StudioKat News                      April 2011
 In This Issue-
New from SKD-
     The Quattro pattern
StyleArc Patterns
TieDye Fabric Kit for Quattro
Blog- "Crap I've Made"
UrbanThreads.com
Blog-"Not a Crazy Cat Lady"
Newsletter Sponsors
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Customer Comment
of the Month
"I just wanted to say a REALLY BIG thank you for the newsletter, it is such a fun & informative read. Once I have read it, (usually 2 or 3 times), I forward it on to friends. It's the BEST newsletter I get!"
Trudy Lockhart
Blackpool, UK

Hello and Welcome-
It's good to have winter over with (it's pretty much over here in the South anyway), but April is a bit stressful for us. Our NEW pattern is here and we're getting ready for the Spring Quilt Market and we're also finishing up our very first eBook for release in May. So with that in mind, let's get started! 
 
If you have comments or suggestions about our Newsletter, or if you just feel like telling us something, please feel free to do so at info@studiokatdesigns.com
 

 
 
  If you're having trouble reading this email- Click HERE for  web version
 
 "Handbag of the Month" Gallery-
This was a record-breaking month for our handbag contest, registering more votes than in any previous contest, so thanks to everyone who helped make this the most exciting contest yet! The lead changed hands several times, but the eventual winner was Sharon Arnold of Hernando, MS. She wins a $20.00 SKD gift certificate and a permanent place of honor on our website. Click here to see her winning entry, a Trifecta stunner.
 
The April Handbag of the Month contest promises to be just as exciting, so without further ado...Check out this month's nominees, then cast a vote for your favorite.

(Click each individual picture for a larger view)

Lori Gates of West Henrietta, NY was the creator of this fabulous duo, a graphic Quattro (in faux leather) with a matching PortaPockets insert. Lori said that the faux leather worked out beautifully for this Quattro. She did substitute bag lining for the underside of the straps to cut down on the bulk but other than that, she made it per the insturctions. And of course, once she got the purse made, she HAD to have a matching PortaPockets!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Rachel Eby of Shelburne, VT has been at it again! This time she used fabric from her stash to whip up this tropical Trifecta! It's a head-turner!
 
 
 
Rachel also said she fabricated this Odyssey with fabric from her stash! (Her stash is considerably better than MY stash, for sure!) I especially love the way it looks like the flower on the flap is three-dimensional!
 
 
 
Dutch West of Wenonah, NJ said that she gets compliments all the time about this fabulous DittyRoo, and i can see why! She loves the convenience of the front pouch-style pocket and even though she's been using it for weeks now, it absolutely looks no worse for the wear!
 
This crazy-quilted Lollapalooza was the brain child of Gloria Strohschein of Red Deer, AB, Canada.Gloria found this pieced fabric in a box of her Mom's stuff as they were cleaning out her house to move her to a senior's complex. she said she loved using it, as many of the scrap pieces that her Mom had used were from dresses she had made for them as children. That makes this bag extra special to her!
 
 
 
 
 
This is the 2nd Trifecta that Janice Jacobsen of Hubbardston, MA has entered. She said she really had fun with the fabrics for this creation, using the tri-colored for the exterior and then 2 coordinates for the interior lining.
 
 
 
Peg Rice of Westport Island, ME did a phenomenal job of choosing fabric for her take on the Quattro! And would you believe she found this fabric at JoAnn's? (Here's a closeup of the zippered closure.) Peg added that the fabric for the top two pockets were so similar in depth of color, that she added a stripe of bias tape in a cream colored shade to set them apart. The idea is genius!
 
Alison Eng is from Long Island, NY and she made her PortaPockets Purse Insert for use with a gorgeous purse she purchased a few months ago. She was disappointed in how unorganized the interior of her new bag was, but her PortaPockets solved that problem for her. And don't you just adore the fabric Alison chose? Here's a shot of the interior and a closeup of the zippered pocket
 
 
OK, ready to vote now?
Just click on the link below to cast your vote.
 Only one vote per MONTH, per email address is allowed.
 
Think you've got what it takes to win?
To enter our"Handbag of the Month" contest,
just attach your jpg or gif image to an email and send it to: info@studiokatdesigns.com.
 
Blog with us!-  A Work in Progress
Enjoy an insider's scoop on what's happening behind the scenes at StudioKat Designs, by signing up for our blog, "A Work In Progress". If you're new to our blog, or if you missed any of the posts from last month, don't worry, theyre all listed below. 
 
 
 
New at StudioKat Designs- The Quattro
 
We've been blogging, twittering and facebooking about it, and FINALLY, we're releasing it! But just in case you  missed all of that, here's some of the features of our newest pattern, the Quattro.
Our Quattro is a great way to showcase terrific fabric combinations and you'll also be glad to know that it works in perfect conjunction with either size PortaPockets Purse Insert. And here's the best part. If you order your pattern with the following discount code,  SPRING2011, you'll get $2.00 off the retail price. Just click here to see many more pictures and to place your order TODAY!
Don't delay- the coupon offer expires on 4/13/11
 
 
Feline Quote for February-
"A cat sees no good reason why it should obey another animal, even if it does stand on two legs."-  Sarah Thompson
 
Sponsor 'Picks-of-the-Month'- 
All DunnDesigns.Com- Bias cut Jacket pattern- just beautiful!
PursePatterns.Com- I love this Japanese Lunchbag pattern
Vicki Welsh Hand-Dyed Fabrics- 10% off ENTIRE order with discount code STUDIOKAT
Material Girls Online store- This 'Aloha Lava Rainforest' batik would look great on our Quattro!

 
Bobbin Around the Web- StyleArc Patterns
  StyleArc is an Australian pattern company that has an amazing love for fashion.
Using StyleArc patterns will allow you to create your own style that will make you stand out in the crowd. Their philosophy is that there is no need to spend your hard earned money on boutique style garments when you can create your new wardrobe by using my up to the minute stylish sewing patterns. Since we're taking a big trip this summer, I especially like their selection of travel garments and accessories, and don't you think this is an interesting top? (I might have to try that out.)
 
Website Spotlite- Fabulous TieDyed Fabric
 
If you've followed the development of our bag patterns in the past, you know that we LOVE a good collaboration. And since the Quattro has the potential to showase THREE great fabrics, I was quite naturally interested in working with Vicki Welsh, an up and coming textile designer with her own Etsy shop.
One of Vicki's specialties is tie-dyed fabric and in honor of this collaboration (and because she liked the bag so much) she has put together some fabric kits (in several colorways) so that you can duplicate this look, AND Vicki has offering a discount code for all SKD readers. Just use the code STUDIOKAT to receive 10% off your entire order at checkout. Don't see the color you want? Vicky is glad to work with you to get just the look you're after!
(discount offer expires on April 30)
 
 
SmileGram-
TV personality, Barbara Walters, did a story on gender roles in Kabul, Afghanistan several years before the Afghan conflict had broken out. She noted that women customarily walked five paces behind their husbands.
She recently returned to Kabul & observed that women still walk behind their husbands at a respectful distance. Despite the overthrow of the oppressive Taliban regime, the women seemed content to maintain the old custom.
Walters approaced one of the Afghani women & asked,"Why do you now seem happy with an old custom that you once tried so desparately to change?"
The woman looked Ms Walters straight in the eyes & without hesitation uttered just two words,
"Land Mines".
 
Coming Soon- RockStar Embellishing, an eBook from SKD
 
We're hard at work on our first eBook which will give  you an inside track for recreating some of our signature looks. You'll get pattern pieces for 5-6 projects, step-by-step color instructions, as well as tutorials that will help you translate your vision from a handbag exterior to clothing items and even home decorating projects. We're hoping to have everything in place for a May release, so stay tuned. 
 
 
Video of the Month- Cute Penguins
Pete the penguin takes a stroll down the aisle of an airplane. He was headed to a national science convention with his buddies from Seaworld, and they decided to him roam around the plane for a while to check it out!

Rumor has it cute penguins fly free on Southwest, so if you have one... let me know what day you're flying and to where so I can be sure to be on your flight! How come these things never happen on my flights?!
 
You Can Find it ONLINE- Urban Threads.com
 
Alert reader, Betty Gove sent us the link to this very cute tutorial for Keyboard Cat. What is a keyboard cat you might ask? Simply put, it might just be the geekiest wrist rest your desk has ever seen. And here's the deal, it’s comfy enough for any computer, and dorky enough for lolcat lovers and nerds of all flavor.
Click here to get the directions.
 
Cat Video of the Month- Trap Door SURPRISE
When we had a dog, my husband always wanted one of these little trap doors so jake could go outside whenever he wanted to, and i always thought it was a good idea, but now i'm not so sure! Click here to enjoy this video sent in by alert reader, Peg Rice of Westport Island, ME
 
Blog of the Month- Crap I've Made
Once I saw the name of this blog I just HAD to check it out! Char (the writer), explains that sometimes the stuff she makes is amazing, and sometimes it's CRAP! (Ain't it the truth?)
Anyway, there's some pretty interesting tutorials on this site, and while you're perusing, be sure to check out these items ( a few of which are just in time for Easter). 
 
Cat Picture of the Month-
 
                                         (Click image to see a larger version)
                                                           thanks to Judi Graf for sending us this pic
 
 
Quote of the Month- 
"For two people in a marriage to live together day after day is unquestionably the only miracle the Vatican has overlooked."- Bill Cosby
 
Look What I Found OnLine- FaceCrooks.Com
  Facecrooks' mission is to "monitor and chronicle the seedy, unsavory and sometimes silly side of social media." Here you can expose the cheaters, haters, hackers, and scammers; or confess pranks you have pulled on social media sites. Facecrooks also features a safety center where you can learn about staying safe online.
 
New Word of the Month- Fenderberg

(fĕn'dər'bûrg')- (n.) Any large glacial deposit that forms on the inside of a vehicle's fender during the winter snow season.

 
There’s something almost mystical about the purr of a cat. It’s a sound that’s easy on the ear, and cats seem to use it when they’re feeling goodwill towards humans. There’s not much to dislike about a cat’s purr, except of course when it's the LOUDEST purr in the world. (Click here to hear Smokey, a twelve year old cat from Northampton who is on record as having the loudest purr.)
Which brings us back to that mystical side of a cat’s purr: it’s been suggested that one of the function of the purr is to enable natural healing of the cat’s own body. Various investigators have even suggested that sound frequencies in this range can improve bone density and promote healing. (Click here to read the whole article)
 
 
 
Reasons for the robust numbers, local shop owners said, include people indulging their hobby while curtailing other activities, such as travel, and retiring baby boomers looking for new pastimes and hobbies."Part of it is we're a hobby industry, and they're foregoing traveling and staying home," said Brad Park, owner of Longview Sewing. (Click here to read the whole article)
 
 
Did You Know?- the www... is it necessary anymore?
 
This is an interesting question & I must admit that I feel pretty inadequate when it comes to computers (I usually just ask my son-in-law), but i recently came across a really great explanation of this and i thought I would share the answer with you.  :)
In the past, it was expected that companies would have different servers (and thus different hostnames) for each of the Internet services they would provide: www.example.com for their websites, ftp.example.com for their file transfer services and mail.example.com for their email services. BUT, as the Internet and technology evolved, prefixes became mostly unnecessary. Different types f servers really didn't matter that much anymore, since nowadays one server can do a host of tasks.
The bottom line is- It usually doesn't matter if you include "www" when you enter a URL into the search bar but there are still some exceptions. Moving forward, the trend is definitely for websites to be launched without the "www" prefix.
 
A Cool Internet Activity- SimpleDesktops.com
Finding the right balance for desktop wallpaper can be a challenge. It needs to be interesting enough to provide some visual stimulation, but not so detailed that it distracts you from your work. Simple Desktops is a collection of hundresd of FREE minimal-distraction wallpapers for you to download. Simple, yet whimsical subjects range from polar bears to musical instruments to famous works of art.
 
Cat Site of the Month- Not a Crazy Cat Lady
As the title suggests…. 
this blog is a compilation of  cartoons (or 'catoons' as the author calls them) about the two cats in her life, Duncan and Smudge. in a word, it's delightful! Like any cat owner knows, they do lots of things that make us smile and laugh so she started drawing cattoons about them just ’cause it was funny. Here's a few of my favorites-
 
As 'Funnie' as Real Life-
 
 
 
(Click image to see a larger version)
 
Monthly Trivia-
Today is April 6th, the 97th day of 2011 and there are 269 days remaining. And I ran across something really interesting concerning this day while surfing...Did you know that the "Barney and Friends" TV show premiered 19 years ago on this very day. That purple dinosaur was (and probably still is) HUGELY popular with the preschool set, even though his rediculously sweet nature was bit annoying to adults. This got me thinking about the time that Charles Barkley played a one-on-one backetball game against the lovable Barney back in the heyday of Saturday Night Live. And if you've never seen the skit before, take a quick peek. It was pretty funny at the time given Barkley's reputation for being such a fierce and downright scary competitor on the hardwood.
Today is also the birthday of a country music legend, and one of my hubster's favorites, Merle Hagard. Can you believe that Merle is STILL making new music at the age of 74? And if today is also YOUR birthday, here's a great big 'Happy Birthday to YOU' from StudioKat Designs. And if today is also your birthday, you can celebrate today anyway by humming the chorus of any number of Haggard melodies, or by just remembering these simple words..."I love you, You love me... We're a happy family, with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you...Won't you say you love me too!'
 
 
Well, that's it for now, so until next month, remember!
Sewing Forever, Housework Whenever!
 
 
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StudioKat Designs, www.studiokatdesigns.com