Wordless Wednesday

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San Luis Peak

1 July 2005

I was hopeful our climbing partner Andrea would write this trip report, but her husband Ferenc asked me to take the honors. He’ll likely be focusing his translation energy on the Wilsons, and Andrea is committed to composing a Hungarian version of San Luis. I hope I can capture the magic of her first 14er.

The Lizard and I had just finished Ride the Rockies. Ferenc has been cycling at least three days a week and climbing as many peaks as he could on weekends before he must leave the country again next month. Andrea, on the other hand, full-time mother of four, had just returned from two weeks at close to sea level in Hungary. The highest elevation her feet had ever taken her was about 2,000 feet.

We’d discussed potential peaks for her first climb for a couple of months and finally picked San Luis because it would be exciting for all of us – a new mountainscape and hopefully moose-laden territory.

Our drive to the trailhead from Denver took only five hours. We hit the fairly level trail about 5:30 a.m. and kept our eyes sharply on the beaver ponds the first couple of miles for any signs of movement. Alas, breathtakingly designed grassed terraces sporting occasional tufts of wildflowers were all the ponds displayed.

The weather was gorgeous the entire day. The wind was ferocious a couple of times, but never debilitating. A few puffy white clouds gathered distantly during the early afternoon, and smoke from the Utah fires blurred what might have been an excellent view of the San Juans, but the 10% chance of showers forecast played out in real life with a few scattered drops casting rings upon on the windswept surfaces of beaver ponds and Dome Lake on the drive out at the end of the day.

Language barriers make spending time with Ferenc and Andrea a continual adventure. Never a cliché moment! As we began noticeably gaining elevation, Andrea delighted us with her tales of wildlife sighted in Yellowstone… including a prairie wolf! As we passed by gardens of sky pilot, cinquefoil and marsh anemone, she asked the names of the colorful blossoms and described European equivalents. Apparently, forget-me-nots have long stems in Hungary.

Andrea began feeling the altitude as we cleared treeline, and I was soon to follow. Ferenc and The Lizard easily could have left us behind to sweep up Organ and still beat us to the summit of San Luis, but they patiently held our pace and eventually even our packs. Ferenc really, really, really wanted Organ. He actually drooled when we passed under the north buttress on the lower of San Luis’ three shoulders. But, he explained, as if convincing himself, he couldn’t leave Andrea because he didn’t want her to get discouraged.

Knowing Andrea’s fear of heights, I worried she might want to turn back when we left the Organ/San Luis saddle to begin the traverse on the mountainside. To experienced mountaineers, this is not steep at all, and what we were doing was not climbing but merely walking. Andrea, however, was uncomfortable with exposure. What would this do to her?

“I’ve made it this far,” she bravely announced. “I’m not turning back.”

Ferenc kept enthusiastically churning out, “Only 300 meters to go!” “Only 200 more meters!” “We’re almost there! Only 100 more meters!” Somehow, hearing how many meters of elevation remain as opposed to the same distance in feet seems to make the hardest part go so much faster!

The funniest part of the day for me was just a few hundred feet from the summit, when I wobbled, and The Lizard assumed I needed to turn back. He asked me to take my “poles.” I thought he said “pulse.” So I checked my pulse, and jokingly told him I didn’t have one. I was dead. He wanted to turn back immediately, thinking I was delirious.

When I lost sight of Ferenc and Andrea circumnavigating the false summits, I assumed Andrea must have turned back. My heart sank. But then minutes later, I caught a glimpse of the two of them again between two of the lower sub-summits. She’d made it! She’d conquered her fear!!!

Atop the summit, Andrea high-fived me and collapsed into Ferenc’ lap for a promised 30-minute nap. But she never slept. She excitedly bubbled about remembering this moment forever.

“Now I know why Feri likes to write trip reports,” she exclaimed while drinking in the view from 14,014. “Now I know why he wants to do this every weekend.”

So, will she do it again?

“Not a chance!” she moaned as she laid her head back to rest. “This was very hard for me.”

I told her it was hard for me, too, just for different reasons.

“What was your first peak like,” she asked, intent and sincere. “Was it this hard for you?”

Yikes. I felt cornered. I didn’t want to give her any reason to NOT seek another peak. I hesitated before answering.

“Longs was my first.” I almost winced as I whispered the answer.

“Oh.” She closed her eyes as if she was allowing fatigue to seize her soul, but then she let out one incredibly visible sour grimace. “I’m never climbing another mountain.”

Yep, that’s what I said, too. For a whole 48 hours!

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Eye Candy

NatureFootstep's challenge this week was inspired by a comment I left on one of her photos. She had a gorgeous waxwing against a vanilla sky, and to me, it was just calling out to be played with in PhotoShop. So that's exactly what she did! The result may be seen here.

She in turn challenged me by picking a pair of photos she wanted me to manipulate. The first was from the Monte Vista Crane Festival last year. Here is the original.I increased the saturation to make the photo more comedic in appearance. Then I used clip art shoes and amputated one of the crane's legs so the shoe would fit properly. I copied the photo, enlarged the canvas and pasted the copy below, then inverted the copy before using Flaming Pear's Flood filter to create a new reflection. I then flattened the layers and cropped the photo to the size shown below.The second photo NatureFootstep asked me to manipulate is one I've played with extensively, but I created a new dreamworld just for her.I bumped up the contrast so selecting the various areas of the photo would be easier. I then bumped up the saturation because I wanted the final result to be otherworldly.First I selected the dark foreground rocks and completely changed the appearance with Flaming Pear's Kyoto Colors. Then I selected the sky and applied Harry's Filters a couple of times to achieve a wide variation in hues. Finally I selected Titan and the Finger of Fate, world-famous and world-class climbing towers west of Moab and Arches National Park along Onion Creek, which should be world famous for mountain biking but might be better known for four-wheeling, and applied Harry's Filters. (I stumbled upon the red rock photos while riding up Onion Creek with The Lizard two springs ago. I highly recommend this great mountain biking trip!)

I had no internet over the weekend, so I tried to comply with the challenge based on what I had on my external hard drive. I initially picked the wrong photo and wound up with this gem, processed similarly to the one above, but minus the Finger of Fate.Can you believe people actually climb these things?!?

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Snowflake Monday

I had planned to do only two snowflakes for the Ravellenics, but how can anyone resist competing in an event with an awesome title such as Beading Biathlon?

In addition, I've been duly inspired by Allicats and TeachersPet, who initiated a beaded snowflake discussion on Ravelry about two months ago. Thanks, gals!

Of course, this flake may be constructed without beads.

I have tons of beads I use for eyes on my bears, lizards and other critters. It has been years since I've done any beaded crochet, and I had not tried lacing beads onto size 10 thread until my third attempt at fine tuning this flake. Most of my beads would not fit over a regular sewing needle, much less size 10 thread. For this flake, I ended up using 6/0 glass beads.

The crochet thread would not fit through any of my beading needles, so I tied a piece of sewing thread to the crocheting thread and gently slid the beads over the tiny knot after threading them onto the sewing thread with a sewing needle.

I always put about ten more beads than what I need onto the thread when creating a beaded crochet piece to make sure I have enough in case I've miscounted or a bead accidentally breaks.

You may do whatever you'd like with snowflakes you make from this pattern, but you may not sell the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!

Finished Size: 4.25 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 11 crochet hook, 54 beads, empty pizza box, wax paper or foil, cellophane tape, glue, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line

Instructions

String beads onto thread. Keep them far enough ahead to prevent them from interfering with your work, and use one bead at a time as directed.

Make magic ring.

Round 1: Ch 5 (counts as 1 dc and 2 ch), *1 dc in ring, ch 2; repeat from * around 10 times for a total of 12 spokes; sl st in starting dc. Do not pull magic ring too tight.

Round 2: *Sl st in next ch 2 sp, ch 3, tr in same space, slide one bead next to stitch after 1st loop of tr stitch (bead should be in center of tr when tr is complete), ch 3, sl st in same space, ch 1, sc in next space, ch 1, sl st in next sp, ch 1; repeat from * around 5 times for a total of 6 petals; sl st in starting sl st.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 3: *Ch 2, hdc in next ch 2 sp, 1 dc in next tr, 1 tr in same tr, ch 5 (place bead in center of chain), 1 dc in 4th ch from hook, ch 2 (place bead in center of chain),1 tr in same ch, ch 3 (place bead in center of chain), 1 dtr in same ch, ch 4 (place bead in center of chain), trtr (yo 4 times) in same ch, ch 1, sl st in top of trtr just completed, ch 4 (place bead in center of chain), 1 dtr in same ch, ch 3 (place bead in center of chain), 1 tr in same ch, ch 2 (place bead in center of chain), 1 dc in same ch, ch 3 (place bead in center of chain), sl st in same ch, sl st in next ch, 1 tr in dc below, 1 dc in same dc, 1 hdc in next ch 2 sp, ch 2, sl st in sl st at base of petal, sc in next sc (between petals), sl st in sl st at base of next petal; repeat from * around 5 times ending with sl st in starting sl st; bind off. Weave in ends.

Finish: Tape wax paper or foil to top of empty pizza box. Pin snowflake to box on top of wax paper or foil.

Mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture. Sprinkle lightly with glitter. Wash paintbrush and container thoroughly. Allow snowflake to dry at least 24 hours. Remove pins. Gently peel snowflake from wax paper or foil. Attach 10-inch clear thread to one spoke, weaving in end. Wrap fishing line around tree branch (or tape to ceiling or any overhead surface) and watch the snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.

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Friday Funny

Fair warning... this has a surprise ending that might getcha if you're eating while viewing...

Watch here if you are unable to see it above.

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Fingerprint Friday

To me, the word lost doesn’t evoke thoughts of reality television. There are lost relatives. Lost loves. Lost patterns. Lost marbles. I’ve even almost lost a camera a time or two.

Lost, though, takes on a whole new meaning in the workplace.

We’d been looking for a file at work for two weeks. The previous fall, we had completed all the necessary research, interviews and required applications to request tax-exempt status for a center set up by a man whose son had died of cancer. The man wanted to provide, in memory of his son, shelter and other comforting services for the families of cancer patients displaced by lengthy treatment or hospitalization.

With income tax filing deadlines looming, the search for this particular file was becoming more and more intense. We needed to contact the appropriate person to determine the status of our application, which normally takes 120 days but currently was taking more than double that.

The man was subject to the same deadlines all working taxpayers face. With less than a week remaining before his April 16 deadline (because April 15 fell on a weekend that year), he was beginning to panic.

Copies of everything we’d done had at one time been in my possession, but I never allow my filing to pile up. I regularly send documentation to be filed to the appropriate party as soon as my department has completed its work.

After we file a tax-exemption request, we typically receive an acknowledgment letter with a case number and a contact person. I remembered receiving the letter for this particular case, and I remembered sending it to be filed.

But now the file was lost. Gone. Nowhere to be found. The black hole of filing.

The person responsible for this particular file claimed never to have seen it. Searches were conducted of various offices and workspaces. The file still has never been located, even now, years later.

After conducting yet one more search of my own office, the man called us once again.

“What should I do? Haven’t you been able to find out anything yet? I’m running out of time.”

He was a good man, and he was trying to do a good thing. He didn’t deserve to be put under such pressure. He didn’t need to be distracted from the service he was trying to offer and perform.

My supervisor asked me to find a phone number, any phone number, of someone he could speak to at the government agency without the mandatory case number. I searched the entire charitable organization section of the agency website, looking for the phone number of the office where we’d sent the original application via overnight delivery six months earlier. I even looked in the files of similar applications, hoping I might find a current and useful phone number, but all I could unearth was a general number. I presented the number to my supervisor with my most humble apology, knowing full well he did not have the luxury to spend hours on hold waiting for someone to try to look up the scant information we would be able to provide without copies of our application.

Discouraged, I decided to take a lunch break. I went to the dressing room and changed into my workout clothes and then took the elevator all the way to the ground floor. Within seconds, I was climbing in the musty, hot and dimly lit stairwell where I always seem to do some of my deepest thinking. By the third flight, I realized that in the two weeks I’d spent turning over every piece of paper I came across while searching for the lost file, I had not bothered to pray about my dilemma.

Immediately my thoughts turned heavenward. I explained to my Heavenly Father that I had looked everywhere, and that others in different areas had searched, too. I asked if this file still existed, that I might be prompted so I could find it. I asked if this file was in a place where it might be found, could He please help us find it.

Before I knew it, I was at the top of the stairwell. I’d been so intent in my prayer, I’d hardly noticed the climb.

Back at my desk half an hour later, I was stirring a cup of noodles when one of the employees from our records center approached with a stack of paperwork.

“I can’t find the missing file,” he said, “but I did find some things you’d sent to be placed in that file. I couldn’t put it in the jacket because the file is missing. I thought maybe you might be able to find what you need if I brought these back to you.”

My first instinct was to jump for joy and scream loudly, but because such behavior is inappropriate in the workplace, I graciously thanked him and then began sifting through the meticulously organized paperwork. Everything was just where it should be, just not in the file. Notes, background, research, a copy of the original application, everything. Everything but the acknowledgment letter containing the contact person and the case number.

One sheet of paper. All I needed was one simple letter containing just a couple of cookie cutter paragraphs, and it wasn’t in the stack.

I sat back in my chair to try to remember what I’d done with that acknowledgement letter back in October. I’d taken a vacation in October. Maybe I hadn’t really seen the letter after all. Maybe it got lost because it never got to me.

Maybe it had accidentally been picked up with a stack of filing destined for a different client or filed under an erroneous client number. Maybe if I went back through everything our office had done six months earlier, I could see what other files had been worked on during that time, and I could search those files.

The magnitude of the search I was about to undertake hadn’t fully hit me when the young man from the records center returned with a single sheet of paper attached to a small blue filing slip.

“Here, I found one more,” he said. “It was in a different place.”

I stared at the paper in disbelief that slowly morphed into gratitude and sheer amazement grander than I’d felt in many months. Right beneath my own handwriting on the blue filing slip was the case number and the contact person’s name and phone number. It was the acknowledgement letter for which I’d been searching!

Within ten minutes, my supervisor was on the phone with the contact person. Later, he was on the line with the man with advice on what to do next. The deadline still loomed, and that wouldn’t make the work easy, but it would be done on time.

I don’t often think to pray at work when I can’t find something, but this experience taught me that maybe I should consider incorporating that soothing step more frequently. Perhaps a little earlier in the process instead of waiting for desperation to settle in.

If God knows each of the lilies of the field, doesn’t it stand to reason that surely He knows every sheet of typing paper, too?

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Quilt a Car

My blog seems to be on somewhat of a quilt kick the last couple of weeks, so I decided to stay with the theme one more day. I hope you enjoy.

Couldn't you just see doing this to your car?!? (Yes, I know the quilt I used above to illustrate this post is not a car, but it could be considered transporation, right? I don't have any pictures of quilted cars or cars in quilts. Yet...)

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Wordless Wednesday

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America the Beautiful

Last week I was elated to learn my friend Mary Jafek's quilt had been accepted into this year's Denver National Quilt Festival. I've had several requests to show off detail in this marvelous quilt, and I am very happy to oblige.For those who didn't catch the rest of the story last week, Mary's quilt will be hanging at the Denver National Quilt Festival next month.

This quilt has the most amazing story.

Dwila Gerih of Wauneta, Nebraska, hand-embroidered all 50 states, state flowers, state birds and dates of statehood during the long commutes to and from Denver while her husband was being treated by Bruce Jafek, my friend Mary's husband. Dwila presented the embroidered squares to Dr. Jafek as a gift when her husband's treatment was completed. Mary pieced the quilt, and Merrie Jones of Aurora, Colorado, quilted it.

Dwila didn't follow the embroidery guide exactly, a woman I'd love to meet one day. I love when people make designs their own!

She improved upon many of the embroidery designs, in my opinion. After receiving this amazing gift, Mary decided not to try to wash the blue embroidery guides off, at least for now. She didn't want to chance ruining one of the squares with a test washing, and there's no way she could toss the completed quilt into any solutions, regardless of recommendations, without testing on something less valuable first. We may try to duplicate Dwila's efforts later on, but for now, you can see some of the original iron-on blue. To me, the quilt is still fabulous, and knowing Dwila tried to make the designs even better makes me appreciate her work even more.

Dr. Jafek, who toyed with the idea of becoming an architect before deciding surgery was his bag of tricks, designed the quilt layout at his wife's request. He then added one of the finishing touches by coloring and lettering the label (shown above) for the label on the back of the quilt. How's this for a doctor's handwriting?!?

I was honored to add just a tad to the quilt, too. I added the hanging sleeve, and I attached the quilt label. I now must attach a bigger label in another corner of the back of the quilt before "America the Beautiful" goes back on exhibit. Quilts at the Capitol last year wanted a 4-inch label at the top of the quilt; the Denver National Quilt Festival wants a bigger label at the bottom of the quilt. So Dr. Jafek made two.

Mary and her husband currently are serving a medical mission in the Philippines. That's why I've been entrusted with her priceless quilt. This is will be the second show it's been accepted into since it came into my care.

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Snowflake Monday

I will give you fair warning. This probably is one of the most challenging and complex snowflakes I have ever designed. On the fourth and fifth rows, you will turn and go back and forth on each petal, working from the back side of each petal before proceeding on to the next petal instead of working totally in the round.

I was going through a difficult time when I designed this flake and thought if I worked on something extremely complicated, it would take my mind off other things. The process was tremendously effective. Finishing the flake took an entire week worth of commutes. including one long, snowy one and an additional hour of waiting after a missed connection. Most of my flakes take one day of train rides or less to design.

By the time I finished this flake, with all the unraveling, redoing, correcting of booboos, and frustration of trying to get points worked from the opposite direction to match their corresponding mirror points, I absolutely hated this flake and swore I’d never make another. After pinning it and then shooting a sunset through it, I decided the intricacy was worth all the effort and brain trauma. I love and cherish this flake now. I probably won’t ever give the original one away.

Maybe I should call this my Recovery Snowflake.

You may do whatever you'd like with snowflakes you make from this pattern, but you may not sell the pattern. Thanks, and enjoy!

Finished Size: 7.5 inches from point to point
Materials: Size 10 crochet thread, size 11 crochet hook, empty pizza box, wax paper or foil, cellophane tape, glue, water, glitter, small container for glue/water mixture, paintbrush, stick pins that won't be used later for sewing, clear thread or fishing line

Recovery Snowflake Instructions

Make magic ring.

Round 1: 12 sc in ring, sl st in 1st sc. Do not pull magic ring tight.

Round 2: Ch 1, *sc in next sc, ch 5, sk 1 sc; repeat from * around 5 times, sl st in 1st sc.

Round 3: Sl st into next ch 5 space, ch 3 (counts as 1 dc), 3 dc in same space, *ch 5, 4 dc in next ch 5 space; repeat from * around 4 more times, sl st in 3rd ch of starting ch 3.
If you're not reading this pattern on Snowcatcher, you're not reading the designer's blog. Please go here to see the original.

Round 4: Ch 1, sc in same st, *sc in each of next 3 dc, ch 2, in next ch 5 space work 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc, ch 1, turn, sc in dc just worked, hdc in next dc, in next ch 3 space work 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc, hdc in next dc, sc in next dc, ch 1, turn, 1 hdc in sc just worked and in next hdc, 1 dc in each of next 2 dc, in next ch 3 space work 2 tr, ch 3, 2 tr, 1 dc in each of next 2 dc, 1 hdc in next hdc and in next sc, ch 2, sl st in top of dc of row below, ch 2, sc in 1st dc of 4 dc group below; repeat from * around 5 times, ending with sl st in 2nd sc of starting 4 sc group instead of final sc of repeat.

Round 4: Ch 1, sc in same sc, *ch 8, sc in 2nd ch from hook, ch 2, sc in 2nd ch from hook, dc in 1st sc, ch 1, sl st in top of dc, hdc in next ch (before 1st sc you just worked dc into), sl st in each of next 6 ch (working back down spoke to main body of flake), sc in next sc, ch 5, 1 dc in 1st dc on next petal (4th stitch down from next ch 3 space), ch 5, in next ch 3 space work 2 dc, ch 3, 2 dc, ch 5, skip next 2 tr and 1 dc, 1 dc in next dc (4th stitch from ch 3 space you just worked in), ch 1, turn, in ch 5 space just made work 2 sc, 2 hdc, 2 dc, 2 tr, then ch 3; in next ch 3 space work 2 dtr (yo 4 times), ch 2, 2 dtr, ch 3, in next ch 5 space work 2 tr, 2 dc, 2 hdc, 2 sc, ch 1, turn, work 1 sc into each of next 8 stitches, 3 sc in next ch 3 space, 1 sc in each of next 2 dtr, 2 sc in next ch 3 sp (you should be to top of petal now), ch 8, sl st in 7th ch from hook, in loop just made, work 1 sc, 1 hdc, 3 dc, ch 2, 5 dc, ch 2, 5 dc, ch 2, 3 dc, 1 hdc and 1 sc, ch 1, then 2 sc back in ch 3 space at top of petal, 1 sc in each of next 2 dtr, 3 sc in next ch 3 space, 1 sc in each of next 6 stitches, 1 hdc in next st, ch 2, sl st in final sc (you should be leaving a bump similar to what is on the other side of the petal you have been working), sl st in lone dc below (the lonely stitch at the end of the ch 5 space that now is filled with a variety of stitches), ch 5, sc in 2nd sc of next 4 sc group (Back on the main body of the flake; repeat from * around 5 times, ending with sl st in starting sc instead of final sc of final repeat; bind off. Pat yourself on the back, enjoy an entire carton of Ben & Jerry’s Fishfood without sharing if so inclined, do the happy dance, go get a breath of fresh air, and squeal your brain out while vowing to never, ever again make this flake. Weave in ends.

Finish: Tape wax paper or foil to top of empty pizza box. Pin snowflake to box on top of wax paper or foil.

Mix a few drops of water with a teaspoon of glue in small washable container. Paint snowflake with glue mixture. Sprinkle lightly with glitter. Wash paintbrush and container thoroughly. Allow snowflake to dry at least 24 hours. Remove pins. Gently peel snowflake from wax paper or foil. Attach 10-inch clear thread to one spoke, weaving in end. Wrap fishing line around tree branch (or tape to ceiling or any overhead surface) and watch the snowflake twirl freely whenever you walk by! Snowflake also may be taped to window or tied to doorknob or cabinet handle.

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Yippee!

Mary Jafek's quilt has been juried into the Denver National Quilt Festival!

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Friday Funny

And here is the link in case you are not able to view the video above.

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My Fourteener Quilt

I didn’t finish the 14ers the way other mountain climbers do. I did it my own way.

As far as I know, I’m the only person so far to quilt all the 14ers. In winter. Solo. Hand powered (except for piecing).

After my unexpected but mandatory back surgery in 2004, I had to give up climbing, cycling and volleyball for a while. To keep from becoming depressed with all the hours and hours and hours of nothing but sitting with my legs up to reduce pressure on my spinal cord, I decided to make a quilt. Because I couldn’t be out in the mountains where I wanted to be, I decided to quilt them.

I had taken pictures of all but five of Colorado’s 59 points that rise above 14,000 feet by November of 2004. After surgery, mountain photos were out of the question for several months. So The Lizard and our friend Ferenc jumped to my rescue. Ferenc loaned me two peaks, and The Lizard loaned me three more. The Lizard also let me use one of his photos I liked better than mine.

This story actually starts before I began the fourteener quilt. About a year before my surgery, I got the bright idea that my photos would look cool in a quilt. I cut some plain white fabric to the size of computer paper and attached it via cellophane tape to a sheet of cardstock and ran it through my photo printer. Man, did it ever look cool as it rolled out. The colors were so vibrant and sharp! Much better than any commercially printed fabric I’d ever seen in a store. Oh, was I onto something BIG!

I stitched a fabric frame around the fabric photo with contrasting fabric (quilters call this sashing), then headed to the ironing board to press my seams flat. A couple of light squirts of water mist and… YIKES!!! The beautiful color of my luxurious fabric photo was icky and brown and all over everything I touched. Even a few things I didn't touch. Back to the drawing board. That is, after thoroughly cleaning my ironing board... And the iron. And the carpet. And my clothing.

I did a ton of research and studied up on printing on fabric before trying again. After what amounted to a $20 or so degree in printing on fabric, courtesy of a marvelous little pocket-sized book by Caryl Bryer Fallert, I began the experiment again, this time with 14ers and post-surgery.

I pre-treated three yards of plain white cotton with Bubble Jet Set, then cut the fabric into 8.5x11 pieces and applied it to wax paper with my iron on very low heat so I could run it through my printer. (This was MUCH easier than taping fabric to cardstock!) I then post-treated the squares (which actually are rectangles, but quilters call them squares) with Bubble Jet Rinse and washed and ironed them to make sure they were indeed colorfast.

Success!!!

I selected a denim-look fabric for peak names because so many mountain climbers belittle anyone who climbs peaks while wearing T-shirts and jeans. Denim also probably is my favorite fabric, although I have not climbed a peak while wearing jeans yet. Yes, it is something I will do one day just to be able to say I did it.

I chose a stone-gray fabric for the sashing because that seemed to fit the quilt theme better than anything else I found.

I hand traced and hand embroidered the calligraphy mostly with floss I inherited from my crafty grandmother 26 years earlier. I tried to match the embroidery floss to colors within the photos as close as I could. I did have to buy a few supplemental skeins, so now I have floss leftovers in about seven shades of dirt I probably never will use. Maybe a granddaughter of someone will be inspired to use it in a revolutionary way a quarter century after I’m gone...

I machine pieced the quilt face. All the quilting, thousands of stitches, is by hand. I outlined every peak. You could say I inched my way over every one of Colorado’s 14,000-thousand-foot-tall mountain peaks.

My quilt acquired quite a few non-typical miles during this memorable journey. I worked on the embroidery every day on the light rail and on the quilting until it got too big to lug around (it's 6 feet by 8 feet). I quilted in the car every weekend en route to our cross-country ski adventures, even when the quilt got too big to carry on the train.

Funny facts: I did Uncompahgre and Sunshine in a day! (Although some mountaineers could accomplish this fete on feet in real life, I have yet to be able to climb two peaks several miles apart in a day.) I accidentally stabbed myself on Sunlight and had to stop working on the quilt for a while so I wouldn't get blood on it, so that was my most dangerous summit. (Sunlight Peak is considered by many to be the most difficult or second most difficult peak in Colorado.) I finished the 14ers on Pyramid... in the Powderhorn parking lot. (Pyramid Peak, near Aspen, Colorado, is a good summer day trip away from Powderhorn Ski Area, atop the Grand Mesa.)

I finished the quilt with a jeans pocket on the back. I hand embroidered all the pertinent information. And I left the top of the pocket open so I can hide trail maps or love notes in the quilt. Although I can’t say this treasured piece of memorabilia will ever find its way atop a bed. (It’s hanging on my living room wall, and it can stay there as long as it wants.)

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Wordless Wednesday

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