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

Mindful Mixed Media Art Quilts

I enjoyed my first visit to Woodland Ridge Retreat in Downsville, WI.  This venue, owned by my friend Chris Daly, is in a pretty rural area not far from Menomonie,WI.  I was there to take Deborah Fell’s workshop on art quilts.  Class dates were September 10 - 14.  This was an enjoyable class, with a great teacher, classmates, and retreat owner!  The meals were excellent, as well.  Update: Deborah, our teacher, was quite ill at the time of the workshop.  Sadly, she passed away the following spring.

Below: my workstation and some of the pieces I made in class.

Below: students and teacher (Deborah is in the front row,wearing a green shirt. I'm nearby,wearing a purple quilt show shirt.  Photo by Chris Daly.

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

2024 Wall Quilt Show, Portage, WI

I have a quilt in the current Wall Quilt Show at the Portage Center for the Arts!  See my photos.

My quilt is titled “In the Shade of the Old Cupcake Tree”.  It was originally made as an entry in a Great Wisconsin Quilt Show challenge.  The challenge theme was “baking”.  P.S. The vest I’m wearing was made for a different challenge, in a different show, 20+ years ago.

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

September Happenings

Calling all fiber artists!  If you’re available September 7th - 10th, consider attending one, or both, of these events!

The Great Wisconsin Quilt Show and the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival have overlapping dates.  Both are excellent events offering classroom instruction, exhibits, and massive vendor malls!

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

Road Trip to Northeastern Minnesota

This is a long overdue post!  I took a trip from my home in Madison, WI, to 

Grand Marais, MN in late November, 2019.

  

I made some stops along the way and they are pictured in this post. I was heading to 

the North House Folk School to take a "Blanket Coat" workshop Nov. 21 -24th.

The workshop was taught by Carol Colburn of Duluth.

First stop:  Busy Bobbin Quilt Shop, Rice Lake, WI, Nov. 19, 2019.
I ALWAYS stop here if I'm anywhere near Rice Lake!  I did not leave empty-handed!

I stayed overnight in Superior, WI.

Photo below:  killing time before stores opened in Duluth, MN.  Parked in Canal

Park, an area I love.  Wed. Nov. 20, 2019,

First shopping stop on my Duluth Docket!  Hannah Johnson Fabrics, located in

the Lester Park neighborhood of NE Duluth.  The owner has Madison connections

. . .  her daughter attended U.W. Madison.

Located a few blocks north, and on the same street as Hannah Johnson Fabrics,

is Yarn Harbor. A wonderful and cozy shop.  I found some hand-dyed yarn here.  

Oh, and a few knitting needles too.

A trip up the North Shore always involves a photo op at Split Rock Lighthouse.

The lighthouse was not open to the public at this time . . .my husband and I 

have been in it on previous Minnesota trips.

Quilt Corner, in Beaver Bay MN, is always on my list when I'm in the area!

Lots of north woods looking fabrics and a friendly owner.  With a winter storm

warning issued for NE Minnesota, I worked fast!  I made it to Grand Marais ahead

of the storm.   I stayed at the Best Western in Grand Marais.

Lots of snow and ice overnight!  Glad I got there a day ahead of my class start

date.

Beautiful Grand Marais, MN harbor, as seen from the North House Folk School.
Photo taken Thurs. eve Nov. 21, 2019.

The Blanket Coat class was being held in the "Boat House" at the North House

Folk School.  This photo was taken before the class began on Thurs. night.

We sure had a great view!



We used wool blankets for our coats.  I purchased a vintage wool blanket on etsy 

several months before the workshop.  This is my worktable (while it was still

neat).




These are muslin samples, made by our instructor.  They are used to determine 

what size pattern we wanted.  Students tried on different sizes to see which best 

suited their personal wearing style.  The coat pattern we used was designed by

the instructor, Carol Colburn.

My pattern pieces have been cut out.


Icy weather in Grand Marais!  North House Folk School grounds.


Teacher’s demo table.


Sunday, Nov. 24th was the last day of class and a beautiful day it was.  One student 

needed to leave the day before for a travel commitment, so he isn’t pictured.

Our teacher, Carol Colburn, is the lady holding the white Hudson's Bay coat.

We did not finish our coats in class, but we had good instructions for completing

them at home.  Needless to say, my coat still isn't done.  Finishing it will be a

wintertime project!   I loved the workshop!  I drove back to Superior, WI on

the 24th.  Stayed overnight there, then returned to Madison on the 25th.  I put

900 miles on my car during this Minnesota trip!

Gallery of Eye Candy

 Greetings,

This will be my only post this month.

I've decided to feature some of the work I've done over the years.
I've posted 5 photos so far. I will be adding more photos to this post!

"Twinkling Vesta Fiesta" (2005)

"Jacque-ette Cousteau"

Untitled

" Sew Suzanne"

 "Night of the Living Thread"

"Shaggy Raggy Baggy"

"Truly Tealy Vibrant Vest"

"Garden of Heartfelt Love"

"Who Will Sing for Me?"

All text and images ©️Suzanne Myers Otto

Fit for a Prince

The 2018 Cherrywood (fabrics) challenge contest featured purple fabrics.

The theme focused on the late singer, Prince.  I purchased the challenge packet

in November of last year.  The entry submission deadline was 11:59 p.m.,

July 2nd.

I made a last minute decision to create an entry and submit it for

consideration.  How last minute?  I started my entry on June 30th, 

two days before the deadline.

The four Cherrywood hand-dyed Challenge fabrics are shown below.

 

 Photos below show my quilt in progress. I pieced a top out of various cuts of 

the challenge fabric.  I cut paisley shapes out of lavender lace and applied them 

to the quilt top using decorative machine stitching.  I added streaks of bronze

Jacquard (brand) Lumiere paint. A few lavender and white flowers were

randomly placed and hand stitched to the quilt top. The quilt has a thin, mostly

cotton batting.  I machine quilted the top before I added the binding.

My finished quilt is shown near the bottom of these photos..  I titled it
"Free-spirited Flamboyance: Raining Purple Paisleys".  It is 20" x 20", the
required finished size. While my quilt did not make the final cut, I enjoyed
creating it!

Quilt Expo 2018 Bake Off Challenge

I spent a good chunk of time this month working on my entry for

the Quilt Expo “Bake Off” challenge.  Entries are to feature a baking

or baked goods theme. Completed quilt must be 30” wide x 40” high.

I started hunting for fabric in early spring this year. I found an attractive
cupcake print at Joann Fabrics. I  purchased both the turquoise/white fabric, and the
yellow (cooking terms) fabric, at Blue Bar Quilts. I didn't know at the time how
I'd use those two fabrics. In the end, I used one for the background, and the
other for the "cabin"and for the quilt backing! Fabrics from my stash were used
for the tree and grass.  I came up with my design while watching a P. Allen Smith
garden/home show on Wisconsin Public Television.

I used raw edge applique and free motion quilting techniques to create my
quilt!  The cupcakes were cut from the print I found at Joann Fabrics. I used
the same fabric to bind the quilt. My quilt was enhanced by the use of brightly
colored rick rack, vintage tatting, and heat set crystals. The end result was an
only-in-my dreams cupcake tree!

My finished challenge entry, “In the Shade of the Old Cupcake Tree”, is
pictured below.  I submitted my entry about ten days ahead of the June
30th deadline!

Strawberry Fields Forever

It all started with this . . . assorted strawberry-themed fabrics. A few tone-on-tone fabrics
in related colors were added to the pile. I like strawberries because they’re so pretty! And,
they taste good! I decided to make a vest from these fabrics.  My vest is not yet finished,
but you can see what I've done so far, by continuing down the page.

I made some Seminole patchwork strips while at an art retreat in early April. These strips
will be incorporated into my vest.



Once I cut pattern pieces out of the batting, in this case, cotton flannel, I started playing with
layout ideas.

This is a “rough” layout of the vest back.



I moved pieces around on the  front sections of the vest. I tried two different layouts. Note, some of the fabrics have traded places!

I liked the second layout (below) best.


When I reach the point of having the entire vest pieced, I’ll start adding some

embellishments. Typically I’ll start by choosing some novelty threads and yarns to be

hand-couched atop the patchwork. Photo below shows what I’ve chosen to use on my

strawberry-themed vest, so far!


Decorative strands are hand-couched in random arrangements. Using regular sewing thread, I pull needle and thread from the batting side to the pieced side. I then stitch over the strand about every1/4 to 3/8  inch. I give a slight tug to each stitch to create added texture. I will continue to add many
more pieces of yarn and decorative trims.





The two detail shots below show my hand-couched trims.  More progress will be shown on a
future post!