Oct Sewing

 In early October,  DH and I spent a week in New Mexico. I had been there before on a sewing related retreat and knew DH, with his love of rocks and old railroads, would love it.  Planned activities were hiking,  hot spring soaks,  museums of all kinds,  heritage sites, scenic railroad rides, and great food. Daily weather in NM in Oct. can be quite brisk, near freezing, in the morning warming up to  mid 70's during the day.  I packed garments that  could be layered, coordinated well with each other, and would be appropriate for sightseeing or hiking.   I had planned  to sew many garments for the trip, but you know how that goes. We randomly picked the week, but by luck it was  one that coincided with both the hot air Balloon Fiesta and peak  fall foliage.  The Albuquerque, NM Balloon Fiesta was a one of a kind experience. The sight of hundreds of colorful balloon ascending into the sky is awe inspiring. If you ever get a chance to go, take it!

 
Leaving Albuquerque we drove north,  headed to Taos , There were numerous hot springs along the way, some just a short hike off the the main road where you can soak in either bathing or birthday suits, Other are commercialized, with the hot waters piped into soaking pools. And with sun shades, changing rooms and refreshments.  One of the items I sewed for the trip was a new two piece bathing suit. There are situations where  a 2 piece bathing suit makes changing (cars, semi public places) or using the facilities (the "facilities on small boats") easier than a one piece. So I always have one in my wardrobe, though it may not be my best look.

 This bathing suit is from an old pattern I have used before. Fabric was from my stash. 

We stopped at one of the commercialized hot springs and had a nice soak  under a clear blue sky. To be honest the water was a bit too hot for me. 

From Taos we headed up to Chama, near the the Colorado state line.  We took a ride on the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad,  which has  narrow gauge tracks and steam engines.  The scenery was spectacular.  The  aspen trees, which I had never seen before, had turned a bright yellow and contrasted beautifully with the brown rocks and evergreen trees.  The limited color scheme was so different from the red, orange and yellow of Virginia fall foliage. It was a nice change.

Heading south,  we stayed the night in Espanola. We had a great meal in a local restaurant recommended by a fellow train passenger.  And stayed at a family owned hotel with authentic adobe structures  and architecture  accented by hand carved corbels, portals and hand made Mexican tile floors. 

I wore my me made shrug set , a sleeveless cowl neck top and matching shrug from Burda Nov 2013.  I made it from a marled poly spandex knit from Walmart.  When I got too warm, I just removed the shrug and tied it around my waist.  It looked like a self fabric belt. I did shorten the tunic and added elastic to the edge of the shrug to keep it from stretching out.

Burda 11 2013 111

Burda 11 2013 shrug set

And finally to  Sante Fe. I highly recommend seeing the art collection in the State Capital building, visiting the Natural History museum and of course window shopping. I love being able to visit the Sante Fe Weaving Gallery, Santa Fe Dry Goods, and  other clothing stores featuring unique, artistic garments.  I always get so many ideas and inspiration  for my own garment making.

We  enjoyed it so much we are planning our next trip.