Colorado Trip Stitching :-)

I just spent 4 days on a trip to Durango Colorado with some work friends. What a great time we had. We rented a minivan and drove up together and rented a condo. We took the Durango-Silverton Train which is an all-day trip along the Animas River on a coal-burning vintage train. It was just gorgeous as you can see from my pictures at the end of this post. It was glorious to experience cool mornings and evenings although mid-day was hot in the sun. We also drove up in the mountains to visit Ouray, played poker, and generally enjoyed a few microbreweries. :) Didn't visit any LNS's or quilt shops this trip as my companions weren't hobbyists like me. I got the usual comments you get from non-stitchers like "How do you know where to put the stitches?" and "How can you sew while you're riding in a car?" It's hard to explain our passion to other people. Since I wasn't one of the drivers though I got a lot of stitching time in while riding on the way up and back from Phoenix. (about a 7-8 hour drive) I started Little House Needleworks' "Sampler Lady" as I thought it would be a good "travel project". I'm stitching it on 32-ct R&R Creme Brulee and substituting colors here and there. Here's my progress so far:


I've decided I don't like using overdyed threads on big areas of stitching - I don't like the striated effect you get. I had to go back and frog some of the blue blouse as it appeared there was a light streak all across her chest. I like overdyes for leaves, lettering, and things like that, just not large areas. I'm going to do the skirt in a solid DMC to avoid any issues. This is a fun stitch and it's moving along pretty quickly, at least for me.

I'm just about done with my Merry Cox project. I only have the cloth bag left to make. I debated about even making it, because I'll probably never use it but I have all the kit pieces so might as well. I hope to have pics of my finish after this weekend.

PS Wreath finish

I didn’t meet all my July goals but I did make progress at least. I finally finished the last of the Prairie Schooler Santa Claus ornaments I was making. Last year Tanya (The Sampler Lady) had a Prairie Schooler wreath SAL. You picked a PS ornament design and made a set of ornaments to put on a wreath. I don’t think too many people finished their set for Christmas last year as I saw only a few finished postings. Tanya has removed the blog she was keeping for it but at least my completed wreath will be ready to hang up this Christmas! I bought a wreath on sale last year but you’ll have to imagine how they will look on it – it’s stored up in the hot attic and believe me – the attic is not a place you want to visit in July in the southwest. I didn’t want to make all my Santas red so I stitched a variety of colors. You can see them closeup by clicking on the picture. I’m happy with how they turned out and it’s one more item off of the UFO list I’ve been working on this year.

Now I want to thank Sherry for nominating me for the KreativBlogger Award. Thanks very much Sherry! It’s nice to know someone out there is reading my blog now and then and I’m not talking to myself! I love reading blogs and there are so many I read and enjoy that it is very hard to just pick 5 to nominate but here they are. This is a nice way to get to know and visit blogs you may not have on your list.

Wendy - Home At Work

Carol - Just Carol

Margie – Three Cool Pugs & Me
Chris – Chris Cross Corner
Cathy B – Needle & Thread

Here are the rules:

1 The winner may put the logo on her blog.
2 Put a link in your blog post to the person you got the award from.
3 Nominate 5 other blogs.
4 Put links to the nominated blogs.
5 Leave a message for your nominees.

I recently made a purchase at the online Fat Quarter Christmas shop. If you like to buy quilting fabric (or just browse) it’s a great website with very quick service. I saw this Christmas line by Moda and just had to have it. It’s called S’mores. I bought a 40-piece “layer cake” sampler pack (10” squares) and some yardage as well for a quilt. I just love the cheery colors and the S’mores motifs. Now to find a pattern that will work for the fabrics. I don’t know where I’ll find the time to make it but when has that mattered before when buying stash?!


DH and I just got back recently from a 4-day trip to San Francisco with another couple. We had a great time and I’ve posted a couple photos at the end of this post. We took a limousine wine tour of Napa Valley – stopping at 5 different wineries and having an outdoor lunch at one of them. We toured Alcatraz, visited Chinatown, and drove up to Muir Woods to see the giant redwoods. It was wonderfully cool and breezy – I loved the weather and what a nice break it was from our summer heat here in the desert. We have a lot going on in the next few months – I’m going on a trip to Durango Colorado next week for 4 days. There’ll be 5 of us – all girlfriends of mine from work that I’ve known for 12 to 15 years. We’ve been through thick and thin over the years - especially with the crazy place we’re employed at (which shall remain unnamed to protect the innocent). We’re renting a minivan for the drive up to Colorado and then renting a condo. It’ll be a fun “girls getaway”.

My focus this weekend is working on the finishing for the Merry Cox class project from last November. Yes, it’s been sitting since then my friends. The stitching is all done but I still have some assembly to do. I picked up a couple of stash items today - Needlework Shop by Country Cottage, Quaker Christmas from ByGone Stitches, Strawberry House from LHN and a handmade threadholder/ruler with the name of my LNS on it.

Muir Woods - Giant Redwoods
Coppola Winery

Jail Cell at Alcatraz!

View of San Francisco from Alcatraz Island