Can you believe all the shops are already gearing up for Christmas? I mean to say it’s only October….oh, but it does mean there’s only just over 11 weeks to go! OH NO!!!!!! Why am I not sewing?!!!

You know, it might be a sign of getting old or a serious lack of time on my hands, but running round the shops or surfing the net the week before or even the day before is certainly not appealing. Therefore, I have to admit it, I too am gearing up for Christmas.

When I was working in Jenners I set up the Christmas shop with the many baubles, tinsel, trees, crackers (Jenners used to do very fancy crackers) cards and more musical Santas than you would generally want in a small space. This was all done in September. It did mean that I was covered in glitter from head to toe from September to December.

So from now until Christmas I will be glued, yes literally glued to my beloved Bernina. I am going to be a busy bee sewing and getting everything ready. So keep your eyes out for some new stock to arrive on the site like this little clutch bag ideal for a gift to yourself or a friend. It's a great for dressing up your LBD!

I got some very exciting news last week from the National Museum of Scotland. stripykat has been invited to be part of the Gifted exhibition, which is running from the 7th November until the 10th January. There are 22 designers in all from all over Scotland in lots of different disciplines. Everything in the exhibition is for sale and remember they won't be appearing on www.stripykat.com!

The museum runs the Gifted exhibition each year to celebrate Scottish talent, which makes is such a brilliant honour to be asked to join them. Not to sound too gushy, but I am really quite proud of what stripykat has achieved in such a short space of time. It's great that I get so much joy out of something I love so much, I know I am very lucky to have that.

I have also just received a bundle of fabrics from the USA that I ordered a couple of weeks ago. I have bought some gorgeous fabrics from designers including Robert Kaufman, Amy Butler and Alexander Henry. I can’t wait to start using them!

Did you know stripykat is on Facebook and you can become a fan! I don’t bombard you with updates and I certainly won’t be poking you so don’t worry.

stripykat also has a Flickr page that I try and update as regularly as I can with new pics and there’s some of the infamous veg patch there too. Now I know I go on and on, somewhat mundanely, but my beloved veg patch won’t be making an appearance next year. Tim certainly isn’t upset about it but I did enjoy tending to my crops, and the sad thing is I was tending more of a caterpillar nursery and colony than any vegetables at the end.
Oh well. I am planning on using the space to cultivate seeds of pretty flowers instead of sprouts and potatoes.

I should really be getting on with my sewing. So, until next time be good and take care.

Katie
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