesting crows on our property. Sure, I can hear them once in a while, cawing and being obnoxious, but they’re not waking me in the morning.

That’s probably the main reason why I’m so willing to make some cute crows. But I think I jinxed myself because wouldn’t you know it …

I was just finishing up some of the very last stitches on this yesterday morning when I went to the front door, opened it to let in fresh air, only to see TWO &!!# CROWS out in the driveway!

And since I mentioned finishing up the last stitches on this … does this always happen to you too ?…

This seems to happen to me every time … I get THIS^^ close to finishing and run out of thread!

Anyway, the new crow design pattern should be ready to sell on Monday. I still have to think of a name for it …. leaving curse words out!

Happy Day everyone!

“Climbing Clematis” New Pattern!

2011-06-20T08:40:00.002-04:00

This is definitely one of those designs that the picture just doesn’t do it justice.
This looks pretty on a table, but honestly, it’s gorgeous hanging on a wall. The big splashy lifelike flowers really stand out against the trellis. I think the living room wall is where my “Climbing Clematis” is going to go.
The finished size of this is 10” x 26”.
The pattern is now available to purchase.
The special “brand new pattern” price is $8.50 which includes shipping. This price will be good until Wednesday evening at which time the price will go to the regular selling price of $9.50. (US & Canada. Int’l customers will just pay a little more for postage)
Just click on the Paypal button over on the left by the picture to purchase the mailed pattern. If you wish to pay by check, just email me cathspennies@gmail.com and I’ll give you my mailing address.

I’m going to try something new by offering this pattern as an instant downloadable E-Pattern. If you’re interested in purchasing this in a E-Pattern instead of the mailed pattern, just click HERE go over to the Pattern Cupboard website to find the purchase info. The downloaded E-Pattern is $5.00.
Wool Kits are available for this too.
The kit price is $40.00 plus $2.00 shipping.
That price includes:
*the pattern
*the tweedy black background wool (this is exceptionally nice thick, soft wool)
*the hand-dyed purple, green and yellow wools
*the white wool that is used for the trellis/lattice. (it will be cut into strips for you)
All the wool is new off-the-bolt 100% wools which have been washed and felted for you.
If you’d like to purchase the kit, email me cathspennies@gmail.com
Any questions? Just email me!
Thank you ladies!
Happy Day!

.

Climbing Clematis Let’s make it!

2011-06-17T11:23:00.001-04:00

I love Clematis flowers….

For the longest time I wasn’t able to grow it. We had a golden retriever named Trixie who found it to be a tasty snack. I probably tried at least a dozen times to buy it and plant it only to have Trixie eat it. I gave up … until she died. Now I can grow Clematis, but I can’t help but think about her fond craving for it every time I look at it growing outside.

My hubby made me a pretty trellis so that it climb up the brick at the side of our house. See how I get my inspirations?

Since I wasn’t sure that I could pull off the perfect image of this that was in my head ….

I picked some of the real flowers, along with the leaves and laid them out on the lattice background. I liked how it looked so …

Onward we go. I’ll show you how to make this!

Now please remember, I’m doing this tutorial so that you can see it’s pretty easy to stitch and you’ll want to purchase the pattern to make it for yourself. I really hope that ya’ll know that you will have to buy the pattern to make it and not try to make it without the purchased pattern .. that would be a form of stealing and it would make me sad….

Ok, here goes! …..Starting with the background wool, I quickly basted right up the center of the wool to make it easier to center the lattice strips.

This basting stitch will be removed once the lattice is stitched on.

I lined up my first set of lattice strips, measuring according to the pattern directions to get them centered correctly.

To make it easier to keep the strips at an equal distance apart, I cut squares of paper to set inbetween the strips. I pinned the strips in place. I lined up the center points of the lattice with the center basting stitch on the background wool.

Pinning just a few rows at a time, I blanket stitched all sides.

Pinning and stitching a few rows makes it easier to keep the strips spaced correctly. You can see that the strips are woven in a out like a basket-weave.

This does take some time, but if you use lots of pins, it’s really not difficult. The spacing doesnt even have to be perfect because the flowers and leaves will cover up any flaws.

After all the lattice is stitched, I flipped it over and cut off the white lattice tails to make them even with the black background wool.

Ok, the lattice is finished! You can see from this picture that they’re not perfectly angled lattice, but as long as that it’s centered on the background wool, any other imperfections won’t be noticeable.

The flowers are super easy to stitch. I pinned the first one on and just did a backstitch up each one of the flower petals.

I pulled the thread tight before knoting it in the back so that the petal is just a bit puckered. If you don’t want the petals to pucker, then be sure to loosely stitch that backstitch.

For the clematis flower center, I whipstitched it in place and then …

filled the area with french knots ….

See how the flower center looks on the real flower? I tried to duplicate that …

To do that, with knotted thread, I took a stitch from the top.

The knot with the little tail is pulled down and now …

I’ll just take another tiny stitch, knot it at the top and …. then I trim the tail threads.

I repeated this all around the outside edge. Make as few or as many as you wish but I found that making lots of the loose tails looked a bit too messy. I’m quite happy with the look of them just around the outside edge.

The leaves are simply backstitched up the centers.

It’s just about done! I just need to attach the backing.

For the backing, I used black cotton linen-like fabric. I cut the rectangle 1” larger than the the wool background and ironed a 1/2” around the edge. After pinning the backing on, I blanket stitched around the edges … using black thread in the black areas and white thread on the white lattice areas.

I know that takes extra time to switch over the threads … if you don’t want to go to that extra effort, it could be done in all white threads or all black threads.

Either way … it will turn out absolutely gorgeous!

The pattern should be ready to sell this Monday, June 20th. I’ll have wool kits available and if things go well, I hope to have a downloadable E-Pattern for this too!

Happy Day everyone!

Save Time! --->Make Pattern Templates

2011-06-14T10:51:00.001-04:00

Gosh, I haven’t posted for a few weeks … it feels good to be back!

Summertime is always busy for me with outdoor things but I’m still stitching in between cutting grass and weeding the vegetable garden.

Today, I want to talk about templates and how I use them.

My last pattern, “Apple Blossoms” has a lot of little leaves in the design.

I know how much time it takes to trace out all those leaves onto freezer paper, so to save customers the time, I drew out each one of the 50 some leaves onto a sheet of paper. Then, all you have to do is put that leaf pattern sheet into your copier and copy it onto an 8 1/2” x 11” sheet of freezer paper. So much time is saved.

But, what if you don’t have a copier? That’s when we need to use templates to help.

Here’s a littel sneak peak at my newest design …

That’s actually a real Clematis flower on there. Before I started stitching this, I picked a few of the flowers and laid them out just to get a better idea of placement. but anyway…

This new design will have a lot of leaves on it so I’ll show you how I made my leaf template.

I drew one leaf onto freezer paper and rough cut around it.

I used a glue stick on the back of the freezer paper leaf…

Then I glued it onto some plastic. Here, I’m using a sheet of plastic x-ray film but any type of flat plastic will work. I used to use the plastic Cool-Whip lids. Cardboard or cardstock would work too but it’s difficult to cut the shape exactly and it doesn’t hold up to a lot of use.

Now just cut around the drawn leaf line and there’s your leaf template! The freezer paper will stay on the plastic if it’s been glued well. Take a few seconds to label it so that you’ll know that it’s the leaf for the Clematis and not the leaf for say,the Apple Blossoms.

The plastic template makes it so easy to trace around, giving you the perfect shape each time.

Watch for my new “Climbing Clematis” tablerunner design …coming soon!

Decorating With Stink Bug Traps

2011-05-23T08:59:00.001-04:00

For those of us who have had to deal with the massive invasion of stink bugs, this post will give you HOPE!

The invasion is extremely bad in our area of Western Pa but I’ve heard it’s just as bad in our neighboring states too.

Because it’s such massive problem and hiring exterminators is a waste of money, there are some people that are coming up with their own solutions to catching/trapping them.

Our local news station interviewed someone that has devised a trap that is inexpensive and easy to make using an empty Pepsi bottle, a light, some electrical tape and some masking tape.

(I’ll show the video for how to make it at the bottom of this post)

You can see, it’s not pretty, but after using it last night for the first time, IT WORKS!

Almost right away, hidden stink bugs came out and fell into the trap.

I’m going to make a dozen of these and put them all around our house!

The only problem is … this trap, as you can see, is quite unsightly.

That’s why I’m creating, to go along with this blessed stink bug trap…

The “Apple Blossoms” Penny Rug Stink Bug Mat!

Look how beautiful those stink bugs look right there in the center of my dining room table! Much like watching fish swim in a tank, watching stink bugs circle round and round trying to find a way out is a fascinating pastime and now, with the stink bug mat, it can look pretty too.

I think I’m going to paint some apple blossoms onto the plastic so that it will match the mat. Use some imagination to custom create a beautiful painting on your trap!

Order your pattern to make this Apple Blossoms Penny Rug Stink Bug Mat today! Just click on the Paypal button over there on the left to purchase!

But that’s not all!

Let’s celebrate the Fourth of July with your captured stink bugs!

Introducing

“American Stars” Penny Rug Stink Bug Mat!

I ask you…What could possibly be a better way than this “American Stars” stink bug mat, to display your captured stink bugs on the Fourth of July ?

I think for this plastic trap, I will paint some red, white and blue stars on it!

But really, there’s MORE!….

Introducing, my favorite Penny Rug Stink Bug Mat……

“Witchy Things!” Penny Rug Stink Bug Mat!

I’m telling you ladies, it just doesn’t get any creepier than this darling Witchy Things mat with a container trap full of live, crawling stink bugs!

Right before your big Halloween party, smash a few of the stink bugs to create a good stink bug odor and your halloween decor will be the talk around the water cooler the next day!

No need to paint the outside of the trap at all. Let the stink bugs be the main entertainment of this gloriously creepy display!

And now, for those of you who wish to make this Stink Bug Trap, here is the video that will show you how!

(it really works so if you have stink bugs make two or fifty of these for your home)

Happy Day everyone!

Apple Blossoms <------New Pattern!

2011-05-16T10:01:00.001-04:00

My newest design is almost ready for printing.

“Apple Blossoms” Wool Penny Rug Candle Mat

Preorder it to get the special price!

It might not look like it, but this one is really easy to stitch. The flowers are attached with a simple cross stitch in the center. The leaves are attached with a backstitch up the center.

I’ll include with the pattern a sheet with all the leaves drawn out.

This saves that labor intensive and tedious time that is spent tracing those 52 leaves.

The leaf sheet can be placed in your copier, then copied onto a sheet of freezer wrap paper which has been cut to standard paper size.

Then iron that printed freezer paper onto your wool and it’s ready to cut.

The finished candle mat measures 15” across and I highly recommend using 100% wool for this but wool felt can be used for some or all of the wool requirements to save on expense.

The special preorder price for this pattern is $8.00, which includes shipping.

(Canada and US only.) I’ll split the shipping cost with all other international customers

To purchase the pattern, just click the Paypal button over on the left sidebar. If you wish to pay by check instead, just email me

cathspennies@gmail.com and I’ll send you my mailing information.

The pattern should be printed and ready to mail by Wednesday or Thursday.

This special price will be until Friday, May 20, at which time it will go to the regular selling price of $9.50.

Kits will also be available for this. Price is $36 for the kit which includes the pattern, the hand-dyed wools (green for the leaves, the pale yellow background wool and the dark yellow wool for the flower centers), and the natural white wool for the flowers and background.

All wool is washed and felted Woolrich wool.

Shipping cost is also included. All you will need is the black DMC threads and the backing fabric. a 15” x 15” backing wool is available for $5 more.

Email me cathspennies@gmail.com to order the kit.

Kits should be ready for mailing by Friday.

Happy Day everyone!

My Daughter, the Ex Quartz Rep

2011-05-11T11:28:00.005-04:00

Typically, I don’t write about either of my daughters on here.
Mostly it’s because they read this-like-every single day and would KILL me if I told any of their dirty secrets.
Today though, I feel that I have to write just a bit about Rach simply because this morning, she made me laugh.
Rachel, upstairs and still in bed sent me this text …
I know you won’t understand what the heck she’s talking about but the only thing you really need to understand is that she was considerate enough to text me while half asleep to let me know that I needn’t worry any longer about her composite toes.

Ok, I guess you should know more to understand better.

Let’s quickly go over this and please know that this will probably be the last time I will ever write anything ever again because Rach will find a way to kill me for this … and probably in some crafty, stealth way so that she would never be suspected.

Rach, now that she a college grad, was employed full-time by a quartz manufacturer. Yes, she represented quartz. And a fine one she was too!
She could probably convince a cement contractor to switch to quartz.

But to know Rachel is to know that her bubbly personality was wasted on quartz countertops. I know she really REALLY wanted to go back to working at the PITTSBURGH ZOO, which for her, was a perfect fit for her personality, but …well, she doesn’t allow me to talk about that or to ever mention the PITTSBURGH ZOO in my blog ever again because of search engines. whoops. :) (hello zoo …she loved her time there with you!)

Anyway, an opportunity came knocking at her door a couple weeks ago . Even though she enjoyed her quartz job, adored her boss and the people that she worked with, she thought perhaps she should consider a career move. With great regret she turned in her resignation.

Now, I’m not exactly sure what this new job entails, but it’s higher pay, less traveling, better hours AND it has nothing to do with quartz, which ultimately will save ME money because Rachel was ready to use my credit card to get quartz installed throughout my house, which might or might not include a quartz covered outdoor patio set and a fluorescent green quartz countertop in the bathroom.

What I do know about this new job is that she needs to wear steel toed shoes.

Rachel, being Rachel, the lover and massive shoe collector, is not into the big heavy steel toed boots that most think of when thinking steel toes.
She wants something cute for her feet. Finding something “cute” and stylish in a steel toe is virtually impossible.

Rach and I went on the cute stylish steel toe hunt yesterday.

Naturally, we started at our local Red Wing store, which has been there for probably 100 years and whose owner’s age is somewhere close to that same number. He was precious but had very little selection for the female foot. She felt bad when we left him without a sale.

After doing some internet research at home, we found a shoe store about 30 miles up north which offered some decent looking sneaker type steel toes.

She found a pair that look fashionable enough to pass but they weren’t “Steel” toes. They were composite plastic toed shoes.

The sales lady told us that composite toes were lighter weight but held up to the same standards as the steel. And then trying to make the sale said, “your boss would never know by looking at them”, insinuating that it’s ok to lie to the new boss.

Rach, being Rach, the perfect employee, was hesitant because the future boss specifically said “steel”.
She put a call in to her boss, left a message and bought the shoes with the intention of returning them if the boss told her only steel.

So apparently, the boss woke her up this morning to let her know that composite was fine. Rach, being Rach, the sweet considerate daughter, texted me from her bed to let me know that all is well in Rachel land.

I’d show a picture of the beloved stylish composite toed shoes, but they’re upstairs in her room. Since she’s enjoying her little vacation time between jobs and still sleeping at 11:30 am, I will resist the temptation to sneak a picture.
I will show the cute purse she bought from a little stand outside the shoe store …
Going anywhere with Rachel always brings some type of entertainment or funny event. The purse purchase provided us with some funny moments but I’ve kept you reading long enough so I won’t tell that story.
I’m so glad that our steel toe shoe shopping is complete. As much fun as Rach is to shop with, I certainly wasn’t looking forward to more shoe shopping.

Oh, and no Carol, we didn’t buy a new lawn tractor. Jimmy, being Jimmy who can fix virtually anything, spent all day Saturday getting the tractor back to working condition.

Happy Day everyone!

Helpful Inspirations

2011-05-09T09:39:00.001-04:00

In my last post, I mentioned how I planned to focus on flowers and butterflies for my next designs.

At the time, I had a really nifty idea in mind for a candle mat which was inspired by all the new flowers popping up outside and also by

this….

This is a set of Mary Engelbrit paper placements that I purchased a few years ago. We don’t use paper placements, ever, but I bought them anyway simply because the design was so festive and pretty.

I’ve always loved Mary Engelbrit’s art and quite often she has provided me with inspirations.

That set of placements inspired me to draw this:

I love all the bright colors in the set of placemats so I drew up the initial design and started coloring it in to get a sense of color placement.

I knew that I wanted some butterflies and dragonflies so I fit them both into the design.

I didn’t really want a black background though. I’ve used blacks and whites and greens waaaay too many times in my design background.

I wanted something different.

So I dyed up some pretty pale yellow and along with all the rest of the dyed colors, I started stitching ….

I ~~liked~~ loved how the white flowers looked against the pale yellow, but I wasn’t happy at all with the reds and yellows of these flowers.

So my choice was to either go back to the dye pots to dye up some paler colors or ….

just make the entire candle mat with white flowers!

Which I did!

I love this look.

But….

I still wanted the dragonflies and butterflies …

I tried, I really did try!

But I just couldn’t get the little guys’ colors right so that it would blend in but yet stand out from the flowers.

So the idea for butterflies and dragonflies was scrapped for now.

I’ll use these guys in some other design but thanks to Mary Engelbrit and my wrong/bad dyeing adventures, I was led into creating this……

Which I’m very very happy with!

I hope to have the pattern for this available to purchase by the end of the week!

Happy Day everyone!

Butterflies & Flowers and Broken Garden Tractors

2011-05-06T11:45:00.001-04:00

Many thanks to those of you who ordered my newest pattern,

“Americana Stars”. Those of you who ordered, your patterns and kits were mailed out today.

Those of you who wish to order “Americana Stars” have until Sunday evening to get it at the special $7.50 price.

So, in other news, it’s been raining so much around these western Pa parts, that it’s been impossible to get outside to do any kind of yard work. I know the whole “April showers bring May flowers” thing, but gosh, it’s been raining so much that I can’t even get outside to mow the grass or pull the weeds that grow all around the flowers.

Yesterday was finally a decent day so some grass was cut …. until the tractor died. I mean it REALLY died. Never to start again, or at least until hubby pulls the motor to fix whatever it is that he says it is.

The Cub Cadet is 21 years old, which means it’s time to invest in a new garden tractor. The purchase will happen tonight.

There might be a spousal argument over this.

Ya see, I cut the grass too. It takes hours to get the job done, so we spend a lot of time sitting. I will be looking for comfort and an automatic transmission so that I don’t have to shift each time I go up and down the hills. He just wants CHEAP. He says that once the Cub Cadet gets fixed …. well, you have to know my husband to know that he literally never throws anything out that he feels that he can possibly fix. So I’m thinking that we will have a pair of “His & Her” tractors. I want my HER tractor to be the cute comfortable NEW one so I should be able to have a say in all of this

Hence, the upcoming spousal argument. :)

Wish me luck in getting my dream tractor tonight! Please send some good supportive thoughts my way. :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So this time of year always get me thinking about flowers and what designs I can make with flowers. I get my inspirations from things like this out in my yard ….

Those Tulip colors make me want to get out the dye pots and experiment.

The Lilacs are starting to bloom! I love that smell in the air….

My most favorite flower this time of year are the little Violas that sprout up like weeds all through my flower beds….

Those little violas are so delicate and cute and did you ever notice how the same plant can have flowers of different colors?

So, I will be working on a Flower and butterfly design. I’ve have many many requests for butterflies so I think it’s about time!

Keep watch for some pretty flower penny rugs coming soon!

Happy Day everyone!

“Americana Stars” <----NEW PATTERN!

2011-05-03T12:24:00.001-04:00

Even though I’ve been quiet in Blogland, I’m still busy working on wool things here in Homeland.

My newest pattern will be called “Americana Stars”.

This one is super easy and quick to stitch. It’s so easy, I don’t think a step-by-step online tutorial is even necessary.

Keep in mind, these colors can easily be switched up too…or to make it more primitive, use some dusty shades.

The finished mat measures 14” round. This is shown with 100% wool but if you want to save on expense, wool felt would work nicely with this too.

I’m offering this as a special preorder price of only $7.50, which includes shipping. That’s a $2.00 savings over the regular price!

(U.S. & Canada only, all other international customers will just pay the small difference in shipping)

This special preorder price will be good until next Sunday evening 5/7/11. After Sunday, the pattern price will go to the regular pattern price of $9.50.

Patterns should be printed and ready for mailing out either Thursday or Friday.

Just click on the Paypal button over there on the left to purchase. Or, if you wish to pay by personal check instead, just email me cathspennies@gmail.com and I’ll give you my mailing address.

I will also have wool kits to go along with this pattern. Because only the red wool is hand-dyed, I can offer this at a much lower cost than most of my other wool kits. The wool kit price is $30 plus $2.50 shipping. The kit price includes the pattern and all the wool to make this candle mat including the backing wool.

The wool is 100% Woolrich wool which has been washed, felted and ready to go!

If interested in the wool kit for this, just email me and I’ll send you a Paypal invoice. cathspennies@gmail.com

Happy Day everyone!

Things That Make You Go #&)@*#$

2011-04-19T10:31:00.001-04:00

I think you need to look at this picture first….

Can you spot what is wrong with this picture?

This was at our local Shop&Save grocery store. I saw this sign and just had to get a picture. I mean really? A sale that’s not really a sale?

Honestly, someone in their advertising department is a dolt.

Now if this were April Fool’s Day, I would understand the sign completely. Maybe it has something to do with the “Sale” ending on 4/20. Freshly baked indeed.

So, I didn’t buy any freshly baked cookies, simply out of protest for the non-sale sale. I do admit that it gave me a good giggle though.

The thing that really made me want to say #*#&@# was when I went to the post office yesterday to mail out some packages.

It’s only 3 cents more an ounce

That’s how much the postage was just increased to mail one pattern out.

To mail two patterns out in one envelope, it’s 6 cents.

I don’t know about you, but most time, if I see a penny on the sidewalk, I don’t even bother to pick it up. Pennies are almost worthless anymore.

But charge me 3cents more per pattern is a big ouchy because 3 cents adds up quickly when buying stamps.

See, not only does the postage cost me more, but I’m now going to be putting a stupid amount of stamps on the pattern mailing envelopes that go out.

I know that I can electronically print out postage, affix it to the envelope and actually save a little bit of $$ doing it too. But, it’s impersonal to me. I prefer to hand address and attach real stamps to my patterns going out in the mail. It’s my own little personal touch.

I like the .44 cent pansy stamp, so I always have a large supply of that one on hand.

I need more postage than .44 to mail out a pattern though so I buy a .17 cent stamp to sit beside it. I’ve no choice on this 17cent stamp so it’s always the Blue Ram ….

I know, I know, blue rams and pansies don’t go well together, but like I said, I’ve no choice.

Until I run out of my current supply of stamps, this is how my envelopes will now look when I mail out two patterns…

*heavey sigh* Tackiness indeed. Sorry ladies, blame the USPS for this.

Although I do have to say that the guys who work at the Rochester, Pa post office are THE BEST!

Happy Day everyone!

Wait …. Child Labor Laws??! Nahhh …

2011-04-15T09:37:00.001-04:00

First of all, let me say THANK YOU! to all who’ve ordered my newest pattern,”Tulips”. They went out in the mail today. Wool kits were even mailed out today, a day earlier than expected.

I still have two full kits and two Tulip wool kits left, so if you’re interested just email me at cathspennies@gmail.com and I’ll send an invoice for payment and get it in the mail to you instantly!

The main reason why I was able to get everything ready for mailing today was because of the grandson, Kaiden. He helped me to get my work done.

Kaiden comes to stay with me at least a couple days every week. I know most grandparents would boast about their grandchildren and I admit to doing that too, but I do have to also admit that the kid is somewhat of a freak. At 4 1/2 years old, Kaiden loves to clean.

When he comes to the house, the first thing he always asks is,

“Are we going to clean today?”

He doesn’t say it in a dreary, bored, “do we have to?” kinda voice. He says it with happiness and excitement.

I, being no dummy and also somewhat a hater of cleaning, naturally will find Kaiden something to clean while he’s here, since 1. HE WANTS TO DO IT! and 2, IT NEEDS DONE!

Who cares about the child labor laws. To him, it’s fun!

Jen told me that I need to stop working him so much because there will come a time that he gets sick of it and won’t ever want to help again. I say phooey on that!

I’m going to take advantage of whatever he’s willing to do.

Soooo…. yesterday, he washed the dishes for me …

He vacuumed the kitchen floor for me ….

(we had to change his shirt because the dishwashing became somewhat of a shirt washing too)

Then he vacuumed the steps for me which is a HUGE help because it’s difficult to hold the vacuum and sweep at the same time.

He’s amazingly good at doing this too and each time he does it, he gets even better!

Then we went upstairs and he vacuumed the bathroom floor, sprayed and washed the floor behind the cabinets, and cleaned two big mirrors. After that, he went all around the house gathering up the trash from all the waste baskets.

Finally, he helped me change the sheets on our bed and then make the bed.

I always allow him to jump on the bed (look at this amazing shot!)

We sing the “no more monkeys jumping on the bed” song until he gets tired of jumping.

So you see, we got a lot of work done and since he was worn out, he sat quietly watching tv while I finished packing patterns and addressing mailing envelopes.

He wanted MORE work to do but I had run out of things …other than painting the back door, which I would have let him do if he had old clothes to wear.

I think if he lived here with us, our house would be spotless.

If Jen & Jason would just have a few more kids, we could start a kid cleaning service. …. oh the possibilities!

Happy Day everyone and please don’t report me to Child Services!

“Tulips!” <-----Pattern is Ready!

2011-04-13T12:17:00.002-04:00

After some computer printer glitches, the “Tulips!” pattern is ready to go!
The finished size of this tablerunner is 10 1/4” x 29”. The length can easily be adjusted to make this shorter or longer. The 29” length gives a good 4” center candle/vase area.
Along with the printed paper pattern, this design also has the special online pictured tutorial to go along with it. Following the pictured tutorial each step of the way makes the stitching go a lot easier!
The tutorial can be found by clicking HERE
The pattern, for now, is $8.50 which includes shipping. (US & Canada only. International customers will just pay any extra shipping cost)After next Sunday, the price will go up to the regular selling price of $9.50. Just click on the Paypal buttom over there on the left sidebar under the “Tulips!” picture.
If you wish to pay by check instead of Paypal, just email me for my mailing info. cathspennies@gmail.com

I also have wool kits available to go with this.

The boldly mottled hand-dyed wool for the tulips is available for $10.00 plus $2.00 shipping(US only). This will make all your tulips look exactly like the tulips in the picture.
The entire wool kit will be $40.00 which includes the pattern and all the wool needed (It’s a LOT of wool … tulips, leaves, stems along with white and green backgrounds) to make this. $3.00 for shipping for US customers.
If interested in any of the wool, email me cathspennies@gmail.com.
Note: the wool for the tulips is available now. The larger wool kits will be ready for mailing on Saturday … had to order more green dye!

Happy Day everyone!

TULIPS! Stitching Tutorial For Pattern

2011-04-07T10:25:00.001-04:00

I just finished up my newest design “Tulips” and hope to have the pattern for this ready to sell on Monday.

I hung it on my wall to take a picture and it looks so pretty, I think I’ll just keep it hanging there!

This measures about 27” long which gives this a good 3” of center candle/vase space. It can easily be made longer if you wish more space in the center.

I’m going to show ya’all how this is made, (almost) step-by-step.

All those stems and leaves in there might seem intimidating and difficult but once I show you the pictures, I really believe that even a beginner stitcher would be able to handle making this tablerunner.

That doesn’t mean that I’m giving you permission to make this without purchasing the pattern. I know, I know, I make it really easy for people to steal from me but I really REALLY believe that it’s so helpful to those of you who want to make this, that I’m willing to risk the certain thievery that will go along with the tutorial.

Now, let’s first talk about the wools that I used for this.

I will be selling the wool colors to go along with the pattern but if you have your own stash at home, here’s some help when choosing…

I did try using non-mottled wools for the tulips and they looked pretty but the mottled wools are what make these tulips really stand out. So, to get the best, most vibrant looking tulips, look for boldly mottled colors.

And just because I used assorted colors for this doesn’t mean that YOU have to make it this way. This would be pretty with all the same colored tulips or perhaps red and yellow tulips or … well, you get the idea!

I used a dark green for the stems and a mottled green for the leaves. I tried using the same dark green for the leaves, but the dark color just took too much away from the tulips. Using a lighter green for the leaves made them blend into the background better. The green that you use wouldn’t have to be mottled. Using any lighter green shade would work well, I think.

I used a matching green mottled background for this but I think any color that is used for the tulips would look pretty for the backing color.

Ok, Let’s get started!

The pattern itself will give the instructions for cutting the background edge shape. Once the background wool is cut and ready, the center tulip stem is pinned in place.

This can be whipped stitched or if you prefer, a blanket stitch can be used too. I personally like the look of the whip stitch on all of the applique, so that’s what I’ve used.

Once that center stem is in position, then place the two longer stems right beside the center stem….

They are arched slightly and if you want, you can measure to make sure that they are exactly equal but it’s easy enough to just eyeball it to get them placed equally centered.

Those stems can now be whip stitched in place.

The two leaves are placed right beside the stems. I stem stitched right up the center of the leaves. The pictures will show the leaves with just the stem stitch up the center. Later, I decided to whip stitch the edges of the leaves. I recommend whip stitching the edges down now.

Once the leaves are in place ….

The next set of stems are placed and pinned onto the leaves. Notice how these two stems have their top corner edges lined right up with the edge of the leaves. This makes it super easy to get the correct arch for the stems.

See what I mean about it being easy? When looking at the finished picture, it looks like it would take a tremendous amount of measuring to get them placed right. But really, once the center stem is in place, everything else just goes right in perfectly.

Now the next two set of stems are placed. They are placed right beside that center stem and overlap the other stems.

Once all those stems are whip stitched in place ….

I pinned the last stem right above the center tulip, tucking the bottom of the stem under the tulip. That’s whip stitched in place.

Now comes the really fun part! The Tulips!

All the tulips except for the two bottom tulips, can now be whip stitched on … the pattern instructions will show the exact placement for each petal.

Now I pin in place the bottom set of leaves. These will cover up all those little stem ends. I stem stitched up the center of the leaves and then whip stitched the edges.

Now, just flip the wool to the other side and do these steps all over again!

The bottom two tulips are stitched on now and you can see, I’ve pinned the green backing onto the background.

I blanket stitched around the white edge and also around the green edging. I didn’t use a backing on the green back simply because it’s such a pretty mottled green, I hated to cover it up and because the mat is heavy enough with all the applique, that it lays really nicely without any additional weight.

That’s it! Tulips made easy!

Watch for the new pattern for this as well as lots of pretty mottled wools , to be ready hopefully by Sunday or Monday

Happy Day everyone!

Those Blasted Blessed TULIPS!

2011-04-04T10:40:00.001-04:00

I’ve been wanting to make a Tulip Penny Rug for YEARS. Yes, YEARS!

It’s just one of those things, like Roosters and Butterflies, that I know I will design and make eventually, but there is just never enough time and I put it off.

Our Tulips are starting to spring up around the house now so the other day I thought, “it’s now or never time”. I should be working on summer designs … I MUST start working on summer designs but I’m going to get this Tulip picture out of my head and done with!

A lot of time consuming work goes into creating an original penny rug design. Sometimes, it comes really easily … I know exactly how it needs to look and exactly what colors I want it to be. I sketch it out, then I fine tune it to get it to fit exactly in the space that it needs to be in.

But sometimes, it’s just not quite as clear in my head what I want it to look like. It’s that trial and error, time consuming work that makes me more determined than ever to complete it and get it right.

The Tulips have taken quite a considerable amount of time to design, because I never was much good at flower arranging. I knew basically how I wanted it to look but sitting down and drawing it was really difficult for me.

I rough sketched it with just the tulip positioning. It wasn’t quite what I wanted, but for now, until I had the wools dyed in the colors that I wanted, it would do.

So here’s the original version:

When I design something, I always have to keep in mind how easy it will be to fit the design onto a standard size piece of paper so that it will easily convert to a paper pattern. So I am limited somewhat with creating because of this.

But these tulips, although really pretty, just weren’t what I had pictured in my head. I wanted BIG, SPLASHY and in your face kinda tulips.

So it was back to the drawing board AND back to the dye pots because these wool colors just weren’t splashy enough!

With two standard sheets of paper taped together, this is the rough sketch of the design. THIS is more like what I had pictured in my head.

After I re-dyed all my wool colors, I was very pleased with the results and the wool snippets went flying everywhere as I cut out my tulip petals, leaves and stems.

It’s not quite finished but I’m very pleased so far with the results.
The instructions for the pattern on this will be a bear to write and the pattern layout guide that I always put in with my patterns will have to be oversized paper, but if I get a positive response, I’ll have the pattern ready to sell in a week or so.

Let me know what you think!

Happy Day everyone!

Groupon and Free Money For Ebay!

2011-03-30T11:14:00.001-04:00

If any of you don’t know about Groupon, you should!

Right now, and for only one more day, Groupon is offering

a really good deal to those of us who shop on Ebay.

For only $7.00, you will get $15 of Ebay credit.

If you’re not already a Groupon member, sign up here:

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu21219451 (I’ll get a referral credit if you use the link)

If you already are a member, then go here to purchase the $7 for $15 Ebay money: http://www.groupon.com/deals/ebay

Happy Day everyone! And …yes, I’m feeling much better now after almost a weeks worth of flu attack!

#1 Reason Why We Need To Get A Flu Shot Every Year!

2011-03-28T11:10:00.001-04:00

Well, naturally, the reason would be:

SO THAT (Hopefully)YOU DON’T GET THE FLU!

You’d think that I’d take that little tidbit of important information, store it in my brain and keep it there to ~~remind~~ nag me to get the shot.

Well, I didn’t get the shot this year. I really regret it now because guess what!?!

Yip, I got the flu! Or should I say, the flu got ME. Glory be in heaven, did it ever get me and after almost a week, it’s still gripping on tightly.

Yes, I am feeling a lot better than I was last Wednesday and Thursday, thankfully, but sheesh, it’s probably the worst hit I’ve had of it, ever.

Or maybe because at 54, I can’t fight it off like I used to, which is even more of a reason why I need to be sure to get a shot every year.

So, I’m sure all of us, when we get sick, raid the medicine cabinet for things to help us get through it all. These are some things that I found to help me … although I just started with the Vitamins and Echinacea. (thank you Jen for the suggestions on that)

Let me tell you, as helpful as some of these products might be, I have some serious complaints.

When you’re sick and barely able to get up out of bed, you don’t want to have to fight with a packet that has a death grip on the pills you want to take.

These little Nyquil capsules gaze at you so prettily from their plastic.

But no matter what curse words you might use along with the ripping and pulling, you can’t get these capsules to be released without a battle.

Inevitably, you think you’ve won the battle only to have one capsule land on the floor between your toes while the other capsule remains tightly embedded, blatantly inviting you to a rematch.

We should not have to go through such stress just to take medicine.

My other complaint:

I want to take some of this liquid stuff to help my cough. Let’s look for the dosage

Ok, this print is really small and our magnifying glass is somewhere, 2 sets of steps down, in the basement. I can skim through this just enough to find out that …

Crap, all these little tiny letters and there’s no dosage directions on this label.

Turn the bottle to the next side ….

Skim through even more tiny letters and finally, in tiny letters, I see that my dosage should be 30 ML (2 TBSP). Good!

So now, my eyes have adjusted to my surroundings and I go to pour the liquid into the convenient little cup they’ve provided, only to see, or rather NOT SEE ….

…Where the 30 ML measurement marking is on the little cup. There are little indents … maybe if I could read Braille, I would instantly know how much to pour, but I don’t know Braille.

So much work, so much aggravation to go through, just to get 2 stinkin’ tablespoons of medicine.

Until just now, in the daylight, with me feeling a little better, do I see that 30 ML marking on the cup.

Want to know what I did before though? Now, I don’t recommend that everyone do this because overdosing on any medicine can not be a good thing, but I filled the darned cup all the way to the top and drank it down. My fevered brain rationally decided that if they gave me a little cup this big, it was meant to be filled to the top.

Two very good things have come out of my flu illness!

First thing is, of course, I’ve lost a lot of weight! YEA!

The second, really good thing is that my knee has no more pain!

I twisted my knee a few months back, whoa… it was actually back in November .. and even though it was getting better, every once in a while, I’d do something to twist it again, only to aggravate it. The pain was always there, warning me to be careful. With all the rest I’ve taken, barely moving from my spot either in bed or on the couch, the pain is completely gone from the knee!!

See, there can be blessings with anything!

I am feeling much better now though, thankfully. For those of you waiting for the wool packet prices and info for “Violets in My Garden”, please give me a few days to get back into my routine. I’ll have them available soon, I promise!

Happy Day everyone!

New Pattern! “Violets In My Garden”

2011-03-21T08:47:00.002-04:00

I finally have the pattern ready to sell!
As always, I’m offering a special pre-sale price, good only for a few days….and only on my blog site.
This wool candle mat measures about 13” across. It’s shown made with 100% wool but wool felt could be substituted for any or all of the wool requirements.
My last post has shown this made with a black background too …

Special sale price for the pattern is $8.50 which includes shipping.
The price will go up to the regular pattern price of $9.50 on Friday, March 25.
This price is for US and Canada only. All other international will split the remaining postal cost, which is usually less than a $1.
If you wish to purchase with Paypal, just click the little button over there on the left to purchase. If you wish to pay by check, just email me for my mailing info. cathspennies@gmail.com
I will have wool kits available next week. Price and other info will be available then.

“Violets In My Garden” Candle Mat -->Let’s make it today!

2011-03-14T13:36:00.001-04:00

This is my newest design. I’m calling it “Violets In My Garden”

I should have the pattern ready to sell by early next week, so keep watch.

I made this one with white wool and a green background and I also tried one with a black background …

This one didn’t get a green background on it. Without the green background the leaves really stand out

I couldn’t tell you which colors I like the best. They both turned out so pretty.

I made this two ways just to show all of you how it’s so easy to make one design look completely different just by changing up the colors or adding a background.

The violet flowers shown on the two mats are a dark pink and a purple. I think two shades of purples would be pretty, or purple yellow flowers would be really nice too. Actually, a big mix of all different colors would be gorgeous.

So think outside the box when deciding the colors to use for any of your candle mat creations. Just because the pattern picture shows certain colors, doesn’t mean that you have to use those colors! Make it your own by being different!

So, I’m going to go through some of the steps to make this.

Everyone should know by now that even though I’m showing how to make this, I would really appreciate it if you would purchase the pattern. If you make this without buying the pattern, it’s considered stealing, so keep that in mind.

Ok? Ok.

The most time consuming part of this is the cutting part. There are lots of little leaves and flowers to cut. If you have one of those nifty diecutters that will cut those flowers, by all means use it! It will save much pain on your fingers!

I don’t mind the cutting, actually. I usually cut as I need them so that helps with the finger pain. And I like the way hand-cut flowers look rather than the die cut flowers. But that’s my own personal preference.

So to start, I cut out my background scallop shape.

Using a ruler and a chalk pencil, I marked off the individual sections.

I only use white chalk. I’ve tried colored chalk and have found it to be very difficult to remove from the wool.

Here, I’ve quickly basted across the mat so that each scalloped section is clearly defined. The basting stitches will be pulled out once the top is completed.

It’s worth the extra five minutes that it takes to do this. It makes it so much easier to stitch those leaves and flowers in their own space without overlapping into the scalloped space beside them.

I’ve centered the top leaves and will pin them in place. Now the bottom leaves will be pinned in place and I’m ready to stitch them down.

With a backstitch, I stitched the veins down the centers of each of the leaves. I’ve used really thick coat weight wool for the white background so this makes those leaves really stand out. Regular weight wool will still make the leaves pop out like this, just not as much.

That’s all that needs done with the leaves. Do this eight times around the mat and the leaves are done. The violets are stitched in place with french knots. As long as you’re using good felted wool for this, the wool won’t unravel so there’s no need to stitch the edges down. Be sure to test your wool before stitching to make sure that your wool is felted enough to use for this.

Simply cut some of the wool and pull on it. If it pulls apart, don’t use it for the flowers.

The flowers are all stitched in place and it looks really pretty with just the three flowers in each grouping so if you’re making this and like this look, you can call it finished at this point, but I like the details of the little flower buds. So the flower buds are added in simply by tacking it down with a whip stitch.

I stem stitched the lines in to make the flower stems and it’s almost finished!

It’s at this point that I have to decide whether to attach a background to this or not.

I love the look of it the way it’s shown here because the leaves are the real highlight of the mat.

Adding the background makes the leaves blend in more with the flowers which make give the flowers a little more emphasis.

You will have to decide which way you like it better!

I think that perhaps a dark pink or matching violet purple background would show up nicely too. I choose green though simply because it would match most customers decor better.

Here’s one that I made several years ago with a purple background …

It sure is pretty, isn’t it?

Happy Day everyone!

Snow In March Is Just Not Right

2011-03-11T07:07:00.002-05:00

So here it is, March 11th. We wake up to snow on the ground. And not just a little dusting of snow. This is a LOT of snow … a good 4” right now with another 3” to come throughout the day today.
It’s just not right.
So I’m awake early this morning. It’s but it’s not because of the snow. It’s because things were not ordinary in our household.
You know how you get so used to the same routine day in and day out? We'll today, for some odd reason, the routine was not there.
Hubby woke up at his regular, get up for work time of 5:15 am.
He got dressed and … wait … he ALWAYS gives me a kiss goodbye and lets me go back to sleep. But he didn’t do that this time. He forgot the kiss goodbye.
“What’s up with that?” I think. Then waking up slightly, I remembered that he told me last night that he didn’t have to be at work until 9am today.
Ok, so now that is figured out, I nestle my head back into my soft feather pillow and proceed to fall back to sleep.
Wait! Hmm… I hear someone in the bathroom, taking a shower.
“What’s up with that?”, I think. Waking up even more, I’m really puzzled because I know it’s not hubby taking a shower. He doesn’t normally shower in the morning and besides, I heard him going downstairs and I’m smelling the coffee brewing.
It couldn’t be Rachel showering because at 5:30 am, it’s way too early for her to be up to get ready for work. But it must be Rachel because there’s no one else living here that it could be!
By this time, I’m pretty much awake. I roll myself outta bed, go downstairs to find hubby so that I could ask him why our daughter is up an hour earlier than her normal, routine time.
“I dunno why she’s up so early.” he says.
So I went back upstairs, opened the bathroom door slightly and here’s how the conversation went.
“good morning Rach”, I say
“good morning Mom!”, says Rach.
“did you know that it’s only 5:30?” I say.
“No it’s not.” says Rach, matter of factly.
“Yes, Rach. it’s 5:30.” I say
“No, it’s not” says Rach, matter of factly again, (because she knows that she’s never wrong)
“Rach, I just went down to ask daddy why you’re up so early and it is indeed only 5:30.” I say.
long pause “My alarm went off” says Rach.
Well, apparently, her phone alarm sensed that daylight savings time starts this weekend and decided to spring ahead 24 hours ahead of time to get ready for it.
So here we are, all three of us, wide awake with a messed up daily routine. I hope the day goes back to normal soon.

So I’m done with stitching up my newest design but I’m going to wait to show the finished results. I want to make it up with a white background now too.
Since I haven’t shown any pictures yet in this post, I’ll answer a question that I received from a reader.
She asked me which of my designs, out of all the penny rugs that I’ve made, is my favorite.
I didn’t even really have to think much about that.
By far, my favorite is “The Strawberry Patch”.
The picture doesn’t even come close to showing just how gorgeous this really is.

My favorite holiday candle mat is still “Stockings of Joy”.

And once again, the picture just doesn’t show how pretty this is when finished. The pine branches, the hearts dangling from the stockings, the cute little gingerbread men … it’s just so incredibly nice.
Of course, I have a favorite that I haven’t sold the pattern for:
I’ve been asked a ridiculous amount of times to make this into a pattern, but I haven’t yet. The special dyeing that I do for those petals just can’t be done easily. It takes a lot of time to dye each of those petals to get that look, so I keep this design as an original finished design pattern that is for sale only as a finished item.
I love those pansies!

It’s almost pansy making season, so these pictures are helping to get me in that mood, in spite of all the freshly fallen snow out there on the ground.

Happy Day everyone!

Let’s ThinK About Spring Flowers

2011-03-08T11:47:00.002-05:00

I don’t know about you, but it’s this time of year that I start thinking about flowers.
It’s not something that I force myself to think about just to help me get through the rest of these cold wintery days. I just automatically/instinctively think about flowers.
This is the time of year that I start my flower seeds indoors, so I think that has a lot to do with it.
But I love stitching flowers too. All kinds of flowers.
Pansies, geraniums, tulips, … gosh I could go on and on. From all the penny rug candle mats that I’ve made with flowers, I’ve not done many to sell as patterns.
So I think it’s time to start introducing some of my flower designs to sell as patterns.
I’ll start with Violets.

I made this design a few years ago to sell as a finished candle mat. I’ve had lots of requests for the pattern for this one, so now it’s time.
You can see, I’m not quite finished with it, but I hope to get it finished by tonight.
I love this design. It was inspired by the wallpaper border that I have upstairs in our bedroom…

Ok, yes, I realize that they really don’t look much alike at first glance, but look at those mottled leave colors. And notice how the leaves are arranged to make the base and the flowers branch up from them.
That’s the look that I want.
Ok, I’m off to get this finished.

Happy Day everyone!

Let’s Mottle Some Wool With Coffee Today!

2011-03-03T11:41:00.001-05:00

I’m pretty sure that I’ve shown how this is done before but rather than search through all my posts to find it, I’ll just show it again!

I sometimes use coffee to dye my wools. As long as it’s done right, the results are as good as, if not better than using regular dyes.

The coffee gives it a really nice rich brown color and is perfect for bunnies, sheep, and santa beards.

So let’s get started…

First thing is to soak the wool in some warm soapy water. I use regular hair shampoo for the soap but non-bleach type dish soap can be used too.

While it soaks, I preheat the oven to 325.

After soaking the wool for about 15 mins or so, I squish the wet wool onto my old baking sheet.

Since this is a fairly large piece of wool … about 15” x 60”, I used this size baking sheet. If I mottle or dye smaller pieces of wool, I adjust the size of the baking sheet accordingly. I have a few assorted smaller baking dishes that I use for smaller amounts of wool.

I tried to evenly space and crumple the wool across the baking sheet.

The trick to good mottling is to crumble that wool to make high and low spaces. So if you’re just doing a small piece of wool, just make sure that it’s bunched up on your baking surface.

I pour spots of brewed coffee onto the wool. To get good mottling, I don’t submerse the wool in coffee, I randomly spot it.

If I just want the wool mostly white with a little brown mottling, I lightly spot the wool with the coffee.

In this case, I want more brown than white so naturally more coffee is poured on.

Before putting this in the oven, I make sure that the wool is wet enough. If needed, I put a little extra water on or add a little extra coffee. I don’t want this to dry out and burn while it’s baking.

I will bake this about 20-30 min, watching it closely to make sure it doesn’t get too dry. If it’s getting too dry, I either add a little more water, or if I don’t mind if it gets darker, I’ll add more coffee.

After the baking period, I rinse the wool well with cold water.

Then I soak it in some nice smelling shampoo to get rid of that coffee smell. If you don’t mind your wool smelling like coffee then just skip this step!

After rinsing again, I’ll put this in the dryer with a couple pairs of old jeans. The heavy weight of the jeans will fluff this wool up nicely while it’s drying. I’ll dry it until it’s almost dry. I want a little bit of moisture in it so that the wrinkles will easily smooth out.

If I happen to dry it too much, I’ll just have to take extra time to steam iron the wrinkles out.

And here it is, dried and ready to use!

The mottled wool is shown against the original color natural wool so that you can see the difference.

Happy Day everyone … and have some fun with coffee today!

How 99 Cents Can Lead To Addiction Problems

2011-02-28T10:37:00.001-05:00

It started last week.

I read online about some nifty apps to download for Ipads and Ipods.

I kept reading about a little game app called “Angry Birds”.

There was a free trial for it, so “what the heck” I told myself.

I downloaded it onto my IPod and took it for a spin.

Pretty fun! After just playing a few minutes of it, I knew this would be the perfect time killer game to play while waiting for my car to be serviced, or waiting for a dr appointment … you know … something to do when you have to kill some time.

The problem is though, it was so much fun to play that I’ve found myself carrying it around the house with me. I can play a little while waiting for my morning coffee to brew.

I can play it while waiting for the car to warm up a bit.

I can play it between commercials while watching tv and it’s excellent to play it between periods of the hockey game.

Last night, I was so involved in completing level 5-8, that even though Amazing Race was on, I just listened to it. I’m not even sure who the last team to arrive was but I did complete level 5-8!

I think it was at that point, I realized that, yes indeed, I have an addiction problem.

Did that stop me from playing more?

No, silly, that’s why it’s called an addiction!

Forget about hand-stitching while watching tv. I don’t even need to watch tv now .. I have Angry Birds to play!

Ok, I’m going to post this and then work on my newest design … well maybe I will. I think I’ll squeeze in some Angry Birds in between stitches. Instead of eating lunch, I’ll play some Angry Birds.

Maybe we’ll just order some pizza for dinner tonight. Angry Birds can be played between bites.

Did you know that you can go on YouTube to find videos which show you how to complete a level???? Amazing!

For only 99 cents more, I can buy the Angry Birds Seasons, which I think has holiday season themes for each of the levels.

Incredible!

Happy Day Everyone!

New Pattern! “Bunnies In Spring” Wool Candle Mat

2011-02-22T12:37:00.001-05:00

Finally, the new pattern is ready to go!

I don’t know about you but with the 9 inches of snow we got yesterday, I’m certainly ready to get some Spring in my home.

Easter is late this year, falling on April 24th. The“Bunnies In Spring” candle mat can be made in plenty of time for your Easter decorating.

The finished size of this cute penny rug candle mat is 14” (not counting the the overhang of the ears)

This is shown made with 100% wool but can easily be made with wool felt to save on expense.

The pattern comes with complete instructions, the pattern picture, a layout guide and of course, the pattern itself.

This looks so pretty with a candle in the center, but I bet it would look really sweet with a bowl of Easter eggs in the center or a vase of pretty spring flowers.

The special pre-sale order price of this “Bunnies In Spring” pattern is

$8.50 which includes shippping cost. (US & Canada …. international customers, please email me for the extra shipping cost of around $1 more.) After next Saturday, the pattern price will go up to the regular price of $9.50.

Just click on the Paypal button over there on the left sidebar to purchase. Those wishing to pay by check, just email me at

cathspennies@gmail.com and I’ll send you my mailing address.

The pattern should be ready for mailing on Friday.

I will also have Wool Kits available for this pattern. The wool kit price of $36.00 includes the shipping cost, the pattern and all the felted wool (except the backing) needed to make this candle mat.

The wool included is my own mottled hand-dyed wools.

I’m not including a backing in the kit for this simply because most of my customers already have extra wool in their stash that can be used for the backing and don’t need that added expense. If you do need a backing for this, just figure in an extra $5.00 and I’ll include felted off white wool with the kit.

To purchase the wool kit with pattern just email me at cathspennies@gmail.com and I’ll send you an invoice.

Happy Day everyone and THINK SPRING!!

“Bunnies In Spring” Candle Mat Tutorial (part 2)

2011-02-18T09:49:00.002-05:00

Usually I enjoy making just one of the same design. Making any more than one becomes like a chore to me. Not that I hate doing it, it’s just the sense of “been there, done that, let’s move on”.
This cut bunny one, however, I really enjoyed making it the second time. I think once those eyes are stitched on, the bunnies are just so darn cute, they become fun to make.
So anyway, this is the second part to the making of the Bunnies in Spring candle mat.
The first part finished with stitching the eyes and defining the bunny cheeks.
Now, I’ll do the whiskers…

I made 4 french knots on each cheek, just under the nose.

To make the actual whiskers, using ecru, size 5 pearle cotton, I took a stitch on the flip side of this, knotted it and then pushed the needle up just beside the french knot. I snipped the thread and one whisker was created!

Three whiskers on each side.

I recommend using pearle cotton thread for the whiskers, but regular

floss can be used instead. The regular floss, because of the separate strands, will give a different look.

Now I’ll work on the ears. Each ear is pinned together with the backing. I blanket stitched around the edges, starting and finishing the stitches at the top of the ear.

I pinned the finished ears on and whip stitched the very top of each ear onto the mat. I attached them only at the top so that the ears are loose and free to flop.

Once the first set of ears are attached, I want to be sure that the other sets of ears are spaced exactly the same. To do that, I measured from the center of the tooth up to where the two ears meet and also measure the distance between the bottom of the ears.

Ears are all attached so now, I’ll work on the flowers.

These little flowers are time consuming and tedious to cut out. I find that cutting a few a time in between other stitching, helps to control the fingers from getting sore. Also, if you have one of those nifty die cutters , certainly use that to create your flowers.

The flowers are attached by stitching a french knot into the little center circle. Then I put one stitch into each of the flower petals, pulling the thread tightly so that the petals pucker a little.

Close up of the stitching on the flowers.

Now all that needs done is the backing! The green backing is centered under the front and pinned. I measured carefully to make sure that the edges were all equal. I pinned the ears up just to keep them out of the way during the stitching.
I blanket stitch around the edges. When I get to the bunny tooth, I skipped over it and just stitched through the bottom brown layer.
I’ll stitch the tooth with white thread after this.
Once all the edges are blanket stitched, with ecru thread, I stitched the bunny tooth.

And it’s almost finished! Aren’t they just so cute?!

All I need to do now is blanket stitch a backing onto this to finish it.

I’ll show the completed mat in a few days and when I’m ready to announce the pattern sale.

You can find Part 1 of the "Bunnies In Spring" Candle Mat tutorial HERE

Happy day everyone!

“Bunnies In Spring!” New Design Tutorial (Part 1)

2011-02-16T09:43:00.002-05:00

Last week, I gave a sneak peak of my newest design.
Let’s get ready for Spring …. Here it is …..
“Bunnies in Spring” will be ready next week as a pattern to purchase.
Until then, I’ll show you step-by-step how this is made so that you can see how easy and quick it can be done.
As always, keep in mind that this is not a free pattern. Please don’t make this candle mat without purchasing the pattern first. It’s stealing!
The candle mat shown above will look slightly different from the candle mat in the tutorial. The one difference is that I used super thick wool for the ears and face. I’ll be using regular weight wools in the tutorial. There will be a few more differences too but it will still look basically the same.
I dyed my wools just for this design. Colors needed: Camel brown, light brown, natural (white), pink, foam green and a little bit of black.
I traced the pattern pieces onto my freezer paper. I needed to trace 16 ears so I made a plastic template for it. The template makes it a whole lot quicker to trace.
With a dry iron, I ironed the freezer paper onto the wool. Now it’s ready to cut out.
Tip: the freezer paper pattern pieces can be used over again, several times, so save them all. If you decide to make this candle mat again, much time will be saved because your pattern pieces are all ready to go.
I’ll start with the bunny face. Pin the cheeks onto the wool. The tooth is pinned on too.
Blanket stitch across the top of the bunny cheeks and along the bottom of the cheeks, making sure to catch the tooth wool in with the stitches.
I won’t stitch the sides of the cheeks or the bottom of the tooth since that will be done later when the backing is stitched on.
All 4 are stitched on now and it’s not looking like much of anything!
The cute little pink nose is centered and pinned. It gets blanket stitched on now.

Now the eyes are pinned and blanket stitched.

The black pupils are whipped stitched on and it’s now starting to look a little like a bunny!
I gave each eye a highlight with one straight stitch using white thread/floss.
I made one straight stitch from the nose down to the tooth to define the bunny cheeks.
That’s all for this time. I’ll be back with part 2 in the next day or so.
I still have to do the bunny whiskers to finish the face. Then all that needs done are the bunny ears, the flowers and the backing.

Go to the Part 2 tutorial for "Bunnies In Spring" Candle Mat HERE

Happy Day everyone!

How To Care For Your Wool Penny Rugs

2011-02-14T13:46:00.001-05:00

We spend so much time and quite a bit of money to make these pretty wool mats to display on our tables and floors so we need to know how to care for them so that they last …. well, I want to say forever, but if your children are like my daughters, it’s very likely that the dumpster will be where all of mine go once I’m gone. :)

Really, caring for your wool penny rugs is easy. Dust is the probably the most problem that you will have.

Simply pick up your penny rug and give it a good shake. You can also vacuum over it with your sweeper attachment as long as you do it from the backside of the penny rug. Vacuuming the front might loosen the stitches.

For lint, just use a sticky lint roller. I always have a lint roller close by while I’m working on my projects too.

For spots of dirt or spills, dampened a cotton cloth or towel and dab at the area gently.

Don’t ever put it in the washer and don’t ever try handwashing it. It will never be the same. Dry Clean if there is dirt that can’t be removed.

If you set a vase or bowl or candle in the center of your penny rug, be sure to remove it every once in a while to give the wool a little rest from the weight. Sometimes, if placed too long, a candle or vase will leave an indentation in the wool.

If this happens, shake the penny rug to fluff the wool back up. You can try brushing at it lightly with an old toothbrush. If the indentation is still there, try misting it very lightly with water and then rub the indent gently with a cotton cloth or towel to fluff the fibers back up. Don’t use paper towels .. the paper fibers will embed themselves into your wool and never come out!

NOTE: If the indentation is in Wool Felt, it’s pretty much in there permanently so be really careful to not keep things sitting too long in the center without shaking it out once in a while.

Since I have so many, I hang most of mine ….

Haha, this is not a good example of how to hang your wool penny rugs!

This wall in my dining room has pretty much evolved into what it looks like here. When I finish something, it gets put here for later use.

I kinda like how it’s all displayed, although I should take the time to arrange it properly so that everything can be seen. That’s on my “to do” list.

If you do hang your penny rugs, just be careful that they’re not exposed to too much sunlight, which will fade the colors. They collect dust just as easily as the mats laying on your table, so be sure to shake them out once in a while.

Someone told me a long time ago that rubbing a scented dryer sheet on the penny rug will keep moths away. Supposedly moths don’t like the smell. That’s what I do every once in a while to my older ones.

I haven’t had any problems in all the years (knock on wood) that I’ve been working with wool, so perhaps it works. If anyone has any other suggestions for keeping moths away, leave it in the comments!

I always welcome other suggestions or help so if you have other ways that you care for your wool, just leave a comment.

Also …. Sheree, you left a comment question in one of my older posts. I don’t have any way to contact you since you didn’t give your email address. I think you might find my post HERE about how to attach tongues, helpful. If that’s not what you mean, email me for help. :)

Happy Day everyone!

Wool Felt & Felted Wool <—What’s the Difference??

2011-02-09T09:25:00.001-05:00

There’s rarely a day that goes by that I don’t get a question for help or advice in my email.

By far, the most misunderstood subject and most asked question I get is about the differences between Wool Felt and Felted Wool.

For those of us who work with wool, we know that there is a difference. But those who are new to Penny Rugs and working with wool, it is confusing. Most who are just starting, think that it’s the same thing.

Wool Felt and Felted Wool are completely different. One is Felt material and the other is Wool fabric.

They look and feel different.

I’m going to attempt to explain the differences.

First, we start with the common factor, which is of course …

Sheep! Well, wool can come from other animals too … camels and llamas for example but sheep are the most commonly used.

Sheep are sheered which creates the wool fiber.

The wool fiber is cleaned and combed to create the wool roving…

It’s at this point where the differences between Wool Felt and Felted Wool are created.

WOOL FELT

Wool Felt is tightly compressed wool fibers.

Using lots of moisture and heat, the fibers are rubbed and compacted together … much like the matted hair on a dog or cat or dreadlocks… the fibers are compressed tightly and that creates the felt.

Or if you’ve ever made handmade paper … the process is similar.

100% wool felt tends to be stiff and rough so to make the felt more pliable and soft, it is mixed with rayon fibers to create a blend.

Most wool felt that is used for penny rugs are a wool and rayon blend.

The wool felt blend is usually a 65% rayon/35% wool blend. This type of wool felt can easily be found in lots of assorted colors. Joann Fabrics has a nice selection of it. It’s found in the aisle with their bolts of regular craft felt. Once you actually see it and touch it, you’ll know the difference between it and regular Wool fabric.

The rayon blend of wool felt is ideal for penny rugs because when the fabric is washed, the little bit of wool that is in it shrinks, and the wool felt becomes soft and puffy when dried. It’s pretty important that it’s washed before using, otherwise the wool felt looks just like regular cheap craft felt. (that last sentence could possibly be my own opinion…some might like the look of the unshrunk woolfelt).

Once it’s washed and shrunk, it becomes … Felted wool felt.

The rayon blend of wool felt is a lot less expensive than 100% wool so your projects will still look nice, without that high expense of using 100% wool.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure that wool felt can not be used for traditional rughooking. But for penny rugs, wool felt is a perfect substitute for 100% wool fabric.

FELTED WOOL

Felted wool is wool fabric which has been washed and dried with heat.

That process shrinks the fabric to make it thick and soft.

To create felted wool, the wool fabric must be created first!

The wool roving/fiber must first be spun into thread …

The wool thread is then woven to create the fabric, much like any fabric is created. Cotton fabric is made the same way, only using cotton threads.

We buy the wool fabric, bring it home and then deliberately throw it into the washing machine, set the washer to “HOT” water wash and let the washer and dryer shrink our fabric. The shrinking condenses those fibers and that wool fabric become thick and soft and fluffy. The threads in the fiber won’t unravel, so it’s perfect for penny rugs or rughooking because unlike cotton, the edges stay intact without fraying.

Wool fabric from knitted or crocheted sweaters and scarves may also be washed and felted and used for penny rugs, but …

Knitted or crocheted items use wool yarn instead of wool thread.

The yarn, since it’s thicker than thread, creates a thicker felted wool. If it’s not felted enough, the yarns will pull away and unravel. Because the knitted/crocheted felted fabric is so thick, it can’t be used for rughooking and has limited use for penny rugs.

I hope that helps with the wool felt / felted wool confusion.

Since I don’t use wool felt, I have limited knowledge of it. If you do work with it and can think of anything else that should be mentioned about the differences, please write it in the comments … or email me and I’ll add it onto this entry.

(Note: all of the pictures shown in this entry, except for the cute little sheep, were found in Google Images. If you are the owner of one of these pictures and don’t wish it to be used, please let me know and I’ll remove it.)

Happy Day Everyone!

Sneak Peak For Easter!

2011-02-07T09:26:00.001-05:00

Did you know that it’s February already? Where the heck did January go?!?

Before you know it, Easter and Spring will be here. I like working on Spring projects this time of year to help me get through the tough winter.

Here’s a little sample of what I’m currently working on….

I hope to have the completed candle mat ready to show in a couple days.

I’ll be doing a step-by-step tutorial on this one too. I’m overdue on doing tutorials so it’s certainly time.

The pictured tutorial will show how easy this one is to make. I was able to get most of my stitching done on this just while watching the Steelers lose in the Super Bowl last night.

(Yes indeed, the Steelers lost, but I think the Packers deserved to win. They played a much better game.)

I’ve been absent from blogging, but I’m still stitching and answering emails and writing blog entries in my head!

My sister, Casserole Carol has been nagging me to write, as usual.

She’s resorted to emailing me a list of topics that I should be writing about, just to get me inspired, I guess.

I might consider asking her to be a guest writer during some of my absences, but I’m kinda worried about what she might write about me. :)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~

A big thank you to all of you who’ve purchased my newest pattern: “Showers Bring Flowers”.

I will keep the special price of $8.50 for this pattern until this evening, when it will go to the regular pattern price of $9.50. If you haven’t purchased it yet and want to, now is the time to get a good price!

I’m going to try to find time to dye up the flower and umbrella wool colors this week, so those of you who wish to purchase just those colors, check back later in the week for the purchase info.

Also, I’m going to try to get going on sending out a newsletter. If you’ve not signed up for it yet, just click up there on the top of the left sidebar to subscribe.

That’s all for now! Busy, Busy!

Happy Day everyone!

“Showers Bring Flowers” New Penny Rug Pattern For Spring!

2011-01-26T13:39:00.001-05:00

A huge thank you to all who gave suggestions for the pattern name.

When I initially came up with the idea for this design, I wanted it to look like the rain was creating the flowers so “Showers Bring Flowers” describes this design perfectly for me. The reader named Allenz is the winner of the very first “Showers Bring Flowers” pattern, hot off the printing press.

Allenz, I have no way to reach you so please email me with your name and address and I’ll mail your pattern out to you! cathspennies@gmail.com

“Showers Bring Flowers” finished size is 11” x 26”. This is shown made with wool, but woolfelt may be used instead if you wish to save on expense.

Also, to save on the wool expense, cotton fabric can be used for the backing!

The rain showers are just a simple running stitch. All other stitches that are used are the blanket stitch, french knots, whip stitch and stem stitches.

I used green for the umbrellas, but I think any color would work instead. I initially wanted to use dusty muted colors for the flowers, but when I tried these bright flowers against the black wool, the colors seemed just perfect, but that choice is up to you too. You might like this better with softer, muted colors instead.

The pre-sale special price for this new spring pattern is $8.50 which includes the shipping cost. This price is for US and those very special Canadian customers. International customers: contact me for the price of additional postage … usually less than $1.00 extra.

I hope to have the pattern orders ready to mail out tomorrow (Thursday), but Friday for sure.

This special price is good until Sunday night (Jan 30). After that date, the price will go to it’s regular price of $9.50.

To purchase, simply click the Paypal button over there on the left sidebar. If you wish to pay by check, just email me and I’ll give you my mailing address. cathspennies@gmail.com

Happy Day everyone!

Printer Problem Postponements

2011-01-25T08:51:00.001-05:00

I know I’ve been quiet. I’ve was hoping to have my newest finished design ready to show yesterday and start taking orders for patterns today, but due to some printer technical difficulties, I’m way off schedule.

Our printer, who has been a loyal and dedicated servant over the years, has suddenly decided to have a meltdown.

It started with paper jams.

Once I figured out how to stop the paper jams, Printer then harassed me with printing everything crooked.

Needless to say, I don’t have the pattern ready to send out to the printers because my own printer will not properly spit out a good copy to use.

I spent hours, yes precious HOURS yesterday, fighting with printer.

I do have a quick picture of the finished penny rug to show …but I won’t even go into how my camera is in it’s PMS mood. This isn’t a good picture to introduce a new design, but it’s the best I can do for now.

Just know that tomorrow, I’ll have better pictures that will show the details that this picture is lacking.

Also tomorrow, I should have printer problems resolved to be able to start up pattern sales for it. *Crosses fingers*.

I do have a winning name for this design now.

Much thanks to those of you who helped with the name. Later today, I’ll notify the winner and then announce it officially tomorrow.

Happy Day everyone!

A Sneak Peak For Spring and a Contest!

2011-01-20T09:48:00.001-05:00

I know, I KNOW, it’s only January! We’re in the middle of winter and Spring seems soooo far away.

But for me, I have to get myself thinking Spring, because it’s time to get those new spring designs out there so that YOU can start thinking Spring.

Here’s my latest, newest design for Spring….

You can see it’s still in the stitching stage. I will attach those little flowers and then figure out what kind of tongues I will attach on the ends.

It’s going to be a beauty!

I have a really cute Easter design that I’ll work on after this one.

I know I should be working on the Easter one, but when I sketched this one out, I was just too excited to get this one started so I put the Easter one aside.

Here’s the initial sketch/doodle of the design as it came into my head ..

This is just a little 3” x 4” piece of scrap paper. I tend to grab whatever is closest to me to draw on when an idea comes into my head.

So even though I’m working on this really cute Easter design, I kept thinking about this quick sketch and wondering/pondering if I could actually get the rain to look like rain using stitches.

It kept bugging me until I finally decided to just do it because otherwise my heart would not be in the cute Easter design simply because I rushed through it just so that I could work on the umbrella design.

It’s tough to not make myself insane so as much as I hate to put work aside, unfinished, I knew I had to in this case.

Ok, so here’s the contest ….

I need a name for this penny rug table runner. I do have one in mind, but it would be nice to hear some suggestions from you readers.

So, take a close look at this new but unfinished design and if a clever name comes into your head, let me know! Either leave the name suggestion in the comments or email me at cathspennies@gmail.com.

If I use the name that you’ve suggested, you’ll get the pattern, free!

There’s no real deadline other than when the time comes for me to print this pattern, probably next week, I’ll have to make the decision.

Happy Day everyone!

Buttons, Sheep and Football

2011-01-17T13:30:00.001-05:00

This past weekend was full of hockey and football and craziness.

I live in Steeler country, you see. In Steeler country on a Steeler football day, if you aren’t wearing a black & gold football jersey, you are an outcast.

On a Steeler football day, like this past Saturday, if you need to go to the grocery store to purchase a gallon of milk, make sure you allow plenty of time because parking places are difficult to find and the checkout lines are impossibly long. That’s because everyone is doing their junk food shopping right before the game.

The best time to go shopping is DURING the football game because the stores are empty. You won’t miss the events of the game though because instead of music, the game is turned on loud so that everyone can hear what is happening.

This particular Saturday was worse than usual though. That’s because the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Steelers, and Pitt Basketball were all playing the same day.

Going into that grocery store was like going to the game. It was a celebratory, exciting atmosphere, packed full of black & gold jersey clad fans buying their food to gorge on while watching a day full of sports.

I was a bit frazzled after leaving the store.

I don’t know how far away from Pittsburgh one has to go before getting out of Steeler country, but we live about 20 miles away and it’s pretty ridiculous. This next week will be pure craziness everywhere and if the Steelers win and make it to the Super Bowl, it will only get worse.

That is part of living in the Steeler nation though. Simply put; If you live here and don’t like football, then you shouldn’t live here.

So while we watched hockey and multiple playoff football games this weekend, I was able to get some stitching done.

My newest pattern, “Love For Ewes” is shown made with woolen wheels.

It looks quite nice with woolen wheels but I wanted to show how nice it looks using buttons for the wheels instead …

I have quite an extensive collection of buttons, so it was pretty easy to find sets of 8 buttons to use for this.

You can see that I’ve stacked the buttons to create the wheels.

Just one large button would work nicely too, but I like the look of stacked buttons. Different colors or even a larger sized bottom button would look just as nice so think outside the box with this.

Here’s a close up of the wheels.

and here’s a picture of the woolen wheels ….

You can see, both ways look really nice, it’s just up to you and your button collection to decide which way you want yours to look.

There used to be a time when women would snip all the buttons off of old clothing before they were discarded. Most women back then had a collection of buttons.

Oh, the button collections I have found at estate sales! Beautiful buttons of all sizes and shapes and colors. I love them all so much that sometimes I find it difficult to actually use them on my finished things that I plan to sell.

How many times have I snipped buttons off of old clothes before I’ve discarded them? Umm …. Zero!

Does anyone do that anymore??

Should I be saving the buttons from my old clothing so that my daughters may pass them down to the next generations to use?

hahaha … that just made me laugh. My daughters would chuck those buttons into the trash so fast after I was gone and then make fun of me while they did it!

Happy Day everyone!

Recycle That X-Ray Film---->Pattern Templates!<----

2011-01-13T10:18:00.001-05:00

For those of you who guessed that I use the X-Ray film for my pattern templates, you’re right!

I learned about using plastic for my templates looong ago while taking a quilting class at my local quilt shop.

The bad thing about those large sheets of quilting template plastic is that they become expensive if you need to use a lot of it. Which I do.

About 4 years ago, I was about ready to throw out a large envelope of Rachel’s x-rays of her thumb. It then occurred to me that the film was almost the same as that expensive quilting template plastic sheets that I buy at Joanns for something like $3 a sheet.

That’s how it started.

I use it for the background scallop shapes for the penny rugs and for any of my pattern pieces that require multiple numbers of the same shape to be cut.

Here’s an example:

This is one of the hearts from my newest pattern “Love for Ewes”

You can see, I need to cut 12 of these hearts (6 for the front and 6 to be used for the backing)

If it were just a few hearts to be cut, I wouldn’t bother to make a template for it. I just place a piece of freezer paper over the shape and trace it to get the required number.

Since I need 12, that’s a lot of tracing …and it’s important that these shapes are all exactly the same. When tracing that many, it’s difficult to get them all exact.

So, I trace the heart one time onto a piece of freezer paper …

I rough cut around this traced shape. Using a glue stick, I glue the shape onto my sheet of x-ray film….

I just need to cut this out. I always label it with the name of the pattern that it comes from….

Now my template is all ready to use! Simply lay it on your freezer paper and trace around it as many times as needed.

It saves so much time and the shapes are all exact.

If you don’t have old x-rays laying around, start asking around ..your relatives or friends, someone probably has some …or you could try using other things for your templates. The plastic lids from throw away containers like Cool Whip bowls work well for small templates.

The bad thing about using x-ray films is that sometimes you might see something on them that you don’t want to see…..

Which is why I have really great anxiety about opening up the envelopes of x-rays of my brother-in-law’s body parts.

Using Rachel’s injured thumb x-rays wasn’t a problem because it’s just her thumb.

But Mark’s x-rays?

There are some things that I just. don’t. want. to. see.

Then to make it worse, when he brought them over, he had that “glint” in his eye … you have to know Mark to know that Irish “glint”. It means that he is looking forward to seeing just how embarrassed I get when I see what those x-ray body parts are.

He warned me though … telling me to watch for the sheets that are “folded over” implying that extra large film sheets were needed for some…thing. Ok? Well, I still haven’t looked at those films but I will have to soon because I’ve used all of Rachel’s thumb x-rays.

I think perhaps I can spray paint these x-ray films so that I won’t have to see any … thing.

Or ….. and this evil thought just occurred to me ….

if there is some …"thing” in those x-rays, I’m going to tape the film to a sunny window, take a good picture and ….

POST IT IN MY BLOG!

Happy Day everyone!

1-11-11 Design Disaster Day!

2011-01-11T13:25:00.001-05:00

I just realized that today is an all “1” day. Perhaps by the time I’m finished writing this the posting time will show 1:11pm.

I think that would make it my lucky day.

Only luck will be able to help me with my latest design disaster!

I thought of this design waaay back in October but I couldn’t use it right away because I thought it would make an excellent Valentine themed candle mat. I drew a quick picture so that I would remember and I set it aside until last week.

I drew out the design on paper. ….rough sketch here …

It’s two bluebirds with some hearts in between them. It looks just perfect on paper. At least to my eye, it looks perfect.

I dyed up the wools that I would need, getting a perfect mottled blue color for the bluebirds. I matched up the threads to the wools that I would use …

I drew the entire design to size, measured and cut a brand new outside scallop edge to use for the background …

but …

No, I’m not even going to show the picture of what those darned bluebirds turned into once they were stitched down in wool.

Let’s just say that my cute, plump loving bluebirds on paper turned into grossly overweight, evil and scary birds once they were stitched onto a wool background.

I’m going to have to redesign those bluebirds to make them cute.

For now though, I’m going to set it aside. Actually, I’ll hang the partially finished mat on the wall in the dining room so that I’ll have to look at it. After a few days of looking, a redesign will come a lot easier.

This doesn’t happen often. Usually, the ideas in my head turn out even better than I expect, but yes, every so often, I have a blunder design.

There’s still hope. The design has so much potential and I don’t usually give up easily.

Expect a cute bluebird pattern for the spring maybe?

So, here’s a little something to think about ….

My brother-in-law, Mark, gave me these three large envelopes that are full of old x-ray film.

Can anyone guess how I use these old x-ray films and why I’m so absolutely thrilled to get them?

An obvious hint is that I use the x-ray films with my designs. :)

Go ahead, try to guess and next time I post, I’ll let you know how I use these.

It’s a really good helpful tip and if you can get your hands on some old film, it will save you time and $$ with your quilting and appliqué work.

Carol, resist the urge to get attention and glory and DO NOT tell.

Happy Day everyone!

Feed The Birds, Tuppence A Bag

2011-01-07T09:54:00.002-05:00

Thanks to all of you who ordered the new pattern
“Love For Ewes”. The pattern orders went out in the mail early this morning, so expect them early next week.

Do y’all know that Mary Poppins song, “Feed the Birds”?
I wish bird food was only a tuppence a bag, which, after looking it up, equals about 2 pennies.
I do feed the birds, and it’s no where close to only 2 cents a bag.

This is my view of our birdfeeders from inside the house this morning.
I’m going to bundle up now and go out to fill them both back up, just as I do every single morning.
One feeder is empty, one feeder is half full.
The birds eat a lot.
I’m not complaining … well, maybe I am a little bit … but I love watching the birds at the feeder during the day. I can look out my kitchen window and watch them as I wash dishes or play with playdough with Kaiden at the kitchen table.
The birds give us both lots of enjoyment so to me at least, the cost of feeding them is worth every tuppence.
But gosh …
The birds eat a LOT.
So far, we’ve gone through 4 50lb bags of seed. Working on the newest 50lb bag now.
and we still have a lot of winter left.
I will always feed the birds, no matter how much it costs, but I’m thinking that perhaps there should be some kind of government program out there that can help me with the expenses.
We have a welfare program to help the poor people. What about a welfare program to help the poor birds?
Did you know that the welfare program offers low income people free cell phones with service? They get lots of assistance from the government to help them get by; free healthcare, public transportation, lunches for their kids at school, etc, etc, etc.
Let’s not get into the goods and bads of the welfare system right now, but I do feel, (tongue in cheek) that I should be able to get some welfare assistance to feed all these birds.
I have thousands of hungry ones depending on me to provide food for them every single day.
Who knows what would happen to them if I stopped feeding them?
Perhaps, they’d all just fall from the sky, dead from starvation?
Is that what our government wants?
Thousands of birds, suddenly falling from the sky?
We need to write to our congressmen, senators and Pres. Obama to encourage them to create a federal birdseed assistance program.
It’s not like I’m asking for free cell phones for the birds.
If I had birdseed welfare money to provide food for the birds, then I would be able to use my own money to buy me some tattoos, cigs, whiskey, designer handbags, and some MaryJo too.
Ok, I’m starting to get into the bads of the welfare system now, so I’m going to shut up. :)
I love feeding the birds.
but sheesh …..
Those birds eat a lot!

Happy day everyone!

“Love For Ewes” New Pattern Design!

2011-01-05T09:17:00.001-05:00

Ok ladies, unless you’re Serbian, it’s time to put those Christmas decorations away and start thinking about decorating for Valentines Day.

I’m here to help you with that! …Or rather, the “Love For Ewes” pattern is here to help you with that!

This measures 12” wide by about 25” long.

Now before you say, “I don’t have enough table space to use this”, keep in mind that this type of long penny rug looks absolutely beautiful when hung over the back of a couch or my favorite, a rocking chair.

The picture shows this with wool wheels but if you have enough, buttons look nice for wheels too.

This one has a wool backing, but it can be easily done with some homespun cotton backing instead to save on wool.

The pattern is being printed today, so I expect to be able to mail orders out Friday morning.

The special pre-order price is $8.50 which includes shipping cost. (this price is for US and those adorable Canadians only.) International customers; postage will be a small additional cost, just ask).

To order, just click over there on the Paypal button below the picture on the left. If you wish to pay by check, just email me at

cathspennies@gmail.com and I’ll send you my mailing address info.

I will be selling a finished one on Ebay soon, so if you wish to purchase a finished one, just watch the blog for the notice of the listing.

Happy Day!

Gotta Love Them Sheeps

2011-01-04T09:03:00.002-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

I have to say thank you to all of you ladies who offered suggestions to help me find the missing Barbie ornament.
Even though I’m not Catholic, prayers even went out to St. Anthony to help me find it. Actually, my husband was born and raised a Catholic, so I put him in charge of contacting St. Anthony. But still, no ornament to be found.
I’ve given up and plan to order a new one online this week. But thank ya’ll anyway. The suggestions were much appreciated.

Ok, SHEEP!
I love sheep. I love making sheep. I’ve made a LOT of sheep over the years just because they are my favorite animals to make.
Here is a peek at my newest design ….
I had hoped to finish it last night but it will be finished today.
This one is similar to my “Love Ewes” design ….
But different! I used buttons for the wheels on the “Love Ewes” design. Some customers have trouble finding that many buttons of the same size to use. So on this new design, I wanted to show that wool wheels can be just as cute as real buttons.
I hope to get the time soon to make another using real buttons just so the difference can be seen.
Anyway, this should be ready to sell as a pattern tomorrow so be sure to come back to see the finished pictures of it.

My love for sheep started a looong time ago and THIS pattern is what started it ….
It’s a design from Woolsworth called Woolen Love Table Rug.
I originally made this back in the early 2000s as a sample for the lady that I worked for to use at her quilt shows. I liked it so much that I made one for myself, only in greens instead of blue. And it’s still hanging in my dining room.
It takes a lot of love for me to get the time to make something just for myself, especially when the lady that I worked for kept me so busy stitching every day.
Another inspiration for me was this vintage potholder …
I’ve no idea how old this potholder is. I found it in a kitchen drawer in my mother-in-laws house after she passed away.
I keep this hanging at the side of my fridge. This potholder inspired me to create a few candle mats to sell. Like this one ….

And this Spring one …..

Gosh, how I loved this last one!

My intentions at the time was to make seasonal mats with the sheep and I remember getting a good response to that idea when I mentioned it in my blog. But I got off track and never really took it any further than this Valentine and the Spring sheep candle mats.

I don’t know if I will continue it but I do know that you will see more sheep from me in the future. And you probably will see another version of this spring mat too, simply because it’s just so darn cute, I have to make it into a pattern to sell.

So this new year will bring more new patterns …. more pansies and more sheep are guaranteed.

Keep watch for new things and I’ll be back tomorrow with my newest pattern design ready to sell.

Happy Day everyone!

Where The Heck Is That Barbie Hiding!?!

2010-12-28T09:35:00.001-05:00

I remember growing up with a mother who would forget where she hid Christmas presents. I can’t remember what the presents were, but I distinctly remember being puzzled by how in the world someone could forget something like that, especially in a small house which was occupied by 5 people.

To give myself a little credit, our house is much bigger than the house I grew up in. Therefore, there are more hiding places available.

To my discredit though, the gift that is missing didn’t need to be hidden, because Rachel knew she was receiving it as a gift, just like she’s received it for the last 10 years.

I know I bought this several months ago ….

It’s the 2010 Hallmark Barbie Ornament.

Rachel has received the Hallmark Barbie Ornament every year since they first appeared 11 years ago.

I know she’s somewhere in this house. I just don’t know where I put her after she arrived here.

I wouldn’t have hidden it anywhere. I would have put it upstairs in our bedroom just to store it out of the way. But. it’s. not. in. our. bedroom.

Oh, I’ve searched. And then I searched more. Then yesterday I cleaned and searched. I found some missing socks, Jen’s old swimsuit, Rachel’s favorite jeans that has a hole I needed to patch…about 3 years ago. But Barbie is still missing. I know for sure where Barbie is NOT hiding.

To make it worse, I’m reading the new Stephen King book. His books always give me creepy ideas in my head, long after I’ve finished reading the book. I can imagine the hidden Barbie ornament … well, I won’t go into Stephen King details but basically, it involves rats and maggots and lots of bad smells and sinister noises.

I must find that missing Barbie before Stephen King does!

So I’m making myself crazy trying to figure where the heck I could have put that little ornament box. The daughters are going to have a fine fun time making fun of me for this one.

I’m telling myself right now; I’m going to search for it a little more today and if it doesn’t turn up, I’m going online to order another one.

I know what’s going to happen when I order a new one though …

the missing one will turn up.

So if any of you happen to know where I put that missing Barbie ornament, please let me know. I would appreciate some help!

In other Christmas news …

How could someone not want to receive a brand spanking new Apple IPad for a Christmas gift?

That’s the big gifts that hubby and I gave our two daughters for Christmas.

One daughter was more excited than the other to receive it. It was a huge surprise for both of them though. Jen and Jason love it and Rachel, preferring her laptop, isn’t quite as thrilled with hers, but I’m sure once she uses it more, she’ll love it too.

If anyone out there reading this has an IPad, and knows of some good interesting Apps that you can’t live without, let me know.

Rach found a police scanner App and the other night we learned that someone had a flat tire on the turnpike and somewhere close by, a 65 year old woman had a hematoma. All of that fascinated her for some reason.

All in all, it was a really nice Christmas. I’m glad it’s over though. Once the tree and decorations are put away, things can get back to normal …well, at least as normal as it can be after reading a Stephen King book.

Happy Day everyone! …. and if anyone can tell me where that darned Barbie is in my house, I’ll love you forever!

Putting on the Merry Christmas Present Face

2010-12-25T09:41:00.002-05:00

So today is the day, finally!
Every year, all of us spend so much time preparing for this day.
The shopping, the cleaning, the decorating, the baking and cooking.
Just for one day.
But once that day comes, you’re more than glad that you did all of that preparation because it’s all of those family traditional things that we do that keeps the spirit alive.
It’s not even about the gifts.
But I do have to say, having a little one around sure does make the day even better. Kaiden is at that perfect age .. he understands what’s going on and no matter what present he gets, he loves it.
This year, while waiting for the family to all gather at our house, I’m a bit worried though about the present that my husband and I are giving to our daughters and son-in-law.
It’s something that they’ve not asked for … I don’t think they would ever expect it from us. That’s what makes it exciting …to see them open up their very special gift and then the surprised and joyous faces they make which will make all that work and effort and $$ worth every stinking bit.
But, there’s also a chance that they won’t appreciate it, like I hope.
It’s then, when they open the gift, that I’ll see that “look”.
I know both of them well enough to know exactly what the “look” looks like.
It’s that look that I saw when one of them came home from work the other day holding their Christmas bonus. It was a Spiral Cut Ham, with glaze. She hates ham and I don’t think many single, 21 year olds would appreciate a ham for a Christmas bonus. (I, however, was thrilled with it.)
I saw that look on both their faces, several years ago, when they opened their present of pajamas .
I thought the Pjs were wonderful, but they told me almost right away that they were old lady pjs.
I hope, when they open their gifts today, I’ll see that look of joy and total shocked surprise on their faces.
And not the “Present Face”

Wishing you all a joyous Christmas with your loved ones … and absolutely NO “Present Faces”!

Our Driveway Is Brutal, Watch Out!

2010-12-21T09:16:00.001-05:00

Ok, so last year, our mail carrier had an incident on our driveway that lead to her refusal to ever drive up our driveway ever again when there is any snow. Mind you, she has a 4wheel drive vehicle and is known to drive too fast, but yet, she blames our driveway. She got stuck in deep snow because she was gunning her engine on a plowed but a little icy driveway.

So, yesterday, we had a package delivery. Now, why this guy decided to back down our driveway instead of turning around is really unknown, but our driveway was plowed and not icy and this happened:

While backing away, the driver somehow managed to go completely off the driveway and got stuck at the top of the hill bank. His back truck tires were literally teetering on the edge of one railroad tie. Thankfully, the truck didn’t roll down the hill but if he had tried to spin his tires to get unstuck any more, he would have flipped over the side.

He was a super nice guy and I felt so bad because I know these drivers work hard during the holidays and any delays like this, put him way off schedule.

So he waited around for over an hour for the tow truck to arrive…

They pulled him out, but not easily.

Rachel, home for a little lunch break and I decided that if the truck flipped over the hill, we would go out and help by bringing all the packages up to the house. Of course we’d need to open them all just to make sure nothing was broken or damaged.

Once the truck was finally pulled out we discovered the real reason why the truck got stuck in the first place.

The driver obviously did not know how to drive his truck in reverse.

Even on a completely straight and flat section of the drive, the towtruck driver had to walk along with this guy to yell directions.

Without the towtruck driver there to help him, he would have gotten stuck several more times after knocking down big pine tree branches and running completely over my flower bed.

He’s safely on his way, and I’m glad that I have no more deliveries coming from this company any time soon.

The good thing about all this is that he delivered some real goodies for me…

Wool! Lots of beautiful thick black tweedy wool!

I ordered this from my wool company a while back but it was on back order for a long time until they finally cancelled the order saying that it was going to be out of stock for too long.

So I called the company. This wool is gorgeous and I had used most of my supply to fill orders for the “Jingle Bell Candy Canes” candle mat kits. I needed more of the amazing wool to use for myself.

They told me on the phone that all they had left was remnants. To make a long story short, I got 5 huge pieces of wool at a discounted price with free delivery because they were so apologetic that they couldn’t fill my original order.

Just an amazing deal!

I know y’all don’t want to hear this because everyone is right in the middle of the big Christmas hustle bustle rush, but I’m working on Valentine designs now. I will have two really cute designs ready to sell as patterns within the next week or so. Be sure to keep watch!

Happy Day!

Stringing Popcorn For Da Tree

2010-12-18T13:02:00.002-05:00

I just realized that I haven’t blogged for about a week!
Gosh, where did the time go?!?
Honestly, I told myself this time last year that I would try to take it easy this year so that I would have more time to get things done to prepare for Christmas and then be able to relax a bit. It’s not quite so bad this year but it’s still too much too close to Christmas.
I just finished up my last order last night ….
And those jingle bells in the center represent the very last ones I have left so hopefully, I’ll be able to find them somewhere so I can stock up and have more available next year. I know they’re hard to find at the craft stores now, but perhaps they’ll be discounted online after Christmas.
This pattern (the Jingle Bell Candy Cane candle mat)has been REALLY surprisingly popular. I wish I had finished the design earlier so more of you could have had the time to finish it for the holidays, but… the good thing is that I have new designs all drawn out and ready to go for next Christmas so I’ll be able to sell them waaaay before the holidays next year.
So, I’m done with orders now for finished candle mats and have time now to do the baking, cleaning and finish decorating the tree.
Kaiden has been pestering me to finish the tree so that he can help to decorate it, but I have to put the popcorn strands on it first. My fingers only had time to stitch thread on wool and no time to stitch popcorn on thread, so it had to wait.
I did get a start the other day …
and it was just enough on the lower branches to allow Kaiden to put the candy canes on. The silly boy ended up decorating the lower branches nicely with every single one of the candy canes. The upper branches will be caneless this year, I guess.
So, this stringing popcorn has been a tradition for me for …
well, forever.
We have 10 foot high ceilings so we used to always get huge trees. The bigger the tree , the more popcorn.
Nowadays, it’s a much smaller tree, so not quite as much popcorn stringing, but it’s still time consuming. I don’t hate doing it, it’s just that I could be doing so many other things instead, so I put off doing it. But really, it wouldn’t be our tree without the popcorn, so I HAVE to do it
I go through lots of popcorn. So some tricks to get it done fast?
First of all, I always pop it on the stove, using Orville popcorn.
I don’t use microwave popcorn. The Orville popcorn popped in a pan on the stove make large fluffy popcorn which is easier to string.
Secondly, I always use dental floss instead of thread to string the popcorn. I use the waxed mint cause I like the mint scent while I’m stringing. :) With dental floss, you never have problems with the thread breaking … it never breaks. Heck, we used to have a golden retriever that would hide behind the tree and crunch away at the popcorn. The string never broke and she easily ate it without messing up the rest of the strand. Sheesh, I miss that dog. Best dog ever …
Anyway, that’s pretty much all the tricks for stringing.
I meant to post this a while ago but I forgot…
If you go to Amazon.com HERE they’re giving away FREE, one holiday song each day until Christmas. There’s some really good music there that is absolutely free!
I guess they do this every year, but this is the first year for me. We’ll have to remember to watch for it next year. Someone remind me, ok?

Ok, ladies. I’m off to fight the crowds at the mall with hubby. I really really hate doing any shopping this close to Christmas, but hubby will be with me to keep my crowd claustrophobia under control.

Oh, and I’m a bit disappointed that more of you haven’t advertised your Ebay and Etsy sites in my last blog post. Thanks to those of you that did, but it’s not too late to give your website a little boost in sales.
Go down to my last post and let everyone know what you’re selling, give the link and wait for the big bucks to come in!
Ok, so maybe you won’t be bombarded with hits, but I’m trying!

Happy Day everyone ! …. I’m going to try to get through this shopping day without becoming frazzled!

Ebay, Etsy Selling! Let’s Do Some Shopping!

2010-12-11T09:55:00.003-05:00

Do you sell your handmade goodies on Ebay or Etsy?
Everyone should know what Ebay is by now, but oddly, there’s a lot of people who don’t know what Etsy is.
Etsy is almost like Ebay except it’s specifically for handmade/homemade/artist type items.
Etsy, at least for me, is a great place to go to be entertained.
Odd items can be found there that make you think, “Ummm…what the heck?” and “wow, someone actually bought that?”

Here’s a good example …. This ….

Well, what can I say? It’s self explanatory. It was sold as a pattern on Etsy. Someone out there owns a pattern to make this.
I really like how the tie strings have the turkey feet at the bottom.
We all probably know someone who would have the personality to be able to pull off wearing this in public.
My sister would probably wear this at work.

Once you’re at the Etsy site, just use the search bar to find whatever you need.
I easily found this gem when I typed “earrings” into the search bar…..
I do believe that these are cut off Barbie arms that are made into earrings. I wish, like the turkey hat, this seller would have shown how these actually look on the ears. I think seeing them dangling from the ears would help to sell them better.
So to go along with the earrings, I accidently found this when I typed “shoes” in the search bar…..
My sister would probably wear both the arm earrings and the leg necklace to work too. Carol, don’t look at this, it’s supposed to be a surprise Christmas gift.

But really, Ebay and Etsy are great places to shop for really beautiful handmade things. So many bloggers are Ebay and/or Etsy sellers, just like me, so I’m going to give all of you a chance to advertise your things in the comments.
I can’t personally list all of your names … I don’t want to hurt feelings if I forget a name.
I will name the bad sellers though …. ….
nah, I won’t publicly name you, so calm down. Those of you who wish to know the ones to stay away from, just email me for the names. :)
So, in the comments, give me a link to either your Ebay/Etsy selling site or give me a link to one of your favorite sellers whom you really admire for their quality items.
Ok? Let’s do some Christmas shopping!
Happy Day everyone and have a grand weekend!

The Returning Dish Dilemma

2010-12-08T09:27:00.001-05:00

First all of, thanks to all of you who’ve ordered my newest pattern, “Jingle Bell Candy Canes”. Patterns are mailed now and kit orders will be mailed out today. I only have 2 more wool kits available for this so if you’re interested, let me know, QUICK.

cathspennies@gmail.com

So I have this little, minor, insignificant, reoccurring problem with this little dish …

I don’t own this dish but it never fails to show up at my house when I invite the relatives over for the holidays. I don’t have a problem with it showing up at my house, but I do have a problem with it STAYING at my house until I remember to return it to it’s owner.

I won’t mention the name of the owner of this dish. And I do want to mention that anytime this dish comes into my house, it contains something yummy. I think. She brought this over, filled with something for our Thanksgiving meal. This time, I’ve no clue what she had in it. All I know is that it’s now here, sitting empty on my counter, waiting for me to return it.

But see, she always, ALWAYS leaves it here. I always ALWAYS, try to get everyone to take their dishes home with them when they bring food over for the holiday meals. I wash them up and made sure that all empty dishes are placed in their hands as they walk out the door to head for their homes. This way, I don’t have to look at it sitting on my countertop until I remember to deliver it/return it to them.

This little dish always finds a way to remain here.

So each and every time, I wash it and sit it at the back of my counter … like this…..

And here it remains until I remember to put in in my car and take it over to ~~my sister’s~~ (whoops, I can’t mention a name) the un-named person’s place of work. Sometimes months go by with it sitting, unused on my counter.

It’s really a cute little dish. Each time I look at it sitting there, taking up precious counter space, I’m tempted to put it up in my cupboard and pretend that it’s mine. But then, every time I use it, I’ll remember that it’s not mine.

So now, in my mind, I’m scheduling in a delivery date.

Friday, I will be in the town where her office is located. Hopefully, I’ll remember to put it in the car with me when I leave.

Until then though, I’m so weary of always seeing it sitting here empty, so darn it, I’m going to use it.

Well, it’s a bit too small to use to hold my tomatoes …..

I always have a pack of gum and some tic tacs sitting on my counter so maybe this could be nice holder for them … nah…..

Peanuts fit nicely in it! Maybe. But this reminds me to ask my daughter about her son’s peanut eating ability because yesterday when Kaiden was here, I saw him help himself to a peanut. I gave him a napkin to put the shells on, but later when I looked … there were no empty shells in sight which leads me to believe that perhaps he ate the shells????

Ok, I’m not going to let the peanuts sit out in a dish until I know for sure that Kaiden is not eating the shells.

hahah…. looking about for something else that I can put in the dish, I found this ….

Those fancy hors d'oeuvres toothpicks have also been sitting at the back of my counter … for a couple years. LOL …. I just realized that this is something else ~~my sister~~ (whoops) that un-named person brought over and forgot to take back home with her.

She’s getting these back, dust included, when I return the dish.

Do you think that after she reads this, she’ll feel shame for always forgetting this dish which forces me to always try to remember to deliver it back to her???

Are you kidding? You don’t know my sister. My sister will sneak into my house someday when I’m not home and deliberately LEAVE the empty dish on my counter. In fact, I’m thinking that by next week, I’m going to see this dish magically appear on my countertop again.

Whoops, I’m not going to mention any names nor am I going to give the un-named person any ideas.

Maybe this Christmas I’ll see this dish back in my house filled with the un-named person’s famous cheeseball! (hint, hint)

Happy Day everyone!

New Pattern = Ready!

2010-12-06T09:51:00.002-05:00

Jingle Bell Candy Canes is being printed today so orders are welcome!
Special preorder price is $8.50 which includes shipping cost (for US and Canada only)
Just click the Paypal button over there on the left sidebar to purchase.
If you wish to pay by check, email me and I’ll send you my mailing address.
cathspennies@gmail.com
Finished size of this candle mat is 16 1/2”. The center circle candle area measures 5 1/2" so there's plenty of room for a nice 4" candle for the center.

If you plan to make this right away, get to Michaels or Joann Fabrics now to buy the jingle bells. They are getting low in their supply. Look for either the 10mm or 12 mm size. I’m pretty sure the ones that I’ve used are 12mm size.

Wool kits are available but won’t be mailed until Thursday.
I have absolutely gorgeous thick black tweedy type wool to use for the background on this. It really makes the candy canes stand out.
Kit price, which includes all the 100% wool, the pattern and shipping is $36.00. (doesn’t include the jingle bells or the threads)
If interested in the kit, just email me at cathspennies@gmail.com
I’ve made this pattern exceptionally easy. The candy cane shape which extends over the edge is right in the background pattern. No measuring is needed to get those candy cane groupings straight, centered and in line. Just match the red or white wool canes to the background shape and stitch.
Basic stitches that are used are: Blanket stitch, straight stitch, french knots and stem stitch.

Happy Day everyone!

Jingle Bells Candy Canes Candle Mat!

2010-12-03T09:49:00.001-05:00

I’m all ready to start selling some of my finished things.

Perhaps next week, I’ll sell a few things on Ebay but

for now, I’m selling my things on my “Kindred Sisters” website.

Since I did get so many requests for the pattern for this, I’ll try to work on that over this weekend.

Y’all might remember that last year I sold little candy cane pillows …

which is where I got the idea for the candle mat from. The little pillow will be for sale on my Kindred Sisters website too.

I have to tell you ladies, if you’re stuffing little pillows like this one, try clipping up some of your old wool scraps to use for the filling instead of poly fiberfill. The wool scraps really make a huge difference in the weight of it. If you haven’t discovered it, give it a try.

Anyway, go over to my Kindred Sisters site and take a look at my finished things for sale. Everything is made with 100% wool. You all should know by now that I don’t use woolfelt for anything .. not that there’s anything wrong with woolfelt, it’s just that I love the look, the feel and the textures of 100% wool.

Here’s a few more pics of the Jingle Bells Candy Cane candle mat:

I have to laugh at the picture below that I took because no matter how I angled the camera to get the shot …..

the screen on my camera made this vase filled with candy canes look like one of those shrimp cocktail servers that you get in restaurants.

Actually, looking at this little picture makes me hungry for shrimp cocktail.

But really, I think if I had more candy canes in the vase, I’d get a much better picture.

Here’s the larger picture…..

so please just imagine the vase with more candy canes in and and stop thinking about shrimp cocktails.

Or….. hmmm …. now you know that anything … even a shrimp cocktail server would look great on this candle mat!

Anyway… go over to the Kindred Sisters website and take a look at my things for sale. <-----click there to go directly to my site.

Browse about the entire site <---- click there to see more gift ideas from some really wonderfully talented crafters!

Thank you to EVERYONE who offered me help and suggestions for my obnoxious greedy squirrel problem! You ladies are wonderful!

Happy Day everyone!

The Squirrels Are Winning The War

2010-12-01T09:30:00.001-05:00

Before I talk about my battle with the local squirrels, I have to show what I’m currently working on.

I’ve finally finished this (almost) I just need to put the backing on.

This will be sold as a finished candle mat. Once it’s finished, I show better pics.

Ok…

Let me first say, I like squirrels. Really I do. I brake for squirrels. I’m saddened when I see the breeze blowing a fluffy tail of a flattened one on the road. I marvel at their abilities to jump from tree to tree and to run across power lines.

I don’t mind that the squirrels are helping themselves to the birdseed in the birdfeeders. I DO mind though when they become selfish and greedy.

I have two bird feeders at the back of the house on tall poles. The squirrels that use those feeders are mannerly and respectful when it comes to sharing the birdseed. They do climb up the poles to get on top of the feeders but they don’t scatter the seeds too much and they always leave enough behind for the birds.

The one feeder that I have at the front of the house, by the driveway?

Nasty, mean, obnoxiously selfish squirrels come in and overtake the feeder.

They climb to the top of the feeder, knock all the contents to the ground and then wait for me to fill it up, only to knock it all out again.

The ground is covered with spilled sunflower seeds and cracked corn but the squirrels prefer the fresh stuff up in the feeders. They’re too good to eat off the ground.

It’s a constant battle.

Kaiden even knows now to open the front door and yell at the squirrels when he sees them on the feeder.

See, the problem is that the feeder isn’t attached to a pole. It swings from a cord so it’s easy for the squirrels to tip it over, knocking all the seed to the ground.

Some say to get a different type of feeder. I don’t want to. This feeder was a Christmas gift 2 years ago from Rachel’s boyfriend. He picked it out just for me and even included birdseed with it.

I’ve attempted different ways to keep them off the feeder. I ended up sticking all of my garden/lawn decorations into the ground, surrounding the pole so that the squirrels wouldn’t be able to climb the main pole to get up.

I thought it was a really good idea at the time.

However, as you can see in the picture, and as my husband laughingly informed me when he saw my elaborate efforts … I essentially just created a wonderful jungle gym for the squirrels.

Great, a squirrel Disney World with free food.

Hubby said he could try greasing the pole. I think this is a whole lot of fruitless effort.

I think I’ll have to mount the feeder on a board so that it doesn’t swing.

They’ll still be able to climb but they won’t be able to knock all the seeds out.

And here’s one of the squirrels right now as I type…getting ready to play on the jungle gym and then feast on the sunflower seeds and cracked corn in the feeder.

Yes, it is snowing here this morning!

Happy Day everyone!

Let’s Play Catch Up Today!

2010-11-29T09:52:00.001-05:00

I haven’t blogged for a while and I feel soooo behind. Not even sure where to start to catch y’all up on things. The bronchitis really whipped me this time. It’s been almost 3 weeks now and I still don’t have my voice back completely…I’ve been croaking for so long now that I’m almost used to the sound.

Thank you all for the wonderful response for my newest pattern, “SNOW”. Those who have ordered it should either have it now or it will be delivered shortly.

I have been working on some things to sell as finished items, so watch in the next few days for the pictures.

I haven’t had this happen for a long time, but it’s one of those things that every handstitcher has probably done from time to time….

See where the arrows are pointing? Yes, indeed, I stitched my candle mat to my tablecloth. It was the starting stitch too.

Gosh, how many times over the years have I stitched myself to either a tablecloth or my own shirt … I won’t count!

Shame on me. I always work on a wooden board to keep from doing this but the tablecloth slipped up over the board, I guess. Thankfully it was only one stitch!

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Ok, let’s talk about blogging and the blog world for a bit.

I have 315 followers now. I would love to reciprocate and add all of you so that I can follow you too but blogspot makes that so difficult.

I wish Blogspot would send me a notice to let me know that someone has been added. I also wish that Blogspot would make it simpler for me to find that new person’s blog so that I may add myself to their list.

So… here’s what I’d love for y’all to do for me. If you’re following me and I’m not “following” you and you’d like me to follow you, please send me and email and tell me your blogsite address.

My email address is cathspennies@gmail.com

Speaking of addresses, there are times that some of you comment and I’d love to respond back to you privately but your blog settings prevent me from getting your email address.

So, every one of you who have a blog, please, release your email address so that when I receive the comment in my email, I can respond right back to you.

To change the email settings,

** In your dashboard, click "Edit Profile" next to your profile photo.
** Under Privacy, check “show my email address”.
** Scroll down to identity and below username you'll see “email address”. Type in your gmail address.
** Scroll down and click "Save Profile" at the bottom to save your changes.

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I’ve been asked about the red dot tire prank that I did on our friends, Ben and Linda.

If you wish to read about the red dot tire prank just click here

Benny and Linda never figured out how those red dots got on their tires until one Sunday afternoon when hubby and I were traveling with them to go out for dinner, the subject came up.

Linda said something about still not knowing how the dots got on their tires and she looked over at me and saw the look on my face. I guess my face told her that I knew something about it because then she started laughing hysterically and said “you probably did it, didn’t you?”

I couldn’t cover up my laughing after that and hubby did nothing to help me, so I was caught!

So they know about it now and Benny promises to get me back. He said that he already knows what he’s going to do but he has to wait for time to pass so that I’ll forget.

Ok, that’s all for now. I promise to keep up on the blogging this week to give you addicts something to read. Honestly, some of you are such nags!! :)

Happy Day everyone!

“SNOW” Penny Rug Candle Mat (NEW PATTERN)

2010-11-20T09:27:00.001-05:00

My husband informed me this morning that I spelled “MOUSE” wrong…

I guess I need to add an “E” to the pattern for those of you who wish to make a “MOUSE” penny rug instead of a “SNOW” penny rug.

Personally, I prefer the Snow design….

The pattern to create this is now available for sale!

The finished size is 15” across. It’s shown made with 100% wool, which is recommended but this can be made with wool felt too if you wish to save on expense.

It looks especially nice when made with extra thick wools, creating a super puffy snowball effect….

But it still looks very pretty with the regular weight wool too.

Pattern price will be, like always, a special preorder price, of $8.00.

This special price will be good until Monday evening and then it will become the regular pattern price of $9.50.

This price includes shipping cost for those in the US and in Canada.

All other internationals, will just have to pay the additional shipping cost. (which is usually only about $1.00 more)

Simply click on the Paypal button over there on the left to purchase.

If you wish to pay by check, just email me at

cathspennies@gmail.com to get my mailing information.

Also, the “Christmas Sugar Cookies” pattern price will be going back up soon to the regular price of $9.50, so if you like it, purchase it now and save some $$.

The “SNOW” penny rug pattern will be ready for mailing on Monday!

Happy Weekend everyone!

“SNOW” Penny Rug –Tutorial (Part 2)

2010-11-19T10:40:00.001-05:00

I’m going to finish this up today by creating the snowflakes.

The snowflake centers are cut out by using freezer paper also. Even though they are small and you might think you can easily cut them by just drawing the lines, the freezer paper holds the wool tight so that each of those little tips and corners are cut perfectly. Just be careful when removing the freezer paper so that it doesn’t shred the wool tips.

Ok, so in this picture, from the backside, I pinned the snowflake center.

Then I measured and drew the lines with a chalk pencil. (the measurements will be given in the pattern instructions.)

Following the drawn chalk line, I did a stem stitch all the way across, catching the snowflake center in with the stitching.

See how I’ve crisscrossed the stem stitch?

I drew in the other lines and stem stitched.

I have to note that I like how the stem stitch looks on the snowflake but if you’re not comfortable doing a stem stitch then a simple back stitch would work nicely too. They are your snowflakes … create them how you wish!

To give the snowflakes more detail, I’ve made little straight stitches and then added a little french knot on the top.

Here’s the finished snowflake. I just need to do two more smaller ones underneath the “Snow” letters and I’ll be finished with the top.

Finished! Now I’ll take this to the ironing board. See how the background isn’t laying flat? It’s a bit puckered so steaming it with an iron will take those puckers right out.

For this design, I’m not going to let the iron touch the wool at all. I’ll just hold the steaming iron over the design and let the steam do the work. The background puckers go flat almost right away.

After it’s steamed, I can attach the backing.

I reused the same freezer paper from the background so that the shape will be exactly the same. The pin that you see on the one scallop is there to indicate where my matching point is.

I’ll match up the front background and the backing scallop together and then I’ll pin the rest of the backing on.

It fits perfectly this way. I am really generous with the pins so that no shifting occurs when I blanket stitch the edges.

All I need to do is flip it over and blanket stitch around the outside edge.

Here’s the almost finished front! Unfortunately I can’t show this with the blanket stitching on the outside edges because I ran out of my pearle cotton thread. I should get more in today so I will be able to show the completed rug tomorrow.

You can see, this isn’t very difficult to make. I used extra thick coat weight wool for this one but regular weight wool looks really nice too.

If some of you were readers last year, I showed one made with regular weight wool …..

Here’s the one that I made last year using the regular weight wool. It’s just as nice, just not as puffy.

I’ll be taking orders for the pattern tomorrow, so keep watch!

Happy day everyone

“SNOW” Penny Rug - a Step-by-Step Tutorial (Part 1)

2010-11-18T10:13:00.002-05:00

If you scroll down a bit and look on the left sidebar, you’ll see a picture of this “Snow” Penny Rug …

I’ve had that picture up for so long, most times I forget it’s even there …
until someone emails me to ask to purchase the pattern.

It’s never been available as a pattern, until now!
Yes, I’ll be releasing this pattern for sale on Saturday (hopefully).
While it’s being printed, let’s do a pictured tutorial that will show you exactly how it’s made.
It’s really not difficult at all.
Please remember though, purchase the pattern if you wish to make this yourself. This is a copyrighted design created by me, Cath’s Pennies Designs.
.. this tutorial is shown so that:
1. those who have never attempted a wool penny rug will see how easy they are to make.
2. those who have purchased the pattern will have additional pictured help in case the pattern instructions are not clear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ok, let’s get started!
I HIGHLY recommend using freezer paper to create the background shape and the penny circles.
We are using 100% wool and wool tends to stretch a bit when cutting.
The freezer paper will ensure that the wool stays in place while cutting, giving you an as close to perfect shape as possible without using a die cutter.
I always recommend using 100% wool, but if you wish to save on cost, woolfelt may be used for this too.
(I know virtually nothing about woolfelt but it might not be a good idea to use freezer paper in this case because the ironing would/might flatten the bumpy texture that makes the felted woolfelt so nice.)
It might be difficult to see in the picture but using a pencil, I’ve traced the background shape onto the freezer paper.

I cut the excess paper away from the shape and now I’ll take this and my wool to the ironing board …
Oh, but I almost forgot! …
TIP: There will be a wool backing for this penny rug and I always use the same freezer paper for the backing. Sometimes the shape is not cut perfectly so … To make it easier to line up the backing to the front background wool, I pencil some lines on one of the scallops on the freezer paper. Then I make a stitch with some contrasting thread in the wool where those lines are so that when it comes time to stitch on the backing, I line the markings together so that the background and backing will fit and align perfectly.
Gosh, I hope that’s not confusing, but if it is, you’ll see once you go through this tutorial.
Ok, with a dry iron, I ironed the freezer paper onto the background wool. I cut along the penciled lines to create this shape.
I carefully pulled off the freezer paper and set it aside … I’ll use it again later for the backing.
You can see on the far right that I made a little stitch in the wool so that when it comes time to attach the backing, I’ll know exactly how to line the two together so that they match perfectly.
The background shape is ready to go so I did exactly the same thing with the freezer paper to create the circles. There are 16 stacks of 3 penny circles so the cutting takes some time. If you have a circle die cutter, now is the time to use it!
I prefer to cut them by hand … I like the look of the not so perfect circles.
I highly recommend putting all of the circles in some type of container so that they’re not lost. It’s amazing how they disappear only to show up after you’ve cut the replacement ones! Containing them helps (but still doesn’t guarantee) so that they won’t get lost.
Ok, time for stitching now!

I need to stitch the penny circles together first so I’ll stack the medium sized penny on to the largest penny and blanket stitch around the edges, pinning to hold it in place.
With such a small circle to stitch, you might be tempted to not bother to pin. I’ve found that pinning ensures that it doesn’t slip out of place, so that you don’t get a lopsided penny.

Now I’ve pinned the smallest penny onto the stack and blanket stitched the edges.
One penny stack done, 15 more to go!
The pennies are now ready to be stitched to the background wool. I stitched the 8 outside pennies on first just to get the spacing right. Once those 8 are blanket stitched on, I filled in with the 8 inside circles.
All the pennies are stitched and done!
Now we’ll stitch on the SNOW letters.
Again, I used freezer paper so that the letters are cut perfectly …or as perfectly as they can be cut without a die cutter.
I stitched the “S” and “W” on first to make it easier to space the other letters evenly between. I just did a whip stitch for the letters. I like how it looks with a whip stitch.. it makes the letters look puffier … but if you prefer, a blanket stitch can be used instead.

Ok, not too much more to go!
I’ll show the finishing tomorrow. I need to stitch on the snowflakes and attach the backing.

Go Here for PART 2 of the Tutorial! PART 2

Pattern should be ready to purchase on Saturday!
Happy Day everyone!

Why Drugs Are Good

2010-11-15T10:05:00.001-05:00

I shouldn’t even tell you why I haven’t blogged for a week, because if all of you readers are like my family members, I would get no sympathy … only scolded and nagged and scolded some more, simply because I haven’t blogged.

I will tell you … but I demand some sympathy.

It started last Monday. That little sniffle feeling in my nose and the tickle in my throat.

By Wednesday, my voice was gone. Completely gone. My family was ecstatic and I received the “point and laugh at mom because YAY, she can’t talk!” comments.

I put up with this until Friday, when I decided to drag sick self into the doctor to get some drugs.

I knew what it was. I get the sinus infection which then turns into bronchitis about once a year.

Saturday, thanks to the antibiotics, I was starting to feel human again and I could speak with a croaking voice. Today, I’m still croaking badly but I feel much much better.

So let’s talk a bit more about sympathy now.

On Thursday, my sister, (Casserole Carol) emailed me to ~~nag~~ ask me why I haven’t blogged.

When I told her I was sick, her response was and I QUOTE, “You are now a public figure. Your blog is read by millions and you owe it to us to speak at least twice a week!! No excuses—neither rain, sleet, snow, nor gloom of the night, shall keep you from your duties….or colds or rugrats.”

On Friday, after I spent the entire day sleeping, coughing, hacking, and whispering because I had no voice. my sweet, considerate and oh so wonderfully sympathetic daughter Rachel told me, “Mom, you need to blog. You might be sick and miserable, but nothing is wrong with your fingers. You can type so you need to blog”

Also, on Friday, my sensitive and caring daughter, Jen, called and after telling me she couldn’t understand what I was trying to whisper to her when she asked if I wanted to go shopping at Kohl’s so that we can take advantage of MY 30% off everything in the whole entire store coupon that I received in the mail, said she was going to take Rachel and go without me. (wow, that was a loooong run-on sentence)

So, let it be known family members. The next time I get sick like this, I’ll blog for you but in return I want:

1. some sympathy.

2. some chocolate cake

3. a constant supply of warm compresses for my exploding face.

4. more sympathy.

5. a stack of movies from Redbox.

6. a good book.

7. a little more sympathy.

8. a parade with clowns and floats that go up and down the driveway a few times a day.

9. another 30% off everything in the entire Kohl’s store coupon to use whenever I darn well feel like it.

10. some real homemade chicken soup and not ramen soup.

11. a constant supply of milkshakes and/or coffee depending on what my throat feels like.

12. pumpkin pie sounds pretty good too.

:) I love my family and I know they love me …. especially when I have a 30% off Kohl’s coupon.

Ok, for all of you readers, I will now show you a picture of what I’ve been doing for the entire week that I’ve been absent ….

I am back and in the next few days, I’ll have a new winter pattern ready to show you.

Happy Day everyone and thank you Jonas Salk for the penicillin.

“Dead Snowmen in a Jar”

2010-11-02T09:28:00.001-04:00

See, I told you I’d be back!

Last week was hubby’s last vacation of the year, so we took a few days to drive over to Michigan.

Even though Michigan is only about a 4-5 hour drive away from us here in western PA, we’ve never been to Michigan. We decided to venture over there to take a tour of the Ford factory.

I forgot to take my camera with me, so you’ll see no pictures, but I’m very happy to report that the people in Michigan seem to be normal!

They talk a little funny, but other than that, they look and act just like the normal folk that live around PA.

In spite of the rainy, windy and cold weather, it was still nice to get away. I didn’t have to cook for a few days either!

So, what’s been going on around here? Well, believe it or not, I don’t always just work with wool. I do take some time to do other crafty things once in a while.

I made some little snowmen for this glass vase……

They’re just white cotton rag balls. I painted some faces on them. I plan to dirty them up a bit by spraying them with some tea and baking them.

It’s always fun to see/hear the reaction from my family members after I’ve made something different.

Kaiden dumped them out and told me he was going to put them back together, and proceeded to stack them.

Jen came in to pick up Kaiden and I don’t remember exactly what she said but the word “creepy” was the main verbal point.

Then Rachel came home and saw them. She laughed and said, “Why do you have dead snowmen in a jar?”

This lack of support from my family might be disturbing to some, but I take great pride in living up to my “crazy wool lady” reputation.

Now, all of you readers, do me a favor and tell my daughters what YOU think of my crafty creation….

When you look at this picture, do you see creepy dead snowmen in a jar or do you see cute little snowman faces peering out of……. … ok, wait … maybe it is a bit creepy ….

Happy Day everyone!

Our Little Harry Potter

2010-10-26T09:14:00.001-04:00

Our Grandson Kaiden decided he wanted to be Harry Potter this year for Halloween.

Jen made his wizard robe. She surprised me with her sewing skills. I thought for sure that I would end up making just about all of it, but with determination, she did it. So proud of her!

He said he loves the glasses and the wand the most. Jen even figured out how to make the Harry Potter scar on the forehead too. It looks so real, even knowing it’s fake, I did a double take.

This is just a quick post to let you all know that I’m going to be on vacation for the rest of the week. My Blog silence doesn’t mean I’ve died. It means that hubby and I have taken a trip.

Now, for the sinister that might be reading this and thinking now is the perfect time to rob our house; even though hubby and I won’t be home, daughter will be home to guard the house along with killer cat Skittles. We also have armed big dogs that are specially trained to shoot their shotguns on command. … yes, they are very special dogs.

We have a special recruit snipers that will be positioned on our roof and along with our security systems that will sound alarms that will deafen anyone within a 5 mile radius, it’s unlikely that you, the house robber, will be rewarded with anything other than a tombstone planted in the dirt above your body. (may you RIP)

And if by chance you do happen to break in while everyone is taking a lunch break … please just steal my husbands things and leave my wool alone! :)

I’ll be back next week!

Happy day everyone!

My Very Special RED DOT TIRES & the Practical Joke

2010-10-20T10:49:00.001-04:00

I know I had mentioned before but last spring, we purchased a new car.

The car, for some reason, came with little red dot stickers on each tire.

Now, I don’t know why there were red dots on the tires, but I didn’t bother removing them, knowing that eventually they would fall off.

Right after our car purchase, our neighbors, Ben & Linda, were admiring our new car and the subject of the red dots came up.

Benny, when I asked him why there would be red dots on a tire said,

“Those are the Red Dot Tire Brand of tires.”

I looked at his face closely to see if he was joking because I’ve never heard of the “Red Dot Tire Company”. He didn’t look like he was joking. I sorta convinced myself that he wasn’t making it up simply because … well, why would someone make something like that up?

Throughout the summer, every time Ben would see our car, he would always comment about the red dots still being on our tires. I really had expected them to fall off sooner, but they clung (like a stink bug on the screen right before the vacuum sucks them up).

By mid summer, I figured out for sure that Benny was teasing me. There is no “Red Dot Tire Company”. But I didn’t tell Ben that I knew he was joking.

I bought some red dot stickers at Walmart.

And this past Sunday morning, when I knew Ben and Linda weren’t home.

I gave Benny’s van some special red dots on all four of his tires.

And since his Pick-up truck was sitting there …

I gave his truck some red dots too.

So, I went home and waited for the phone call from Benny to yell at me about his red dots …

I waited and waited …. but no phone call came.

So yesterday, I was outside racking some leaves. Benny was outside racking some leaves and here’s how the conversation went, once he saw me outside.

Benny: “Hey Cathy, you remember how you had red dots on your tires?”

Me, trying to keep from laughing: “oh yes, I do!”

Benny, with really puzzled look on his face: “well, I came home the other day and now I have red dots on my tires too! As soon as I saw them, I thought of you! But …..

I don’t know how they got there!”

Me, not believing that he really doesn’t suspect me of doing it: “I dunno Benny, maybe there’s a red dot fairy giving special people red dots on their tires?”

Benny, laughing at the thought, but then said: “I think maybe when I pay for parking they put the dots on the tires.” …. But I have dots on 8 tires and I haven’t taken my truck …. “

So at this point, I realize that he really does not suspect me at all and he is completely perplexed by how in the world red dots appeared on his tires.

I was called away from the conversation by Kaiden, jumping in the leaves.

I just now looked and he hasn’t removed the red dots from his tires.

I have some blue dots that will go nicely with red dots.

;)

And hubby said that he would put red dots on his motorcycle tires and sit it out so that Benny can see it…..

I’ll keep y’all posted ….

Happy Day!

Free Penny Rug Candle Mat Pattern! “Fall Freebie”

2010-10-18T09:56:00.002-04:00

It’s time for me to give all of you wonderful readers something free.
I’m going to show you exactly how to make this “EEKS!, SPIDERS!” Penny Rug Candle mat.

“EEKS!, SPIDERS!”

I made this in one afternoon, so I’m sure even the slowest stitcher would be able to make this in one day.

Use this design however you wish. All I ask is that if you do sell the finished item on Ebay, Etsy, etc, you give "Cath's Pennies Designs" credit and mention in the item description.

Let’s start!
Here’s some things you’ll need to make this is:
Some wool for the background, size#5 black Pearle Cotton Thread, a ruler, a chalk pencil or marker, scissors, of course, and I didn’t show it in the picture, but you’ll need some scraps of black wool for the spiders.
Here’s the quick sketch of the design ….

The wool that I used for the background is a mottled orange which measures 12” x 20”, but that size can easily be adjusted to make it smaller or larger.

Keep in mind too that this background wool wouldn’t have to be a mottled orange. Other colors would work for this design too. A light brown or off white colored wool would work or for something really dramatic, you could try a black wool background and make the spiders and web a silver/grey color.
Once your background wool is cut to the size you wish …
Use your chalk pencil to draw the lines for the spider web.
Just 3 angled lines is all that is needed for now. The lines I drew are 8” long, but you can adjust your measurements according to how much smaller or larger your background size is.
With the size 5 thread, backstitch along the drawn lines (you can find this pearl cotton thread right in with the regular embroidery floss at Joann Fabrics or Micheal’s)
The stitches look a bit puckered here but no fret, once it’s steam ironed, it will lay flat and smooth.
*TIP* If you notice some chalk still remaining on your wool after you’ve stitched, take a damp cotton cloth and lightly rub to remove the chalk.
Now just make straight stitches to finish the web. I didn’t bother drawing the lines with chalk. This part of the web doesn’t have to be even or perfect so just stitch and have fun with it. I think the more crooked the lines, the better it would look!
Just about done! …and again, don’t fret if the threads don’t like perfectly smooth. As long as you make the stitches not too tight but not too loose, a steam iron will do the job for you.
Once this side is done, flip the wool to the other side and stitch the same web on the other corner.
Once both webs are stitched, now take this to your ironing board.
With a pressing cloth and lots of steam , steam press the top of this, right over the stitching.
*TIP* I like to use a cotton pillow case as a pressing cloth.But anything cotton that will hold up to the temp of the iron will work. Thin Cotton towels work nice too.
Now we’ll stitch in the line that the spider will dangle from.
I measured about 2 3/4” from the right side and drew an 8” long line with my chalk pencil. Depending on the size of your background wool, adjust your measurements accordingly.
Backstitch along the chalk line. We’re ready to create the spiders!
We need to make two circles for each spider. Always use a penny (or coin) to make a penny rug circle!
Here, I used a quarter and a penny to create the circles. Just draw around the coins with your chalk pencil.
You can see that these circles aren’t perfectly drawn, so don’t worry about being exact … it’s just a spider body!
Cut the circles out and place them right at the end of the dangling thread ….
Blanket stitch the large circle first, but leave a little opening ….
and stuff in a little bit of wool roving or polyfil, if you wish.
It’s not necessary to stuff the body but it plumps up the spider a bit.
Finish blanket stitching the rest of the way around the large circle to complete it.

Stitch the smaller circle the same way, stopping to stuff just a bit of fiberfil or roving.

That spider needs some legs!

Just make two straight stitches to create each of the legs.

I want to add some spiders to the web too so I stitched them on the same way.

EEKS! SPIDERS!

Can you see how the stuffing in the spiders make them plump?

Yikes, these are creepy looking spiders!

Ok, so the top is done now. See, that didn’t take long at all, did it?

Now we’ll attach the backing.

I’m using a cotton backing here.
To get the correct size for the backing, I added 1 inch to the length and width of the wool top size. So in this case, the wool top is 12” x 20” so I’ll cut the cotton backing 13” x 21”.
I pressed the fabric edges 1/2” under all the way around the outside of the cotton fabric and then pinned it onto my wool.

I blanket stitched all around the edges.

And finally, to finish, I steam pressed the back of the entire penny rug so that the edges lay nice and smooth.

I wish I had a black candle to use for the center of this, but my autumn candle will have to do!

“EEKS! SPIDERS!”

A quick and easy Penny Rug Candle Mat to make for your Halloween Table … and it’s FREE!

If you’d like to purchase the mottled orange wool to make this, just email me at cathspennies@gmail.com and I’ll send you a Paypal invoice.

The 12” x 20” hand-dyed extra thick blanket weight mottled orange wool is $10 plus $1 shipping. I’ll even include the black wool for the spiders!

Happy Day y’all!

Oh Fall, How I Love Thee!

2010-10-14T10:40:00.003-04:00

This is the view outside my front door. Even though it’s drizzling with dreary grey skies, I can still enjoy the fall colors of my Marigolds.
I was going to pull them all out this past weekend, but decided to wait until after the first frost.

Soooo…lots of stuff going on around here. I’ve been really busy with watching the grandson and fighting the Stink Bug battle.
Thank you to all of you who have offered suggestions on how to best battle them. I actually did try spraying them with vinegar water just to see what would happen.
They didn’t die but they did move/crawl away from the wetted area, so maybe the smell repels them.
Vinegar really is a useful thing to have around. I use it when I dye my wool, so I always have a few big jugs of it around. I use it for cleaning the bathroom too because it cuts through the hard water stains. So yeah, if by chance vinegar will repel some Stink Bugs, the outside of our house is going to smell like vinegar. I don’t mind.
I know the vinegar smell won’t repel Rachel. After the last time she cleaned the bathroom, using vinegar, she wrote “Lays Salt & Vinegar Chips” on the grocery shopping list because the vinegar smell made her hungry. Silly girl.

So hey, I thought that perhaps I had a computer virus because my computer has been so sluggish lately. I virus-scanned my computer and nothing showed up though.
Thanks to Google, I discovered that I had waaaay too many things running in the background, which was taking up the processing time.
So, I spent a few precious hours going through my start-up menu and disabling things that didn’t need to be running and WOW … my computer is almost back to being like new again. Thank you Google.
Ok, business stuff now …
Thank you all for the wonderful response to my newest pattern, “Christmas Sugar Cookies”. I hope you all have started working on it because Christmas and holiday baking time will be here before you know it and you’ll want to have that candle mat ready!
Also, I’ve finally taken the time to figure out how to do a newsletter.
This is something that I know that I’ve needed but just delayed it simply because I’m really not a business person. I have trouble motivating myself to being a business person simply because it takes precious time away from doing what I really love to do which is the actual sewing.
But, it’s done and I’m excited to announce that I’m taking sign ups for my newsletters now!
Now, don’t worry that I’m going to bombard you with even more junk mail in your inbox. I promise that my newsletters will only be to announce things like new patterns and upcoming specials. I’ll be offering special pattern discounts to newsletter subscribers too.
I have the newsletter sign-up right up there on the left sidebar. Just type in the email address where you wish the newsletter to be sent. You’ll get a notice in your email telling you to verify your address and then Voila`, you’re on the list!
And just so you won’t have to scroll up to find the Newsletter sign-up button, I’ll put it right here ……

Cath’s Pennies Designs Newsletter Sign Up!

Happy Day Everyone!