Charm and Strange Crochet

I have another cat-themed release scheduled for October 1st at the South Mitten's Kittens Rescue craft fair ! Introducing... CAT HEAD PLUSHIES!!! Aren't these just too cute? I am SO obsessed with these! Every time I finish one, I show my husband and we both squeal in our "it's-a-cute-kitty" voices. Cat head plushies will be debuting at the SMKR craft fair in Milford, MI on October 1st, but don't fret - these will be added to my permanent collection! As soon as I made one of them, I started having visions of creating custom cat heads based on customer photos. Wouldn't that be a lovely way to honor the memory of a beloved lost cat, or commemorate the adoption of a new one? Keep an eye out on my Etsy shop , social media , and here on the blog for the online release of cat heads! Cat head plushies will retail for $25 in person. As with the cat bookmarks, 30% of the profits from all sales made on October 1st (in-person AND online) will benefit the South Mitten...

My first event of the season, on October 1st, is a fundraiser for South Mitten's Kittens Rescue . Okay, how cute is that name?? I'm a sucker for rhymes. And I'm also a sucker for themes. My mati bookmarks were so successful at Opa Fest back in July that I decided to run with the cat theme and make some cat bookmarks! Aren't these darling? The pattern is by Justina Kacprzak on Ravelry . The pattern is free, so if you're interested in making one of your own, go for it! They work up super quickly - about 15 minutes each once I got a hang of the pattern. The best part about small patterns like this is that when I make 25 of them in a row, I end up memorizing the pattern which means I can work super quickly! These sweet bookmarks come in six colors: black, white, grey, orange, teddy-bear-brown, and orange-brown.  Cat bookmarks will sell for $4 each at the South Mitten's Kittens craft fair. They will also be available online after the event, so if you're not able...

For the past year and a half or so, my nephews have been pretty in to Pokemon. Cards, toys, binders for their cards, and my sister made an incredible Pokeball cake for one of their birthday parties! So I decided that they were all going to get handmade Pokemon plushies for their birthdays. Robert got Ditto... William got Polywag... ...and Andrew got Wooper! My friends all love Pokemon too, and when I showed them what I'd been making for my nephews, a few of them wanted some plushies of their own.  Matt asked for a Shiny Ditto (essentially a special, more powerful version - so he's a different color from the standard version that Robert got): And Dana asked for Magnemite. Unfortunately, the pattern that I most wanted to make has been discontinued due to pattern thieves stealing the free and wonderful work by Frog and Fasten , and then charging for it. Frog and Fasten's work - isn't it darling?? I ended up purchasing a pattern on Ravelry written by Andrea Schroeder . But ...

Wow, if summer 2022 Kate thought she was busy, she'd have to sit down before hearing about what summer 2023 had in store for her! For starters: my husband Mark and I bought our first house! We closed the very weekend of Opa Fest, and moved in the following weekend. Yes - while crocheting up a storm in preparation for my first two markets ever, I was also in the process of packing and decluttering. To say it was a stressful time would be a pretty massive understatement! Embed from Getty Images stock clipart image used rather than a photo because I don't want to get doxxed with a photo of my real house ;) When we bought the house, it seemed like it was in great shape and we were looking forward to replacing carpets, painting rooms - the fun decorating parts of homeownership. Instead, we found out that the basement was in need of waterproofing, which led to all kinds of plumbing and electrical projects. And while we thought the roof had about 5 years left on it, when we got a few ...