How cute are these??

Two posts in one day! I just have to show you the most adoreable little baby shoes I made using this tutorial. They took all of 10 minutes. I can see that these could become an addiction. The problem with that is that my "babies" are 17 and 19 years old! I suppose I can hold on to them until that day in the future (way waaaaayyy in the future!) when I have grandbabies who can wear them!

SCORE!!!!

I was at work yesterday when my DD called with a crisis. She was at the mall (45 minutes away) and had locked her keys in the car. *heavy sigh*
Being the wonderful mom that I am (and being incredibly bored at work) I told her I'd bring her the spare set of keys. Since I was now taking an unscheduled trip to Binghamton, I decided to do a little shopping. I went to the Christmas Tree Shop and picked up a few things, then decided to make the trek down to the Parkway to check out JoAnns. This is where it gets good! I was browsing the decorator fabrics because I have been wanting to redo the kitchen/dining room. Then I saw it! This gorgeous stripe in just the colors I had been thinking about. I looked for the price (expecting it to be around $30/yd) and was thrilled to see that it was a red tag fabric for $6/yd!! Wait - it gets better.

Here is a closeup of the fabric. It's a nice decorator weight - but not stiff like some. It feels like a heavy linen and I love the crinkly texture. Oh, anyways...back to the story. I said it gets better. Well, as it turns out, the red tag home dec fabrics are on sale for 50% off! I got 15 yards of this stuff for $3/yd! Plus, I work at JoAnns (a different store) so I also got my 15% employee discount. CHA-CHING!
Now I have to stop procrastinating and get painting - and sewing!

Catching up

I finally got my Project Improv block finished and in the mail. I made so many of these before finally getting one I was happy with. If you haven't yet - check out the rest of the fantastic blocks by clicking on the project improv banner in the sidebar.

I also got my round 2 blocks sent out for the Swap-Bot friendship quilt swap I'm in.

It feels good to cross projects off the "to-do" list!

You Can Make This contest!

I found a great site for projects of all kinds - from beginner to seasoned crafter. They are about to launch a new site that is just for quilting called www.youcanquiltthis.com . In honor of the launching of this new site they are giving away a Marie Osmond 200 Quilter’s Companion by Janome. Check out all of the details here.

Good luck!

Signs of Spring

It is a beautiful day here in Central New Your so I thougnt I would take my camera for a walk around my yard to look for signs that spring has spring. Here is what I found...

Crocuses blooming in the garden

Our little bunny Bynx enjoying the lovely day in his "summer cottage" that my DH built for him last summer

Bunny nose!! He was hoping I had brought him a little treat I think.

The creek behind my house is ice-free and running very nicely

I think this creek is the main reason my hubby wanted this house - the dogs love it too!

My DH makes maple syrup every spring. This is his home made sap boiling setup. Pretty redneck, eh?

We live in a big maple syrup producing area. In fact, the Maple Festival is going on right now! My oldest worled the pancake breakfast earlier today and my youngest is working at the senior class speedie tent all weekend.

This ends our tour of my yard. Thanks for coming along!

Spring Fever!!

I have officially caught a bad case of spring fever. Today was a perfect spring day. The sun was shining, birds were singing. I decided to go for a drive and enjoy the day. Bad idea. I ended up with a speeding ticket. Now, I am the first one to admit that I have a bit of a lead foot. I know that. What upsets me is that today I honestly did not realize I was speeding. I was on an unfamiliar road, driving along with the windows down and the radio on ("Baby Got Back" was playing) enjoying the beautiful views that Central New York is famous for when suddenly - lights behind me. I pull over thinking I'm letting him by to go after some poor sucker when he pulls over too and I realize that I AM the poor sucker. *sigh* He clocked me at 50mph in a 30mph zone. Yikes. Can't wait to see what the fine for this will be.

Baby Madison's Quilt

Amy at Park CityGirl is hosting a virtual quilt show. She has asked us to post about our favorite quilt and the story behind it. Since I have only completed 3 quilts it was easy to pick a favorite. This baby quilt was my first attempt at free motion quilting. I was so scared but I am happy with how it turned out. Below is the original post about this quilt. Thanks for stopping by!

I finished my first baby quilt - and just in time! Little Madison was born yesterday. I'm waiting to get her weight and length before I give it to her so I can embroider it on the back. I'm very happy with how it turned out - this was my first attempt at free motion quilting. I followed this tutorial with a few changes in the size.

Here is close-up of the quilting. I hope Madison's mommy loves this as much as I do!!