Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Michigan and 4 years ago

Hellooooooooooo!

I hope you had a fun Memorial Day weekend. We did! We celebrated David's birthday and had a wonderful visit from my sisters in law despite all the rain. Some days I feel like I live in Seattle instead of Wilmington! ;)

So a month ago, I was invited to give a "Chat and Play Date" with the Thornapple River Rippers Quilt Guild in Hastings, Michigan. This was the first time I had ever been to Michigan and this was also the first time I had 22 students in my class. They were all so wonderful and we had a great time making my Peter's Pumpkin.




This cute lady is Jane. I loved her clothes and sense of style. I'm good at decorating a house, but I am terrible at decorating myself. hee,hee,hee. I'm always in awe of people who can put fun outfits and accessories together.


This is Rebecca, the President of the guild. She is a doll and a professional painting contractor. I had the most wonderful dinner with her and enjoyed getting to know her better. What a terrific lady! Oh, and I totally wanted to steal her shoes!


This is Sally. I was soooooooooooo excited she brought her little hexie quilt for me to see. Can you believe there are 1100 little hexies in that thing! OMG!!! She made me the most delicious salad for lunch. Thanks Sally!



One of the most wonderful and best things about the trip was being able to meet my blog friend, Brenda. It's so exciting getting to meet friends in person. Brenda is such a doll and I was so grateful for all the help she gave me schlepping my gear hither and yon especially in the rain.


Brenda took two days off from work, traveled over two hours and stayed at the same Bed and Breakfast so we could meet. I loved hanging out with her.

She is an architect and so she loved staying in this Victorian B&B, the Adrounie House. She, her husband and her daughter also own an old historic home that they restored and remodeled. I loved seeing the photos.



This was the first time I had ever stayed in a B&B and Don and April, the owners, made it a very special treat. April made the most incredible oatmeal I have ever eaten. Brenda and I enjoyed tea in the parlor and we even took a 15 minute cat nap! LOL!!! If you are ever in Hastings, MI, be sure and stay in this lovely home. The bed was like sleeping on a cloud!



I had such a great time with my Michigan friends and am grateful and honored they invited me to visit. Which brings me to four years ago. It's hard to believe that four years ago, I took a big hop of faith and decided to make The Raspberry Rabbits my full time job. I had been through so many changes after my job loss, the economy, etc. Looking back on this whole experience of growing a business, writing a book, designing patterns, teaching classes and so on, I sure have learned a whole lot. Some things were easy, but most things were learned the hard way. Moving forward, I'm excited about the new direction of my designs and the collaborations with friends.

This is Julie of Auntie Ju's Quilt Shoppe. She is the sweetest and also lives here in Wilmington. I have drooled over her gorgeous booth at shows for years. She carries so many wonderful wooly things.



I'm delighted to announce that my new designs in collaboration with my dear friend, Jules Woolford, whom I told you about last week, will be featuring Julie's hand-dyed wool. Here's how they look with our Valdani "Wilmington" collection. Yummy don't you think?



Going forward, I will also have a new class for 2017. I'm working on the designs now and should be able to show you them within a few months. The class will have a bit of a twist and something I think you will really enjoy while at the same time staying true to my beloved Folk Art Fusion style. More on that later.

Thank you for following along with me on my adventures. It sure has been so nice having your friendship and support. The bunnies and I are forever grateful.


Hugs and see you next Wednesday!
Michelle

11 comments:

Vroomans' Quilts said...

Looks like everyone was enjoying your class. How fun to meet so many wonderful people on a single journey. Your new collaberation will be a huge success.

Binka said...

Michelle, it looks like you really had a magically wonderful time! The B & B looks so charming! Thanks for posting all the pics!

Sparklyjools said...

Julie's wool felt looks fabulous with the Wilmington collection, Can't wait to see them!

Lesley said...

What a lovely post to catch us up! The class looks like they were having a wonderful time and all your pictures made me smile! Hard to believe it has been 4 years, and oh, how you've grown! Congrats on your line with Julie!

QUILTING IS BLISSFUL, DI said...

Hi Hannah--did you really let your momma go that far from home--all the way to Michigan???? It sure sounded like a fun trip for her and she met alot of lovely people there--
have a great big bunny day-
love, di

Jeanette said...

Sounds like a wonderful time with lovely ladies. Love the wool & Valdani. Just gorgeous. Hello Hannah you beautiful girl. Hugs,xx

Petal49 said...

Oh Michelle I would love to attend one of your classes. They look like so much fun but at least I have the internet to share. Love the new wool and threads. Nice to see lovely Hannah as well.

RG said...

Wow - Seattle - close to where I live now, and Hastings - close to where I was born ... all in the same post. I should learn to quilt. I would quilt the hex sign over our garage which has rabbits in it!

Uh - no. I took my pill. Back to normal now.

Next time go farther north in Michigan - along the BIG lakes!

Createology said...

Michelle with your sunny smile and wonderful happy attitude I can only see you and the bunnies being uber successful. How fun that you traveled and stayed in a B&B and got to meet creative people wanting to learn more from you. I love your Wilmington Valdani threads with those gorgeous wools. Embracing Creative Bliss...

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

And to top off all the magic, there is YOUR home where Miss Hannah-B and the memory of Harrington will forever welcome you back. Gorgeous Michigan; my husband has been there twice in the last month and loved it.

almtsbb said...

Ready to hop in the car and head to Hastings MI. (I wish) sounds like a wonderful trip.

Lady Hannah Goldenhare - Nothing Gold Can Stay

Hello dear friends, It's been a minute hasn't it? My last post was over a year ago. I decided I wanted to stay in my bubble where it...