100 Things to See

Billed as The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth, The Calgary Stampede made its annual mark on our city last month. Until this year we'd kept the knowledge of this spectacle under wraps. Thanks to school friends, however, we were bombarded by the begging. So we succumbed and took the girls for a few hours this year.

The rodeo would have been awesome to go to, but we couldn't get tickets. That means the greatest outdoor show is the parade of fake cowboys and nasty, skanky outfits. Oh, and the midway and the food and the agricultural events.

Then there is the Western Oasis. Walk through the trade show to a different sort of place. Air conditioned, softly lit, water features everywhere, and a gathering of Western themed artisans. Think lots of horse paintings. A lot of them. Tucked in the corner is a quilt show, just a small one. And in the center of that show was the Calgary Stampede Centennial Quilt.

Months ago I helped a neighbour make a block to mark her experience with the Stampede. We put together this righteous rodeo clown. Well, of all the submissions it made it into the quilt. Proudly on display, the quilt marked the 100th anniversary of the Calgary Stampede. And I've got a tiny piece of it.

In other Stampede news we took in some food and some rides. And, of course, checked out the barns with the horses, pigs, and show cows.

(That's my Morgan with a Morgan horse.)

Custom Pillowcases

The first slip of paper out of our Summer Fun Jars under To Make was Pillowcases. I gave the girls 3 choices:

... Pick fabric and we'd sew pillowcases.
... Write then embroider their names on pillowcases.
... Go to town with fabric markers on plain pillowcases.

Shockingly, they picked the colouring option.

(That's a drawing of a tiger quilt on your right.)

Over the course of a week they drew, they coloured, the signed, they went crazy on two cheap pillowcases I picked up at a big box store. The fabric markers I already had, leftover from the days when I would colour all my quilt labels. Like most of our crafting I let them be, with little direction. This was their project, not mine. I believe in setting them up and letting them do what they want.

 Now, at night, they curl up with their personal artwork. It's pretty darn cute.

High Tea at the Banff Springs Hotel

In an effort to keep both myself and the girls focused - just a little - this summer I brought in the Summer Fun Jars. The idea comes from Merrilee at Mer Mag. Hers are vastly more pretty than ours are, and a brilliant use of Pinterest.  Function rules here with my impatient girls. Two jars: To Do and To Make. Six slips of paper in each. Sunday night pull to plan for the week.

This week our To Do draw was High Tea at the Banff Springs Hotel. A fancy dancy tea party, complete with tiaras, sparkly nail polish, high heels (for me), and a tower of treats. Plus, a change of scenery and an adventure through a castle.

(Future blogger? She's drawing our food.)

Making up a game because the Croquet set was nowhere to be found.

Grandma was lucky to join us for our trip.

Scrappy Sunday - All Together Now

If you've had the opportunity to see our book, Sunday Morning Quilts, you know that the photography is gorgeous. It isn't just a bunch of quilts on a bench/chair or quilts on a wall. Sadly, we weren't able to participate in the photo shoot but we were absolutely thrilled when we were sent the photos to preview. The photos show the quilts being used, something very important to us. And they reflect the spirit of the book perfectly.

To achieve this C&T smartly used some gorgeous and real people, in addition to simply loverly settings. My favourite photo in the book is this one:

Those feets and legs are none other than Kristy, C&T's Art Director. On a photo shoot you make use of all the folks around you!

One of the girls, our cover girl, is none other than Sarah, the niece of a longarmer that one of C&T's staff, Ruthmary Schauer knows. Did you follow that? Amanda posted her story. Contrary to popular belief, she is neither one of our kids.

The photos in this book reiterate just how much putting together a quilt book is about collaboration and working as a team. It wasn't just Amanda and I sewing and writing furiously to produce beautiful things. That is the crux of the work, yes, but that doesn't make a book. The editing, the photography, the design/lay out work - they all come together with the projects and words themselves to create something beautiful and cohesive. We had an amazing team in Stash Books. They respected our vision for the book, but translated it with their experience and market knowledge. There was so much back and forthing between us and them that we never felt like the rest of the process wasn't also ours once the quilts and manuscript were submitted.

And even though the book is out in the world, and has been for months now, it still feels like we are a team. We all want the book to do well. And we are treated like part of their family. It's been a wonderful experience.
...

We're wrapping up our Scrappy Sunday series today. At this point we'd like to celebrate the next phase of the book process - what happens when readers get their hands on the book! Honestly, this is the most exciting part. We've seen posts, received emails, and had conversations with people inspired by the book. Whether they tackled their scraps or made a gorgeous quilt, we love to see it and hear about it. If you are a store teaching classes based on the book, or you've got a wonderful sample display, we'd love to see it!

To this end we're hosting a linky party. Share with us, we want to see and celebrate with you. And speaking of celebrating, of course there might be some prizes for all of your partying with us!

Thank-you so much for making this entire experience ever more wonderful.