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Crazy Quilt Purse - Edwardian Lady Stitching Complete!

I finished up the stitching on my Edwardian Lady Crazy Quilt purse the other day:

I was going to sew this up on Friday but due to my current round of Zoloft withdrawals, I just didn't feel like it.  I'd like to sew this week so perhaps, in a few days, I'll feel normal enough to do it.

Next, I'm going to stitch up Block #6 of my Marie Antoinette quilt.

I didn't feel up to doing much of anything yesterday.  Bubba took me to Michael's for some little yellow Easter Chicks and then I slept for 3 hours.  I can't get anything done these days with this medication withdrawal!  Anyway, when I got up, I decided to dye some Silk Ribbon:

I wanted to do more but stopped to make my pot of soup. So maybe I'll do more later this week.  I was running low on pinks but it looks like I was kind of into playing with the green dye!  Must be thoughts of Spring.

Soup Recipe - Chicken Taco Soup

Since this bad bout of depression that I've been through, I've lost my appetite for many things.  One of them being protein.  Other than peanut butter, hard boiled eggs and cheese, the only way I can tolerate protein is if it's cut up little and mixed in with veggies.  Soup is great way to deal with this so I've been experimenting with a variety of different soup recipes.

My latest original soup creation is Chicken Taco Soup:

If no one minds that I pat myself on the back, this one is absolutely awesome!  I also prefer to eat low fat, low carb and low salt so this is quite healthy!

Chicken Taco Soup

2 1/2 pounds cooked Chicken Breast diced.
4 cloves Garlic minced
1/2 large Onion diced
3 tablespoons Olive Oil
4 - 14 ounce cans Low Sodium Chicken Broth
1 - 28 ounce can Stewed Tomatos
1 - 16 ounce jar Mild Pace Picante Sauce
2 teaspoons Chili Powder
1 teaspoon Cumin
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
Pepper to taste

Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Sliced Green Onions
Sliced Black Olives

Heat Olive Oil in stock pot, add diced onion and garlic.  Saute until onions become transparent.  Add diced chicken and chicken broth.  Add stewed tomations, picante sauce and seasonings.  Simmer for 30 minutes.

Before serving, garnish soup with cheddar cheese, green onions and black olives.  YUM!

Valentine's Day Drawing!

We're having a drawing for Valentine's Day!  The winner will receive the sweet little mini Valentine's Day Tussy Mussy that mom made for the current New Year Romance issue of Shabby Lane Shops magazine:

Visit our Shabby Chic Boutique for more information!

Tutorial - Mini Amulet by Pat Winter

My sweet friend Pat Winter, has agreed to write up a tutorial on making a Crazy Quilt Mini Amulet for our Simply CQ blog.  Please hop over and check it out!

Crazy Quilt Purse - Edwardian Lady Update

I've been feeling a little out of sorts today but I did do some serious stitching on my Edwardian Lady Crazy Quilt Purse:

See more of my Crazy Quilt Purses here.

That's my update for today everyone.  Time for some dinner.

Soup Recipe - Healthy Ham and Potato Soup

Another of my own original recipes, Healthy Ham and Potato Soup!  It's very good, very easy and quite healthy!

Healthy Ham and Potato Soup

1/2 large Onion chopped
4 Cloves Garlic minced
2 stalks Celery chopped
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 cup Carrots sliced
1 large Potato diced
1 pound cubed smoked ham
4 14-ounce cans low sodium chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
2 teaspoons Dried Parsley
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Pepper
1 8-ounce package Frozen French Cut Green Beans
Pepper to taste

In stock pot, saute onion, celery & garlic olive oil.  When onions become transparent, add cubed ham.
Add Chicken broth, carrots and potato.  Add seasonings and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add frozen green beans, simmer another 10 minutes and enjoy!

Crazy Quilt Purse - Edwardian Lady

As promised, I have an update on my current Crazy Quilt project, an Edwardian Lady purse.  In this photo, you can see that I've added lace, trim and stitching to all of the seams:

And in this photo, I've added flowers around the image:

Now, I need to tear myself away from the computer and start adding beads!  My favorite part!!  I'll be putting this purse in our Boutique when I have it finished.  I have 2 more Edward Lady blocks to stitch up.  I'll be making them into handbags as well.

Boutique Valentines

Jan left a comment for me this morning saying that I was a busy lady!  Yes, I am.  When the hands are occupied the mind is occupied.  Keeping busy, keeps me from going crazy.  Short trip, that's for sure!

Anyway, I just added some new Handmade Valentines to our Boutique.  First, 2 more of mom's beautiful Victorian style Tussy Mussy's:

Then I added these sweet little Pink Angel Ornaments that I made:

I hand painted the metal stars pink (had to be pink!) and then added the pink organza ribbon, fancy yarns and the paper angel image.  The wings are dusted with glitter.  Surprised?

Crazy Quilting - Helpful Hint at SIMPLY CQ BLOG!

I just added a new Helpful Crazy Quilting Hint over at Simply CQ blog.  Please hop over to find a great way for marking your embroidery lines on your crazy quilts.

 I'll be back later with an update on my Edwardian Lady Crazy Quilt Purse!

Crazy Quilt - Edwardian Lady Purse

After writing an article for a magazine yesterday on Victorian Crazy Quilting, I decided I had to get back at it!

I've mentioned before that I have ADHD and tend to enjoy many creative endeavors however, Crazy Quilting is still and always will be my absolute true passion!

I sewed some blocks up last year with images of Edwardian Ladies with the intention of making them into purses.  I pulled one out, chose some lace and trim pieces and started on this piece:

I wanted to post the photo of this purse before I get any further on it.  I know that many of my readers love to watch the progress of my stitched pieces so here it is!

In other news, I've been dealing with some mild withdrawals from the decrease in Zoloft.  Nothing terrible this time though.  The key to cutting down on anti depressants is to go slow!  Small baby steps!  I definitely feel more human on less but there's a bit of craziness here. It'll pass in time.

The next decrease will be in March.  I saw my Dr. last week and she told me she wants to give a few more weeks and then she'll drop it a little bit again.

I'll talk about coping with withdrawals in an upcoming article on depression & anxiety but I want to wait until I get through some more of it.  My next article will be on Spring Fever.  I already have that setting in!  Isn't it Spring yet?  Does Baseball season start soon?  Is it ever going to stop snowing?  LOL!!!

I guess that's my news for today everyone.  I feel like I've been neglecting my blog a little bit.  I've been so busy taking care of the new boutique, other things have been on the back burner.  The dust is settling now so things should start returning to normal.  Whatever "normal" is for me!

Handmade Victorian Tussy Mussy's

I thought I would share mom's newest Tussy Mussy's for Valentine's Day or Shabby Chic Cottage Decor.  Mom's beautiful paper cone Tussie Mussie's are filled with silk flowers, tulle and paper images of angels, little girls, Victorian ladies, kitties and more:

Aren't these beautiful?  I just love mom's work.  She really has a knack for these!

And my latest contribution is a Shamrock Bonnet Lady Lavender Sachet:

This little Potpourri sachet is the first of my St. Patrick's Day additions to our Handmade Shabby Chic Boutique!

The Biography Of Isaac Singer - Singer Sewing Machines

Many of you already know that I have 2 Singer Sewing Machines.  A vintage electric machine from the late 1950's that belonged to my Grandmother and an antique Singer Treadle machine.

While researching the dates for an article I was writing this afternoon, I came across a very well researched and well written biography of Isaac Singer.  I thought you would enjoy reading it.  Be sure to grab a cup of tea and a snack.  Isaac Singer had quite the interesting life!

Video - Handmade Valentine's Day Gift Ideas!

I think this is the prettiest little Video I've made yet!  Valentine's Day Gift Ideas!

Soup Recipe - Easy Taco Soup

I experimented with a new soup recipe yesterday.  Taco Soup!  YUM!!!  This is quick and easy and very good on a cold Winter day like today!

EASY TACO SOUP

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1/2 Large Onion Chopped
4 Cloves Garlic Minced
1 1/2 Pounds Ground Sirloin
4 14 1/2 Ounce Cans Low Sodium Beef Broth
1 16 Ounce Jar Mild Pace Picante Sauce
2 Teaspoons Chili Powder
1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 Teaspoon Onion Powder
1/2 Teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 Tablespoon Dried Parsely
Pepper to taste
Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Heat Olive Oil in Stock Pot, add onions & garlic.  When onions become transparent, add ground sirloin and brown.  Add the 4 cans of Beef Broth and the Jar of Picante Sauce.  Add spices and let simmer for 30 minutes.

Serve with a sprinkle of shredded Cheddar Cheese on top!  Enjoy!

Handmade Boutique - More New Additions

I added some more of our new products to our Handmade Boutique.  Mostly mom's things as I can't really seem to get anything finished. Maybe because I'm always online!  LOL!!

Anyway, here are the lastest Valentine's Day Gift and Decor items.  First, 2 of my mom's gorgeous Tussy Mussy's:

 Ok, so I did finish a couple of things.  Here are my Valentine's Day Trees:

 And a little Valentine Bird Ornament that I made:

 Mom made some gorgeous crocheted scarfs but I didn't have time to get them in our inventory yesterday.  I'll do that over the weekend.

For today, I'm going to mom's to play with the glitter.  And I'm quite eager to get back to some stitching.

Handmade Shabby Chic Boutique - New Additions

First, thank you everyone who left such sweet compliments on my Marie Antoinette Crazyquilt project!  I'm eager to move on to Block #6 but I thought I'd do a few other things first.  I'm finishing up on an embroidery project and then I'd like to make a Victorian Lady purse.  Then I'll get back to Marie Antoinette.

For now, I'll share photos of our Handmade Boutique additions:

 These beautiful Handmade Valentine's were made by mom!

I have some more of mom's gorgeous Victorian Valentine's Day Tussy Mussy's to photograph and list today.

In other news, I'm coping with some mild withdrawals again but it's nothing I can't tolerate and I know it'll pass.  I need to get off some more of this Zoloft.  The side effects are getting to me.  I'll write about the side effects in a future post on Coping With Depression & Anxiety.

Crazy Quilting - Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt Block #5 Completed!

It's been a snowy, icky day here.  I thought it best to stay inside and finish up stitching on Block #5 of my Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt:

I am so pleased with how that fan worked out on the block!  Perfect for the center of this quilt!

If you're new to my blog, the Marie Antoinette themed Crazy Quilt will consist of 9 blocks, each are 9 inches square.  Here are the first 4:

I'll start on Block #6 in a few days.  For now, I feel like doing some simple old fashioned embroidery!

Crazy Quilting - Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt Block #5 Continued

I thought I'd give you a quick progress report on my Crazy Quilt featuring Marie Antoinette.  I did quite a bit of stitching on this block yesterday and this morning:

I'm going to turn the computer off now and stitch the rest of the day.  I have left over homemade soup and bread for dinner.  And I might make Scott heat it all up!!!

Shabby Chic Boutique - Valentine's and Sachets

I thought I'd share the newest additions to our Shabby Chic Boutique.  As seen in Shabby Lane Shops New Year Romance magazine:

Mom's beautiful Victorian Tussy Mussy's for Valentine's Day:

And here are my latest additions!  Bonnet Girls Fragrance Sachets:

Made with little paper faces, antique hand dyed lace, vintage millenary flowers and potpourri.  My home smelled wonderful when I was making these!

I'll have an update on my Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt shortly.  I'm waiting for the camera battery to charge.

Crazy Quilting - Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt Block #5

Well, now that the holidays are behind us and our Shabby Chic Boutique is at it's new location, I was finally able to get back to my Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt.  This is Block #5 before I started stitching on it:

And here it is with some Embroidery and trims:

I found that little fan at a Flea Market over the summer.  It's a real fan that opens and closes!  I've been saving it for the center block of this Crazy Quilt.

I sewed it down which was a challenge but where there's a will, there's a way! I just made some soup and some bread so now I can stitch the rest of the evening!

Simply CQ Blog

If you love Crazy Quilting like I do, you'll want to visit Simply CQ blog!  Hosted by Debbie of Mosaic Magpie blog, Simply CQ is dedicated to the art of Crazyquilting.

Here you will find projects, tutorials, links and conversation with other lovely ladies who enjoy this Victorian Art.

Please hop over and click the follow button!  There will be surprises along the way as well!

Our HANDMADE SHABBY CHIC BOUTIQUE is now open!

I'm pleased to announce that our new Handmade Shabby Chic Boutique is now open for business!

It was a lot of work but it's so nice to have my own domain.  There is no membership, no sign up, no login here!  Customers can place orders without any extra fuss.

You might want to make yourself a pot of tea and then sit back, relax and enjoy paging through our Shabby Chic Boutique catalog.

I've added all sorts of new things.  Some nice Baby products and some pretty Valentine's Day decorations.  And there will be more for Valentine's Day items soon!

Here are few of our new products:

So that's my exciting news for today!  Now that I have the new Boutique all set, I can get back to stitching, sewing and gluing.  I'm really eager to start on Block #5 of my Marie Antoinette quilt. 

Enjoy everyone!