Sew it goes

Maria, whose quilting skills with her Bernina sewing machines never fail to impress me, is making drapes for our two dining room windows.

Since she's been here in Arkansas, she's cranked out at least three quilts and a couple of dresses for granddaughter Lisa.

Which brings up the reason for this photo of me at my campsite at Grattan Raceway Park near Belding, Mich. It was the Fourth of July weekend of 1987 and I was on a long weekend ride with Tim and Linda Balough and Doug Poucher. That's my 1981 BMW R100RS and behind me is the backpacking tent I made during the winter of 1973-74.

It was during my "backpacking period" when I was reading every mountaineering and backpacking book I could get my hands on and dragging my wife and kids off on weekend treks -including winter camping - to various Indiana state parks. Backpacking gear wasn't nearly as sophisticated or widely available as it is today. Mostly, you had to buy from REI in Seattle.

Or you could make your own stuff from Frostline Kits. For a fraction of the cost of a ready-to-use tent or parka or down vest, you could buy a Frostline kit that included all of the pre-cut fabric and other materials and detailed instructions. I taught myself to use my wife's Kenmore sewing machine and over the course of a year or so made this three-man tent, a couple of 60/40 mountain parkas, a pair of down-filled booties and a couple of rain ponchos.

The tent came in handy when I transitioned from backpacking to motorcycle camping and went along on my first transcontinental ride to the BMW Motorcycle Owners of America rally at Monterey, Calif.

I used it for several rallies and trips until a violent windstorm at the Rapid City, S.D. KOA ripped seams and bent poles on the night of July 15-16, 1990. I went to a local sporting goods store in Rapid City and bought a Timberline tent to use the next three nights at the BMW MOA rally. I carried the old Frostline tent home and finally sold it at a yard sale a few years later for $1.

Frostline went into decline and disappeared for a few years A company calling itself Frostline Kits has a website at www.frostlinekits.com, but it appears to be a work in progress.