more montana

Now that I'm back home and back in the groove, it's good to refresh my memory about some of the fun things we did.  And share them with you!

Here's an idyllic little spot in the Mt. Fernie Provincial Park in British Columbia.  We were walking a trail and I noticed jet tracks cutting across the sky almost like they were synchronized flights!  Right above this lush spot with a rushing river.  

On another day, back in the US, we drove from Dan's place up Big Mountain to the Whitefish Ski Resort area.  And there is a trail there called the Danny On trail, cutting across the snowless ski runs, under the vacant and still chair lifts.  We kept going upward for quite aways, but we didn't get to the end.  You see, I'm a fraidy cat when it comes to cliffs and things, and when there's very little but open air along one side of the trail, I have lots of second thoughts.  I'm doing much better than I used to because I have been pushing myself, but I was out of my comfort zone.  We talked to 2 girls that had started the trail just before us, they were coming back down because there was a fallen tree across the trail.  Plus it was time for our sandwiches and fruit!  So we sat down for a bit, admired the scenery and the bits of snow still remaining.  Keeping the trails clear, no matter where we hiked, was clearly a big job because we saw many fresh cuts of trees that had come down during the winter.  I have a hard enough time just getting myself up those trails, I can't even imagine doing it with chain saws and tools!

One very nice thing about visiting Dan is that I also get to visit some of my quilts and quilty stuff.  I wrote about my Yeti project before, but I had neglected to take a picture of the finished pillowtop.  The quilting was fun on this.  It's 22" square.

Bob and I did several day hikes while Dan was at work.  The tables have officially turned with parents goofing off and son slaving away!  Here's one of those less traveled paths--

If you are curious and want to know about current conditions in Glacier Park, they have several webcams operating and viewable by anyone with a computer.  When we were at the lookout tower on Apgar Mountain, we were able to get our picture on that webcam and timed it so Dan could snap a picture of it from his office!

I've been taking pictures of lots of different flowers, and this was a special discovery.  It was beside a trail near Fernie, BC.  When I saw it, I thought it was something rare because it was the only one I saw anywhere.  Now that I've had a chance to look it up, I found that it is Fritillaria, I think, but I'm not totally sure.  And it does seem to be something not frequently seen in the wild.  Guess I was lucky to spot it!

vacation time!

One of the best things in life is new adventures.

This time, the adventure takes place in the northwest corner of Montana.  

And into British Columbia for a bit.  

We are enjoying our excursion to Whitefish, MT, thanks to Dan's hospitality.  

Every day brings new scenes that I try to capture and keep forever. 

Dan and Bob hanging out on a foot/bike bridge in Mt. Fernie Provincial Park in British Columbia.  It was a beautiful day outdoors.  Dan always takes off on his bike over hill and dale, while Bob and I walk along the trails that aren't really for bikes.  On this particular trail, I got a little nervous about the great big hoofprints that were left by some wild creature not far ahead of us!

We stopped at a little out-of-the-way brewery, HA Brewing, near Eureka, MT.
This fun French couple were very welcoming to everyone.  And I beat Bob and Dan in cribbage!  That is a rare happening!

I keep taking pictures of flowers along the trails, even if I don't know what they are!

We drove to the northwest area of Glacier Park, outside the park boundary, to the tiny town of Polebridge.  Gravel roads and solar power and composting toilets are pretty much the norm here.  They have a reputation for making fabulous pastries and desserts from huckleberries harvested around there, and we agree that the bear claw we shared was like a little bit of heaven!

Have you been watching or hearing about the "Tiny Homes" movement?  I've seen several examples on TV, and I was excited to see a business building and selling that type of home in Fernie.  I think I could enjoy living in a small place part of the time.  If I had it all to myself.  And if I had an additional tiny home for my fabric!  And if it did not have a composting toilet!

take a trip!

I'm happy to report that the sun is shining and we have spring-like temps for the 3rd day in a row!  Wowza!  I've had some time at home in bits and pieces to do some sewing, but kind of aimlessly.  I have things that need to be finished, so I'm getting back to that list now with fervor.  Well, low grade fervor!  Completely under control!

When I can get a bit of time to hand sew, I'm working on English paper piecing.  I have 2 works in progress that are ongoing.  

#1  The Glorious Hexagons quilt, I showed you a few blocks already, but I have assembled what I have done so far:

My Glorious Hexagons so far.

This is what the whole quilt should look like at some point in time!  

It's set up as a monthly subscription through Bear Patch and Paper Pieces.  I'm still on the first packet of pieces and blocks.  I calculate that at this rate, it will be put together about Christmas 2018!  Obviously, I'm not concerned with any self-imposed deadlines on this one!  The best part of this is that there are 6 more employees at Bear Patch that are working on it, too, so we compare notes and have started some work sessions together.

#2  My Lone Star quilt, which had hit a snag due to lack of foresight on my part, which left me begging for fabric once again!  Well, my wish has been granted, and thanks to the fact that I have co-workers who collect fabric just like me, I was gifted enough to cut my diamonds to finish the lone star!  

Actually, 2 people unearthed some of this.  It's from a fabric group called Hints of Prints by Robert Kaufman Fabrics, designed by Darlene Zimmerman.  Darlene is from the great state of Minnesota, and familiar to me through quilty dealings and events.  I went out on a limb and emailed her for verification that I had the right name, which would make tracking it down easier.  She replied that she had pieces of this fabric left in the other colors that were produced, but no red!  Darlene, if you need some of this, contact Sharon or Kristina!

 Aside from paper piecing, I puttered around one night with these pieces that were leftovers from a quilt called Urban Beads by Sew Kind of Wonderful.  I had made extra blocks to use when I demo'd the ruler needed for the curves.  Now I have a little tablerunner to brighten the place!

I've also had some fun scanning some old slides.  Well, the process isn't so fun, but the results are!  Last time I was at my mom's, we went into the archives of slides that chronicle many years of travels.  Every summer, for as long as I can remember while I still lived at home, we had a family camping trip for about 2 weeks in August.  This was one of my most favorite experiences.  We usually went somewhere in the Rockies, but there was one trip to Montreal in 1967.  Dad would get the necessary field work done, find someone to take care of the livestock, and we headed for the hills!  I think he was truly a mountain man who masqueraded as an Iowa farmer!

These 2 pictures are from a trip to Glacier National Park in 1961. I'm 8 years old, the one with the really straight short bangs and curls on the sides.  Jarry, the oldest, was 10.  Jan, the baby of the family (wearing wonderful red pants!) was 5.

There's another trip from 1958 that I have yet to work on, Jan wasn't along on that trip, apparently staying with grandparents while the big kids went on vacation.  The whole plan to dig into these old pictures was a result of my son's, Dan, interest in comparing Glacier then to now.   I love these happy family pictures!  I am so thankful that my parents had enough wanderlust to make these trips happen.  The places we visited really helped shape who I am now.  So if you are reading this and have some kids or grandkids or nieces or nephews, take them on a trip!  It's priceless!

a trip to the mountains

It's vacation time, and the livin' is easy!  We have spent this week enjoying the beauty in and around Glacier National Park, but more importantly, spending time with Dan and Lauren.  We have done so many fun things, and we were lucky that Thursday they could both take a day off from work.  Even though the day looked pretty dark and cloudy to start out, we did end up with a beautifully sunny day.  Our lunch was eaten on the shore of Flathead Lake, watching a few boaters drift across.

And the day would not be complete without a few stops just for me!  This beautiful muted colored yarn was purchased at Camas Creek Yarn on Main Street in Kalispell.  The shop is in a beautiful old building and they have renovated the upstairs into accommodations.  They have become known for the licensed products they create for colleges--hats, scarves, etc. with the school colors and name.  The yarn is by Raven Ridge, a local spinner/dyer.  You can see her interesting colorways on her website, all derived from the colors in nature.  If you scroll down a ways on her website, you will see the whole story of the process of dying the wool.

There was another stop in Kalispell at Glacier Quilts.  This is a great source for fabric, they have an extensive collection.  More batiks than I have ever seen in one place!  And they offer a lot of the picture panel prints that can be worked into a quilt or wallhanging.  I listened in as 2 of their staff assisted a woman pick just the right fabrics to coordinate with an American flag picture.  They were really helpful to the customer.  I walked the aisles of the quilting cotton, but what ended up going home with me were some squares of hand dyed wool to be used in some future project.  The colors were great.

We have only one day left of our visit in Whitefish, so I better get off this computer and enjoy it!