Days Go By ~ Enjoyed the Smokies & the East TN Shop Hop

It is amazing how quickly time passes. June has come and is almost over. We just returned from a family vacation in the Smokies. I think I have seen more mountains in the last month than I have seen in my entire lifetime. Trips to Missouri in May, Peru early June, and just returning from the Smokies has certainly offered some amazing views of God's handiwork. I am surprised that my dreams have not been filled with mountains!  Though all of the trips were different, each one was a blessing. I am looking forward to being home for a while now.

The Smokies are beautiful!

It was sad to see all the trees dying because of insects

that are not native to the area.

 

I don't think I have a picture here from Clingman' Dome ~ certainly a must see.

For those of you who are use to climbing,
the steep half-mile trail to the observation tower will not be difficult.
For the rest of us "non-climbers", well, there are resting points that get lots of use!

There is a beautiful view not many steps away from the parking area

for those who choose not to take the trail to the observation tower.

Unfortunately, it was quite hazy the day we visited the observation tower

and it did not offer the desired view.

It was unique, however, to be high enough to experience a cloud passing through

~ quite cool and refreshing!

While in Sevierville, Tennessee, I found out that there was an East Tennessee Shop Hop going on. Unfortunately, we were leaving a couple of days after I found out and I couldn't make the rounds to all the shops. I did enjoy getting to visit several shops and picked up several projects to work on.  Each of the shops had a goody bag for the participants that usually included a free block pattern and a fat quarter. They also offered their shop hop featured block with the included material for purchase for $5.  I could not pass this up, so I have several blocks to piece and then find a place to use them.  My sister recommended that maybe I put all the blogs in one quilt as a keepsake from the trip. I like her recommendation.  Since I purchased a block from each of the stores, I also have a second, duplicate pattern for each block, from each goody bag, that I can share.  So it seems that July might be filled with several quilting projects. I am thinking that I would like to do next year's shop hop with my mom and sisters. I think it would be great fun. I will have to see if they are interested. No rush though ~ we do have a year to decide. Below are some of the goodies that I picked up.

Before we left for our trip I signed up for a class that will take place in July and picked out the material I would need. It is suppose to be a good class for beginners (of which I would still consider myself). I am looking forward to actually getting a whole top pieced and moving on to the quilting.

  For the July class project.

 

Well, I have lots of stuff that needs to get done. May the Lord bless you all and fill your life with laughter and goodness as the days go by. Have a wonderful day!