Catch Up and pictures

I was lazy last week and didn't take a progress picture of the rotation piece I was working on or even put in a brief post here.

I had worked on the Sampler Guild of the Rockies tray liner and came so close to finishing it, but just couldn't quite get there! I've finished all the pockets stitching, 1 more border section and started another border section. There are only 2 border sections to be completed and I feel really good that I'll get them done the next time the piece comes up in rotation - the week of July 24th. Here are a couple of pictures of that piece.

The colors are a bit washed out, they are so pretty. The following rotation week for this piece I am hoping will be devoted to the "finish" finishing!!! That'll make another "New Start" challenge finish for this year. I never knew I could actually get a few of those done.

On July 6th, a friend and I went to visit Estes Park, CO. Although the monsoons had started by then and rain was expected in the afternoon, we took that chance. When rain comes to Colorado, the mountains almost always will get them first. But we were both off work that day; plus 5 area LNSs are participating in the Shop Hop this month and the 2 bonus shops are in Estes Park - a total win/win situation. I meant to take more pictures and only got some at the west end of town where the creek comes through - it was running quite high for early July, but the wild flowers next to the creek were so pretty. Here are the 2 shots that I got there.

We both came home with stash from 1 of the 2 shops. We had a nice lunch while up there and were able to sit outside under a nice overhang at the restaurant - good thing too as it decided to rain quite a bit while we ate!!! But it quit while we finished our stroll down main street. We got rain down the canyon on the way home and then I drove through a torrential downpour on my way home from my friends house. Little did I know that this was the first of 9 or 10 straight days of rain - many of them downpours and several with plenty of thunder and lightning. But we were so dry this winter that it was welcome. No rain at least at my house yesterday (I don't think that was true throughout the entire Denver metro area) which meant I got to go out and mow most of the jungle my yard has become!!! LOL Now we're supposed to be in the mid to upper 90s and maybe break the 100 mark this next week. YUCK!!!

Yesterday my friend and I continued on our Shop Hop adventure. One shop in Greeley (north of Denver) and the other in Cheyenne, WY. Both shops are fun ones to visit and I certainly didn't disappoint the owners by only being a "looky lou"!!! Yup, more stash! But I did find a couple of kits for 50% off and that's never a bad thing.

Next weekend, Saturday is a stitch day with my favorite group of friends - I love it when we all get together and then on Sunday, my friend Cindy and I (she's my Shop Hop buddy too!) will be going to Fanci Mats in Littleton for a one day retreat that she is doing! I love those too. AND she is the 5th shop in the Shop Hop so I will have visited all 5 and be able to participate in the drawing for all kinds of cool stuff --- and can we ever have too much stuff?????

I've been trying to work on my scissors case this last week and sadly have not gotten a lot done. I may take a picture later tonight but will probably not post pictures until after the next time it comes up in rotation in a few weeks. This next week I get to go back to the Swan Sampler - that is one I'm the most anxious to get finished this year and so am really glad to be back working on it!

That about covers my last 2 weeks and if you're still with me, thank you so much for your visit. While I usually feel I have a fairly boring life, I love to stitch and know this goes out to my other fellow stitch fanatics and really appreciate being able to share with you what I am up to as well as follow with what you all are up too!

Take care, hug friends and family and best of all, make time for stitching!!!

Debby