This is my roommate, Katie (and me, and mice). We’ve lived together for five years, going on six (sans mice).

I’ve lived with lots of roommates over the years. I just made a list of the number of roommates I’ve had since my freshman year of college, other than Katie. EIGHTEEN. So needless to say, I’m kind of an expert when it comes to roommates. Some of them were pretty awesome. Most weren’t even close to awesome. But Katie gets bonus points for a few reasons. For one, she’s stuck with me for this long. And two, she loves crafts as much as I do. (And three, she brought the best dog ever into our house, but that’s a story for another day because today we’re talking about crafts).

Katie loves crafts, but she doesn’t blog. I’ve tried to tell her she needs to write some guest posts for me. I told her that her moniker can be ‘Krafty Katie.’ She just laughs… but because I think she has some fun work to showcase – and because I know Katie’s mom reads my blog – this post is dedicated to Katie and some of her crafts krafts.

Katie knows how to use a sewing machine – apparently she used to sew vests when she was a wee little crafter. But she doesn’t regularly  machine-sew with me. A few years ago, I did get her to start making a jewelry roll (sidebar: this photo is so old that it showcases my very first sewing machine setup on the little TV tray in our tiny apartment.)

Katie and I initially bonded over Bucilla felt crafts. I actually didn’t know Katie was crafty until she found me making a felt Christmas stocking one year and ran to the store to get a kit for herself. We both grew up with Bucilla felt crafts in our houses (I had stockings at my house and Katie had ornaments) so we have a nostalgic Bucilla bond.

Since then, we’ve made a lot of Bucilla felt crafts around Christmastime. Last Christmas, Katie whipped up this magical wreath…

And she also finished up this sugar plum fairy stocking…

And this advent calendar is a current Bucilla work-in-progress, but probably won’t make an appearance again until next winter…

That’s just the tip-of-the-Bucilla-iceburg in our house, but our mutual love for crafts doesn’t end with felt crafts. Katie is also a cross-stitch guru. Recently, she’s been cranking out a ton of whimsical cross-stitch projects.

Including this sampler for her office at work by Tiny Modernist…

An ode to her love of cupcakes by 4 Cupcake Addicted…

Alice in Wonderland “We’re All Mad Here” by CloudsFactory (look for more about CloudsFactory in an upcoming blog post about my own cross-stitch adventures!)…

Disney Princesses by Pixels in Stitches… (I love Anna’s little feet!)

Pretty Little London by Satsuma Street (I really need this wonderful artist to create a Pretty Little Chicago!) …

And Katie’s latest and greatest – the 2014 Once Upon a Time Sampler by the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery – new patterns are released each month! My favorite is the ‘Princess and the Pea’ represented in the June box. See the little pea?

When Katie was a youngin’, she liked to cross-stitch onto sweatshirts. Thanks Katie’s mom for saving these sweatshirts and sending the photos! I think Jane Feline is my personal favorite…

Last winter, Katie also learned to both crochet and knit (which is why I made her this awesome knitting bag for Christmas)… look at this sweater she made for Winnie!

From time to time, Katie even ventures into the world of glitter and glue. As she did last Halloween when she made these little witches. Eek.

Between the two of us, there’s an infinite number of threads and yarn clippings embedded in the couch cushions and carpet. Our biggest fear is that one day the vet will show us an x-ray of all the sequins built up in Winnie’s belly… double eek.

At the end of the day, I’m just glad that I have a pal to take to the craft store with me. Thanks for being krafty, Katie!