an affair to remember

last friday and saturday there was a gathering of quilt-minded people at the Boulder County Fairgrounds for the Quilt Affair ... fantastic quilts were hanging all over the building...

... and there were lots of vendor booths waiting for us to spend money ... we arrived just after it opened on saturday morning and wandered up and down the aisles, oohing and aahing like it was a fourth of july fireworks display ... it's been a long time since we've gone to the Affair and i had forgotten how crowded it gets ... by the time my sister and her daughter and granddaughter met us it was booth to booth people and whoever said that quilters are the nicest people never got between two of them who want the same fat quarter ...... i ordered a book of christmas quilts from one of the vendors (they were from Kansas and will ship it for free - woo hoo!) and i saw Auntia buy a book from the same booth (about Route 66 - i didn't get a good look at it but what i saw was awesome) for me for christmas but i'm not supposed to know about it so don't tell her that i know but i have no idea who the people are and i can't ask Auntia cuz i'm not supposed to know about the book ... we were about to leave when Auntia disappeared..
the garlic will keep vampires away
...and came back with a yard of garlic fabric for me ... i am making an apron and i wanted to make the pockets out of garlic but i didn't want to cut into the only garlic fat quarter that i have ... now i can have my garlic and cut it, too! i bought the halloween panel because it kinda looks like Hocuspocusville...yum yum yum - no calorie desserts!
...i thought this quilt was sweet ... i used the same green cupcake fabric for an apron for Auntia ... i hadn't noticed the fairie quilt hanging right next to it till i saw the picture ... i have some of that fabric, too ...... after we left the Affair, we stopped at Schlotsky's for sandwiches and then drove to Nicci's house (which is also Mr. Husker's homestead) for lunch...from the mountains to the prairies
...that is Long's Peak - yes, it is covered with snow because it was freakin' freezin' here last week ... two quilts on the bed and i was still cold ...... after a lovely afternoon in my sister's good company, we headed to the yard sale at The Quilters Studio ... buy three yards and get the fourth yard free...i do love my wintergraphix
...i think that is gonna be the inner border on my wintergraphix quilt ... and i have longed for these fabrics since they first came out...deja brew
...we stayed around for the shop sampler auction ... for every $10 that you spend, you get a ticket ... every two or three months TQS auctions off their old samples and the customers bid on them with tickets that they have been given for their purchases ... at the last auction we bid on and won a lunch tote ... we didn't have very many tickets because we've been kinda frugal ... there are a couple of quilters who always have fists full of tickets and they usually outbid the rest of us ... this time was no exception - the first item auctioned went for 50 tickets (yeah - i did the math - that's $500 worth of purchases - sheesh) ... but that particular quilter put the rest of her tickets on the counter and said that whoever wanted them could have them - she already had the quilt she wanted ... wow - there were at least 70 more tickets (uh huh - i did the math again - another $700 - sheesh) ... so this time we managed to bring home this quilt......Auntia thinks it's really ugly ... but i like the quilting - it is quilted with red metallic thread and sparkles in the sun ... it does kinda look like a moving blanket ... but i don't care cuz someone put a lot of effort into this little quilt and it is the perfect size for LuLu to play on the floor ...... and it was free

Mama T is having a giveaway to celebrate her first year of blogging - check it out ... and her grandsons are almost as cute as mine!

once upon a time

one day
a long time ago
there lived a woman who did not whine or nag or gripe or bitch or complain

that would be me

but that was a very long time ago

and it was just that one day


the end

this post was brought to you by one of my email buddies - who knows me very, very well

well, that took a little longer than i had hoped

while the broncos were playing against the browns ... i managed to finish the required first saturday of the month BOM and the pink and orange colorway blocks...scrap basket and lemoyne star
this is the last of them ...... i haven't posted any of the other colorway required blocks from this BOM because i am giving all of them to Auntia to add to the blocks that she has made ... they are 9 inch blocks and twelve of them just aren't enough even for a decent-sized crib quilt ...... now i have no excuse for not putting the pink and orange blocks into three quilts for my granddaughters ... oh, wait! yes i do! my not so local quilt store is no longer carrying Lakehouse fabric - they ran out of the blue hydrangea fabric line for this BOM and had difficulty finding enough from other sources to finish out the kits ... the last time i was there i couldn't find anything that would work for sashings, cornerstones, or borders and i was feeling a little panicky ... yikes ... not to worry - Desperate Quilters has a whole bunch of Lakehouse fabric ...... i was hoping to have enough time to lay out the blocks and decide on settings for each of the quilts ... but making the blocks ate up the afternoon ... and now i'm gonna go eat up the chicken parmesan that has been calling my name

arrrr!

aye!

ahoy, me mateys - it's Talk Like a Pirate Day!Auntia has started her pirate quilt!
avast! time to pillage and plunder and sail the seas, ye salty dogs!

Drew and Elizabeth and Jamie

this quilt was on display when we went to The Quilters Studio for our BOM meetings...

why is everybody always picking on drew?
i was gonna write a post about the art quilts that have been displayed for the past few months ... but i dunno if or when i will ever get to it ... anywho, this is my favorite ... i have yet to make an art quilt so i am always in awe when i see one...
i have been diligently working on the corn blocks for Mr. Husker's borders but they don't look much different than the original picture ... i did make this month's required block for the SS3 BOM but i changed out two of the fabrics (they look much, much better - i found myself dreading the second saturday of the month because i knew i was gonna have to look at those ugly blocks again ... and i decided that i don't want to spend the next nine months hating the blocks i am making) and i have to remake the first two blocks before i take any more pictures of those beasties ... and i haven't started the last block (or the pink and orange versions) of the other BOM...
Auntia has a widget on her blog's sidebar that is counting down the days till An Echo in the Bone - the next book of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series - is published ... countdown clocks always make me nervous ... and this one is no different because i have been reading this...
i do not like eat pray love ... i do not like it with a dove ... i do not like it in a glove ... i do not like green eggs and ham ... i do not like them sam i am
for more than four months ...... it is not a big book ...... the print is not tiny ...... i am not a slow reader ... i just don't care enough about the author to read her out of her misery ... it took the first two months to get her out of Italy ... and quite frankly if it hadn't been for Luca Spaghetti i might have just left her there ... it took me another two months to get her out of India ... i was doing okay till Richard from Texas left and then i was ready to leave her at her guru's ashram to float along on her higher plane ... now she is in Indonesia with Ketut Liyer and - although Ketut seems to be a great medicine man - his character judgment may be faulty ... i just don't get Elizabeth Gilbert ... i haven't gotten her for more than three hundred pages ... and even though i am really close to finishing the book i am thinking that if she hasn't left Bali by the time tuesday rolls around ...... well ...... i am gonna put her in the giveaway pile and get on with reading about James Alexander Malcolm MacKenzie Fraser

boxy the bronco

NoJo spent all of his hard-earned summer cash plus a coupon for ten dollars off that his Auntia cut out for him and for his sister - who spent hers on an MP3 player for her bear from Build-A-Bear on a Bronco jersey for Boxy the Turtle ... he brought Boxy over the other day and asked Auntia and me if we could figure out a way to put Boxy's name on the back of the jersey ... the jersey fabric is the mesh stuff that jerseys are actually made from ... i think it is too holey for embroidery or any kind of machine stitching...

Boxy in his Bronco jersey ... complete with knee pads and cleats
...i'm thinking maybe felt letters with fabric glue ... so, whaddya think?
gotta go ... half-time is over and the game's back on

you get what you pay for

Adam was hanging around the Garden of Eden ... he was feeling very lonely

God: what's wrong with you?

Adam: i don't have anyone to talk to.

God: I will make a companion for you ... it will be a woman ... this gorgeous creature will gather food for you ... she will cook for you ... when you discover clothing, she will wash it for you ... she will always agree with every decision you make ... she will not nag you ... she will always be the first to admit she was wrong when you've had a disagreement ... she will praise you ... she will bear your children and never ask you to get up in the middle of the night to take care of them. ... she will NEVER have a headache and will freely give you love and passion whenever you need it.

Adam: what will this woman cost?

God: an arm and a leg

Adam: what can i get for a rib?

this post was brought to you by one of my male email buddies

eve was framed

EVE: i’ve got a problem.

GOD: what’s the problem, Eve?

EVE: i know that you created me and provided this beautiful garden and all of these wonderful animals, as well as that hilarious comedic snake ... but i’m just not happy.

GOD: and why is that?

EVE: i am lonely ... and i’m sick to death of apples.

GOD: well, Eve ... I have a solution ... I shall create a man for you.

EVE: man? what is that?

GOD: a flawed creature with many bad traits ... he’ll lie, cheat, and be vain ... he'll give you a hard time ... but he'll be bigger, faster, and will like to hunt and kill things ... I'll create him in such a way that he will satisfy your physical needs ... he will be witless and will revel in childish things like fighting and kicking a ball about ... he won’t be as smart as you, so he will need your advice on everything ... and he will have limited emotional capacity, so you will have to help him with that, too ... I can promise that you will not be bored!

EVE: sounds great ... what’s the catch?

GOD: well... you can have him on one condition.

EVE: and that condition is?

GOD: as I said, he'll be proud, arrogant and self-admiring ... so you’ll have to let him believe that I made him first ... and it will have to be our little secret ... you know, woman to woman.

this post was brought to you by one of my female email buddies

remember

American Airlines Flight 11's crash into the North Tower...
United Airlines Flight 175's crash into the South Tower...
American Airlines Flight 77's crash into the Pentagon...
United Airlines Flight 93's crash into a field in Stoneycreek Township in Pennsylvania...
and the lost souls...
remember

kinda corny

the leaves on the peach tree started to change two or three weeks ago ... some of the wood vine has already turned scarlet ... and the weeds are even starting to work on root storage instead of making seeds ... this is the last long weekend of summer and it has been beautiful ... and when i wasn't doing stuff that i should have done last weekend like sweeping and mopping and dusting and cleaning and laundry and watering and weeding and cooking and shredding and filing and paying bills and grocery shopping i was working on these......the beginning of the pieced border for Mr. Husker's Homestead ... the centered corn and the leaves are in the Big Book of Quick Rotary Cutter Quilts by Pam Bono - along with the mountains, the log cabin trees, the small pine trees, the big deciduous tree, and the cows - but i had to figure out the sideways corn ... i am going to tweak one of the pieces to eliminate a seam that doesn't need to be there ... and make 20 morewhy ... yes ... yes, that is a (mostly empty) glass of wine ... which is totally against the recommended safety precautions listed in the grill's instruction booklet
Auntia has been begging for a grilled hamburger all summer ... for the past ten years ... i don't like making fires and i don't like cooking outside - i use my little George Foreman grill for hamburgers and then scrub up the grease that gets all over the kitchen ... but Auntia has been all sinusy and puny and i felt sorry for her ... so yesterday i bought a little Kingsford grill that was on clearance and some charcoal and...

ooohhh - deviled eggs, too! yum yum!!!
ta da! i cooked with fire!
no matter where i stood, the smoke followed me ... my dad used to tell me that smoke follows beauty ... i must be gorgeous because i reek of charcoal/corn/burger smoke ... anywho, Auntia got her burger and grilled corn and she said it was the best ever! as for me - meh - it was okay.

Ranette is having a giveaway for a halloween wallhanging - it is so doggone cute! She makes absolutely beautiful quilts ... and she is the Queen of Red!

isn't she lovely? isn't she wonderful?
and now, the burning question ... what is Mrs. Moth doing with a screwdriver and the vent for the microwave? it's a sad and disturbing story about a very, very stupid (and very dead) bird ... a story that deserves its own post ... but not today

inquiring minds want to know

who is Mr. Husker?mr. husker holding itty bitty for the first time ... yeah - he always has a toothpick in his mouth

Mr. Husker is my sister's husband ... ... he is Traveling Man's and Mrs. Izziesmom's dad ... he is Itty Bitty's grandpa ... and my children's Uncle Doogal ... his first name is Duane but nobody calls him that ... nobody calls him Mr. Husker, either ... Husker is actually Mr. Husker's brother's wife's pot-bellied pig's name ... but he is from Nebraska and is a major Husker fan ... when the University of Nebraska (the Huskers) plays against the University of Colorado (the Buffaloes) Mr. Husker and his 12 brothers and sisters do NOT root for the Buffs ... and if i try to call him Duane i crack up because the knock knock joke keeps going through my head
knock knock
Who's there?
doo-ane
Duane who?
doo-ane the tub ... i'm doo-ow-ning
well ... i think it's funny
he is the hardest working man i have ever known ... he owns a tool store and works a black Angus cow/calf (and the bull, of course) operation and he stockpiles hay all summer and he cuts wood for the wood stove and fireplace when he isn't working in the garden and mowing the (2 acres of) grass and building out-buildings and fixing stuff around the house and building fences and digging wells and working on trucks and playing with Itty Bitty...... anywho, Mr. Husker is gonna be 60 on march 29, 2010 and he's gonna get a quilt ... from me ... because that's what i do

how 'bout them broncos?!?

win or lose ... it ain't no secret that there are bronco fans living in this house ... and one of them who shall remain anonymous but her initials are Auntia is a little bit goofy about the whole first and ten thing...

it doesn't matter that her blues don't match - those pants are classic and that's a Lynch jersey ... he's gone, but she has not forgotten
yes ... yes ... she actually does dress like that for every game ... she paints her toenails orange and blue ... she drinks Orange Crush with an orange straw in the official Wendy's Bronco 2009 Collectible Schedule Cup ... and she shakes those pompoms which her season-tickets-holding brother gave her as a consolation prize for having to sit at home and watch the game on a small screen tv instead of the excitement and pure joy of going to Invesco Field at Mile High and cheering them on in real life with him like a dallas cowboy (hiss!) cheerleader ... on steroids ... i gave her those classic sweatpants purchased for me, myself, and i the first time we went to the superbowl and were soundly trounced by the despised dallas cowboys in 1978 and in return...
dianne's IN-COM-PLETE bronco quilt
...she made this quilt for me ... if you look closely you can see the famous bronco head quilted from border to border...
bucking bronco
...and my sister embroidered this terrific towel for me ... it should come in handy for wiping sweat off my brow during tense moments ... and dabbing tears when we're losing ... and waving in the air when things are going our way as i dance the happy dance and shout woo hoo!!!
go broncos!!!
gotta go - the game's on

blood on the moon

can you hear Gillian Owens moaning "BLOOD ON THE MOON! BLOOD ON THE MOON!" in Practical Magic?
the wildfires in california have colored our sunsets for the past few days ... this was the moon just after sunset on august 31, 2009 ... kinda spooky, huh?

forty-four by eighty

over the weekend i put Mr. Husker's herd and home and haystack and woodpile and Old Orange (who is still missing his wheels) together with some new trees and a garden and a flagpole while ignoring the messy house and the dirty laundry and the trashed yard and ended up with this...

...and sewed the final seam connecting it to the other section last night...bottom to toptop to bottom
there is an unbelievably major mess in the magic shop ... i'm gonna put this away ... and then i'm gonna clean up the mess ... and then i'm gonna figure out how to piece cornstalks for the borders ... but before i do any of that i hafta go make a living and chase some dust bunnies around the house