Yep, I did it again.
Last year, through a series of jokes and silliness on my blog and on Facebook, I decided to make a calendar devoted to shirtless men, draped in quilts and holding burritos. Why would I do such a thing? Because shirtless men, quilts and burritos (extra spicy, please) are three of my favorite things and because the readers of my blog are wonderful and will happily participate in my crazy schemes. Wives and girlfriends snapped shots of their men; men set up tripods and took photos of themselves; moms nagged sons until they relented, grudgingly. And together we made the very first Quilter’s Shirtless Man and Spicy Burrito Calendar, or QSMASBC for short.
I wanted the calendar to be not just funny, which it is, but also an appreciation of all our men, in whatever size or shape they happen to take. Whether they have six-pack abs or a nice, round Buddha belly, we love them and—at least in the case of the significant others who took the shots, maybe not the moms so much—we think they’re pretty sexy.
I also decided very early on that I wanted the calendar to honor and aid a very particular man, one whom I happen to adore: my brother, Jon. In February of 2010, Jon was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, an extremely aggressive form of brain cancer. He has been fighting hard, through chemo, radiation, a stroke, and a second surgery to remove more tumor growth this summer, and the struggle has taken a toll on his family. I do not live close to my brother, and so I have had that experience that many of you may know all too well: I can’t do anything to help. I cannot be there to help him and his wife and sons through the hard, hard days of treatments and rehab. But I can raise a little money for them, to help with the mounting medical bills. And I can make them laugh.
You can see all the photos that are in this year’s calendar here (warning: there is some naked tushie, so if you are offended by buns, you may want to skip this one) and the 2013 calendar is available for purchase for $19.99 from Lulu.com here. (The 2012 calendar is still available and can be purchased here.)
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi meagan, can you look into how many calendars would fit in a postpak? I can probably sell ten in my state and organise for three or 4 other aussie states to do the same. It’s the individual postage that kills us
Hi, Laura. I’ll look into it, but since it’s a print-on-demand service, there would still be postage to get them to me and then the postage to Australia on top of that. We’ll have to see how that all works out. Someday, i hope to be able to afford my own printing so I can do things like this much easier.
Once again you’ve done a grand job Megan!!! I’m glad the guys came thru’ for you.
Gidday – how could I simply donate without purchasing anything?
There is a “Donate” button on the sidebar of my blog, http://thebitchystitcher.blogspot.com. Just add in the notes when checking out through Paypal that you intend the money to go to my brother. Thank you!