Fleece frenzy

I went to JoAnn's yesterday for a spool of thread (just thread!), and well, their fleece was on sale. So was a bunch of other stuff, and I came away laden with bags of more things (dare I say crap?) I really didn't need.

I have had a love/hate relationship with JoAnn ever since she expanded and exposed me to several other crafts I really had no business getting into with an apartment the size of mine (Fimo, for example). I was a knitter before I was a quilter, so I was happy about her yarn selection, but do I really need a pasta machine exclusively for rolling polymer clay? I think she and her brother Michael are conspiring to suck the disposable income from people like me who have an incredibly low resistance to anything even remotely cute and creative.

And yes, I believe that, in order to complete any successful clay project, one does, in fact, need a pasta machine. I'm such a sucker.

Fleecy goodness!

My neighbors have been keeping my plants alive during my many vacations this summer, and I thought blankies for a busy mom of two would be a nice treat. I had bought them Mackinac Island fudge in August but ended up eating it out of frustration during a construction jam in Indiana on the return trip. So this is Plan B:

Gratuitous shot of Archie

I spent more time on this than I intended, so the second is still under construction. If I get home from work early enough today (say, before 8pm -- it is Monday, after all), I can probably finish it up and get back to my homespuns!

Quilter's booty

Well, one of the few goals I had this vacation week -- besides overeating and lazing to the point of utter sloth -- was to get to my favorite quilt shop. And despite repaving traffic woes in this northern haven that turned the quick four-miles into town into 50 minutes each way, fellow quilter Jody and I braved the possibility of idling forever (which was, after all, the theme of the entire vacation) on a two-lane highway narrowed down to one to get our fabric fix. Turns out the traffic was clear by Friday and we had plenty of time and energy left for shopping.


As expected, The Icehouse's fabric selection was fantastic. I restrained myself to a point and carried just the "Safari" jelly roll around with me for about a half an hour while I browsed. Luscious flannels, gorgeous florals, too many jelly rolls (and charm packs and layer cakes) to count and a striking wall of blues could have been my downfall, but I was being good...until I found the "Malibu Monkeys" fat quarters. Then realized I'd walked right by the yardage. So I went back to find it.

I'm such a sucker for that silly sock monkey fabric, and a sucker for my Monkey Girl, who absolutely loves my quilts. She's been living in Bermuda with her parents for five years (having moved from just down the block), and even though I see her fairly often for them being so far away, it's always hard to part after our week together up north. Every quilt, I tell her, is a big hug from Auntie Kate, so when she misses me, she can just wrap herself in it. And as long as she needs hugs (or until I get an "Oh. Another quilt?" reaction), I'll be making her quilts for Christmas.

My Monkey Girl, another year older

And the charm packs? Turns out we'd just missed their annual sidewalk sale the weekend before, and there was a half-price table near the register. Don't know what I'll do with them, but I know from experience that one charm pack is never enough, and two for the price of one? Come on -- who can pass that up?

And just so you can see my life isn't All Quilting, All the Time (though I'm really itching to get back home to my machine), I show you my approach shot from 140 yards out on the second hole of my favorite golf course. I can never do this -- my approach always ends up an $8 cab ride away from the hole and I end up three-putting. So I had to document it. Birdie!

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N!

After a brief stop in Ann Arbor for my nephew Christopher's 6th birthday party, this is where I get to spend most of next week:

(Yes, that's a real rainbow. Lake Margarethe, post-rain, August 2007)

For the 25th summer in a row, I'm off to the north woods of Michigan for a week of golf, giant breakfasts, tubing and laying on the dock doing nothing whatsoever.

And for the 7th year in a row, I plan to bite off more than I can chew, creatively speaking, at The Icehouse Quilt Shop, a cute little surprise along the railroad tracks in Grayling, a 1920's lumber center and now "Canoe Capital of the World," for its miles of navigable waters along the Au Sable River.

This shop has a great feel to it, and some wonderfully helpful employees and clientele to guide your choices or just talk shop with. Wonderful selection of brights, and fantastic samples covering the walls to get your creative juices flowing...if you're in the neighborhood, it's definitely worth a stop.

Did I mention there's a gift shop?