After a very busy summer I finally got away to tackle another 14er: Quandary Peak!

Here are a few notes on my hike:

Quandary Peak is located near Breckenridge Co, and other than Barr Trail on Pikes Peak it was the most crowded 14er trail that I have experienced. We got to the trail head at 7:30 and it was already almost too crowded to park. We followed\passed people the entire hike. This is not the summit for anyone seeking solitude.

The wildflowers were beautiful, and we saw lots of friendly pikas and mountain goats! The views from the summit are great as well.

This was my fourth 14er, but it was the first summit for my little hedgehog puppet, “Cupcake.” She rode in the top of my pack most of the way and just waved to the other hikers.

We stayed at the Bivvi Hostel in Breckenridge the night before the hike and it was awesome! It was a really fun and affordable place to stay near Breckenridge. Perfect blend of, casual and luxurious. Did I mention they have a hot tub? and really comfy bunk beds!

Maybe I have been reading too much, or thinking too much but hiking Quandary was a very thought provoking experience. Seeing all those hikers made me really wonder about the motivations of those seeking the summit. Why were they there? Why was I there? What makes some of us seek the mountains? I am not particularly athletic, so for me it is pure determination and love of hiking that gets me to the top.

My rule is, you can eat whatever you want within 24 hours of a 14er hike! I was distressed by the fact that I forgot to bring any chocolate though! Luckily, my hiking partner brought Justin’s chocolate peanut butter packets for the summit! Then my mom, who was our driver picked us up at the trail head with chocolate coffee crunch, mint chocolate cookies, and chocolate almond milk! Thanks mom!

After getting home from the hike I will admit I was a bit down, just because the fun and adventure was over. I suppose that is a good reason to start planning the next hike!

I read a quote once that applies to me (although I don’t know who said it first) “If it weren’t for the last minute I wouldn’t get anything done.” How true that is for my sewing projects! Besides, no dance or event would feel complete without the last minute rush to sew something pretty. On Saturday, March 22, 2014 I attended the Heather and Thistle Ball near Denver. Going to the dance gave me a good reason to finish a project that I have been working on for awhile. I started sewing this dress as a learning project, to practice different machine sewing skills. Also the fabric was a glittery purple chiffon, and I couldn’t resist making something with it! Actually I sewed most of this dress in just a few days…a few years ago, but I set it aside before hemming it! So, there it sat, unfinished in my craft room until I needed a new dress for the ball. I made a few modifications to the pattern like a gathered hemline and sashes that cross in the front and tie in the back. I used Butterick B5181 as the base pattern for the dress, and added crossover ties with long strips of the purple chiffon that was leftover. Here is a picture of the finished dress:

And the back of the dress, the chiffon goes over the shoulders, is sewn down at the base of the shoulder straps and ties in the back. The ties cover the zipper!

The Heather and Thistle Ball is an annual Scottish Country Dance event. Here is a link to a video on youtube that shows one of the dances at the ball:

Youtube Scottish Country Dance \”Kabin Fever\” Heather and Thistle Ball 2014

Well, time got away from me and it has been a long time since I made a new post. The last year has been very busy, so I had plenty to blog about, I just had no time to write!

Anyway, I thought I would start back with my most recent bucket list accomplishment: hiking the Manitou Springs Incline on St. Patrick’s Day 2014! I suppose that hiking the incline would probably not make it onto most people’s “bucket lists” but my bucket list does have a lot of silly little goals on it. Makes life fun! I spent the last year checking items off my list: I learned to swim, I stood in the Gulf of Mexico, I went on the first airplane flight that I can remember and I hiked two 14ers. Lot’s more too but for now back to the incline…

Around 1 mile and maybe 2000 feet of elevation gain. I made it up in 1 hour and 9 minutes. Pretty slow, but I am just glad I finished! Here I am at the top:

I made it safely to the top, and then jogged down Barr trail. It was so much fun! Then I slipped…tore the skin off my right palm and scraped my knee! So I had to finish the last part of the trail with blood dripping off my hand. The good news? My favorite hiking pants were undamaged in the fall! Here I am at the end, with my battle scarred hand:

Of course all this happened on St. Patrick’s Day, so I had to wear green.

If you are interested in purchasing needle felted hummingbirds I will be selling them at the 20th Annual Hummingbird Festival in North Cheyenne Canyon Park, in Colorado Springs, CO. The festival will be on Saturday, May 11, 10:00 to 4:00 pm.

Sometimes the elements come together perfectly to create something joyful and unexpected in a piece of art. Recently I challenged myself to create a companion piece to my first needle felted art doll “Dancing Flame”. In keeping with my elemental theme I wanted to design a doll which would embody the movement of water. Rain has always been one of the most inspiring elements to me, for the way it can cleanse and refresh the world. My inspiration for “Dancing Rain” was a moment of joy and serenity, dancing out into the rain to catch the falling drops. I actually did take these photos outside in an afternoon rainstorm, with the light changing from a soft gray to pale blue.

I attended a wire jewelry class today. Here are some of my samples. The pendant was an experiment in covering my soda bottle cap with copper wire!

I have added a new gallery tab to the site with photos of some of my original pieces of art, starting with my needle felted doll sculpture, “Dancing Flame”. She won 1st place at the Colorado State Fair in the needle felting category in 2012.

Photo by Robert MacDonald

I have opened an Etsy shop, for selling some of my needle felted hummingbirds and other creations. You can find it here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ByElizabethBarber

It is the last day of November and life has been so busy that I have not made a new post since September! Halloween and Thanksgiving have come and gone, and Christmas seems very close. The biggest project that I finished recently was my Halloween costume. Two days before Halloween I decided I wanted a costume inspired by Rapunzel from the Disney film “Tangled”. Of course that meant last minute fabric shopping, sewing and splicing together three separate patterns! I was very happy with how it turned out even though I sewed it in a hurry.The bodice pattern uses three layers, boning and eyelets, and I used a sleeve from a different pattern. Making the fabric for the sleeves took awhile because I had to sew pink ribbon stripes to lilac satin fabric to get the right look.

Here is the finished costume:

In October, with the encouragement of a friend, I accomplished something that I have been wanting to do all year; hiking Barr Trail on Pikes Peak! We took the Cog Railway to the summit and hiked down, approximately 12 miles. It was a beautiful and inspiring hike, with perfect weather. The fall colors were brilliant, with the aspen trees turning golden.

On the way down we rested briefly at Barr Camp, and I discovered that the Gray Jays will land on your hand to eat crumbs. It felt a little like an enchanted fairytale forest with friendly birds that perch on your hand!