New Costume Sketch

I'm going to be going to our Columbus Comic Book Convention mid-September, which will be my first. I'm pretty excited because I've always wanted to go to one and see what they're all about. Plus it'll give me a good chance to see if maybe it'll be a good fit to sell my pincushion cats there. But I am annoyed at the timing because it's right in the middle of our house painting/moving in time. Which means I doubt very much I'll have time to sew up something to wear. Because how can you go to a convention and not take full part in its entirety?? So here's hoping I'll miraculously get something done!

The Riddler (60's style TV show) has always been one of my favorite characters and I've always wanted to do a female version of that. So I sketched up some ideas. Please bare in mind I AM NOT AN ARTIST AND I'LL NEVER CLAIM TO BE! So please don't mock my drawing abilities too badly. A little is fine, though. I won't take offense.

I have 3 different styles because truthfully I'm not sure what look I'm going for. And I know the colors aren't quite accurate for the TV show Riddler colors. But I couldn't find all my colored pencils and this was the best I could be for the time.

(First sketch I drew - I was going for a fun 50's style party dress with alternating panels of color. And I forgot to put the hat on in the picture I see)

(Second style - more of the suit outfit instead of the unitard, but in a coat-dress style)

(Third style - combination of the suit and unitard outfits, with different color leggings)

Again, it's doubtful that this will get done in a few weeks, but you never know. Maybe I'll use it for Halloween or something. Or I can talk the library into doing a comic book event!

Anyone have a favorite style?

House Update!

So we got our house...officially! We got the keys a little over a week ago and my fiance, my mom and I have been hard at work scrubbing everything down and painting every room. And I feel like I have hardly anything to show for it. I've painted the ceilings of my sewing room and my fiance's room, painted my sewing room, tore down the dining room wall paper, spackled the bedroom and completely cleaned the kitchen area along with unpacking all the dishes, cups, etc. Still soooooo much to do. The goal was to move in mid-September, after everything was completely painted but right now I feel like that's never going to happen.

(Front entry way)

] 

(Living room and fireplace area)

(Me triumphant after getting the last of the glued down contact paper out of the kitchen cabinets)

(My sparkling clean kitchen)

(My very bright green sewing room)

(My fiance's room color that is called "gray squirrel". So I painted a squirrel onto his wall in his gray color)

(My fiance and I as our first official day as homeowners)

More pictures to come!

So, unfortunately, my fiance is having issues with mortgage broker for the house. We were supposed to be closing and getting our keys Wednesday and find out today that he forgot to get a form so that's been pushed back to Thursday. This guy really has been a nightmare for the last month and a half. Hopefully all will go good from now on and we'll actually close on Thursday. I really want to start painting and setting up my sewing room! I plan on painting it a nice cheery green.

And I've tarted packing up all my kitchen stuff and forgot about how many random appliances/party stuff I have. I found a juicer, a smoothie maker, a fondue pot, a waffle maker, a cake dome, 2 punch bowls, a small and big cupcake tower, a chocolate fountain, a wok and a bamboo steamer. And I can't seem to part with any of it.

Somehow in the midst of frantic packing, I've even managed to make some new pincushion cats:

(R2D2 Cat Pincushion)

(Side view of R2D2 Cat)

(Help me Obi Wan Kenobi! You're my only hope!)

 (Dorothy and Toto Cat Pincushion)

 (Made the silver slipper option as well as the ruby)

(I'll get you my pretty! And your little dog...um cat, too!)

I think Dorothy will be my last pincushion until after the move. I can't wait to post pictures of my new house up! Bye for now!

Breading Cat Invasion!

So a few weeks ago my co-worker requested a "Breading Cat" or "Inbread Cat" pincushion or something like that. I had no idea what she was talking about and sent me a picture of a cat with his face pushed through a slice of bread. I thought she was crazy. Then I found out that this is a huge online thing...that I somehow had never heard of.

     Her and her cat seem to like their pincushion!------->

    I still think it's one of the most bizarre internet fads out there. But apparently people seem to like them in fat cat pincushion form. So I made 5 different color options.

                              The breads are removable, too.

Hmmm, all this talk of bread is making me hungry for a jelly sandwich...

R2D2 Cat Pincushion- somewhat...

Today's agenda was working on pincushion cats only. I decided to not do any packing, cleaning, etc and just focus on one task today. Felt pretty good actually.

I got a bunch of bases and patterns cut out, so nothing too exciting to show there. But I did get a good bit done on my R2D2 Cat. 

His body pieces are just pinned on right now and I haven't even started on the head area, but this at least gives me a good idea of what he'll look like in the final product.

And in between my sewing breaks, I ate donuts and watched, for the first time, that worst tattoo show, not sure what it's actually called. That show where people come in with awful tattoos and want to get cover-ups. But I did find it pretty entertaining! Moral of the story: don't get drunk or have your wannabe tattoo artist friends tattoo you for free people!!

Projects, Projects and More Projects

Hello all! Welcome back! The last few days have been crazy busy, as I assume the next few months will be. I made sure to drink plenty of coffee to keep me going. Who needs sleep anyways?

I've been starting to go through all my stuff because I really need to start packing in preparation for the move. The tentative date to get our keys is the 21st. So roughly around that date we will officially get our house! Which is awesome! Too bad I'm a pack rat with way too much junk that I never throw away. So that's the major project right now is to condense as much as I can, or more importantly throw away or give away as much as possible. I've already gone through 4 overflowing Joann Fabric canvas bags of old bills and credit card receipts. Bills going back like 5 years. I don't need you...into the fireplace you go! I also found 2 boxes of old birthday, Christmas, thank you, etc cards. Some from people I can't even remember anymore. Found one from parent's of an ex that didn't end very well...immediately into the trash. Why I have all this stuff, I don't know! That is my resolution for this time- throw stuff away!!

I've also been busy making Fat Cat Pincushions. Some new styles I've made are 60's style Cat Woman and The Wicked Witch of the West. Cat Woman is my new favorite style now. I love her necklace which is all made from sequins, rhinestones and chain. Guess I'm a jewelry maker now!

And I've added on another custom request: Monet Cat. And I've been playing around with dyeing some pom poms to get the right Zombie gray-green color for the paws. Those lime green ones just don't work. And yes the red one will be the Michael Jackson Thriller zombie. What can I say, I'm a child of the 80's who loved that video. Of course I had to make it into a Fat Cat!

And I will be turning this mess of felt squares into this brilliant scrapbooking divider. I think it'll fit my fabric...I hope. Something seriously needs to be done with that area.

<----------this needs to be converted into...

                                                   This!!------>

I need to also start trying to figure out what Star Wars costume to make for our library's October event. It's a pretty cool event, even for a non-Star Wars fan such as myself. I have nothing against it, I've just never been that into it.

But the event it great because we get performers from our local 501st and Rebel Legion groups.

Which means we have lots of Storm Troopers, Jedi's and Rebel Pilots walking around and interacting with the members. 

And it's an after hours event so we don't have to worry about disturbing anyone trying to read and we can be as loud as we like. Last year I was Padme.

But I'd really like to do something different this time. No idea what that'll be though. Any suggestions?? I need to have it sewn by the first week of October. I also need to figure out my actual Halloween costume. And sometime in November is our Doctor Who event at the library. So there will be 3 costumes back to back to back. I'm also going to the Columbus Comic Book Convention in mid-September, which I'd really loved to make a costume for, but I don't see it happening. With the move and everything happening around the same time, I think it'd be a lost cause. Unless it's something I could whip up in a day...Hmmm, what's a very VERY simple comic book character?

Well, those are my projects for now, some completed, some started and some, well, not so much. 

Talk to you later!

 -Kathleen

Introduction- Hello!

Hello everyone and welcome to my first blog posting! I will warn everyone right off the bat...I ramble. When I get excited, which is often, I will go on for a bit about nothing.

Now that the forewarning is out in the open, let me introduce myself. I'm Kathleen, I live in Ohio and I'm a bit of a nut. I tend to get way too overzealous with my projects and take on much more than time, or my skill levels, allows. But I try anyways and that's what counts right!

(In case you weren't sure, that's me)

With that being said let me tell you a bit about my many projects and events that I will be discussing in this blog. First and foremost, I am a crafter. Love crafts, love reading about craft projects, love hearing about other people's projects, love fabric, love sewing. I have an online Etsy shop/hobby selling fat cat pincushions, which I'd love to turn into a full-time business. (If you've never heard of Etsy let me explain it real fast. It's like Ebay for crafters. Every crafter has their own storefront within the Etsy website.) This takes up the majority of my free time. So many cats to make, so little time. I started making these about 5 years ago and they have pretty much taken on a life of their own now. They started out as just a basic felt cat with no clothes, personality, etc. Now some have paint and clay and jewelry worked into the design. I do still try to keep as much felt into the characters as possible so that they are still functioning pincushions. I'm most proud of the ones that the supplies used are 100% felt. It's amazing what you can do with felt! I'm also always on Facebook with the latest news, info.

(My Star Wars Cat Pincushion that made it to the front page of that Cheezburger site)

(Batman VS Jack Sparrow)

But for now I'm part library circulation clerk and part fat cat pincushion crafter. Outside of my Fat Cats, I attempt all other sorts of crafts which I will admit it's a 50/50 shot whether or not it'll come out right. But I still enjoy the process. Costume making is a biiiiiigggg deal for me. Love love LOVE making costumes. Though let me point out I am a self taught sewer therefore I am by no means an expert on sewing. I tend to just keep trying out patterns I make or techniques that I think might work until it comes out looking how I want it to. Which is where my library job helps feeds my addiction. And gives me an excuse to buy more fabric and practice. I get to make costumes for the events and walk around taking pictures with people. If only there were events everyday...

(Star Wars 'May the Fourth Be With You' library event- I was Padme)

 (Cats costume a friend for Pet Palooza library event)

 (TARDIS dress for a Doctor Who library event- sadly I didn't finish the bottom portion/panels of my dress)

(Spooky Saturday at the library- me as Max from my favorite childhood book 'Where the Wild Things Are' and my poor mom that showed up to the library that day)

Another big deal is my boyfriend of about 12 years asked me to marry him and we are planning a wedding for October 2014. 

(Oh doesn't he look so happy to be marrying me...)

A Halloween wedding to be more specific. And I'm not talking about gory monster zombie Halloween. We're talking classic vintage Halloween, back when Halloween was about customs and harvest. Lots and lots of pumpkins will be seen. And we're both more DIY people so as much as we can do ourselves we will. And we're on a small budget so we have to do as much as possible to save money. And I've become crazy with Pinterest and started a wedding and a whole ton of other boards. So if you like Halloween and decorations, stay tuned because I'll have lots of Halloween stuff to show!

(Our pumpkins from last year- I did the bat one on the left)

And going with the wedding we bought a house. Yay! Which we'll be moving into in a few weeks. Too bad I'm a pack rat and I haven't even started packing. I'm good like that. Procrastination in my middle name! So me, my fiance, my little tortie cat:

and his monster 30 pound black beast of a cat:

will be moving in together. We'll be like one big happy family, even though my cat hates his cat. And I'm hoping that once we move in and establish a lifestyle I'll take up some cooking. Or maybe the correct phrasing will be, I'll have to learn to cook. I'm a terrible eater. I only really want pastry and bread. 

(Me with lots of pastry at a craft fair)

 So anyone with some good yummy, but EASY, recipes, feel free send them to me. Please. I probably need all the help I can get. I do have a nice pumpkin apron I can wear!

Randon fact: I'm obsessed with my Keurig maker.

Let's see, what else. Covered Fat Cats on Etsy, other random crafting, costumes, wedding, Halloween, moving into a house, cooking. Oh yes! My love of Buster Keaton and classic movies. Movies in general, too but my biggest love is Buster Keaton. 

(Scene from 'The General")

If you don't know who he is...shame on you. Go watch one of his movies, I dare you to not be impressed with his awesomeness. If anyone is seriously interested in seeing one of his movies, I'd start with "Sherlock Jr.". It's 45 minutes of pure joy. It has a great mix of what made him, the Great Stoneface, truly amazing: insane stuntwork, way-ahead-of-it's-time camerawork, fast moving plot and along with 2 unbelievable tricks near the end. 

(This leading up to one of the two unbelievable tricks)

I've even converted my mom into a Buster Keaton lover. I bet I could convert you as well.

(Favorite picture of him)

So yeah, those are pretty much the basics. I plan to cover anything that comes up in my life, but those topics listed above will probably be the most discussed. I hope some are you will be interested enough to follow my blog and get to know me a little better. I plan for a fun, interact blog. It'll get pretty boring if I'm just writing to myself. So comments, suggestions, questions are good! Thanks for reading and goodnight for now. I'll see you again soon...

 -Kathleen