July 2006

The StudioKat Designs Newsletter
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

HELLO and Welcome!- WOW, June has been an incredible month for me. Firstly, I have been slavishly trying to complete my new design, The Abraca-Niche, for a July release, and secondly, I spent the better of this month overseas on a trip with some fellow musicians to Volgograd & Moscow, Russia! (Want to see some pictures from Russia? Click here.) Consequently, I haven't been able to spend the usual amount of time, surfing the net for cool stuff to include in the newsletter. I've tried to make up for that with a tongue-in-cheek travelogue, which you may enjoy! (see below)
As always, if you prefer, you can go to www.studiokatdesigns.com/july06.htm to see the online version of the newsletter..

Feline Quote for July-
"There is something about the presence of a cat, that seems to take the bite out of being alone.-Loris J. Camuti

Quiltshop Spotlight- Surfside Quilting.Com
If your looking for unique fabrics, (and who isn't!) I found a really cool place to shop. Surfside Quilting.Com is an online quilt shop, carrying thousands of bolts of fabric. The selection is some of the most diverse I have found, the prices are decent and the shipping costs are more than fair! I especially like the selection of neat batiks and the unusual Aquarium & Sea life prints. All in all, it's a fun place to shop, and Shirley & the girls are friendly shopkeepers!

New at StudioKat Designs- The Abraca-Niche
I am putting the finishing touches on my new design The Abraca-Niche, as we speak. I have been carrying a prototype of this bag myself for several weeks, and I think you will love it. Special features include 2 elasticized exterior pockets, for carrying your cellphone, keys, camera, sunglasses, and more. The BIG feature however, is the that this bag has a seperate zippered niche in the bottom, allowing for storage of items you want to keep seperate for convenience or security. I like to keep my checkbooks and wallet in there. But you may prefer to put your miscellaneous "stuff" down there, keeping your main purse clutter-free! Whichever you choose, The Abraca-Niche will help you organize your life like "MAGIC"!
The official release announcement for The Abraca-Niche will be in the August newsletter, along with a special discount coupon, which you can apply to your online purchase, so stay tuned!

A View from the Other Side of the World- Notes worth considering- From Russia With Love!

1) Learn as much Russian as you can before arriving. Russians seem to REALLY enjoy it when you speak Russian to them. (as evidenced by the hysterical laughter that often follows such an exchange)

2) Russian women only come in 2 sizes. Size 0.... or Size 20..... there are no exceptions, and NOTHING in between.

3) The main agricultural product in Russia is cabbage, closely followed by beets and potatoes, which are often combined in a special dish which is required eating for every adult, on EVERY day! It's called Borscht and it's actually quite good, but as a steady diet.... no thanks.

4) When ordering off a menu... Just because a food dish has a name that you recognize, this absolutely does not mean that the food itself will be recognizable, when it is placed before you. Case in point- Spaghetti Marinara sounds like a safe choice doesnt it? Not so my friend, because it's really egg noodles, tossed in garlic butter and topped with fish pieces and red caviar!

5) Under no circumstances should you EVER take a picture of a uniformed individual, or an ATM machine. NOR should said objects even be in the background of the picture you are taking. To do so, will probably result in your detention and questioning. (this actually happened, but not to me!)

6) There is more than one type of drinking water, and I do not mean Perrier or AquaBlue. Russians choose between "still" water, and "gas" water. If in doubt, ALWAYS choose still water, and under no circumstances, should you try to swallow a pill before verifying the type of water you have. Because believe me, it is quite impossible to swallow a pill using "gas" water. The result is something like Mt. Vesuvius!

7) Not all toileting hardware is the same, in fact not all people "toilet" in the same way. In the outlying areas of Russia, you will often encounter "Squatty" toilets". Even under the best of circumstances, Americans just don't do the squatty toilet thing well, so my advice would be to avoid them, especially if any of the following circumstances apply!

a) you are wearing pants, and you are female- this is pure logistics and should be fairly obvious.

b) your knee(s) don't have full range of motion- presenting balancing issues that are only complicated by condition A.

c) the squatty toilet is a UNISEX squatty toilet- need I elaborate?

d) the squatty toilet is in conjunction with a BAR! Believe me, unisex & drunk is a really BAD combination, avoid this at all costs.

e) you are wearing sandals or stiletto heals (God forbid you are barefoot!)

8) Not all showering facilities are equal. In Volgograd, living space is at a premium, so there often is no shower stall or tub. There is a handheld shower wand on the wall, and when you are ready for your shower, you simply stand right in front of the commode, draw a curtain around you and shower away. Does this mean that the toilet paper gets wet and absorbs 47 times it's weight in water? Of course it does, as does the contents of the garbage can if you don't apply the lid tightly! It also means that the shower curtain wraps itself around you, the very second that your body gets wet, and you have to fight it off for the rest of the shower. Thank goodness I never saw a shower facility like this in conjunction with a SQUATTY toilet!

9) Apply the code word... TINA, (this is not America).... to any new situation your group encounters. It will help you to collectively maintain your sense of humor, and also remind you that the American way is really not the ONLY way to get the job done.

10) Click here to check out some pictures from Russia .

Love Handbags?-MoonaLeeBags.Com
Here's a cool site with some really QUALITY handmade bags. All of the bags at MoonaLeeBags.Com are machine washable AND reversible! She specializes in a large and small version of a Sling bag. Most have 2 exterior pockets and 1 inside the bag also. Check 'em out!

SKD Promotions Update- The Design Shop Hop!
If you enjoyed the FashionShopHop in March, then you're gonna LOVE the Design Shop Hop this month! That's right, there's a new hop in our step this time. Some of the best independent Design shops in the country have signed on, YOU'RE invited to check 'em all out! Two sewing machines will be given away, along with countless other e-certificates. Click here for more information. You can also click here to see a list of all the shops that are participating. You can register anytime for the hop by clicking here. Come on! Get hoppin and sign up NOW!

Monthly Trivia- Ah July! The month for picnics, vacations and goofing off! How fitting, that July 1 is National "I Forgot" Day, a day to makeup for all the birthdays, anniversaries, new births, & graduations that you forgot to acknowledge with a greeting or a gift this year. YIKES! But before you whip out your cellphone to start catching up, remember, July is also "Cell Phone Courtesy month", dedicated to encouraging the increasingly unmindful corps of cellphone users to be more respectful of those around them, Wow! Did that one hit close to home as well? Then maybe you'll feel better knowing this is national HotDog month, celebrating America's #1 handheld food. Click here for some fun hotdog facts, trivia and recipes! And speaking of dessert, (and who doesn't), how about a big slice of blueberry pie, since July is also National Blueberry month .
Fellow North Carolinian, Richard Petty was born on July 2nd, as was baseball slugger, and admitted steroid user, Jose Canseco. And if today is YOUR birthday too, then CONGRATULATIONS! Happy Birthday from SKD! And if today is not your birthday, don't sweat it, you can still celebrate today by grilling up a few "dogs", and taking in a baseball game. Hmmm, you might also call a few of those people whose special occasions you forgot over the past year, but if you're going to use a cell phone.... please talk QUIETLY!

Well, that's it for now, so until next month, remember!
Sewing Forever, Housework Whenever!

My newsletters are copyrighted.
If you enjoyed this newsletter, please feel free to share it. As a matter of fact, it would actually tickle me to death if you sent it to everyone you know! BUT- Please don't send just paragraphs of it here and there, because the authorship info is what usually gets left off in the process.
Better still, why not let your friends know that they can sign up for the newsletter themselves at http://www.studiokatdesigns.com/newletter.htm?
(Note to other webmasters:)Authorship credit is the only payment I receive for this endeavor, so if you want to use an excerpt from this newsletter in your publication, please ask me first.

HotLinks- (in order of appearance)

StudioKat Designs July06 Newsletter ONLINE: http://www.studiokatdesigns.com/july06.htm
Pictures of Russia: http://www.studiokatdesigns.com/Russia.htm
Surfside Quilting.Com: http://www.surfsidequilting.com
        Neat Batiks: http://www.surfsidequilting.com/cat/Batik_Multi_colored-Batik_Multi_colored.html
        Aquarium Prints: http://www.surfsidequilting.com/cat/Amphibian_Sea+Life-Amphibian_Sea+Life.html
StudioKat Design's AbracaNiche bag:http://www.studiokatdesigns.com/abracaniche.htm
Pictures from Russia:http://www.studiokatdesigns.com/Russia.htm
Moona Lee Bags.Com: http://www.moonaleebags.com
        Small & Large Sling Bags: http://www.moonaleebags.com/id11.html
The FabShop Design Shop Hop:http://www.www.fabshophop.com/hopmain.asp
Hotdog Facts & Trivia: http://www.hot-dog.org
National Blueberry Month:http://www.blueberry.org

StudioKat Designs * 137 S. Hemingway Ct., * Advance, NC * 27006 *
(336)416-1799 * toll-free at 1-866-409-8634 *
info@studiokatdesigns.com
www.StudioKatDesigns.com


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