A Military Enlistment, Quilt Shop Hop & a Cattle Branding

Okay, you're probably thinking I couldn't have come up with three more unrelated topics, but nevertheless, they are connected. Mostly they are connected by the fact that we have done all three within the past two days. First, Friday morning, May 1, my 18 year old son joined the Air Force Reserve. He's always wanted to be in the military, and this seems like a perfect fit for him. He plans to be career military, but joined the reserve so he could finish college first. We've homeschooled him since 1st grade and couldn't be prouder.

Now, on to the shop hop. The same day my son enlisted, I drove all over Wyoming and Idaho participating in a quilt shop hop. If you are not familiar with a shop hop, the point is to visit all the participating stores getting your “passport” stamped and collecting instructions and patterns for a different quilt block from every shop. Collecting stamps from all the shops makes you eligible for drawings for a quilt weekend with 8 friends, or several other pricey giveaways. Each store has lots of other goodies to give away or for you to try to win, and great sales. It was the first one I have ever done, but it definitely won’t be the last! I had such fun – despite having only the company of my 5 year old and 5 month old sons. Not the easiest way to shop hop, I know, but it was what I had, so we made a fun day of it. I figure we must have driven over 400 miles in the process, but as I had to meet my son in Idaho to pick him up from enlisting anyway, why not have fun in the process? (His recruiter came to pick him up and we had to meet in Idaho anyway, so it wasn’t just a drive for the fun of it. He had to go clear to Salt Lake City, Utah to join). Anyway, I don’t know how many of you are familiar with Wyoming and Idaho, but there is a lot of driving through wide open, empty spaces between towns. I had a goal of hitting 11 of the 12 stores in one day, and I just barely made it. Of course I did have to stop and nurse the baby along the way and have dinner at a place with a playground so the 5 year old could run off some energy, so I’m sure I travelled slower than most shop hoppers would. Either way, I had a great time.

I was most impressed with how every shop had done something completely different with the same quilt blocks, and no two finish projects looked the same. Some were remarkably different. The most unique was at the shop in Jackson Hole, WY (pictured above). They used all black, white and red fabric and set their blocks on point.

I also really liked the quilt made by the shop in Driggs, ID. They used Thimbleberries prints. I never really thought of myself as a the Thimbleberries fan, but I love the way their quilt turned out. It was very pretty.

My favorite, though, was from Heritage Quilt Shoppe in Pinedale, WY. They used brighter colors and I loved their center block. Of course the center block was for sale separately, but it really fits my style and I will probably buy it later. (They sold out quickly).

So, where does the branding fit it? That’s what we did Saturday. My husband’s aunt and uncle were branding cattle on their ranch yesterday, so we went out to help. We made it through 400 calves in 4-5 hours.

So as you can see, I’ve had a very busy and exhausting couple of days. But they’ve also been very rewarding.