Sid's Stars

Well, I finally got some time yesterday to do some long overdue computer work. I added Sid's tie dye page to my website and listed the first of many fabric panels on our Etsy site. I have been very selfish for many years and kept his dyes for myself. After a while though, I felt as if I was depriving the quilt world of some really cool fabrics. So, I relented and we are now offering Sid's fabrics for sale.
You can find them at www.mountainjoyquiltndye.Etsy.com.
The aspen leaves are in their full golden glory this week. In fact, some leaf looking site must have mentioned our road as being particularly nice. We think this because one day last week, both sides of the county road (which you are not supposed to park on) were full of parked cars. It was almost impassable, especially with the blind corners. Now, I 'm all for going out and enjoying beauty. I just wish everyone thought a little more about the safety of things. Beautiful leaves and amazing moose are not good enough reasons to have an accident. Please be safe when you come play in the mountains.
And by all means, everyone play as much as you can. Most of us adults lose that ability to play for the pure joy of it. Do you remember how to play? What do you do for play?

Kitties, Quilts, & Computer Scams

Fall has set in here pretty quickly. The aspens are turning and owls are flying in the evening twilight. Hummingbirds are less frequent and we have begun lighting fires. This past week has been filled with quilt work and garden work. Next week proves to be the same. I am truly enjoying this fall and look forward to the winter. (Strange for me.)
I got up at 3:30 this morning because I didn't want to listen to the playful activities taking place in the 'torture dome'. Ah, love those kitties. I started quilting and before I would normally get up, the quilt I am working on was 1/3 done. There can be some good done in the wee hours.
Okay, I have something going on with my website that I would like my readers advice on. I've had some trouble with my email but I got it so people could finally reach me at rebeccah@mountainjoyquilts.com. For a long time, no one contacted me. My brother got a message to me so I knew it was working. Well, all of a sudden, I finally got some emails the other day. I was so excited until I saw that they were in Japanese or something. The only thing I could read was the date. They are all from the future! I've received 4 all together and have sent all to the junk box. I feel terrible about sending some of my first possible business connections to the junk box, but they look so suspicious. So, I want to know my readers opinions on this. Should I feel bad? Is my email just scrambling things? Or is it a virus/scam/evil thing? The one thing my husband wants to know is who wins the horse race in 2018?

Sunday Update

This will be just a quick update as I've sworn to myself to write each week.
First of all, my heart goes out to those whose memories and feelings are very strong today.
I wanted to include a nice photo this week but haven't found the time. Besides, everyone can see lots of photos of work soon as the Quilters Newsletter website extras is up (under workshops) and the subscriptions have been mailed. Whoohooo!!!
It has been wonderful here at Mountainjoy. The wildlife was quite active the other day. We had a momma moose and her two young come near the property. After we quieted the dog, Sid went out to get some photos. He got a photo of the mother but decided it would be smarter not to sneak up behind the babies. So, no photos of the smallest pair of moose we've seen. By the way, a while ago, I saw baby elk, they were all dark brown. I realized 2 things right then. The first was that I'd never seen baby elk before. The second was that just like deer grow out of their spots, elk grow into their big white behinds!
My friend gave me another few flats of plants to get in the ground before our imminent winter and I've agreed to work a lot at the farm this week. Quilt orders are beginning to roll in, I got to the other day out of the blue before 9 am. I am happy and busy as a bee.
Speaking of bees, there are only a few reasons I look forward to this winter. The cold will make the yellow jackets go away for a bit. They have been horrible the past few weeks. But I am truly looking forward to spending all my time quilting and cooking bread and stews again.
Of course I wrote longer than I thought. So I will bid you all a creative week. If you are feeling down because of the dates reminders, creativity is a great outlet. Use whatever you do to create something healing for yourself or someone else. This is what makes the world a better place.
Many Blessing!!!!

Chocolate Truffles & Quilting

It's quite amazing how far chocolate can take you in life. I have been making chocolate truffles for decades now, usually just to send around the country as Christmas gifts. On occasion, I've made them locally as well. It was during one of these local truffle makings that someone very special discovered me. It was love at first bite on a cold January day. On further inquiry, this special someone discovered I was a quilter and that my husband was a tie-dyer.
I've been holding on to this little secret since this spring when it all began with that truffle. So, I will finally share the news that my husband & I are now published tie-dyer, quilter, and artists!!!!!! Sid wrote an article for Quilters Newsletter Magazine about how to create his stars. I just saw the early copy of the October/November issue of the magazine. We are so excited!!!! I thought I should let you all know to look for it at magazine stands in the next few weeks.

Laboring on Labor Day

We had our first frost last night. The temperature dipped to 28 degrees. I've had iris in a paper bag since this spring and a friend of mine just gave me some more plants too. I guess I really should get outside and use this weekend to create a new garden bed and get it planted. That is one of the problems with gardening at high altitude, you have to find soil first. You can't just plant stuff outside, it is all solid rock. I don't mean it's rocky soil either, I mean it is bedrock! It is usually easier to build garden beds up than to dig them in here. So, I'll see how many of these plants are survivors. You have to be tough if you want to be in garden.
The cooler weather has started the mouse population migration as well. Luckily, my two cats really love to hunt them at night. They are a little evil, my kitties are. If you are a human, these cats are very nice cats. If you happen to be mouse, however, these two cats will now be your torture specialists for the evening. This is pretty horrible and gross so if you have a weak stomach, stop reading right now. The cats will catch a mouse and put it in the bathtub to play with all night. I can't remember if I've written of the "torture dome" in previous blogs or not. Where did we leave the plywood that we cut to fit over the tub? It's time again to close this torture dome.
The cool weather inspired a wonderful meal last night. I made some colcannon and steaks with a honey-mustard sauce. It was quite delicious and really fitting for a fall night.
Have a good week and keep creating!

Mid-Evil Mountainjoy

We had a weekend straight out of the Renaissance days. My husband set up his forge and started to blacksmith. He had a friend over and the two of them were so happy, I couldn't believe it. There is nothing like seeing 2 angry, bitter men have a good time pounding at heated metal to force into new shapes/tools. They were off to a slow start until I told them to break up the coal a bit more to start the fire. You are given special inborn knowledge if you are a blacksmith's daughter, you know. I don't know how to smith, but I do know more than your average bear on the subject.
While the boys were smithing, I was working on a coat-of-arms for a friend of ours. He does a form of combat that starts with swords and ends up using some ju-jitsu forms. Anyway, I am currently decorating his quilted and padded jacket to resemble his chosen family coat-of-arms. It felt like all we needed yesterday was some horses, dragons, and a few more serving women here to complete the picturesque mid-evil Mountainjoy.
As for summer, it may come to a quick close for us. We saw a lone aspen yesterday that had taken on that beautiful orange/yellow. The hummingbirds are still around and the wild flowers are still in bloom. Yet, I do expect our first snow storm any day now. Traditionally, it likes to snow the first weekend of September most years. Let's see what this one brings.

Time Flies By

My goodness, it's been a month since last wrote? That is just unacceptable! I will strive to do better. Actually, that is what today is all about for me again. Does anybody else procastinate everything you can and then try get it all done in one day? Or is just me that "catch's up" every few months?
Now, I will attempt to share some of what has been happening at Mountainjoy. It has been a very rainy summer so far and there has been a lot of vegetation and wildlife. Pictured here is the one of the most attractive young bucks I've seen in a while. He strolled through one night and ate heartily from the patch of fire weed. Even though I was planning on harvesting a lot of flowers this year, I did not shoo this elk off. Have you seen how big they are? He didn't eat it all of it and he was so majestic looking that I didn't mind sharing. The are plenty of flowers for mead making anyway. It's become an annual tradition here to make Fire Weed Mead each August.
I've been working in the sun in Boulder and the studio up here too. I've made several quilts this summer actually. You see, I have taken more time to quilt and have been seeking new clients as well. I am pleased as punch that it seems to working so far. I finally managed to get through my website building boot camp. I still have much to learn and much to do about polishing my website, but it is up. If anyone wants to check it out, go to www.mountainjoyquilts.com. I would also welcome input from my readers as to the site's look/feel. I can now be reached via email to rebeccah@mountainjoyquilts.com.
Basically, it's another beautiful summer here in the Rockies. Busy as beavers and loving it.