WIP Wednesday and the Weather

Welcome to southeastern Colorado. After over a month of snow and frigid cold, we've had four days of warm Chinook winds here in Florence, it got up to 72 degrees today. There is still snow on the north side of the house but even a little of the mud has started to dry out.


We took Mom and Dad to dinner in La Junta on Sunday to celebrate their 69th wedding anniversary. From Florence to Pueblo the prairie was bare except for little drifts on the northeast side of the plants; we saw a herd of pronghorn antelopes who were enjoying being able to eat without having to dig through snow. As we drove beyond Pueblo there was more and more snow remaining on the prairie and fields. In Fowler there were glaciers with double tire track canyons in the streets and huge stacks of snow and ice along the highway where it had been snowplowed. East of Fowler there was still at least a foot of snow on the fields, even though there hasn't been more snow there for over a week. Here are photos of the snow piles at the sides of the parking lot at the restaurant where we ate. It was much colder in Fowler and La Junta than here due to the longtime snow cover. We saw several buildings that had collapsed due to the weight of the snow.

There are still many of the side roads that are not passable and over 100,000 cattle have perished on the ranches due to lack of food and water and pneumonia from breathing snow and stress. It is calving season and the cows are having a hard time giving birth and many calves cannot be saved. In addition to all of the hay drops from planes and helicopters, today it was reported that Coors Brewery is donating huge amounts of cattle feed, that is a by product of the making of beer. Michael Martin Murphy, a country singer who lives in Colorado, is giving a benefit concert at the State Fair Grounds in Pueblo for the ranchers who have lost so much.

The cold, snow and mud have been a good reason to stay inside and sew. I'm still working on the strippy ninepatch for the 40 Quilts Project. I have over half of the ninepatches done, and
the strips to make the rest are cut. I have two more of the stripe elements to put together of the three required. I wish I could work as fast as some of the other quilters but my speedy days are long gone.



Here is a teaser of my February 12 x 12 quilt. I didn't want to ruin the surprise of what it is so I took a photo of some of the scraps that remained on my cutting table. You have to wait until the 12th for the reveal.

When I went to the Creative Cloth Closet in Canon City today to pick up some Steam n Seam 2 I was able to take a photo of the Eleanor Burns "Egg Money Quilt" that is on display there. It is a wonderful Depression Era looking quilt that made me think of some of the quilts that Granny made, only a more modern take. She told Denise that she was sorry she couldn't come with it, but that she doesn't travel well in cartons any more.