Some 2016 Goals

I tend to write up a huge list of goals/resolutions for a every year. Which I then separate into Personal, Health, and Fat Cat Crafts. And then they never get done. 

But nonetheless, I'm doing it again this year. So here are 10 from each category. I have many more, but thought listing more would be over-kill. Maybe writing them down and putting them out in the virtual world will help me keep them???

Personal

 1. Go swing dancing - I've wanted to for years so now is the time to do it!

 2. Take a road trip - I haven't gone anywhere for years, I think I deserve a vacation.

 3. Visit the West Side Market - A local farmer's market that everyone raves about.

 4. Get nose piercing - Something I've wanted for years much to the dismay of my mom...

 5. Finish my Riddler dress - At least the construction of the dress is already done!

 6. Attend a comic convention - Should be easy right?

 7. Wear my Riddler dress to that convention - Another easy one, right? 
 8. Make a Halloween costume - Possibly from Hocus Pocus.
 9. Make a Padme DIY costume tutorial - Which I get asked a lot how I made that costume.
 10. Make a Bellatrix DIY costume tutorial - Mostly for the lace-up sleeves.

Health
 1. Go to the eye doctor - It's been wayyy too long since my last visit.
 2. Establish daily healthy eating habits - Should have already been done.
 3. Establish daily routine exercises - Yeah, another one that should have already been done.
 4. Start running - Not really looking forward to this one but my cardio is really bad.
 5. Be able to run a full 3 miles without passing out - If I can master this I'll be thrilled
 6. Be able to hold a handstand for a full 30 seconds - Used to be simple when I was a kid.
 7. Get 6 pack abs - Because this is my dream list so why not!
 8. Make it to the top of a rock wall (indoor) - Must strengthen up wrists, Lupus sucks.
 9. Make it to the top of a real rock - Still strengthening wrists but in a nicer scenery.
 10. Do Scorpion pose - Don't do yoga but I'll aim for one of the hardest positions. Why not!

Fat Cat Crafts
 1. Completely organize sewing room - Should have been done YEARS ago!!

 2. Post up various new non-pincushion items - I need to branch out from pincushions.

 3. Retake all poor product pictures - And sadly, there's a lot of poor pictures.

 4. Add in color more choices for basic cat ribbons and skirts - More choices are good right!

 5. Organize product computer picture file folders - My picture folders are out of control!

 6. Sell at a large juried craft fair - Never done it, so figured it would be a good experience.

 7. Stock-pile pieces for Christmas - Just a smart idea.

 8. Be featured in a magazine - I was featured in one last year so I may as well hope for another!

 9. Get my pincushions sold a shop - Branching out is good.

 10. Sell to all 50 states - I can dream right!

And there we go: some of my to-do list for 2016! Stay turned throughout the year for blog posts to see how well, or poorly, I do!

 

Air Force Fat Cat Pincushion

I feel like I'm on a role this month because I've managed to get another new pincushion completed: US Air Force! I think she's quite cute if I do say so myself. 

She's made from various colors of felt and is stuffed with polyester fiberfill. Due to the small pieces, a lot of these pincushions are sewn by hand. 

She stands approximately 5.25 inches (13.25 cms) tall and measures approximately 11 inches (28 cms) around the belly. And she, like all my other creations, is handmade by me and from my own patterns.

To see the Etsy shop listing for full details, CLICK HERE!

Or to visit my Etsy shop to view all my pincushion styles, CLICK HERE!

Italian Cat Pincushions

A new year means new Fat Cat designs. And I am so happy about this newest one I finished! ITALIAN CATS!!!

I knew I wanted to have him holding a plate of food, which my first thought was spaghetti and meatballs. But I'd had a few people ask if I would be doing pizza. So I opted for both options and then you can choose which one you want!

These tan kitties are wearing dark green pants, white shirt, red neck tie and of course a black mustache. They are made out of felt except for the occasional pom poms which are used for his feet and for the meatballs. But everything else is felt, including that pizza. Now don't hold it against me, but I find that pizza to actually look delicious...

Which version do you like better?

The cats stand approximately 5.25 inches (13.25 cms) tall and measure approximately 11 inches (28 cms) around the bellies. These cats, like all my other creations, are handmade by me.

To see the Etsy shop listing for the spaghetti and meatballs version, CLICK HERE!

And to see the Etsy shop listing for the pizza pie version, CLICK HERE!

Or to visit my Etsy shop to view all my pincushion styles, CLICK HERE!

2015 Highlights - Pincushions and Personal Acheivements

Another year already??? And once again I didn't post up anything in the second half of the year. New year's resolution: keep up with this blog this year - must blog at least 2 times a week. That's doable, right??

I'm going to post up some highlights from the later half of 2015 though I'm going to divide my recap into two post. First (and this one) will deal with pincushions and random personal achievements. And the second one will focus on costumes and library events, which goes falls into the costume category. 

So here we go - new pincushions! 

I did a skeleton cat who is now one of my personal favorites,

an elf pair,

a fancy customized beagle-ish dog that I was really sad ship out...I wanted to keep him,

a customized zombie cat in our library branch manager's likeness who retired,

 some smaller sized cats for a hanging mobile

 and a team of tennis players

And Viking Cat Olav the Orange managed to become famous by getting featured in "Ohio Magazine". Way to go Olav!

On the personal side, an achievement I completed was the Cleveland Browns 5K. I missed the Bernie Shuffle the previous year so I was NOT going to miss this one! I only walked it, no running, but for an out of shape girl with a lot of pain and swelling from Lupus, I'll take that as success! Plus the medal we received was AWESOME!! Though, this motivated me to want to actually complete a race like this with running. Resolution: start jogging and build up to completing a race.

Happy New Year - 2016

Happy New Year! Hope everyone's year is filled with much joy, happiness, success and good health! 

Book Lover Cat Pincushion...done!

I got my first completed item off my August checklist: the book lover or book reading cat, complete with a tiny bookworm!

He's handcrafted from felt and stands approximately 5.25 inches (13.25 cms) tall and measures approximately 10.5 inches (26.75 cms) around the belly. 

 

 (and don't forget about his lil bookworm!)

To see this cat in my Etsy shop: Click HERE

And to see the homepage of my Etsy shop and all my pincushions: Click THIS ONE

And next up on the list: a hula dancer fat cat!! Stay tuned!

Sewing Room Makeover - embroidery floss

The long procrastinated, much dreaded embroidery floss project has begun. Will I be able to tame this beast...

Stay tuned for more of my sewing room de-cluttering and organizing mania. I'm promising myself I will have my perfect sewing room by September!

1000 Etsy Sales...Almost!

WOW! Looking at my Etsy shop sales, it looks like I'm only 23 away from a huge milestone that I've been working towards: the big 1000! I think when that number is hit, we need to celebrate with a Fat Cat Giveaway! Just not sure what that giveaway will be yet. Or course there will be a Fat Cat involved though. Stay tuned for more news soon...

Sewing Sewing and More Sewing...Part 2 - Custom Orders

Along with reorganizing my sewing room and getting new pincushions styles made, I managed to knock out a ton of custom requests!

A Day of the Dead cat in a new dress color.

 A Bollywood dancer, which I really didn't want to give up. I love her!

A furry angel. 

 A book lover cat complete with bookworm.

And a team of tennis playing cats.

Whew, it's been a busy couple of months! But I wouldn't have it any other way...

Sewing Sewing and More Sewing...Part 1 - New Pincushion Styles

Time is flying this year! Man, it'll be Christmas before we know it!

I've been busy sewing some new pincushions and re-organizing my sewing room. I was hoping to be done with it already and be able to show off some pictures but alas, it is still in disarray. 

But...I did get some new pincushion styles completed at least!

The long awaited dog. I will admit, I held off doing this one for as long as I could. I felt it was a betrayal to my Fat Cats. But it's done, I did it and I don't feel too guilty about it. So here's the first Pudgy Puppy!

And a pirate pig, because well why not? I'm also working on a viking pig as well.

Another long awaited cat: A Zombie! 

Hope you like them! Many more to come before the end of the holiday season. And if you ever have suggestions for Fat Cats you'd like to see, just pass them along to me!