Quick Alter-Art Update

Just a quick note to say that my very first full size quilt is complete! It was a real adventure to do all of it - and especially the quilting. It wouldn't have been possible without some great instructions from my extremely talented mom. And she even answered the phone when I called for the 50th time in an hour - I was getting nervous for the quilting part. Thanks, Mom!

The whole enchilada...

And a couple details of the quilting. I used a simple free-form wave pattern - a great choice for my first try at quilting...

Now, just in case you want your very own amazing quilt, here's your chance. My fantastically talented mom made a stunning quilt that is being raffled off this year to support the Piecing Partners Quilt Guild, including their charity work with the Department of Human Services.

Here's a look at the quilt. It's actually quite big - 94"x93" - and it's called Domestic Drama. I've held this one in my own hands, and photos cannot do it justice, but here goes anyhow...

For just $1 a ticket, you can be entered to win it! So, if you want a few raffle tickets (I recommend it!), please just shoot me an email and I can put you in touch with the right folks.

Thanks!

Guest post at elle.mnop!

The fantastic Elle over at elle.mnop is featuring a guest post by me today! Thanks so much to Elle for keeping up with my blog and asking me to contribute to hers. I love her sense of style, the great DIY projects she posts, and the fun things she finds around her neighborhood and online.

Since things have been crazy at the Moon house, I decided I better write a post to remind me (and maybe you) to take a deep breadth and relax once in awhile. With, of course, a few suggestions...

 So, head on over there to read my guest post and check out Elle's two-thumbs-up blog!

Thanks for the dance!

Clearly all of you had a great time getting your groove on for a snow dance, because it worked. Thank you!

I just got back from our backcountry yurt trip over in the Tobacco Root mountains - 4 days of great snow, fantastic company, and some good ol' time in the wilderness. Thanks to the Montana Backcountry Adventures folks for keeping this yurt up and running!  Here's the tour...

First off, home base yurt. Of course, it wouldn't be a trip to the backcountry yurt without some wood chopping. And a dog to gnaw on all the wood chips....

You already know of my love for wood stoves, so I can't help but show off this beauty that lives at the yurt. She's even got the side car that you can fill up with snow to make warm water for dish washing. I imagine that if you were a real pioneer woman, this handy contraption would be a high priority on your pioneer husband's to do list.

The real point of the yurt ski trip, though, is the ski part, so there was lots of that too. Hard work going up...

pays off with lots of fantastic turns, almost captured on film!

And along to keep us entertained, was our trusty powder hound. Here he is scouting his fresh line. I can tell you that he does a lot of straight-lining and is always getting face shots. He's a real snow junky like that.

What an adventure!

Also, since this blog of course includes belt buckle talk, I'd just like to warn you. When you return to the truck after a long ski out from a yurt, and the temperature last night was well below zero, and the current temperature is probably not too far above zero, and you are pulling your change of clothes out of the truck and putting them on, you should probably tuck in your shirt. Because that belt buckle is cold!

The belt buckle to match this snowy trip? Or course, ...

Now, back to work!

Ode to the Wood Stove!

I know this is not particularly "on topic", but I just can't help myself. Sometimes some things require shouting from the mountain tops, whatever odd topic it is.

Weather really rules the day here in Big Sky. Summer means great hikes in the morning and finding shelter for the afternoon thunder and lightning storm. Fall and spring mean mud, mud, and mud. Did I mention mud? And winter is all about snow. Once we have snow on the ground, it's here to stay. Winter is really more than 6 months long. If you're like me and love to ski in all forms, winter is a thumbs up season. Not to mention that all that darkness at night is good for productive craftiness. Unfortunately, snow requires freezing temps, and I'm a cold-blooded woman (not emotionally, but ice-cube-toes-and-fingers wise  :)  ). Thankfully, there is one invention that keeps the winter cold outside and makes the inside feel permanently warm and cozy...

The wood stove!!

Mr. Moon and I moved to Big Sky in 2008 and first-thing-first (well, after painting the walls something besides primer white) was ripping out the lame, no-heat-producing stove insert we had (how satisfying!) and installing a winning wood stove. And let me tell you, this was 100% the best decision we could have made. First off, we figured out it would pay for itself in 2 years, thanks to our expensive electric heat. 2 years?! Wow! Wait, wait, I just realized that means we already did it. That just cannot be beat. Second, we get to have a fire everyday. Translation: heat, warmth, heat, warmth, t-shirts in the house!

16 outside? That's like the tropics! Fortunately, it still does its job at -20  :)

It's true that the fire doesn't make itself and you have to cut kindling and cut wood and build the fire and keep it going. Admittedly, I was a little scared of this before we took the leap. But the truth? With the right tools (and a wood-cutting husband), it is not hard. If it was "wood stove + build fire" versus "electric heat + no work" in the ring together - wood stove + build fire wins every time.

Required for successful wood stove heating.

And the payoff? A happy family of warm furry animals and somewhere for me to bask to keep my blood warm. Every day!

If I was Pee Wee Herman, I would marry the wood stove instead of the fruit salad. Just saying...