sewtakeahike

Ringing it in with a grateful heart

Happy Happy New Year!

 

 

I always thought my parents were so fuddy duddy when they would say this, but where has the time gone?  It really does seem to move quicker now than when I was 10. 

 

 

2012 was full of many things; joy, sadness, inspiration, brokenheartedness, and elation.  Just when I was feeling drab, something or someone would inspire me.  When I was feeling down in the dumps, someone would encourage me.  And when I was heartbroken, friends came along side me and cried with me and hugged me. 

Through it all, I am so thankful for 2012.  After all, it brought

• the most wonderful dream of a partnership with Kerry in Sew-Ichigo.
• a renewed sense of where I fit in the quilting world when I was asked to teach at QuiltCon (which is coming up in a few short weeks!)
• reminders of what's really important in life
• time with L-man doing the things we love
• closer bonds of friendship
• Instagram! :)
• a deepening desire to improve and make a difference

 

 

And then, just a few days ago, I received a note from Lisa at the Moda Bakeshop telling me that my Isosceles Picnic quilt was one of the top 10 viewed projects at the Moda Bakeshop in 2012!  Get.out!!!

 

So to each and every one of you that take your precious time to visit sewtakeahike, leave comments and touch my heart, thank you.  Thank you for a wonderful 2012!

And to thank you from the bottom of my heart, Ben at Saral Paper and Kimberly and the gang at the Fat Quarter Shop for being long time sponsors. 

Here's to a super 2013!

 

xo,

Penny

San Juan River Thanksgiving

For Thanksgiving this year, L-man and I decided to do something a little different. 

 

We went on a 3 day float trip down the San Juan River in Utah.  It was a bit chilly at night, but nothing a fire didn't cure!

 

 

We took a few side hikes and saw several Anasazi ruins, petroglyphs and pictographs

 

 

 

 

 

 

And we even saw a wild horse!

 

 

and of course, the general scenery was breathtaking and inspiring.

 

 

 

 

 

I hope your weekend was filled with family, friendship and memory making times!

xo,

Penny

 

 

 

 

Camping, hiking, scouting and clamshells

Well hello!  I hope you had a great weekend? 

Lenny and I were able to get out and do some camping, hiking, scouting, (Lenny will be going hunting in a few weeks), sightseeing, and I got some hand sewing done.  We also slept a lot!  It was a goooooood weekend! 

Here are some photos of the weekend.  The leaves are changing a bit early this year and it appears we have great timing:

 

 

a bridge in Grand Lake:

 

L-man in his hunter orange

 

Pine tree homage:

 

and of course, no matter where I go, there's an iced latte happening.

 

And lastly, some hand sewing.  I started out using Molly Flander's clamshell tutorial and added a few other details and steps.  I'll be doing a tutorial soon for those interested!

 

 

Happy Monday!

xo,

Penny

Yurting weekend

 

This last weekend was full of surprises here in sewtakeahike-land. 

 

We had been planning a yurt weekend trip to enjoy some backcountry skiing with friends, but when we got to the yurt, this was the scene. 

Beautiful, but without much snow.

So instead of skiing, we ate, played uno, made sauce, dyed eggs, and napped. 

 

 

 

I guess we did get a few short hikes in there as well, with some impromptu snow angels.

 

 

The lack of snow was difficult to swallow at first, but once we settled into lounging, it was all good.

How was your Easter weekend?  Hopefully as blessed as ours was, spending time with good friends!

 

Trip report and a GO! baby giveaway!

 

It was a remarkable weekend for L-man and I here in Colorado. 

We packed up our tent and gear into a friends truck and headed down near Gunnison for the weekend.  We camped out and on Saturday morning, shuttled our gear to the Gunny Gorge trailhead and hiked it all a little over a mile, down to the river.

 

Here is the raft roll, which L-Man, Curt, Matt, and I carried.

 

Down at the river, it was a sight to behold:

 

This trip is definitely my favorite one we took this summer!

The canyon was amazing (although I wasn't able to get any pics until the rapids were done),

 

 

and spending time with friends was priceless.  I'm so regretful that I didn't get a group shot of all 12 of us together though.....  I AM however, so very thankful that L-man took the time to put the trip together, that Curt allowed us to carpool with him and his daughter Arwen, that Lance and Heather graced us with their presence and allowed us to use their raft, that I finally got to meet John and Alex (two of L-man's kayaking friends) and for the donuts that Lance and Heather brought (boy did they taste good after a long day on the river!)  And last but not least, I'm thankful that Arwen took an interest in sewing and sewed several yoyo's for me while we were in the car (the drive was about 6-7 hours one way!!).

So enough about my weekend, lets get on with the giveaway!

 

As you have probably guessed, the fine people at Accuquilt are offering up a go! Baby and your choice of 3 dies to one sewtakeahike reader!

All you have to do to enter is leave one comment on this post telling me what your favorite thing was that you did this summer.  And if you didn't have a chance to do much this summer, tell me what your dream summer trip would be.

I'll leave the comments open until the afternoon of this Thursday, Sept. 15.

Good luck to you!

~Penny

 

 The giveaway is now closed!!