What Little Girls Are Made Of ~ Quilt

Here's my latest quilt. It's funny how things come to be. I had actually planned on making a baby boy quilt for my etsy shop. I purchased material specifically for this project (no silly not this material) but couldn't decide exactly what I wanted to do so I switched to plan B ~ do something entirely different!

I gathered together some material on hand, cut it into various sized strips and 

sewed them together. 

Then I decided to add some flowers...and then a butterfly, thought some ric rac 

would add a nice touch and...

Sewed, stitched, & quilted ....

and Viola!  I've named it "What Little Girls Are Made Of" and it's available here!

A Beautiful Day

Tree Bumps & Moss ~ I lichen!

It looks like the weather has finally taken a summery turn. It went from cool to hot and while I know it will cool down again we did get a chance to go out and enjoy this weekend.

A great place on even a hot day is Pack Demonstration forest very close by. The walk/hike is about a mile along wheelchair accessible paths which means the trail is stroller friendly. Even though it was hot out we were in the shade of an old growth hemlock and white pine forest.

About half way through the mile long trail is the Grandmother Tree, a huge eastern white pine. This tree is listed in the New York state historic tree register and is about 175 feet tall and at least 315 years old.

The story behind the tree is that it belonged to the Woodward family. John Woodward planned to cut the tree down and sell the wood so he could buy his wife a set of dishes for their anniversary. His wife, Margaret, was so upset by his plan that she said she would rather do without new dishes than lose the tree. (Yea Margaret!) Family tradition protected the tree until 1927, then the property became part of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

There was quite a bit of water on the sides of the paths today, perfect for kerplunking some pebbles!

Um... not quite sure what he's thinking (he did have fun though)!

There are a couple of large uprooted trees along the way, so interesting to look at.

Despite her efforts to push the fallen tree off the path,

we did wind up having to lift the stroller over the tree!

Looking forward to summer and more outdoor fun along with the opportunity 

to share nature in all her glory with my children.

Baby On The Go!

Having a place for my little guy to safely scoot around has been great. I can set him up and watch him play while I do some sewing. Well I guess you can say this is pretty much done. Here's his latest trick in a video called...

28 Seconds Until Freedom

Quiltsy Team Promotion!

Check out this amazing promotion that will be going on from May 10-16. Amazing prizes (and tons of them)!

The Quiltsy
Etsy Street Team Presents:

May Daze!

May 10 -16, 2009

Play our game during May Daze and you could
win one of these fabulous prizes!

STOP TO PLAY, STAY TO BUY

Has the long, cold winter left you in a daze? Well, Quiltsy
is celebrating the coming of spring in a big way, with an assortment of prizes
worth $350!!

Our May Daze promotion is sure to waken your adventurous spirit
with a lively game of hide & seek through participating shops. While the
game is being hosted, you will also be treated to special promotions offered
by each shop which can range from free shipping, to free gifts and/or discounts.
Winners of our game will receive prizes from among our most popular-selling
items.

Quiltsy Team members are quite a creative bunch, and you will
find within the items for sale new twists on traditional quilts, as well as
other delightful items in the fiber arts arena.

HOW TO PLAY

1. Your objective is to find the secret letters hidden within
   listings of participating shops. These letters will be placed in one of the
   4 alternate pictures in a listing of the seller's choosing.


2. There are SIX words in total, and 35 shops. The letters
   that belong in the same word will be the same color to help you unscramble.


3. The letters will be hidden in a quilt-related item; the
   seller may opt to give a clue, so be sure to read the shop intro!


4. Once you have located all the pictures, unscramble the
   matching letters to form a quilt related word/phrase.


5. Send your answer in a convo to QuiltsyTeam.
   (You will need to sign in to Etsy). Please include the words "May Daze"
   in the subject line.


6. For each correct answer, you will get an entry to win one of six prize packages.
   The number of prizes in your package is determined by the length of the word.
   So for example, if you unscrambled the word "lotion", and your name
   is drawn from the correct entries, you would win six prizes!


7. We encourage you to buy from participating shops, but there
   is no purchase necessary to enter or win.


8. Winners will be drawn from among the correct answers received.
   Winners will receive notification of their winning entry by May 25, 2009.
   You will be asked to provide your shipping address at that time.


9. Your prizes will be shipped direct to you from the shop
   giving the prize. This is great because you will get little surprises in your
   mailbox over several days. How fun!

RESTRICTIONS

1. No Quiltsy Team members or their families may play.


2. Drawing only valid for correct answers received between
   12:00 AM EST May 10 through 11:59 PM EST May 16, 2009


3. Only one entry per user per word. So you cannot submit
   "lotion" over and over; but you could submit "lotion"
   and "soap" to get two entries.

We sincerely hope you enjoy our May Daze promotion! Good
luck!

LIST OF PARTICIPATING SHOPS

Please visit QuiltsyTeam.etsy.com
for the complete list of shops and to play the game!!!

Remember: you are looking for letters like this in one of the images of a
listed item in their shops!

Written by LoveBug
Studios. Letter image provided by ForQuiltsSake.
Prize photos submitted by participating shops.

Happy Earth Day!

Happy Earth Day!

 ~Earth Day inspired~

"That '70's bag"

I just completed this upcycled~repurposed denim tote bag. The floral fabric is vintage material, classic '70s colors. The bag is reversible and has 2 pockets, one on the inside and one on the out. 

I am having an Earth Day promotion in my etsy shop. Shipping on all upcycled, repurposed items is on me (including this super cool tote)! This includes denim pot holders & bookmarks. Just write "Happy Earth Day" in message and I will refund the shipping. Promotion runs from today until Sunday, April 26.

Quilt Festival!

This post is for the quilt festival that is happening on Amy's blog: Park City Girl. 

She has organized an online quilt festival where quilters from all over have blogged about a special quilt and linked back to her blog. Take some time to check it out. If you are coming here from the quilt festival ~ 

Welcome!

This is the quilt that I consider my most special. It is actually the very first quilt that I made. When I first moved up to the Adirondacks about 6 years ago, I decided that it was time to learn how to quilt. I had always been fascinated by quilts and living in a more rural area inspired me. I asked my mom for a sewing machine for Christmas and of course she came through. 

I immediately started sewing (I hadn't touched a machine since Home Ec in junior high (and that was way long ago).

I tried out a few things but had it in my mind to make a real quilt. A lovely,  scrappy, colorful,  beauty. 

Without a fabric stash how is one to make a scrappy quilt? My solution was bidding on 4" squares on ebay of course! I bid and bid and sewed and sewed! 

I used 2 contrasting 4" squares to make 2 of the diamond in a square blocks. After I made up many I decided I wanted some organization in the layout. I arranged them by diamond colors and sewed them into 9 patches. 

I was substitute teaching at the time and after I finished the top I showed it to a teacher who I knew quilted for some advice (like what do I do next!). She was a bit surprised when I told her this was my first quilt. She was also taken back by the weight. Apparently there is an easier, more efficient way to make these blocks and the way I made them uses a lot more thread!

She sent me to a proper quilt shop to pick out the backing material and then I had to decide how to finish it. I could have gotten someone to long arm quilt it for me but I wanted complete ownership over its making. Unsure of my experience with quilting the top I decided to tie it. I did sew the binding on and hand finished that. 

This quilt measures 68 x 82. The inside is warm & natural cotton batting.  It is exactly what I love about quilts ~ Color, simple shapes, a feast for the eyes, and warmth! 

This is my treasure, not in my etsy store, definitely not for sale!

My New Banner

So you might have noticed the new banner with my blog title. Pretty snazzy don't you think? It was a little treat for myself. I want to do some advertising with Project Wonderful and tried to create an ad on my own. I was disappointed with my results. I found Erin from Swieky Siggies through a fellow Quiltsy team member who had just gotten an ad, banner, & avatar from her. I was just going to get the ad but then I saw some of her designs and thought why not! Here is my Project Wonderful ad that Erin also created:

It's exactly what I wanted. Erin was really terrific. She was so helpful and made me exactly what I was looking for with both the banner and the ad. If you are looking for some graphic work I would definitely recommend her.