Winter Crazy Quilt Project 2011 - 2012

I won't start on this until the end of October or the beginning of November but it's ready to stitch so I thought I'd share it with you today.

My Winter Crazy Quilt project for this will be a Peacock Quilt:

This beautiful peacock design was a pre-stamped design on black satin.  I stitched it back in the 1980's and never finished it into anything.  I think it's the perfect focal point for a crazy quilt!

I want to stitch on the side pieces simultaneously so my dad made me 2 custom sized stitching frames.  I've already added the blocks to the frames and secured them with thumb tacks so this project is ready to stitch on.

If you're new to my blog, I cope with Seasonal Affective Disorder Syndrome, which has already set in by the way!  And it's only the end of August!  Anyway, I've found that having a Winter Crazy Quilt project to work on throughout the cold, snowy and dreary months, helps me to get through until Spring which is my favorite season.  By March or April, I'll have a nice finished crazy quilt to hang in my home.  This quilt will hang above the television in my bedroom.

Snowman Ornament Needle Felted

I just had to share this sweet little needle felted snowman ornament that Kathi made:

Is he too cute or what?  And he's so soft and fuzzy!  She made him entirely of wool roving and he's all needle felted.  Not sewn together piece by piece.  He's needle felted together!  I've done some needle felting but I can't imagine doing anything as 3 dimensional as this little cutie!

Kathi also made some beautiful needle felted rose brooches:

Gorgeous!  Absolutely gorgeous and so creative and where she finds the time to make things with a full-time job, I don't know!

Anyway, I thought you would enjoy seeing Kathi's latest creations.  I'm still working on making more cat dolls.  I'll have more photos as soon as I get a few more stitched.

A New Litter Of Little Cat Dolls

As ya'll know, my Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls are one of my signature items!  I've literally made dozens of these!  My inventory is running a little low so I thought I'd make a new litter of these little cats.

They don't look like much now, but when I sew them up, they'll look like these:

I have a few more that I want to stitch up and then I'll put them together.

Crazy Quilt Gatherings Volume #3 August 2011

The new issue of Crazy Quilt Gatherings magazine is now available!

Be sure to see Mary Anne Richardson's review of Elegant Crazy Quilt Seam Treatments Volume 2 EBOOK!

Gatherings Magazine is available to order from Magcloud.

Recipe Sloppy Joe Salad

With Summer winding down and Fall right around the corner, I'm starting to think of some new ideas for different meals.  Scott and I are into healthy eating so I'm always trying to think of different ways to make meals into salads and to keep the carbs down to a minimum.

I recently tried something new and it's really good!  I always loved Sloppy Joe sandwiches so I thought, how about making the Sloppy Joe mixture and putting it on salad?  Wow!  Is this awesome!!!

Basically, it starts with a Barbeque Sauce.  You can use a store bought sauce from a jar but I prefer to make my own.

Sloppy Joe Barbeque Sauce

1 medium onion diced
1 cup Ketchup (Hunts brand has NO High Fructose Corn Syrup in it)
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/4 teaspoon Dry Mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Corn Starch

Saute the diced onions in the olive oil.  Cook until transparent.  Add all other ingredients except Corn Starch.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Add corn starch and continue to boil, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens.  Remove from heat and add to 1 pound cooked ground sirloin.  Serve over lettuce and tomatos with shredded chedder cheese and Ranch dressing.

I've also made this will shredded chicken and I've made it with shredded pork.  It's good every way I've tried it!

Enjoy!

Halloween Crazy Quilt Door Pillow

Buenos Diaz Mi Amigas!  I finally finished up on my Halloween Crazy Quilt Door Pillow!

It's so bright and cheery!  And it's really starting to feel less like Summer and more like Fall now.  We've already had to pick some of our pumpkins from our pumpkin patch so the critters don't have them for lunch!  I'll be getting out my little decorative scarecrows this weekend and a few of my other Fall things.

I confess, as much as I usually love Summer, I've had enough of the terrible thunderstorms and the bugs for one season.  The mosquitos are horrendous this year!  We don't dare leave our deck without one of our little OFF Clip On thingy's or we'll get devoured by those little vampires!

So what am I working on now?  I've been terribly restless lately, probably due to withdrawals from the medication I've been on.  I'm having a terrible time sitting still and although I have a commission piece to do, I thought I'd stitch up a few of my little cat dolls first.  I did get my winter crazy quilt project all set up to start on but I won't start on that until late October.  I will share pictures with you soon.  So in the meantime, a new litter of kittens are coming!

Scarecrow Doll

Before I share my finished Halloween Crazy Quilt piece, I want to share this precious little Scarecrow Doll that my mom made:

Isn't he just too cute?  My mom really comes up with some neat things!

Ok, so I finally finished up on my Halloween Crazy Quilt Door Pillow:

I've been terribly restless lately and have a hard time sitting still but I made myself work on this yesterday and now it's ready to sew together.  I have to run and get some groceries and then I'll make myself put it together.

Cards With Glitter

Cards With Glitter!  Ya'll know how much I love my glitter!  All that glitters IS gold to me!!!  And there is no better place to pile it on than on handmade cards.

Mom and I have been making things like crazy!  I think it keeps us from being crazy!  LOL!!!  Anyway, for today, I thought I'd share our latest card creations:

 Aren't these pretty?  Even prettier in person!  Also available at Etsy.

Ok, I'm off to finish up on my Halloween Crazy Quilt Door Pillow.  I ran my errands yesterday so I could have today free to stitch, bake and do whatever!

New Boutique Arrivals

I worked like a crazy person (emphasis the word "crazy") yesterday getting our newest boutique items listed.  It's very time consuming to take photos, edit photos, write descriptions and list things in 2 shops!  But I met my goal and am finally caught up!  At least for now!  Here's what's new:

Christmas Bottlebrush Trees:

I don't know why I enjoy decorating these so much.  I think it's because I can use a lot of glitter on them.  And ya'll know how much I love my glitter!  These are so pretty with little Christmas Villages!

Next, my Victorian Peacock Ornament:

I had 2 of these but 1 is already gone so I only have 1 left in stock.

Then I added mom's latest Victorian Tussy Mussy's:

Are these precious or what?  They're mini Tussy Mussy Ornaments for Christmas and Mini Tussy Mussy Ornaments for Thanksgiving!  They're just too cute!  I can see them on a vintage Feather Tree!

I also added a ton of our new Glittered Blank Notecards but I'll save those photos for tomorrow.

I guess that's it for today.  Enjoy the photos!  For anyone who prefers shopping at Etsy, our Boutique Items are also available there.

Fabric and Lace Cuff Bracelets

Did you ever notice how "all over the map" I can be?  I jump from one subject to another and then to another and you probably never know what I'm going to do next!  LOL!!!  Neither do I!  What can I say?  ADD!

I just added some new Fabric and Lace Cuff bracelets to our Boutiques:

These are made with my collection of vintage millinery flowers and they're reminiscent of old fashioned wrist corsages!  I use elastic in my cuff bracelets so they'll fit up to a 7 1/2 inch wrist.  Also available in our Etsy Boutique!

Our Pumpkin Patch

Scott and I thought it would be fun to plant pumpkins this year.  We bought seeds for traditional pumpkins and then seeds for the little mini pumpkins.  We were very excited in the early Summer when they started growing but little did we know that they would take over our yard!

We've literally had to pull the vines out of our neighbor's yard!  That tree stump you see is what's left of the tree that fell on my house 3 years ago.  We're still working on getting that stump out of there.

Here's one of the large pumpkins:

And a freak of nature!  2 mini pumpkins growing together:

It's been fun but I'll be glad to cut all the vines down and have my yard back!

In the meantime, I've done some stitching on my Halloween door pillow:

If I can make myself sit still, I'll finish this up later today.  For now, I need to walk and move around so Scott and I are going to head out to our little Flea Market in Wilmot, Wisconsin!

Marie Antoinette

I just added a few more of my Marie Antoinette items to my Etsy shop.  I thought to myself, how in the world did I get into making so many Marie Antoinette themed items?  I think I like the bling and fluffiness of Marie Antoinette.  The girlie stuff so to speak.  I can't say I'll be doing too much more in the way of Queen Marie projects but for now, I thought I'd showcase the things I've made on that theme.

First and foremost is my Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt:

I also made a Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt purse:

And then there was my Marie Antoinette Framed Crazy Quilt piece:

Marie Antoinette Brooches:

Marie Antoinette Jewelry Box:

Marie Anointette Art Quilt:

Marie Antoinette Journal:

 Marie Antoinette Gift Tags:

Geez Louise!  How in the world did I get into the whole Marie Antoinette thing?  LOL!!!

Ok, I think I've had enough of that theme.  At least for now.  It's time for a new theme.  Maybe peacocks?  Hmmmmm......there is something already in the works.  Stay tuned!

Also, today is Tuesday so it's Tuesday's Treasures at Shabby Lane Shops!  Be sure to visit all of the great shops that participate in this fun weekly sales event!  And of course, you have to visit my Boutique to see what we have on special for the Tuesday's Treasures!