An Overdue Trip to Michigan for this Aunt

The end of October brought a long overdue trip to Michigan to visit the family.  I planned my trip to coincide with Halloween because I wanted to join in on the fun of trick-or-treating with niece Mackenzie (4 1/2 y.o.) and nephew Cameron (20 mo.) and newest nephew Benjamin (2 mo.).

We visited a cider mill and went pumpkin-picking.

Celebrated October birthdays (mine and sister-in-law's).


















Carved pumpkins...


















.....and took lots and lots of selfies. (I taught Mackenzie how to do this on my iPhone and now I have eleventy billion photos LOL!)

Trick-or-treating was short-lived as it snowed and snowed and the wind was blowing like crazy.  Only in Michigan....

My visit was much too short but I did fit in a trip to my favorite Michigan quilt store Mabelena's.  I picked up some new Fig Tree fat quarters for a soon-to-be project and some great Boo Crew fabric on sale for a future Schnibble project. 

 

My visit was way too short and I hope to get back soon before this little guy grows up too much.

Back from Michigan

I had a very quick and much to short long weekend trip to Michigan this past weekend.  It was niece Mackenzie's 3rd birthday and I met nephew Cameron for the first time.   Cameron is the cutest little guy!  He is 5 weeks old and the sweetest thing (I'll check with my SIL and see if I can post a photo). He is a very mellow baby and was happy to be held when I wasn't busy playing with Mackenzie.

Cameron's quilt was delivered to him.  And so Mackenzie didn't feel left out, I finished my "T is for Thelma" Schnibble quilt and gave it to her.

"T is for Thelma" Schnibble 

scrappy back

 Excuse the wrinkles, it was rolled and stuffed in my suitcase.

Mackenzie is faster than the fastest camera setting

 Mackenzie is in a "no photographs!" phase (she never stands still either) so this is the best photo I could get with her and her quilt.

Reminds me of Remy hiding under things.


I'm a sad auntie today missing the kids.  Hope to see them sometime this summer.

I'm Back! It's October! It's the end of October!

Sleeping on the job.  No help blogging here.

I did not realize it had been nearly a month since I last blogged.  Sigh.  What a bad blogger I've been this year.
















I just got back yesterday from a week long trip to Michigan to visit my family,

celebrate October birthdays,



and spend oodles of time with this little cutie

Mackenzie 2 1/2 years old.

 My sister-in-law, aunt, mom, and I spent some time sewing.  I finished the center of the Schnibbles quilt for this month "Hubble".  I am using "Serenade" by Kate Spain charm packs and Moda Bella Solid in Eggplant.

Love the autumn-ness of these colors.   

Mackenzie, dad, and I picked raspberries and made a raspberry pie.  Mackenzie *may* have eaten more berries than ended up in her basket.

Now to get caught up on everything.

A Quick Trip to Michigan

S. and I just got back from a very quick trip to Michigan to celebrate Mackenzie's 2nd birthday (Thursday - Sunday).

It is so hard to believe that she is two!

We had a great time. Her new favorite game is hide and seek and she would tell me where to hide.  I thought that kind of defeated the whole purpose of the game but who can debate with a two-year-old?  My favorite thing to do is hide in a different place so she had to look for me.  When I wasn't in my designated space she would yell "Gretchen!!!" It was hard not to laugh and give away my hiding place.

Mackenzie is such a happy little girl and she is so much fun to be around.  I miss her already.

A Boo-thday Party

Michigan Trip (continued)

My sister-in-law planned the most awesome BOOOOOthday party for me and decorated the house to full effect.

She made the place mats and napkins rings and covered bottles with new labels

And made these really cool pumpkinsAdding balloons, spiderwebs, and creepy crawlies everywhere.

My mom finished her Hocuspocusville quilt and had it on display.  

 Don't forget the eyeball punch!

Sweet and Savory Bakeshop in Oxford MI makes THE BEST CAKES!!!

It was a great booo-thday party.

  

A Saturday Back in Atlanta

Did you think I would never come back?  I really wanted to stay in Michigan because I was having such a super fantastic fun Fall time but I did come back Tuesday night.

And was very sad Wednesday to not have this little sweetie around.  

She looks like she is in a Smart Car.

If you look close, she has a Starbucks hoodie on.  You can only get this kinda cool if you have an aunt who works at Starbucks!


The rest of this week zoomed by and today I finally got around to unpacking my suitcase and downloading my photos.

Packed in my suitcase were the quilty goodies I picked up in Michigan at some of my favorite shops.  Mabelena's in Ortonville is a really great shop.  Brenda, the owner, is just the sweetest person, and the shop always has wonderful new stuff and shop displays for just about anything you are looking for.  As you can see, I found a few things to bring home.  Check out the awesome floursack tea towels I found.  Aren't the colors just great?  I'm planning some funky Halloween stitchery for these for next year.  I also picked up the book-azine "Sew Scrappy", some fat quarters, and a couple of half-yards.


We also went to Guildcrafters in Berkeley.  I love this shop too and they always have lots and lots of great samples and kits. The best thing about their kits is they have kits in a wide variety of price ranges and a wide variety of projects.  I picked up a cute owl pincushion pattern that I hope to make sometime soon. Another cool thing about the shop is their little pincushion kits (I have three from previous trips...).   I also picked up a few fat quarters in Halloween & Civil War fabrics.


More tomorrow....

Saturday: More Catching Up, Le Petite for April, Worthy Cause

OK I am all caught up on sleep after traveling, storm watch, general insomnia, and a too busy partial week at work. Whew!  Hopefully life is back to its normal hecticness. 

I don't like to advocate for causes in this blog because that's not what you readers are here for so skip down to quilt photo if you want.

First up, now that the Royal Wedding is over with, please consider refocusing your attention to the storm victims in the Southeast.  The devastation is horrific and residents need help.  I humbly ask you to do what you can for the organization of your choosing and thank you for anything you do good thoughts, prayers, donations, quilts, whatever. Thank you.

There are too many worthy causes in this world and I am often overwhelmed by the great need out there and feel helpless with the inadequacy of my "discretionary" income each month (or lack thereof). But when I think that I have an extra $5, $10, or $20 when others do not, I know that every little bit helps.  My choice:  I follow @HomerBlindCat on Twitter.  Homer is the blind wonder-cat from the book Homer's Odyssey who has captured my heart.  Homer's mom and author Gwen Cooper has set up a donation account for Canat Veterinary Hospital in Tuscaloosa, AL.  Read the blog post here. 
Many vet clinics and animal shelters in Alabama were damaged by the tornadoes and the heroic staff of Canat Veterinary Hospital is taking care of any and all animals hurt or lost by the storm. Donation page is here if you so choose.

OK onto Le Petite project for April. 

 I took my Le Petite project for April to Michigan with me and was able to complete it there during a couple of sewing days with my mom and SIL.  The pattern is a Schnibbles called Brocante by Miss Rosie and the fabric is Bliss by Bonnie & Camille for Moda.  (I used leftover charm squares to make Mackenzie 2 bibs.)   The background fabric is from my mom's stash because I forgot to bring background fabric.  Thanks mom and I owe you some fabric!

The square-in-a-square pattern is more subtle in my version of Brocante. I'll be interested to see the other versions in the parade. 

 While I was gone my goodies from Fat Quarter Shop came.  I was so lucky to win a FQS gift certificate from the Eventide quilt along and here are the resulting goodies:  Fig Tree "Strawberry Fields" jelly roll, yardage of Christmas owls and sweet kitties on gray, and 2 patterns.  HUGE thanks to Thelma at Cupcakes n' Daisies and Kimberly at FQS!!!

Another package arrived while I was gone. Thelma who did such a wonderful job hosting the Eventide quilt along, made and sent mug rugs to all the participants.  How sweet is that???!!!??? I will send Thelma a proper thank you but I just want to say a public thanks for such sweetness.  Thelma--Really, the fun of the quilt along was more than enough and I will cherish this cute mug rug as well as the resulting quilt from the quilt along. You are too kind!

 As frequent readers of this blog know, I love to help out the Michigan economy when I visit and save up my fabric acquisition money especially for the trip.   Here's some goodies from my favorite quilt shops in Michigan:  Lake Street Mercantile, Guildcrafters, and Mabelena.  These are for my Civil War Block of the Week (that I am now behind on...)

Another Stormy Night in the ATL

Hi everyone!  I'm back from Michigan with lots of catching up to do!!  I am WAY behind in reading blogs and getting posts together and getting photos ready to post and everything else. 


I had a fabulous time with my family.  Little niece Mackenzie is 13 months old and went from crawling to running.  She is always on the go and moving fast.  Faster than the speed of light (and camera-toting aunties). Full of giggles and smiles and babbling.  Love it!!!  Love her so much! 

Here's a quick post because of storms coming (this spring sure is bringing crazy weather!!!).  More Michigan posts coming including completed projects, fabric acquisitions,  maybe a couple more photos of Mackenzie, an Easter cake, and dinosaurs!

Here is one of two bibs that I made Mackenzie while I was up there.  Made from leftover Bliss charm squares and based on pattern in the Summer issue of Quilts & More magazine.  I made the bibs a little longer and wider to keep more of her clothes covered.    



I hope everyone is safe in the Southeast (especially my blog friends in Alabama!) & Midwest tonight.  Big storms coming. Be safe, be prepared, and make sure you have leashes/carriers/food/water/medicine for your pets! 

I am getting a disaster preparedness kit complied since this spring has been a wild one.  I have solar/hand-cranked flashlights & lantern and am working on a design for a bag.  Time to charge up the iPhone and flip to the Weather Channel.

Happy Earth Day from Michigan!

Hi everyone!  Happy Earth Day from the Great Lakes State!  I'm here visiting family, especially my little niece Mackenzie! She liked her quilt and knew exactly what to do with it--hug it lol.  I'll have photos next week or I may try to post via iVan the iPhone. 

For now, reduce, reuse, recycle and bring your favorite mug to Starbucks today for a free coffee.  Yum!  I have a travel mug I keep here in Michigan so you know I'll be stopping by the local SBux for some coffee. 

Extra Vacation Day

My flight back to Atlanta was canceled yesterday so I get to spend an extra day in Michigan!  It is COLD here--I mean really COLD!  7F with a windchill of -12F when I got up this AM.  Brrrrr!  There is about 5 to 6 inches of snow here and it's really beautiful (from inside!)  Photos and fun when I get back home!  Can't wait to catch up with all my blog friends (although I may need another vacation to get through all the posts!)

Michigan Report: Part 1

Finally got the photos downloaded and organized from my Michigan trip. So here's a little recap of my visit the first week of July. Most of the trip was spent entertaining Ms. Mackenzie who turned 4 months old and is as cute as she can be!
She loves going places and gets bored rather easily so I called her "miss high maintenance!". She likes to go go go and didn't want to take her naps or go to bed because she might miss something. We kept her so busy and entertained that she slept 11 hours straight after we left. Whew! I was exhausted too!

I also spent lots of quality time with nephew dog Jack who is doing a great job getting used to having Mackenzie as a baby sister. I always bring Jack extra-special dog treats when I visit. He likes pumpkin-flavored organic treats and will "talk" to me with little howls and barks until I get up and get him treats (not that his aunt Gretchen spoils him or anything....).
And we cannot forget the Princess Shiloh, my parents' dog (AKA my adopted half-sister) Shiloh is one of the calmest, most laid back dogs ever. She even likes to sleep late in the AM! (Wish the cats liked to sleep in some days...) Shiloh gets treats too don't worry about that!)

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you know my mom, SIL, and me always go on mini-shop hops around the area (not that we need more fabric but we like to help out the Michigan economy). I didn't do anything to help the MI economy this time though! We went to Mabelena's and I didn't buy a thing. How terrible! (I'm very happy they have a website, twitter, & facebook pages now so y'all can visit them too!)

We also took a day trip to Bay City and went to some of the best antique stores I've been to in a long long time. Everyone else bought stuff; I didn't buy anything. We even found this super fantastic historic building with a quilt store
I LOVE this building! It even has its original display windows. Gorgeous! You can visit Fabric Fair online too. I didn't buy anything here either... I feel like such a bad quilter...

I did find a great linen tablecloth at a yard sale for $3 though. Does that count?

Back from Michigan

Hey everyone! I'm back from a week long trip to Michigan to visit family and escape the heat and humidity of Atlanta. I need to catch up on everyone's blogs and find out what's been going on in the world. I do know that the Netherlands are going to the World Cup finals. GOOOOOO Orange! Photos and trip details soon....

Back from Michigan and Mackenzie's Big Day Out

S. and I went to Michigan for a long weekend (Friday was a furlough day). We left on Thursday and got back to Atlanta last night. I was so excited because I got to meet my niece Mackenzie for the first time in person. I am so happy that my SIL said I could put photos of Mackenzie on my blog because I know all my readers want to see The Cutest Baby Ever.

Here she is!!! 6 weeks old and stylin' in stripes!
Here she is in an outfit I bought for her (note: I do not "do" PINK for babies!).
I thought this outfit looked a little Tim Burton-ish from his Beetlejuice period what with the stripes and all. People who know me and my brother will completely understand. We are big-time Beetlejuice fans from way back. 1988 to be exact.

I also got to play with Mackenzie's big brother Jack. Jack says "I know I'm Aunt Gretchen's favorite because she brought me fancy organic dog biscuits and the baby got none haha! I'm also going to play with her toys when no one is looking hee hee!"

My mom, SIL, and I took Mackenzie on her first big day out....to a quilt store!!!! Yep, Mackenzie visited one of our favorite shops Mabelena (check out their website and you can "friend" them on Facebook too!).
She loved being at the quilt store and looking at all the colors. I guess the batiks put her to sleep though.
But of course, she is a Moda girl at heart! Look at that smile!!!

Anyway, S. and I had a great time visiting with family and playing with Mackenzie and talking about Mackenzie and taking lots of pictures of Mackenzie.

PS: I am not a "baby" person except when it comes to Mackenzie.
PPS: I already miss Jack...
and Mackenzie.

Happy Week Between Holidays!

Hello everyone from the frozen north! I have been absent in blogland and am way behind in finding out what everyone is doing. I am in Michigan visiting family this week and am very happy to be on a mini-vacation from work and work. It is COLD here and this Georgia girl has been wrapped up in quilts that I gifted my parents previously and trying to keep warm. (Note: this is a great tip, send quilts to where you visit and then visit your quilts:)

I arrived here on Christmas night after working at SBux and thankfully did not fly into Detroit and get caught up in the aftermath of Mr. Attempted Terrorist. Of course now one person has yet again ruined air travel for everyone else in the world. I still curse the shoe bomber for making me take my shoes off and walk around on dirty floors.... S. predicts that we will not be able to wear civilian clothes on airplanes anymore and that TSA will issue everyone Homeland Security Snuggies (remember you heard it here first!). Anyway...

I'm having a nice visit here with family and spent about two days sewing with mom. I brought Bonnie Hunter's "Double Delight" to work on and also a super easy jelly roll quilt so I alternate between millions of 3 1/2" square-in-a-square blocks and easy jelly roll blocks. Am also having fun visiting Princess Shiloh, my parents Alaskan malamute, and my nephew dog Jack, my brother and SIL's Siberian husky. Jack remembers me because I bring him fancy dog biscuits--this time it's organic pumpkin and apple cookies.

Before I forget, the cats had a great Christmas and loved their presents from purrfectplay.com. Edgar Poe squeaked by on the "good" list and received little catnip mice to throw around.

Happy Tuesday! Catch up with everyone soon!

Trip to the Cider Mill (Michigan trip part 3)

To me, one of the best things about fall is fresh in-season apples straight from the orchard and fresh apple cider. While I was in Michigan, my family took a trip to a local cider mill for cider and doughnuts. (note: in the U.S., cider refers to unpasteurized, unfiltered apple juice rather than the fermented "hard" cider that is bottled and has an alcohol content!)

This is Porter's Cider Mill. They don't have a website but I did find this fun website for finding cider mills in Michigan. It was too crowded with school group tours and people buying cider, apples, and pumpkins to get photos inside. Inside you can watch them sorting apples and pressing cider. You can get free samples of cider right from the press and buy freshly made cider doughnuts too. Cider doughnuts are cake-style doughnuts with cider in the batter giving them a tangy apple-y taste. My favorite are covered with cinnamon-sugar.
Outside were stacks of huge wooden crates filled with apples. I love that they still use wooden crates.
Apples in crates. Wish I had a shipping label with me!!!!

Autumn in Michigan (with photos this time)

I've been back from Michigan since Sunday but have been working overtime at day job plus SBux so I haven't had time to blog.

I had a fabulous time and it went by too fast. Unfortunately, it rained every day except for the day I arrived and the day I left. I did get a few photos of the leaves between the rain drops.

I know Karin wanted to see goodies from our quilt shop visits. My mom, SIL, and dad (we always drag him along...) went to Lake Street Mercantile and found Halloween fabric on sale. I have yet another idea for a Halloween quilt so I picked up these fabrics and some great ric-rac at Guildcrafters.

Lake Street also had some great shirtings and neutrals that just *had* to come along.

Mom and I did some sewing while I was up there. She is working on the Hocuspocusville stitchery and has a block all done! I am so jealous, mine is in little bags in a plastic bin waiting for me to start. My SIL worked on costumes for a play. I worked on "Scrappy Nines" and made a Halloween "smart bag" that was kitted up at another of my favorite quilt shops Mabelena's (sorry no website or blog).

Isn't this a great Halloween bag? I want to find some "bat" buttons to put on the folded over edge to tack down the handles.

My SIL besides quilting, making costumes, and lots of other crafty stuff, does papercrafts. She made me an awesome Halloween treats jar and filled it with caramel-apple flavored candy corn (make that "used to be filled" I had to try them out).

The TSA screeners at the airport were unfamiliar with Halloween papercraft treat jars and they had to check it out. It was deemed "nonthreatening" I guess and I was allowed to bring it home. Good thing!