Way Out West

This view is from Red Rocks Amphitheater, in Morrison, Colorado, which is west of Denver.  I can't believe I was standing there only 3 days ago.
Hubby and I took a quick vacation last week, while Little Buddy and Big Buddy were on vacation with their parents.  We saw so many wonders.  Pikes Peak.  Dinosaur bone and footprint fossils.  Garden of the Gods.  The Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument, featuring ancient petrified giant sequoia trees.  Colorado School of Mines Geology Museum.
Are you seeing the pattern here?  My husband loves fossils.  I love him.  So I cheerfully look at fossils.
But I did have a request--to see the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum.  So we did.

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon.  The museum is small, but very well done.  Click HERE for the web site.

The current exhibit in the main gallery was Pieced Together:  Patchwork Quilts from Russia.  This is a detail from one of the quilts.  I love the cats, and the (very large) butterfly.  Also, notice how the yo-yos are holding the quilt together.  The Russian quilts are on exhibit through October 20th.

The museum's gift shop is like a small quilt shop!  Here's the loot I got there.  I've been wanting this book for a while.  I took a class with Marsha McCloskey years and years ago, and never lost my love for feathered stars.  The fabric was on sale for 30% off.  Woot!

I think my husband was feeling a little guilty about all the fossils etc., so he made no objections to stopping at Fabricate in Boulder.  Click HERE for more info on the store.  Above is my loot:  a large remnant of novelty fabric featuring winter clothes, 5 bright fat quarters, and the pattern for the Washi dress, which I have wanted to make forever.

But wait, there's more!  While we were in Golden (seeing the Geology museum), we just happened on the Golden Quilt Company.  It's an amazing shop.  If you love Kaffe Fassett, do not miss it!  Click HERE for their web site, complete with virtual shop tour.  I got some great loot here, too.  The book has been out of print for a while, and I've been borrowing it from the library over and over.  I'm glad to have my own copy at last.  (And I'll bet the library is glad, too.)  That's a half yard of the light cat fabric in front, two 89 cent 8th yard pieces with dots, and the rest are scraps I crammed into a scrap bag for $5.
I had so much fun shopping it was a challenge stuffing it all into my suitcase to go home.

It's good to have some handwork to take along on a trip.  I think this is the first time I've actually finished everything I took with me.  Those are 6 knitted dish cloths stacked up, and 3 hand appliqued quilt blocks.

Here's what the blocks look like opened out.  I seem to only work on this project on vacations, so I don't know when it's going to get finished, but half of the blocks are done now.
We got in late last night, or rather early this morning (3:00 a.m.!), and I definitely need a nap.  Please excuse any typos or grammar mistakes.
Happy Labor Day to all in the U.S.!
Have a good week everybody.
Cheers,
Sylvia@Treadlestitches
Linking up with
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Busy Hands Quilts
Oh Scrap