Next, I made a few little Easter Village Glitterhouses:
Cross Stitch Patterns inspired by nature, animals, holidays and scripture by Pamela Kellogg
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Handmade Boutique - St Patricks Day Tussy Mussys and Easter Village Houses
I've added a few new things to our Cottage Boutique! First, my mom's beautiful little mini St. Patrick's Day Tussy Mussy's:
These Tussy Mussies are little ones! They're so cute!
Next, I made a few little Easter Village Glitterhouses:
Each house comes with a little Spring bottlebrush tree! Pastel and glittered, like old fashioned Putz Houses.
Next, I made a few little Easter Village Glitterhouses:
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Art Quilt Adventure Complete
I promised a photo of my little finished Art Quilt Experiment the other day but never got back online. At least I don't think I got back online. Can't remember for sure. If I did forget, then it's an ADD moment and I have tons of those so forgive me!
Anyway, here is a photo of my finished Art Quilt:
I kept the finishing simple on this one. I wanted it to be very "woodsy" so a simple little twig from outside is all it needed.
For the back, I cut a piece of pink felt and glued that on with my glue gun:
Despite the fact that my experiment didn't work (and thank you to my readers who emailed me and told me why), I'm very pleased with the results. I may even work up a tutorial for my technique next time I do one.
In the meantime, I have another finish to share with you. I had a custom order for one of my little crazy quilt cat dolls:
I just love making these little cat dolls! But I thought I'd try another little doll shape so I worked up a Teddy Bear pattern and pieced a few of them so I'll share those when I get them stitched up.
In the meantime, if you like to own one of my Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls, you might want to stop by tomorrow as I will be announcing a drawing for one!
Anyway, here is a photo of my finished Art Quilt:
For the back, I cut a piece of pink felt and glued that on with my glue gun:
In the meantime, I have another finish to share with you. I had a custom order for one of my little crazy quilt cat dolls:
In the meantime, if you like to own one of my Crazy Quilt Cat Dolls, you might want to stop by tomorrow as I will be announcing a drawing for one!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine's Day!
Wishing all of my sweet friends in Blogland a very Happy Valentine's Day!
I'll be back a little later with a photo of my finished Art Quilt!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Adventures In Art Quilting
Yesterday, I wrote about my attempt to shrink Wool Roving for a cool foundation to stitch on. I did not succeed at shrinking anything! But I did come up with a cool background for stitching.
I finished adding beads and sequins to my little "Guarding The Nest" Art Quilt:
I'll put this on a little branch either later today or over the weekend and post another photo when it's complete.
I did try another little wool background. This time I boiled it but again, nothing happened. It's ok though, because I have another interesting, textured foundation to stitch on. Will post that soon. First, I have a custom order for a Crazy Quilt cat doll so I want to get that stitched up and ready for my customer.
In the meantime, I also made 2 Pink Heart Brooches:
These are little hearts that I needle felted and then embellished with Silk Ribbon Embroidery, old lace, beads & sequins. The hearts are exactly the same but by using different embellishments, they are each unique! These are available to purchase in our Handmade Boutique!
I finished adding beads and sequins to my little "Guarding The Nest" Art Quilt:
I did try another little wool background. This time I boiled it but again, nothing happened. It's ok though, because I have another interesting, textured foundation to stitch on. Will post that soon. First, I have a custom order for a Crazy Quilt cat doll so I want to get that stitched up and ready for my customer.
In the meantime, I also made 2 Pink Heart Brooches:
These are little hearts that I needle felted and then embellished with Silk Ribbon Embroidery, old lace, beads & sequins. The hearts are exactly the same but by using different embellishments, they are each unique! These are available to purchase in our Handmade Boutique!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Wool Roving - An Experiment
Did you ever get a bee in your bonnet about trying something and it just bugs you until you do it? And then, if it doesn't turn out the way you expected, that bee starts buzzing louder until you try again, and again, until you get it right?
That was the case with my latest creative endeavor. Out of blue, it occurred to me that wool shrinks when heated. I have tons of wool roving for needle felting but I thought to myself, I could do some layering with it and then shrink it for a really cool textured background to stitch on. Yes, it's all about new things to stitch on!
I started with a layer of pink tulle. On top of that, I added some wool roving in a variety of different pastel colors. Then I added some sparkly Angelina fiber and then another layer of pink tulle. I took it over to my beloved Singer Treadle Machine and top stitched it.
Now for the fun part. I wet it and then took the heat gun to it! Guess what happened? NOTHING!!! It didn't really shrink. Oh, it melted the tulle and gave me a few burned areas which looked pretty cool but I did not accomplish my goal of shrinking the wool.
My philosophy is "Waste Not, Want Not" so I of course, worked with what I had and stitched on it anyway. Here's the progress:
There's no doubt that what I came up IS very pretty! Since I still had my heat gun out, I added a little bit of gold embossing powder and heat set that.
I choose an image of a little Cherub and sewed that on. Then, I had some some recycled silk that I bought at a yarn store last Fall so I couched some of that on around the image:
Couching that silk on was quite a challenge! It's so fine and gets caught on everything! But I got it couched on because as you all know, I need pink!
Once I got that done, I added a variety of fancy yarns for more texture. Then came some Silk Ribbon Embroidery, some vintage and new flowers and a tiny bird's nest. Yes, the little Cherub is guarding the nest full of eggs! I can't help it, all I can think of now is Spring!
This is where I'm at with it at the moment:
All that's left to do on it is to add some beads and sequins for sparkle. Then I'll attach it to a little branch and call it an Art Quilt! I'll post another update photo when it's completed.
So what about the buzzing bee in my bonnet? Oh, I'll be trying this again! We'll see what boiling water does to wool!!!
That was the case with my latest creative endeavor. Out of blue, it occurred to me that wool shrinks when heated. I have tons of wool roving for needle felting but I thought to myself, I could do some layering with it and then shrink it for a really cool textured background to stitch on. Yes, it's all about new things to stitch on!
I started with a layer of pink tulle. On top of that, I added some wool roving in a variety of different pastel colors. Then I added some sparkly Angelina fiber and then another layer of pink tulle. I took it over to my beloved Singer Treadle Machine and top stitched it.
Now for the fun part. I wet it and then took the heat gun to it! Guess what happened? NOTHING!!! It didn't really shrink. Oh, it melted the tulle and gave me a few burned areas which looked pretty cool but I did not accomplish my goal of shrinking the wool.
My philosophy is "Waste Not, Want Not" so I of course, worked with what I had and stitched on it anyway. Here's the progress:
I choose an image of a little Cherub and sewed that on. Then, I had some some recycled silk that I bought at a yarn store last Fall so I couched some of that on around the image:
Once I got that done, I added a variety of fancy yarns for more texture. Then came some Silk Ribbon Embroidery, some vintage and new flowers and a tiny bird's nest. Yes, the little Cherub is guarding the nest full of eggs! I can't help it, all I can think of now is Spring!
This is where I'm at with it at the moment:
So what about the buzzing bee in my bonnet? Oh, I'll be trying this again! We'll see what boiling water does to wool!!!
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
Crazy Quilt Gatherings - A Magazine By Pat Winter
The premier issue of Crazy Quilt Gatherings by my dear friend Pat Winter will be available on March 1st.
Please visit Pat's Gatherings Blog for more details.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Boutique Additions
Well, it's snowing here again in Northern Illinois! I have never seen this much snow in one Winter season! But I'm counting the days until March 1st (3 weeks). I usually start to breathe easier around the beginning of March.
I'd like to say thanks to everyone who commented on my Marie Antoinette quilt blocks. I can't tell you all how much I'm enjoying that project! I'll start on Block #7 in a few days. I have some other things I'd like to do first.
In the meantime, I thought I'd share the newest additions to our Shabby Chic Boutique! First, my Crazy Quilt Edwardian Lady Purse:
Check out that gorgeous trim that I found in my stash! I don't know where I got that but it worked perfectly to finish off this handbag!
Next, mom made a few St. Patrick's Day Ornaments:
These are so sweet! Just a little something cheery for Saint Patrick's Day!
We have loads of beautiful Cottage Style Products in our Boutique! Please visit us and be sure to check our Special's For Today! We have some Valentine's on sale!
I'd like to say thanks to everyone who commented on my Marie Antoinette quilt blocks. I can't tell you all how much I'm enjoying that project! I'll start on Block #7 in a few days. I have some other things I'd like to do first.
In the meantime, I thought I'd share the newest additions to our Shabby Chic Boutique! First, my Crazy Quilt Edwardian Lady Purse:
Next, mom made a few St. Patrick's Day Ornaments:
These are so sweet! Just a little something cheery for Saint Patrick's Day!
We have loads of beautiful Cottage Style Products in our Boutique! Please visit us and be sure to check our Special's For Today! We have some Valentine's on sale!
Friday, February 04, 2011
Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt Block #6
I apologize for not photographing the block before I stitched it. I usually like to post my works in progress updates as I work on them. I haven't been feeling too great for the past few days so I just stitched. Marie Antoinette Crazy Quilt Block #6 is complete:
The little watch was a pendant watch that belonged to my grandmother. I've been trying to use her jewelry pieces on this quilt so I can see and enjoy them rather than store them in my cedar chest.
So this block is done and that leaves me 3 more blocks to go.
If you're visiting my blog for the first time, I'm working on a Crazy Quilt with Marie Antoinette as the theme. There will be 9 blocks all together, each of them are 9 inches square.
So this block is done and that leaves me 3 more blocks to go.
If you're visiting my blog for the first time, I'm working on a Crazy Quilt with Marie Antoinette as the theme. There will be 9 blocks all together, each of them are 9 inches square.
Here are the previous blocks:
Block #5
Block #4
Block # 3
Block #2
Block #1
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
McHenry, Illinois Blizzard 2011
Well, we had our Blizzard. What a mess! This is what we woke up to at 4 am this morning:
This is our mudroom. It's probably a good thing we haven't remodeled it yet! And it's a good thing we don't have a screen door on it yet. We wouldn't have been able to get out of the house. Would have had to wait for a neighbor to come and help!
You can't see them, but there are steps under all that snow!
This is the front of my house. It was about 8:00 this morning.
My Towncar and Scott's Mustang.
Three and Four foot drifts.
Our truck was buried too!
Scott has most of it cleaned up yet. It's 2:45 in the afternoon and we still haven't seen a snow plow yet.
I'd like to say thanks to everyone who left me kind comments and wishes yesterday. The low barometric pressure wears on me as does these kind of storms. I'm sure I'll feel better in a few days.
This is our mudroom. It's probably a good thing we haven't remodeled it yet! And it's a good thing we don't have a screen door on it yet. We wouldn't have been able to get out of the house. Would have had to wait for a neighbor to come and help!
Scott has most of it cleaned up yet. It's 2:45 in the afternoon and we still haven't seen a snow plow yet.
I'd like to say thanks to everyone who left me kind comments and wishes yesterday. The low barometric pressure wears on me as does these kind of storms. I'm sure I'll feel better in a few days.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Life In My Studio
Not feeling well today ladies so I'm going to send you over to my friend Debi's Life In My Studio blog to see her gorgeous artwork!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
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.
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:
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!
My latest original soup creation is Chicken Taco Soup:
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!
Friday, January 28, 2011
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!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
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!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
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.
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!
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!
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
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?
Anyway, I just added some new Handmade Valentines to our Boutique. First, 2 more of mom's beautiful Victorian style Tussy Mussy's:
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!
Monday, January 24, 2011
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!
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:
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!
And my latest contribution is a Shamrock Bonnet Lady Lavender Sachet:
Sunday, January 23, 2011
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!
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!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
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!
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!
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