This is one of my favorite shops to get my country and prim goodies! The staff is so nice and I could just LIVE in this store!!!! Bev, the owner, is just so helpful and sweet; please visit soon; you will love it!!!
Country Shoppes of Millington: Located in Downtown Millington, The Country Shoppes features 3 floors of home décor and gift ideas. Housed in a beautiful turn of the century home you’ll find furniture, lighting, folk art and primitives, along with home accessories and garden decorations. Plus antiques can be found in the barn. Come into The Country Shoppes of Millington for beautiful home accents and great gift ideas, plus Free Gift Wrap on your purchases.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Our Goal
Hi everybody! We have a special mission here at Catty Wampus! We had a visitor yesterday who asked with help on a special project. I knew that everyone would want to help this lady out. Her name is Gwen O'Leary. She was raised near Sandusky,MI. She and her sister Katie were placed in a terrible situation when both of their elderly parents became critically ill at the same time and needed on-going care. Their mother suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Gwen kept a journal through all the trials of caring for their parents and has now published it; "When Life hands you Alzheimer's. Make Aprons" She is selling the book and using the funds to help Alzheimer's respite care. We have copies available for sale and we are ordering the aprons from Vanilla House Monday. We are planning to have an apron party and I am hoping that we can help Gwen by selling AT LEAST 100 copies and then some....:) Gwen's blog is located at; http://alzheimerhumor.blogspot.com/
You can call the store at 989-672-0090 to get your copy; they are only $12.00!
You can call the store at 989-672-0090 to get your copy; they are only $12.00!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
My trip to Maumee
What is in Maumee,Ohio??? Well just the best wholesale fabric warehouse! They held their open house (63rd!) this past weekend; Sun.-Mon. I wish I could have attended on Sunday as it was schoolhouse time. The best teachers teaching new skills! And yesterday, demos and shopping!
I got to meet one of my heroes ( list: Mary Kay Ash, Paula Deen, Eleanor Burns, and Sue Hausmann!) of the sewing world; Sue Hausmann of America Sews/Viking! She was so nice and helpful; her hubby Herb took a photo of us; she really looks so much younger in person:)
And Edyta Sitar; what a sweet person; she makes fabulous quilts and is just so down to earth; she autographed a copy of her book Friendship Scraps.. and she is coming to Millington,MI in October I believe:))
Judy Neimeier (sp?) making her BEAUTIFUL paper pieced creations; she uses jelly rolls (2 and a half inch strips precut for you) in mainly batiks from Hoffman Co.
Look at these gorgeous quilts!!!!
Our Checker Rep! Marci, who is prettier than this photo I took!
One of the Swirly Girls showing a story board on how to use the new Creative Grids rulers to cut their quilts!
Ellen Medlock's butterfly quilt:)
Well, that is just a little of the goodies I saw! And I won a door prize; an Ott lite with magnifier!!! I SOOOO need that!
We had our first sewing class today; they made a pillowcase and they came out very cute. So much to work on!!!!!
I got to meet one of my heroes ( list: Mary Kay Ash, Paula Deen, Eleanor Burns, and Sue Hausmann!) of the sewing world; Sue Hausmann of America Sews/Viking! She was so nice and helpful; her hubby Herb took a photo of us; she really looks so much younger in person:)
And Edyta Sitar; what a sweet person; she makes fabulous quilts and is just so down to earth; she autographed a copy of her book Friendship Scraps.. and she is coming to Millington,MI in October I believe:))
Judy Neimeier (sp?) making her BEAUTIFUL paper pieced creations; she uses jelly rolls (2 and a half inch strips precut for you) in mainly batiks from Hoffman Co.
Our Checker Rep! Marci, who is prettier than this photo I took!
One of the Swirly Girls showing a story board on how to use the new Creative Grids rulers to cut their quilts!
Ellen Medlock's butterfly quilt:)
Well, that is just a little of the goodies I saw! And I won a door prize; an Ott lite with magnifier!!! I SOOOO need that!
We had our first sewing class today; they made a pillowcase and they came out very cute. So much to work on!!!!!
Saturday, August 20, 2011
OH I FORGOT!!!
OH BOY!!! I forgot to tell you that I won the motherload at American Quilt Retailer magazine's blog; I left a comment and won the HUGE prize of FOUR fat quarter collections of MODA fabrics!!!! These haven't even been released yet so how cool; I have to take a picture to share !!!! They are such nice people too!!!!
New Goodies
This beautiful quilt has been loaned to us by its maker Mary Curtis. It is called "Wildflowers" by Smith Street Designs; it was made on an embroidery machine, and uses batik fabrics. I have contacted the company to carry this design in the store. We want to have an embroidery club to help everyone learn to use their machine fully.
We have just gotten in some gorgeous fabrics from Jo Morton, RJR (Jinny Beyer); and Marcus Brothers. Lots more is ordered for the next few months as the collections are released from MODA.
Last month I attended the Holmes County fabric show in Berlin, Ohio;
What beautiful views in Berlin; I would love to go there again and spend a whole lot of time there!! I thought I would share these pretty views with you:)
Friday, August 12, 2011
All kinds of good things:)
We are so happy and excited here at CW; our friend Caron over at Michigan Quilts has been sending lots of folks our way. She is just the kindest person to help us get our business moving forward. I can't thank her enough. And I won the contest over at American Quilt Retailers Magazine's blog; fat quarters from Moda!!! We are so excited!!!!!!! We have been getting in more goodies; like Jo Morton's Ravenswood and Jinny Beyer's palette. We have the Rowenta travel irons and Oliso as well.
So many goodies are on their way including new fabrics and notions. I'll have to post some photos for you all.
So many goodies are on their way including new fabrics and notions. I'll have to post some photos for you all.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
JULY 2011
Well we have been at it now for over one month. We opened the store on June 3,2011 for the Cars and Crafts weekend here in Caro. Our inventory was limited. Now we have a better inventory, but we still need more! It has been difficult to just get the fabrics in as ordering is done so far in advance, but I think we are getting better at understanding the system.
Mr Catty Wampus himself (Murphy) at his store!
We have had a lot of community support and we are selling things more regularly. Its a process! These are photos of our store; inside and out. We have added more fabric since these were taken and the long awaited Mettler thread has finally arrived;(yesterday) and we got some of the Moda jelly rolls and layer cakes.We just got in the JANOME sewing,quilting and embroidery machines as well.
Murphy has LOTS of friends; there are people who just come in to SEE HIM! LOL!!!!
We really have very nice customers; many are becoming family! Jim's mom Lila; she is 83!!! She made the quilt above from Bali Pops jelly roll strips and quilted it herself on a normal sewing machine!
We have had a lot of community support and we are selling things more regularly. Its a process! These are photos of our store; inside and out. We have added more fabric since these were taken and the long awaited Mettler thread has finally arrived;(yesterday) and we got some of the Moda jelly rolls and layer cakes.We just got in the JANOME sewing,quilting and embroidery machines as well.
Murphy has LOTS of friends; there are people who just come in to SEE HIM! LOL!!!!
We really have very nice customers; many are becoming family! Jim's mom Lila; she is 83!!! She made the quilt above from Bali Pops jelly roll strips and quilted it herself on a normal sewing machine!
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Progress
We have been working hard on our store this week! New flooring in the office area/ rear entry; and bathroom. Painting; wallpapering and cleaning;destruction too. Jimmy loved cutting up some old ginormous displays for the previous paint co. with the chainsaw!
The eeeewwww part was taking out the toilet to put subflooring under the toilet! Note to self, wear gloves all the time when involved in this kind of job!!!!
The roof was leaking once again on Sunday; but there is a lifetime warranty on it so I gotta call the landlord and let him know about that and no hot water either! Try wallpapering with no warm water; COLDDDD! We have a wee sink that is hard to use to fill buckets and the like so paint cleanup is a nightmare:P But we are troupers and worked it through anyways!
The hard part is a lot of this is extremely physical work; I admit it, I am SOFT!!! But I am getting better. Jimmy is a driven man; he works really hard and gets the job done. I am slower, but I AM a finisher. I 'm just SLOWERRRR! LOL!
I have taken pictures of the space in transition but I will have to load them in from my new computer as this desktop doesn't have a card reader!
Other things; we are looking at sewing machine lines as we hope to offer sewing machines as well as fabrics. I am learning how much things really cost at wholesale; and why things are so high sometimes. I have been buying retail forever and now I can see both sides of the equation.
One of the neat things is talking to other shop owners in our area; they have been very supportive of our store and I am really happy that they welcome us! This is my and Jimmy's first big deal like this. We are learning as we go; we have attended things offered by the State of Michigan to help small business owners get started. We are writing a business plan as we go along to secure future financing; that is a big process.
I am working on the branding of our store. I want it to be a warm, welcoming country atmosphere where people feel good in our space. I want our customers to be comfortable and I am emphasizing superior customer service. It is a place of learning and encouragement; a stress-less place for sewers and quilters to come together and make their dream come true. From the smallest project to the largest, they are all welcomed and supported in this creative environment. No creativity police here! You dream it, we'll help you achieve it!
Now for another question I get asked a LOT; What is CattyWampus???
Well,,, CattyWampus is the nickname of one of our beloved bulldogs; His real name is Murphy; but forever I have called him CW (CattyWampus) It refers to the fact the he thinks he is a cat; and often will just wamp himself right up on top of you; He thinks he is a lap cat as well! In quilting there is a term "cattywampus" which seems to mean out of sorts or out of line; my store is out of line with the ordinary; we want to be the best; we want to make sure that all who enter leave all the better for having stopped in; whether they make a huge purchase or none at all. We want to be thought of as not your ordinary fabric store. I wanted also to honor my sweet Murphy by naming the store after him. He has brought so much love into my heart and our home. He also has, despite deep health issues from birth, triumphed over those issues and has lived a really great life; remaining happy and positive throughout pain and sadness. He has given us love and hope, and modeled a wonderful attitude that we all should adopt. Our store will have those qualities and heart. His brother Niles, who is in Heaven is also represented through this store as I intend to have a charity aspect of the store; helping other doggies in need through the Niles and Murphy, Zoey and Sydney fund.
So there you have the beginnings of our store. We are excited about all the possibilities the future holds.
The eeeewwww part was taking out the toilet to put subflooring under the toilet! Note to self, wear gloves all the time when involved in this kind of job!!!!
The roof was leaking once again on Sunday; but there is a lifetime warranty on it so I gotta call the landlord and let him know about that and no hot water either! Try wallpapering with no warm water; COLDDDD! We have a wee sink that is hard to use to fill buckets and the like so paint cleanup is a nightmare:P But we are troupers and worked it through anyways!
The hard part is a lot of this is extremely physical work; I admit it, I am SOFT!!! But I am getting better. Jimmy is a driven man; he works really hard and gets the job done. I am slower, but I AM a finisher. I 'm just SLOWERRRR! LOL!
I have taken pictures of the space in transition but I will have to load them in from my new computer as this desktop doesn't have a card reader!
Other things; we are looking at sewing machine lines as we hope to offer sewing machines as well as fabrics. I am learning how much things really cost at wholesale; and why things are so high sometimes. I have been buying retail forever and now I can see both sides of the equation.
One of the neat things is talking to other shop owners in our area; they have been very supportive of our store and I am really happy that they welcome us! This is my and Jimmy's first big deal like this. We are learning as we go; we have attended things offered by the State of Michigan to help small business owners get started. We are writing a business plan as we go along to secure future financing; that is a big process.
I am working on the branding of our store. I want it to be a warm, welcoming country atmosphere where people feel good in our space. I want our customers to be comfortable and I am emphasizing superior customer service. It is a place of learning and encouragement; a stress-less place for sewers and quilters to come together and make their dream come true. From the smallest project to the largest, they are all welcomed and supported in this creative environment. No creativity police here! You dream it, we'll help you achieve it!
Now for another question I get asked a LOT; What is CattyWampus???
Well,,, CattyWampus is the nickname of one of our beloved bulldogs; His real name is Murphy; but forever I have called him CW (CattyWampus) It refers to the fact the he thinks he is a cat; and often will just wamp himself right up on top of you; He thinks he is a lap cat as well! In quilting there is a term "cattywampus" which seems to mean out of sorts or out of line; my store is out of line with the ordinary; we want to be the best; we want to make sure that all who enter leave all the better for having stopped in; whether they make a huge purchase or none at all. We want to be thought of as not your ordinary fabric store. I wanted also to honor my sweet Murphy by naming the store after him. He has brought so much love into my heart and our home. He also has, despite deep health issues from birth, triumphed over those issues and has lived a really great life; remaining happy and positive throughout pain and sadness. He has given us love and hope, and modeled a wonderful attitude that we all should adopt. Our store will have those qualities and heart. His brother Niles, who is in Heaven is also represented through this store as I intend to have a charity aspect of the store; helping other doggies in need through the Niles and Murphy, Zoey and Sydney fund.
So there you have the beginnings of our store. We are excited about all the possibilities the future holds.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
New Beginnings!
Welcome to our new blog! We are in the beginning stages of opening a new quilt and fabric store in Caro,Michigan. It is my hope to post here all the excitement and fun as we go along! In addition to our fabric and notions , we are planning to offer quality sewing/embroidery/quilting machines for sale as well as repairs.
I am interested in teaching many classes and we have two experienced staff members; Lila and Sue who will also be teaching for us. Their experience in the sewing and quilting world is tremendous! We plan to offer sewing classes,quilting classes
(including artsy quilting, quilted garments/purses, as well as bed quilts ) In addition we will be offering lessons on the care and feeding of your sewing machine.
I look forward to sharing the excitement with all of you! More to come:)
I am interested in teaching many classes and we have two experienced staff members; Lila and Sue who will also be teaching for us. Their experience in the sewing and quilting world is tremendous! We plan to offer sewing classes,quilting classes
(including artsy quilting, quilted garments/purses, as well as bed quilts ) In addition we will be offering lessons on the care and feeding of your sewing machine.
I look forward to sharing the excitement with all of you! More to come:)
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