Okay, I am reading through my old quilting magazines and found this fun story in the May 1994 issue of Lady's Circle Patchwork Quilts, written by Carol Younce. See how many quilts you can find in the story (supposedly there are 69, although I found only 40 myself)



A Day in the Life of Cowboy Fabrics

As cowboys go, our hero was a bit of a sluggard. Ranching was much too hard, with all that riding, roping, and branding, and our hero preferred to find ways to stay close to the cabins of the Double T Ranch in the mornings and then spend his afternoons in town. So as the rising sun cast its bright golden beams through the chinks in the log cabin, our favorite cowboy began his day. The north wind was blowing through the oak leaves as he crossed the yard, throwing handfuls of grain to the hens and chickens. The sunflowers bowed in greeting as he whisteled a tune. When he reached the barn, he waved at the barn swallows, then looked through the hole in the barn door to see a ray of light from the morning sun falling on the floor, illuminating lacy spiderwebs in the corners. He remembered the day this barn had been built in a single day of barn-raising. When it was all finished, he had put a weathervane on the top and called it the best barn he had ever seen. Now, inside out of the wind, he listened to the sounds - cats and mice scrambling in the shadows; the rustle of bat's wings; a dove in the window, cooing to greet the morning. He picked up a pitchfork which was leaning against Jacob's ladder, waking up a puss in the corner. He really should return that ladder to Jacob sometime soon, he thought but then, he might need it again before Jacob did.

After feeding the animals, the next chore was to tend the garden. The not-so-straight furrows were planted with corn and beans which needed watering, and the melon patch needed weeding. The windmill creaked as it brought up the water he needed for the day. When he finished with the garden, he saddled up his trusty horse, Crazy Ann, and headed across the valey toward Buzzard's Roose. It had been a small town when he was younger but, now that there was a railroad crossing through town, the people thought they were in a big city. Some folks had objected to the "Century of Progress" but the Mayor said that time and time wait for no man, and they were forging ahead into a future which would bring them all peace and plenty.

As he passed the railroad station, the stationmaster asked him if he had heard the latest about the Kansas troubles; seems they were having range wars and territory disputes; something about 54-40 or fight. "If those kinds of troubles show up here," said our hero, "I'll be on that road to California, or maybe Wyoming Valley, faster than a streak of lightning." Just then the Sheriff road by, the shiny 5-point star glinting on his vest. He was about to attend the daily ritual of arresting Stumpy, who was on a drunkard's path from one saloon to the next.

Down the street, our hero could hear the clanging of hammer on anvil, the work of the town's blacksmith, Handy Andy; the chiming of the schoolhouse bell, run, no doubt, by the school marm "Sunbonnet" Sue. He tied Crazy Ann at the brick wall near the Courthouse stepsm and went into the Lone Star Saloon. Just the day to try to take on Slippery Pete with a new card trick he had learned. That card dealer was as hard to pin down as a toad in a puddle, but our man took out his lucky Irish chain and sat down at the table.

"What'll you be putting up today for your bet?" drawled Slippery. "I've got this here Indian hatchet and some fine arrowheads," said the cowboy.

Well, it didn't take long for our hero to lose them to Pete; he had the devil's claws when it came to dealing, and the card trick wasn't new to him after all. After drinks for hands all around, several of the locals got into a brawl over a game of checkers, and the seven sisters who owned the place threw all the men out into the street. They left behind several broken dishes, and turned-over tables and chairs. The men slowly got up, dusted themselves off, and sheepishly grinned at the boy's nonsense they had enjoyed. Night and noon, they did love to throw those chairs around.

When the day was almost done, our cowboy turned his wandering foot toward home. He took an Indian trail this time, stopping for a dinner of bear paw stew at the dugout home of Jake and his contrary wife. Jake's wive was even more contrary than usual, compulsively twisting the wedding ring Jake had given her and muttering about the roof that needed mending. "I would fix it, Rose, you know I would, if only I could find my ladder," Jake whined.

On the way home, our hero leaned back and breathed in the night. The Milky Way streamed across the sky in a flowing river of light, punctuated now and then by a shooting star. Birds in the air were silhouetted against the moon over the mountain. The famliar rail fence guided them as the cowboy and his horse rode slowly towards the ranch they called home, where he would end his day under a quilt he would have never chosen for himself - it was his Aunt Sukey's choice: Bachelor's Puzzle.

I found 57 - and a couple other phrases are "questionable" - need to pull out a few quilt books and check them.

Nola

Here's a list of the one's I found:

Double T
Rising Sun
Log Cabin
Oak Leaves
Hens & Chickens
Sunflowers
Hole in the Barn Door
Morning
Spiderweb
Barn Raising
Weathervane
Dove in the Window
Jacob's Ladder
Puss in the Corner
Corn and Beans
Melon Patch
Windmill
Straight Furrows
Crazy Ann
Buzzard's Roost
Rairoad
Railroad Crossing
Century of Progress
Peace and Plenty
Kansas Troubles
54-40 or Fight
Road to California
Time and Tide
Wyoming Valley
Streak of Lightning
5-Point Star
Drunkard's Path
Anvil
Handy Andy
Sunbonnet Sue
Brick
Courthouse Steps
Lone Star
Card Trick
Toad in a Puddle
Irish Chain
Indian Hatchet
Arrowheads
Devil's Claws
Seven Sisters
Broken Dishes
Boy's Nonsense
Night and Noon
Wandering Foot
Indian Trail
Bear Paw
Dugout (Kansas Dugout actually)
Contrary Wife
Wedding Ring
Rose
Milky Way
Shooting Star
Bird in the Air
Moon Over the Mountain
Rail Fence
Aunt Sukey's Choice
Bachelor's Puzzle
Swallows
Cats & Mice
Bat Wing

Nola

P.S. I added a few since my first post - think I've found 65 of the 69

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nola,

I found #66...Ray of Light!

Three more to go!

I found them: Shadows, Hands all Around, and Schoolhouse.

Woohoo!! WTG Nola and Meg!

Here are a few not on first list: Bat Wings, North Wind, Swallows, Ray, Ray of Light, Railroad. I checked these in "Encylopedia of Quilt Patterns".