Marie Antoinette Quilt Block 1

Among other things, I started stitching on Block #1 of my Marie Antoinette quilt:

I'll be taking this over to mom's with me today and I'll do some stitching while I'm there.

And speaking of being at mom's, she has some emails to answer so if you're waiting for a reply from her, I'll be helping her do that today.

I also put my Pansy piece in the frame yesterday:

I just added it to my Etsy shop in case anyone is interested.

Finally for today, Scott will draw a name for my Snowflake Crazy Quilt ornament & magazine give away when he gets home from work tonight.  I will post the winner's name tomorrow morning!

Good luck everyone!

Crazy Marie Antoinette Quilt To Begin

I haven't been feeling well for the past few days.  I don't know if it's the medication balancing out again or what.  I'm so tired of trying to figure it out and trying to describe it.  I can definitely feel the depression but I don't care to increase the medication.  It just means that I'd have to deal with more withdrawals when I can cut back again.

I decided that now is the perfect time to start on my Winter project.  I pulled out block #1 of my Marie Antoinette quilt and I will start stitching on this today:

If you're new to my blog, I have Seasonal Affective Disorder and have found that a Winter project, helps me to get through the nasty Winter months until Spring.  This quilt has 9 blocks, all featuring an image of Marie Antoinette.  I love the pinks and other soft pastel colors.  There will be loads of lace and glittery things on this quilt.  Tons of flowers and vines.  I have some special do-dads that my friend Cathy K. sent to me that I've been saving for this project.  One is a little Eiffel Tower charm!

 I finished stitching up on this crazy quilt piece yesterday:

I'm going to try to get this piece in the frame today and then I'll add it to the shop.

Another finish is this little cat doll:

This was a custom order.  I really love making these little cats.  I think I'll sew up a few more this week and just have them ready for when I feel like stitching on one.

A few more things that I added to the shop are more of my glittered bottlebrush trees:

And here are a few of mom's newest items:

All are available here.

Don't forget about the drawing for my Crazy Quilt Snowflake Ornament.  Details can be found here on this post.
http://kittyandmedesigns.blogspot.com/2010/10/drawing.html

I guess that's my news for today folks.  I'll be posting regular updates of my Marie quilt as I work on it so stop by often for that.

I'll leave you with some muffins that I made the other day:

http://www.kittyandme.etsy.com/

Low Carb Pizza

It doesn't get any easier than this! 

I cooked 1 pound of mild Italian sausage then drained it on paper towels.  Actually, I wrap it up in paper towels to get rid of as much grease as possible.

Spread about a Tablespoon of pizza sauce (I used a canned pizza sauce that didn't have any corn products in it) on a 6 inch flour tortilla.  Sprinkle with a little shredded mozzarella cheese, add some Italian sausage and add a bit more mozzarella cheese.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and some Italian seasoning and bake for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees.

You can of course use any toppings that you like.  I just thought I'd share how I make pizza to cut back on the carbs.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe

I cannot take the credit for this one!  This is Kathi's recipe and it was so good, I asked her for the recipe and if I could share it here on my blog.  You would never know there was zucchini in here.  This cake is so moist, so chocolately and so incredibly good, you'll have a hard time leaving it alone!

Here's the recipe:

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Ingredients
… for the cake

1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) butter
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (4 ounces) sour cream
2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
¼ cup Hershey Special Dark Cocoa Powder
1/2 cup Hershey Cocoa powder or a Dutch-process cocoa
2 teaspoons espresso powder
2 cups shredded zucchini (about one 10″ zucchini)
1/2 cup Ghirardelli large chocolate chips
… for the icing

6 oz heavy cream
9 oz Ghirardelli chocolate chips

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly coat a 9″ x 13″ pan with baking spray
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat in the eggs.
Stir in the sour cream alternately with the flour. Then add the cocoa and espresso powder, mixing till smooth. Finally, fold in the zucchini and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 35 – 40 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and cool on a rack.
To prepare the frosting, heat the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate chips (chocolate must be at room temperature). Wait 3-5 minutes then stir to combine. It may take a few minutes of stirring for the ganache to come together. It will thicken as it cools… when warm (but not hot) pour over cake and smooth over the top. Allow frosting to set for about 30 minutes before serving.

Guest Blogger - Lilla Levine

I first saw Lilla's work at Art-E-Zine.  I was blown away!  I loved her textile art and her use of dyed lace!  Lilla's work was a huge inspiration to me and a big part of my desire to try crazy quilting.  Something that is unique to Lilla is that she lives in Hawaii.  When I invited Lilla to be my guest blogger this week, I asked if she would talk about living and crafting in the beautiful state of Hawaii and she graciously agreed.  Please welcome Lilla Levine!

Hawaii, Islands in the remote Pacific ocean.

Aloha, I'm Lilla.
I live in the Islands of Hawaii.
I am sure most people know the tourist attractions and palms waving photos, easily found in travel ads.
 

Tourist Hawaii ,we call it, and most famously that means Waikiki.

Very friendly and fun, they enjoy sharing their studio and their products.

My first stop, was a quaint little shop and studio, where all sorts of classes take place.
I sometimes teach there too.
Some goodies made by we artists who enjoy the ambiance there.
After a short stop I had coffee at a pretty cafe, passing a local spot with workers having their break.
This is the place to by beads and lace and ribbon and trinkets galore.                                                                                    
Aloha and Mahalo Lilla

 

I'd like to thank Lilla Levine for taking the time to write this guest post.  I hope you enjoyed visiting Hawaii and Lilla's post on living in this beautiful state.  Please visit Lilla's blog to see some of her gorgeous textile art!  And then hop over to Lilla's Etsy shop to see what she offers there.