Insect Visitor

We were working peacefully (piecefully?) when this huge dragonfly came in the open door of the office. I know he was just as distressed as we were and he finally went away after we turned out the lights and sort of left the room. We don't have dragonflies too often here in arid Montana so to see such a huge one, wow. Incredible laciness on his wings.

It is important that you know that September 19 is Talk Like a Pirate Day. We have been celebrating this for some years; we also have had Talk Like Someone from Gone With the Wind Day, Talk Like a Valley Girl Day, etc. Here is the official website if you need inspiration TLAP Arrrrrrr, maties!

There are still threatening emails going back and forth about the Smackdown to raise funds for Alzheimer's research. Who knew quilters could be so feisty!

Have a great weekend!

Brooke

Official News Re: WQF Smackdown

Here’s what happened. The four of us, Hollis, Sue, Becky and I, were teaching at the North Carolina Quilt Symposium. We had been staying in the dorm eating dorm food and teaching for three days. Hollis invited us to her home for dinner and a tour of her studio. The barbeque was excellent and I even had a beer or two; since beer isn’t available on campus.

We were discussing Hollis’s new venture “Imagine Hope” and various ways to raise funds for her charity. Of course Ami’s Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative came up. We had all contributed pieces to the cause and became a little curious about how much the pieces had raised. Somehow in the conversation it came to light that my IQA Silent Auction miniature had creamed Sue’s piece in a head-to-head competition at the 2008 Houston International Quilt Festival. Suddenly, it became imperative that we find out whose piece had raised the most for Alzheimer’s. We found Ami’s cell phone number and started calling her. She did not answer any of our calls, later handing us some lame excuse about attending an insignificant ice hockey contest between the Red Wings and Penguins for the Stanley Cup.

We were unable to determine a winner, and someone challenged that their next Alzheimer’s Art Quilt would bring in more money than anyone else in the room. The World Quilt Federation Smack Down, a no-rules, quilt-to-the-death, or at least until a winner is declared, cage match, was born. Our four miniature quilts will be seen in public for the first time at the Houston International Quilt Festival and will be auctioned off on the Alzheimer’s Art Quilt Initiative website in November of this year. All proceeds will go to Alzheimer’s research and braggin’ rights to the quilter who raises the most cash. AAQI Website

There has been much trash talking from my worthy opponents. I am sure I will be able to speak objectively about their feeble, but noble, efforts when they are brave enough to show me what they have done. I don’t know if we will all show up at the Alzheimer’s booth in Houston at the same time but I would watch out for flying folding chairs if we do. This is down-and-dirty quilting, the likes of which has never been seen. The eventual winner and World Quilt Federation Champion will be determined by public cash vote and I am sure there will be an impressive championship belt to go along with the braggin’ rights.

John

A Preview

I guess all the little quilts for the World Federation Quilt Smackdown (a fundraiser for the Alzheimer's Art Quilt Initiative) are done and in Ami Simm's possession. Here is just a peak at what John has been working on.

John, Kate and I are all busy finishing up our little quilts for the IQA Silent Auction. John's and Kate's are wonderful and mine is going to be cute. Pictures to follow.

We have harvested some of our onions and they were tasty. I have started kohlrabi to plant where the onions come out, but I don't think John is going to have time to make me a deer screen this fall. When I come up with Plan B, I will do that instead.

Our next show is in Longmont, Colorado near the beautiful Colorado Rockies and the fall aspens. We have a lot of packing to do!

Brooke

Fish Tales

Our family (John's cousins) reunion is history. We think there were 33 people there on Saturday, coming and going, eating, visiting and all that. This is a fascinating group of people; you could find someone interesting to visit with at every turn.

Kate and Kevin brought up gemstone gravel and we searched for gems; out on the deck in the sunshine - that was good, and the metal detector found bits from the railroad that used to go to the gold mine up the canyon. We had a campfire and smores Saturday night and John's cousins sang. Why does the smoke follow you no matter where you move? There was an after dark horseshoe tournament, somewhat disrupted by a bat.

Well, fishing is always a big part of a get together in Red Lodge. Here are John and our nephew, Jason, with the grand nieces' "Barbie" fishing poles. The girls had gotten distracted by a frog, I believe, so John and Jason kept casting. I don't know if the poles make a happy sound when you cast, but for some reason, there is a flashy light in the handles. They did catch some fish, but not the frog.

Brooke

Hand Work

The Battle of the Appliance Installation is over. Everyone survived - except the old 1970s gold dishwasher. It is in bits and waiting for the recycler. It leaked, that's bad. The new dishwasher is very, very quiet, shhh.

John had time to work on his World Quilt Federation Smackdown quilt - all the machine piecing is done and there was a little hand piecing in the center. We'll get a picture up soon.

The reunion is fast approaching. Yesterday, we planned menus. Food, a high priority, right?

Brooke

A Texan Visits

We got cleaned up enough to have company and who would be more fun that Libby Lehman! Libby was teaching at the Bernina store in Billings Friday and Saturday and came up for dinner and stayed Saturday night. We had time for a quick drive up the Beartooth Highway to "Vista Point" which is about 10,000' and shows off a pretty extreme drop down into the Rock Creek Valley. It was a little chilly up there - one tourist, who was in shorts, asked me if she should just wait around until the snow fell and ski down.

Countdown is now in progress for John's family reunion, weekend after next. Things are pretty clean and fluffed etc. But the new dishwasher, which I am pretty sure we are going to need, is too tall for it's hole. John will fix it, one way or the other.

Stay tuned for an update from John on the World Federation Quilt Smackdown, or whatever it is called.

Brooke

Okay, That's Done...

Oh my gosh, the tile project is done! John laid the partial tiles around the edges on Friday and Saturday. Our son, Bridger, cut all the partial tiles on our new and trusty, noisy tile saw. John's sisters, Joan and Peggy, came up and helped us grout on Sunday and then I sealed the grout on Monday.

There was a slight interlude while we waited for the plumber to come fix the pipe John broke when he tried to reset the toilet by himself. A big flood of water hit the new tile when that happened!

So, the refrigerator is out of the living room, the washer and dryer are out of my bedroom, the toilet is out of the bathtub. The dining room table is still on the front porch, waiting to be reassembled with padded feet to protect the new tile.

We are sort of done with home improvement for a while. Quilting is better; you don't have to crawl around with kneepads or carry dozens of buckets of water in and out when you quilt!

Brooke