As I work my way through a huge pile of unfinished projects (my goal is one per week) I’ve come to realize that, for me, it’s not about the finished product, it’s frequently about the story. The supplies for this project were purchased at Main Street Quilts in Bozeman, MT in one of our wonderful Yellowstone summers. I looked at an entire quilt made of hand-appliqued woolen blocks like this one most of the summer. The expense of all the blocks was prohibitive so I settled on buying one. (not to mention that there is no way the supplies would fit in the Toyota). Each time I picked it up to stitch on it over the last 8 years it brought with it memories of that time. Tim and I would wander the streets of Bozeman, stop and have green chili at our favorite little restaurant and then typically end our day with a wonder-filled drive back to the park. The supplies came from a now-defunct company in Bozeman called Wild Thyme. The wools are all hand-dyed and the hyacinth has more than 100 separate petals in it. The blanket stitching on the edges isn’t perfect but I learned and got better as I went.