More Rain and an Autumn Crow

I just wanted to pass along, this sweet pattern I cam across at Quilted Crow. It is part of a series of quilt blocks, but I thought it would make a cute pincushin or cubbie pillow.  I may have to order this one myself! And if you live in Massechusetts and you order this weekend, your order will be TAX FREE!

We also had another rain storm last evening! So far this month, we have received a much needed 2.4 inches of rain!!!! I will have to mow the lawn this weekend! 

Hope you all get rain, if you need it! May you have a kitty smile kind of day, too.

A Little Halloween Stitchery Finished

Just a short post today to share one of my finishes! I love making things for Autumn and the pattern for this little Hallows Eve pinkeep is from Primitive Bettys.  I backed it with some re-purposed wool.  Can't wait to add it to my Halloween decorating this year!

Had a little insomnia early this morning and so I was awake to see this spectacular sunrise! We also got some rain out of this "red sky at dawning"!  Have a wonderful day full of kitty kisses!



Rain, Glorius, Rain

Yes! We had rain!!!! On Saturday, we had an "old" time thunderstorm that dumped almost 2" of rain on us.  It was wonderful.  I was at the Amana Colonies with my daughter and grandson when it started to rain. We were having lunch and everyone was going over to the windows and doorway to look at the rain like we had never seen rain before.  It has cooled things off and Sunday was a heavenly day (literally!) and today isn't looking to bad either.

I did finish a little Halloween ornie (will post a photo soon) and have started working on my August Giveaway.  Have been a little slow this month so far doing stitchery because I'm am having a bit of a fibro challenge.  Thankfully, my episodes only last a few weeks or so before the symptoms ease up and I'm make to my "normal."

My moggies were in Petopia last night because I left the door to the screened porch open all night and they could go in and out, in and out, in and out .......!

Hope your week is starting out fantastic! Hugs, Cat Haven Craft House

Selling Poll Results and Some Fall Photos

Good morning all! I hope you are having a glorious fall day! First of all, I would like to share the selling poll results that I received during my September giveaway.  The majority of you indicated that you would prefer to purchase prims from me from a selling blog but a close second was from Etsy and lastly (and not many) preferred eBay.  So, with that information in mind, I am working on creating my selling blog (any tips would be greatly appreciated) and hope to have it up and running in a few weeks.

The second thing I'd like to share today are two purchases I recently made.  A little while ago I purchased an herb rack from Firecracker Kid Primitives and this weekend I finally got it up on my wall.  Here is a photo of it with some of my Halloween ornies. I really, really like it!

The next item I purchased was from Wicked Faerie Queen -- a cute little painted Halloween box.

I also wanted to share with you some of my Halloween decorating (I don't do too much anymore because of working full time and the time it takes to put up and put away things) that make me smile!

And lastly, little Mr. Nicky trying out the new throw blankets (they weren't out 5 mintues before he climbed up here!).  Take care and remeber to hug those kitties today!

For Kathy at Tolentreasures

I was reading Kathy's post at her blog TOLENTREASURES and while I enjoyed reading about her weekend, her "scarey" story kindof gave me goosebumps.  So, as I was browsing around the Internet today (and BTW, this post has nothing really to do with crafting), I came across this photo:

It was taken in 1950 and shows the image of another "creepy" guy. It was taken by a National Park Service photographer during massive renovations of the White House (yes, the one in Washington DC) in 1950. In the background, a group of men stand to the left. But there is an odd, translucent figure, standing alone, to the right. I'm not saying what he/it is, but here is a larger image of the photo.  Kinda weird, isn't it.

Cat Haven Craft Giveaway Coming Soon!

Yes, that's right! I have a cute little Halloween giveaway coming in the next few days.  It is my first giveaway and my way of saying thanks for all the giveaways I have won in the past year or so!  Please stay tuned.  Also, please see my sidebar today for some new giveaways you might want to enter.

Halloween and Cats!

Hi All! I've been very busy with no time to post.  Have had a very sick kitty for the past month. Kezzie has had a very hard time. First, he had some type of trauma to his jaw and had to have all his teeth pulled from the left side of his jaw including his incisors and then had to have his tongue repaired.  We don't know what happened (he doesn't go outside?) He is a jumper and likes to get up in high places and we think he hit something when he was jumping down from a high place.  He came through this like a trooper.  Then last weekend he started with some behavior that usually signifies a UTI so off the the vet he went again this Tuesday.  Seems he has a bladder stone ... his bladder is the size of a walnut and the stone was the size of a marble so he was really uncomfortable.  Came through the surgery fine and brought him home last night.  He is having trouble getting to the litter box so he is being confined to one of our bathrooms much against his will.  I am going to call the vet to see if this is normal after surgery.  After all this expense, I've decided to get cat medical insurance for my cats.  I've signed up Kezzie and Oscar so far and will get the rest on board over the next few months.  I checked out several companies and the one I chose was the easiest on my pocket book.  I've got a $250 deductible for each cat and then a co-pay of 30%. This way I can recoup some of their medical expenses for illnesses, routine check-ups, vaccines, and dental cleanings.  The company I went with is PurinaCare

Now a little about Halloween and cats from my Vet's office:  He suggests keeping your little furry babies indoors on Halloween, especially our little black kitties.  You might want to keep your kitties in another room with the door closed when opening the front door for your trick or treaters so they don't run outside.  Use candles around kitties with caution - they could either get burned or knock the candle over and start a fire (this happened to someone in my church recently from a kitty knocking over a candle in the bathroom).  Also, candy or gum sweetened with xylitol is toxic to kitties.  And remember all forms of chocolate can be harmful potentially resulting in poisoning or even pancreatic inflammation from the high fat content.

I hope you all have a great weekend ... I have a thousand chores to finish outside before it gets too cold, so you know where I will be this weekend.  Happy stitching and Happy Halloween.

Swap Goodies and New eBay Items!

Scaredy cats are always welcome at my house!

The weekend is coming to a close and tomorrow is another work day! Sigh, how I wish I could retire and spend my time doing what I love ... crafting, baking, sewing, and decorating.  Someday ... but just not today.  My weekend was lovely, beautiful weather and I got a chance to relax. Finished a lousy book (somehow I couldn't put it down, but I will not buy its sequel) and started a great book by author Steve Alten called the "Grim Reaper" ... somehow seems appropriate for the season, no?

On Saturday, I received some swap goodies from a good blog friend, Gina! She swapped for some of my hand dyed wool. She made two autumn hand towels, two Halloween pillows from vintage Halloween post card fabric, a absolutely adorable kitty purse, and some great smelling wax ornies. Scroll down to see what she sent and where they have found a home in my house.  She makes the neatest stuff and has great ideas! Please visit her at Cat Nap Inn Primitives.  

I also had some time to sew a little turkey pincushion and an acorn pillow that I've listed on my eBay site.

I made a trip to Goodwill, too, to see if I could find any wool garments that I could recycle to add to my wool stash! I was really lucky, I found several black wool skirts and a cream colored wool skirt and a checked blue wool skirt. They are all 100% wool and so should felt nicely when I wash and dry them.  The cream and blue wool will be used for some winter penny rugs and the black wool will be for some of my signature kitties ... so stayed tuned, there might even be a giveaway coming up in December from Cat Haven Crafts!

Haven't received the Feliway for the cats yet, but I did go to PetCo and find some homeopathic drops to put in their water bowl that seem to help them all get along.  I'll give it two weeks and then if its still working, I'll post about it.

Well, my eyes are getting heavy and the kitties are already making themselves at home in my bed ... so that means its time to turn in too.  Hope all is well out there with you all and that your kitties are having sweet kitty dreams.

Pumpkin Legends

How do you fix a jack-o'-lantern?

You use a pumpkin patch!

Now that my daughter and son-in-law are home, I expect we will be carving JOLs this year. They are both Halloween enthusiasts and love to concoct their costumes.  Here is my daughter at one costume party.  She went as a Star Trek Red Shirt, you know the one who always gets killed in every movie or show! Her costume came complete with a phaser burn!

The Irish brought the tradition of the Jack O'Lantern to America. But, the original Jack O'Lantern was not a pumpkin.The Jack O'Lantern legend goes back hundreds of years in Irish History. As the story goes, Stingy Jack was a miserable, old drunk who liked to play tricks on everyone: family, friends, his mother and even the Devil himself. One day, he tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. Once the Devil climbed up the apple tree, Stingy Jack hurriedly placed crosses around the trunk of the tree. The Devil was then unable to get down the tree. Stingy Jack made the Devil promise him not to take his soul when he died. Once the devil promised not to take his soul, Stingy Jack removed the crosses and let the Devil down. Many years later, when Jack finally died, he went to the pearly gates of Heaven and was told by Saint Peter that he was too mean and too cruel, and had led a miserable and worthless life on earth. He was not allowed to enter heaven. He then went down to Hell and the Devil. The Devil kept his promise and would not allow him to enter Hell. Now Jack was scared and had nowhere to go but to wander about forever in the darkness between heaven and hell. He asked the Devil how he could leave as there was no light. The Devil tossed him an ember from the flames of Hell to help him light his way. Jack placed the ember in a hollowed out Turnip, one of his favorite foods which he always carried around with him whenever he could steal one. For that day onward, Stingy Jack roamed the earth without a resting place, lighting his way as he went with his "Jack O'Lantern". On all Hallow's eve, the Irish hollowed out Turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes and beets. They placed a light in them to ward off evil spirits and keep Stingy Jack away. These were the original Jack O'Lanterns. In the 1800's a couple of waves of Irish immigrants came to America. The Irish immigrants quickly discovered that Pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve out. So they used pumpkins for Jack O'Lanterns. And anyway, it does sound better than Jack-o'-the turnip!

Good Evening!

"When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may luck be yours on Halloween." Irish Saying

Well, I would like you to meet Vlad d'Kat tonight. He has been rolling around in my head for a while now, so I drew up a pattern, cut out the wool, and stitched him up!  And please don't be scared, Little Vlad isn't as fierce as he looks!  You can find him hanging out in my eBay store. 

 I bid you all good night and look forward to reading your blogs tomorrow (Vlad and I are very sleepy!).