Fall Blog Tour Stop 4

The Floss Box Fall 2012 embroidery blog tour rolls on to the next stop! This stop will be at Pam Kellogg’s embroidery and crazy quilting blog called Kitty and Me Designs. I’ve been watching Pam’s work for a long time! She makes some beautiful things, some of which she sells in her store, and she offers classes and books about crazy quilting. Crazy quilter or not, there is still much to enjoy in her work!
Stop 1: Sew in Love
Stop 2: Isabell on Flickr, aka ColourinStitch
Stop 3: SewAmy
Stop 4: Kitty and Me Design by Pam Kellogg
Stop 5: coming soon!

How long have you been embroidering?

I’ve been stitching since I was 7 or 8 years old.  To keep me
quiet, my mom would give me a piece of fabric with a plastic needle and
some yarn.  I’m sure in the beginning I did nothing more than make a
mess but I remember by the time I was 9, my mom and grandma had me
stitching on prestamped dishtowels.  From there I moved on to
needlepoint and hook rugs and then eventually to counted cross stitch.

By 1988, I enjoyed cross stitch so much, I started designing it
professionally for needlework magazines and manufacturers such as The
DMC Corporation, Bucilla, Kreinik, Zweigart and others.

But my stitching enthusiasum took a major curve in 2002 when I
discovered Crazy Quilting.  Now at age 51, that’s pretty much my main
passion and obsession!

How did you learn?

My mom and grandma taught me how to do basic embroidery stitches on
prestamped dish towels and table runners.  I always liked the way it
felt when pulling the thread through the fabric.  I remember my grandma
trying to teach me how to do french knots.  It took me years to get the
hang of those!

Mom taught me how to sew, crochet, knit, needlepoint and cross
stitch.  I learned how to do tatting on my own along with some other
techiques like Chicken Scratch, Blackwork and such.  My Crazy Quilting
too is completely self taught.  But I’ve always been good at collage
art.

I love all types of embroidery and that’s why Crazy Quilting
has become such a passion for me.  Since I enjoy so many different
techniques, I’m not limited to only one.  I can combine my skills and
knowledge into a single form of needleart.  I don’t have to choose one
technique over another.

Is there a limit?  LOL!  I’m a very tactile person.  And I love
little things.  Fabrics, threads, beads, buttons, lace, fancy trims,
vintage millinery flowers, sequins.  Wait, did I mention glitter?  I
love glitter!  All that glitters is gold to me!

What inspires you?

Nature mainly.  I love birds, flowers, butterflies, cats, holidays
and the seasons.  But there are other things too.  I have an affinity for
anything old-fashioned and vintage.  I’m a very homey, domestic
person.  I love doing things the old way, using vintage things and
learning about the good old days.  And although that doesn’t appear to
come through in my needlework, it really does show but in an indirect
way.

My favorite projects are  small things like door hangers and
cellphone pouches.  Probably because they stitch up quickly and I feel
like I have something nice to show for a short amount of time.  But I
also like doing more challenging projects like wall quilts.  Generally, I
do my wall quilts over the Winter months when I can’t be outside.

I keep a few things for myself like my wall quilts and some of
my purses.  I make gifts too.  And I sell some of my crazy quilt pieces
in my Etsy shop.

It’s hard to sell handmade things these days, no matter how
nice they are.  Everyone has an Etsy shop.  With the economy the way it
is, the market is saturated with handmade things by people trying to
make a little extra money.  My advice is to take the time to learn SEO
(Search Engine Optimization).  There’s a ton of information available on
that subject.  Just do a Google search and plenty of info will come up.

Social networking is a must too but limiting it to only 1 or 2 sites
is best.  I pretty much stick with Facebook and Flickr.  A person can
spend all day online socializing and never get anything else done. 
Also, marketing outside of the internet is a good idea also.

Yes, my husband has spent the last 8 years building a 1929 Model A
Tudor Sedan.  It’s absolutely gorgeous!  We just got the insurance for
it and the license plates for it and we’re hoping that we can start
taking it to local car shows this coming Spring and Summer.  We’re also
hoping to take it to our Flea Markets and Antique Malls that we love. 
Scott and I adore flea markets.  We both love vintage and antique things
and the “thrill of the hunt” is a favorite pass time for us!  It’ll be
even more fun in our Model A!

Thanks for reading!  And thanks to Pam for being a stop. Another one coming soon!