Michigan's Upper Peninsula, August 2025

I had the pleasure of visiting the Upper Pennisula of Michigan in early August.  My husband and I rented an Airbnb for the second time.  "Graystone Cottage" is located near Lake Linden, MI.  The cottage sits on my favorite lake, Lake Superior.

 We spent one night in Eagle River, WI along the way north, from our home in Madison, to the U.P.  Once we reached Houghton, MI, we headed for Portage Quilt House, not far from Michigan Tech.  A considerable amount of fabric was purchased.  In fact, we made a second stop there later in the week!  A large amount of hand dyed yarn was purchased at the Wood 'n Spoon in Mohawk, MI.  They also sell fresh baked, yummy cookies.  Be sure to stop there if you're visiting the Upper Peninsula. 

Heading into Houghton, MI.

Graystone Cottage (Airbnb photo)

Graystone Cottage (Airbnb photo). Lake Superior is in the background.

Beautiful sunrise.

                                                  Another pretty view from the cottage.

                                             

                                                          Pretty road, Upper Peninsula.

 

 

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

Closing of Joann Fabrics, May 2025

The rumors had been circulating for several years.  Bankruptcy had been filed . . . more than once.  The sad reality was that Joann Fabrics was going out of business.  Mistakes were made at the corporate level.  Joann’s was at one time, an efficient, and affordable, option for many.  It was one of my favorite stores. To those business owners who publicly trashed Joann Fabrics, guess who looks bad?  Not Joann Fabrics.  

Yes, I purchased a lot of goods and fixtures from Joann’s before they closed permanently. I made some longterm friends among the employees there over the years.  I’m hopeful that those who wanted to continue working, found jobs.

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

Urban Sketching Retreat in Racine, WI

What fun it was!  Attending my first urban sketching retreat was a joy.  This retreat was held in late February/early March at Taylor Hall, part of the character-filled DeKoven Center complex in Racine. Fortunately the weather was exceptionally nice for winter travel.  Sponsored by the Racine Urban Sketchers group, the event was open to all enthusiasts of any ability.  I’m a newbie to urban sketching and I still have a lot to learn about it.  I was warmly welcomed and accepted.  The multi-day retreat fee included lodging, 3 classes, and most meals.  There were approx. 30 attendees, with a number of them from other states.  

I stopped at several businesses while enroute from Madison to Racine.  Schoolhouse Antiques, in Sturtevant was my first stop.  Found some buttons, buckles, and other curiosities there.  From there, I headed east, to Sew & Save in Racine.  I bought two pieces of Riley Blake calico. I’m making blouses out of each of those fabrics.  I’m embellishing the bubblegum pink blouse with vintage lace.

If you like to sew and you visit Racine, WI, you must stop at this store!  Friendly owner and staff!

Taylor Hall, part of the DeKoven Center complex.  Built in the late 1800's, this building housed retreat attendees.  Wonderful meals cooked onsite added to a festive atmosphere.

All of the sleeping rooms have names/labels.  My room was labeled "Abundance".

This room served as a classroom and meeting spot.

Several of the "throwdowns" during our retreat.  This is when everyone displays their sketches.  It's a fun, non-judgemental event!

Beautiful Lake Michigan is a short walk from Taylor Hall.

Pretty view on the DeKoven campus.

Meeting up with my friend, Denise Zingg was enjoyable.  Denise and I attended the same high school here in Madison.  I hadn't seen Denise in 50+ years,when I discovered she founded, and directs, the Spectrum School of the Arts in Racine.  Spectrum is on DeKoven Center property!

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

North to Alaska!

Note: after a long absence from updating this blog, I’m now adding a number of new posts. Many have been backdated (I’m adding them months later).  Hope you enjoy them!

We had the great pleasure of visiting Alaska again.  We have been there many times, but never in winter!  Our trip, a Holiday Vacations tour, was scheduled in  mid-March, giving us a chance to see the Northern Lights from the Last Frontier.

The tour started in Anchorage, a beautiful city in a beautiful setting!  It was cold and icy, with record snowfall on the ground.  We were well prepared with down coats, long underwear, and snow boots.  We spent several nights in Anchorage, before being bussed to Talkeetna. Talkeetna has a quilt shop these days!  And, the world’s best pizza at Mountain High Pizza. Oh, and the Mayor is a cat!!  With very limited time, I visited the quilt shop and was unable to meet Mr. Mayor.  Some members of the tour group met him . . . said he was quite friendly.  I purchased some Alaska-themed fat quarters at the quilt shop.

 

 

 

 

Anchorage, as seen from the 14th floor of the Hilton Hotel.  This view is looking east towards the Chugach Mountain.

 

 

 Couldn't pass up a visit to the Musk Ox Producers Co-Operative.  It's a six block walk from the Hilton Hotel.  Record snowfall in Anchorage meant big piles of snow everywhere.

 

 

View from our bus, while traveling north from Anchorage to Talkeetna.  This view is looking westward towards the Alaska Range. 

 

 

Following a bus ride to Talkeetna for lunch, we visited the Dallas Seavey Kennels.  Dallas was racing in the Iditarod at the time, so we did not get to meet him (he later won the race).  Visiting the kennels and being pulled by a dog sled was one of the highlights of our trip.  Jim served as a musher for our sled.

 

 

 

After our sled adventure we cuddled with our lead dog.  

 

 

 

We spent one night at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge.  The lodge is slightly southeast of the town of Talkeetna.  Added note: we saw 3 moose IN Talkeetna as we were leaving to head for the lodge.

Lots of snow in this area!  Really nice hotel! 

Watching the northbound train pull in at the Talkeetna Depot.  The Alaska Railroad calls this train the 'Aurora Train" in winter.  Our destination was Fairbanks.

 

 

 

The train made a brief stop at the Denali Park Depot.  I've been here in the summer when there are hundreds of passengers waiting for the train.  Nobody waiting this time.  Passengers were allowed to get off the train and stretch their legs.  Second photo below: Jim and I, with the train's conductor. He spent some time chopping ice of the stairways to the train during this stop. 

 

 

 

       

Another highlight of the trip: Northern Lights viewing at the Aurora Pointe Activity Center.  This venue is approx. 12 miles northeast of Fairbanks.  Our group had reservations for 3 night in a row.  The center is open from 10 p.m. til 2 a.m.   These first two photos were taken on the first night.  The lights were not seen the next two nights.  The last photo was taken in Fairbanks at the Westmark Hotel just before our tour group was taken to the airport for the overnight flights home.

   

    

  

 

     

 

 

 

 

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

John C. Campbell Folk School 2023

THIS could be the year that you visit the awesome John C. Campbell Folk School!  I was 

lucky enough to take a one week workshop there last month.  The school is located in Brasstown, NC. Brasstown is in the southwest corner of the state.

I learned some new techniques in the Shibori Dyeing class taught by Emily Ayers.  Following are some photos from my most recent trip to Brasstown.  I have now taken three classes at the Folk School.  I’ve also taught two classes there. 

I made a dress and harem pants several months before traveling to Brasstown.

I used Kona PDF (prepared for dyeing) cotton for those garments.  See before and 
after photos below.

I purchased a white jacket from St. Vincent’s here in Madison before heading to 

North Carolina.  I didn’t pay much for it.  I thought it would be a good candidate 

for dyeing.  And it was!

I also dyed some cotton fabric yardage, a silk scarf, and a pair of socks!  It’s

pretty obvious that I love the turquoise range of color!

Stops Along the Way: Part 2

. . . and so my trip to North Carolina continues.  Day 1 of my drive ended in Effingham, IL.

Knowing that I was within range of Paducah, KY, I left my hotel in Effingham at about 6:30 a.m. The drive to Paducah was approximately 130 miles.  My next stop would be the quilter’s mecca 

known as Hancock’s of Paducah.  The store opens at 9 a.m. and I made it a point to arrive in

time for the store opening. 

 

The last time I was IN Paducah was over 20 years ago.  All previous visits have been with tour groups visiting the annual AQS quilt show there.  Paducah was overrun with quilters during those April trips!  My stop at Hancock’s in late May was a very different story.  I practically had the place to myself! There were one or two other shoppers looking around.  There WERE lots of employees gathering specific bolts of fabric to fill internet orders.

 

This landed in my car!  With gusty winds on the interstate, it was imperative that I add some weight to my car. 

As you can see, the sky looked ominous.  I encountered periods of heavy rain

 as I drove southeast across Kentucky after leaving  Hancock's.

I continued onward, via Interstate 24.  I worked my way to Nashville, TN.  I24 runs

along the east edge of  Nashville.  Nashville has a pretty skyline.  The traffic was

bumper to bumper and it took a long time to get beyond Nashville.  I made it to 

Murfreesboro for the night on this, my second day of the trip.  Murfreesboro has

connections to the Civil War.  The photo below shows a wall in my hotel room.

 

On day 3 of my trip, I left Murfreesboro and headed to the Chattanooga, TN area.

Again, Interstate 24 was busy, especially near Chattanooga.  I switched from I24, to 

I75, just east of Chattanooga.  With another quilt shop address preloaded into my 

GPS, I headed to Ooltewah, home of “Chattanooga Quilts”.  Ooltewah is about 20 miles 

east of Chattanooga.

Chattanooga Quilts is a shop filled with character!  And, lots of nice fabric!

 







With another day of driving complete, I arrived in Murphy, NC on Thursday afternoon.

My Friday drive to the John Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, would be less

than ten miles!

I’ve been to Murphy before.  I am familiar with both the quilt shop (Bless My Stitches) 

and one of the antiques shops in town. 

 

I found this large basket at Marketplace Antiques in Murphy.  The big basket is 

16” in diameter.  It caught my eye just minutes after I walked into the antiques

store.  This photo was taken after the basket traveled with me back to my home.

Thank-you for following along as I drove to North Carolina!  My next post will feature

photos of the John C. Campbell Folk School!