Steve and I have sure been traveling a lot this year, and July was no exception! When offered a contract to teach a two-day workshop for the Rocky Mountain Creative Quilters, I made arrangements to drive to Colorado instead of flying there. This allowed Steve to go along. He obviously got more time to explore the area than did I, but he also had to drive the entire way and back. (I got to stitch on wooden thread spool Christmas ornaments while looking out the window!)
I always finish and frame my demonstration pieces started during a workshop. After all, I'm encouraging participants to MAKE ART, not just another "sample" or a UFO (unfinished object). So, I do the same. This is one of the pieces I made in Colorado. The other got behind glass before I thought about snapping a photo. Further below are more images from our trip ... but first ...
... I've just finished four more "Window Series" pieces. I started them while teaching in Columbus, Ohio and finished one while in Colorado. Now, all four are framed. I'm also working on lots of other new work because the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show in November will be here before I know it.
On the way to Colorado, we overnighted in Burlington and got there in time for the last carousel ride. This is a fully operational, three-row, stationary carousel housed in a 12-sided frame building and the only antique carousel in the USA still having original paint on both scenery panels and the animals. It dates to 1905. Steve rode a large camel. I road a very pretty goat that looked much more like alpine steinbock. We had a blast! The museum was outstanding too.
I took dozens of photos of the carousel ... but ...
... didn't actually take that many while in Rocky Mountain National Park. I think I was just to overwhelmed by the natural beauty of the place. Plus ... it was COLD! At one point, slushy snow fell and accumulated on the window shield wiper!
There were banks of plowed snow at the visitor's center too! We saw elk and a marmot.
Yet, it was the tundra foliage that intrigued me most. I remember studying alpine flora and fauna while in Salzburg, Austria during the summer of 1976, but I really didn't get the sense of a severe, high elevation terrain until walking across the provided, paved trail at over 12,000 feet. The ground was a patchwork of tiny plants. It was lovely!
Steve and I also enjoyed a few microbreweries while in the Fort Collins area. Horse and Dragon was our favorite! Now ... back to work! I've got so many things I'm just dying to make!
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