Before and After

Today has been a bit of a hectic day. I did a few little housekeeping items, but then hopped in my car to head down to Salem to pick up my quilt from the fair. Along the way I stopped at the post office to stop our mail and to mail a certified letter. Also I needed to stop at the bank branch to reset the PIN on my debit card. I have two debit cards, one of which rarely gets used. Recently, the card was compromised and I ended up with a new card and a new PIN...which I promptly forgot without writing it down anywhere. Thus, I had to reset my PIN. It's the debit card I use when I buy fabric, and so obviously, with quilt shops in my future, I had to fix it so the card was usable. I know you understand.

Along the way I saw a Trader Joe's, which was great since I wanted to get some Clif Bars. We like Clif Bars for when we're hiking...and hopefully, my knee will cooperate, and a-hiking we will go. So with all of those little items out of the way, I went to the fair and picked up my quilt. Now check this out. It's a Before and After view of the famous wall of thread in my sewing room. Notice anything?

Before

After

Need a hint? It's red, and it rhymes with fibbin'. Need another hint? It's made of ribbon.

[Don't make me come over there.] 

As a reminder to anyone who might be new to these parts, this is the quilt I entered:

Here is the sheet from the judges:

As to the comment that the binding cuts of (um, "off") points, I plead guilty.

So that's it. Lots of excitement, now done until next year. Oh yes. They've awakened a monster. Now I will be entering quilts and canned goods with wild abandon. Even wilder if I can get Smitty into the act.

So right now I'm waiting for my very slow printer to print off some Photograph America Newsletters of some of the places we're going in the next three weeks. I can't remember where I first saw the Photograph America Newsletters, but I bought the whole series, which was recently updated. They are wonderful travel guides, not to mention being especially helpful to me as a photographer. They tell us great places to see some fantastic scenery, and they also suggest which lenses and other equipment I might find helpful, and what time of day I'll get the best light. I keep the whole database on my computer at home and print off the ones I want when we're going somewhere. And that means, of course, that I'm updating my box of tour books, maps, campground guides, quilt shop guides, trail maps, etc., because Saturday morning, we are so outa' here.

This might be my last blog post before we leave, but I've learned never to say never when it comes to blogging. Sometimes I get so many words banging around my brain like a pinball machine that I just have to write them down if I am to continue to speak aloud in a coherent fashion. I'm nothing if not loquacious. 

So to remind you, this is where we are headed this time:

Our goal is to visit Rocky Mountain National Park, Pike's Peak, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Zion National Park, Grand Canyon North Rim (if we have time), and finally head home via Great Basin National Park. We'll be visiting quilt shops along the way, and so suggestions of great shops you know about are always appreciated. One of you already suggested The Quilters Studio in Longmont, CO, which just happens to be right near Rocky Mountain National Park. (Thank you, whoever you are. Sorry, I can't remember.) Of course, I'll be blogging all along the way if you want to follow along.

And with that, I'm calling it a blogging day. Tonight I'm making some grown-up macaroni and cheese, which will feed us for dinner tonight, and then there will be enough to make up two ramekins for dinner on one of the first three nights out. Tomorrow morning I'm making Frozen Breakfast Burritos, and then the food will be set. The only thing left to do is pack up my, er, stuff (to put it nicely), and we'll be on our way.