Saturday, July 31, 2010

Announcing Marcia's Online Store at www.craftysewing.com


Marcia's Online Store features Patterns, Pre cut Kits, Quilted Photo Note cards, Extra Wide 100% Cotton Fabric and other quilt related items.

Several items are up and ready to order with your credit card or PayPal account. I use the PayPal Shopping Cart which provides a very simple and secure method for purchasing online. You can checkout with a credit card or use your PayPal account.

More items will be added later so check back often.

lovely tea diversions . . .

Well, looking ahead, the coming week is full of possibility! Wednesday I have an appointment with the orthopedist, and I am hoping she allows me to begin bearing weight on my right foot again, which will open up so many opportunities. Moving back into our RV at the camp and driving, not the least of these! After that appointment, I have an appointment with my family doc, who's treating the blasted spider bite. While the inflammation is nearly completely gone, the (now) quarter-sized bruise and the dark blistery looking thing are still present. Don't know what this bodes, unless it's more waiting, which wouldn't surprise me.

I've already made good headway (i.e., I'm almost finished) with the eighth of the redwork blocks. I'd like to have all ten finished by Tuesday eve! Then I'll start processing out the other blocks. The pattern calls for a simple nine patch in reds and whites, but I'm thinking I'd like to add a denim look to this quilt! But more on that later, when I've finished the redwork.

For today, I've been playing around in my photo directory, and pulled up some fun tea tables I've done in days past. When we moved from house to RV, most of my 'dainties' (though not all) were left behind for my daughter and daughter-in-law. But I do love a good tea party, and thought I'd share some of my favorite memories in the form of photos, today . . .


This was the first table that I ever hosted, for the Flint River Mother-Daughter Tea. That was in 2006. I used my everyday china because I was so in love with the colors! It's still a favorite -- I love the yellows, greens, and blues. They make me smile!


This was my table the next year, for the same tea. I was a little more elegant and went with my Lenox Kelly china (which I did take with me on the RV). This was such a fun table, and I loved making the violet sachet favors!


This was a little tea party I did for my daughter and her friend/roommate, when they made a weekend trip home from college. It wasn't ultra-fancy, but it was fun and the food was tasty! My kitchen was decorated in apples and since that was the setting, I used my apple tea set and the apple snack plates and cups.


This was an impromptu afternoon tea setting for Joc and I, late one weekend when she was home from college. I love having tea with my girl!


This was a tea table I did at First Baptist Gurley, when my Sunday school class hosted a tea party for all the senior adult ladies of the church. As with the previous church tea parties I'd done, each table was hosted and decorated by a different lady. The different tables were all so beautiful, and it was such a fun afternoon! The tea service I used here was one Jocelyn brought back for me from her second mission trip to China. It's beautiful!


And this table was the last table I did at Flint River, in 2009. Jocelyn and I co-hosted at this mother-daughter tea! We invited two of our dear friends and their daughters, and Joc's mother-in-law (to be, at the time) and her daughter. We had a lovely afternoon. If I'm remembering correctly, I gave the tea etiquette portion of the program!

I wish I'd thought to take pictures of the last tea I had here at the house. After Joc's wedding, I did a tea party for her two flower girls and their mommies. It was my sister and my niece, Lucy, and my friend Jenda, and her daughter Emma Grace. We had such a fun afternoon! But I forgot to get pictures! What was I thinking??

I have such fond tea time memories . . . I think it may be time to brew a pot!

Cheers!

:)


We made it though week 3

Whitnee and I have made it through week 3 on So You Think You're Crafty!
Thank you so much to everyone who voted for our Zippy Flip Flops and Beach Bag! The theme was Water.
We designed these fun shoes and bag using Zippers! I'm kinda loving Zippers right now! (tutorial will be available soon)
Next week the theme is Edible, so we've designed a darling craft around the Edible theme. Can't wait until Monday when the voting starts all over again! 

Please go vote for Kathleen in the McCalls Quilting Design Star Challenge. Voting ends soon, you can vote every day if you'd like! THANKS!!

Hope you're having a fantastic weekend. Today starts our local fair and I guess that I'm going to see the annual demolition derby tonight.

Don't miss our sale @ Piece N Quilt!
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~Natalia
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Friday, July 30, 2010

we . . . love . . . cheese . . . cake!

Todd and I both enjoy desserts -- just a little something sweet to cap off a nice dinner! Trouble is, Todd is very, very conscious of his sugar intake. It's really tough to make a tempting dessert without sugar, so I've been looking for new recipes to tempt his palette! This is one I found a couple of months ago which he's really enjoyed . . .

Easy Cheese Cake - No Sugar Added!

Take a softened, 8-ounce block of light cream cheese (neufchâtel)
and add 1/4 cup of granular Splenda and a generous
2 teaspoons or so of vanilla. (Or, for a bit different taste,
trade out the vanilla for almond extract! Amaretto cheesecake!)

Beat well.

Add 1/2 cup of skim milk and beat until smooth.
Scrape sides of bowl and beat again.

Add 1 cup of skim milk (yes, more milk) and beat until well mixed.

Add 1 4-serving box of Jell-O brand instant pudding
(sugar free, fat free), cheesecake flavor, and mix until
well blended. Mixture will quickly begin to thicken.

Pour about a third of the mix into
pre-prepared graham cracker pie shell.

Add 3/4 cup of your favorite sugar-free jam --
I used Smucker's Cherry Preserves.

Top with remaining 2/3 of the pudding/cream cheese mix.
Smooth top.

Cover and chill for at least four hours.
Serve with sugar-free whipped topping!

YUM!

ps. They released me from the hospital yesterday. Four days and three nights!!! I was so super-shocked at the whole week. I came home yesterday and crawled into bed and slept all afternoon -- I was so exhausted from my stay. LOL! I went to work today, just like the last four days never happened. Crazy. All over a stinkin' spider bite!

For tomorrow? REDWORK!!!

:)

Fun or Fabulous Fabric Friday #9

New Brunswick Day Edition
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I bought this fabric a couple of years ago at a flea market. I didn't quilt then, I just bought it because I thought my son would like the flags. Who knows what I figured I'd do with it. It was only $2.00 for a giant piece (maybe 5 or 6 yards) so actually I didn't think too much about anything besides whether or not I had a toonie* in my pocket.
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Anyway, fast forward to 2010 when I decide to take up quilting. It is a totally treasured fabric to me now! I have fussy cut the New Brunswick flags out of it for two different quilts so far. I LOVE the unique touch of having flags of our own province in quilting cotton. I am soooo glad I have a big piece of this fabric as the NB flag only repeats so often.
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I have no idea about the original source of the fabric as it doesn't have a printed selvage. The flag of Nunavut is not on it, but the other two territories are, so that dates it. That means it is pre-1999 fabric!
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*Toonie = Canadian $2.00 coin.
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Happy New Brunswick Day and happy weekend!

A collaborative quilt for Amy

The BEST part of this blogging community is the friends that I've made! My friends are of all ages and styles of quilting, sewing and crafting. One of my friends Amy recently had a baby girl and then moved to a different state within a month! CRAZY! A few of my other blogging friends had the idea to make a quilt for Amy's new baby. So we concocted this idea, Candy died the fabrics, Amy E. and Vicki both pieced blocks, Rita did applique and I machine quilted this quilt for Amy!  (head over to each of my friends blogs today to see what they did in this quilt) I think it turned out super cute and it was so much fun to see each ladies take on Candies hand died fabrics.
A few close ups of my quilting.
 You'll have to head over to Amy's blog to see the finished quilt!

Have you made great friends through this AWESOME blogging/cyber community? I would love to hear!



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~Natalia
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

A little quilting and the rest of my stash!

So far this week I've spent a bit of time machine quilting and a bit of time cleaning out my stash
I quilted this DARLING quilt for Tara! I think it turned out just darling. She told me that she was inspired by our "Gobble Gobble" tutorial. What an honor!
I quilted this darling cabin quilt for Joyce! I think the leaves on the backing look so cute!
I quilted this quilt for Andria! I love this one! I recently got a new bedroom set and I have been dying to make a black, white and yellow quilt for my new black bed. I really wanted to just steal this quilt! :) Just kidding. :)
Now onto my stash!
I've got two of the fat quarter packs left.
Today I cut a ton of 5" squares from more of my stash.
I've created these little bundles of 5" squares. Each bundle contains 50-60, 5" squares. Material is all Moda fabrics and it is all scraps. I'm selling these for just $5. Click here to buy one!
BUT, I'm exhausted from cutting up my stash and I have a ton left! So, the whole rest of my stash is for sale!
There is still a ton of fabric, easily $150 worth. I'm selling this whole pile for $50.  I will feel so much better when I can have a fresh clean start! Click here to purchase my stash!
**Update, stash is sold out. We do have still have the 5" squares and the Fat Quarters left.

I'm just not a stash person, it just becomes to much for me. :)
Hope you're having a happy Wednesday!!


Don't miss our sale @ Piece N Quilt! For more fun updates sign up for Piece N Quilts newsletter. Leave a comment, we'd love to hear from you. ~Natalia


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New products

Hello Everyone,

Hope you are having a great summer.

I have a new kit in stores today. It is for all those girls who love to bike ride.

It is available at scrapdish.com and digitalscrapcafe.com.

For newsletter subscribers I will be sending out a 15% off coupon this evening.

A few other product in store. Click digitalscrapcafe or scrapdish to find them.


Enjoy