(With a 3 and 6 year old)
(cross-country)
(for 3 days and 2 nights)

We had a ton of fun on our train trip to San Francisco last week! If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter (@madebyrae) you probably saw a few pictures from our trip already! We spent one day traveling to Chicago from Ann Arbor, one night in Chicago, three more days (and two nights) on the train, four nights in San Francisco and then flew home. It’s important, I think, to think of your train trip not in comparison to flying (it’s not cheaper, or faster, for sure), but more as a portion of the trip. It’s a great way to spend time with your family…

This week Thursday, January 24, is Visit Your Local Quilt Shop day, so I’m participating in this weekend’s blog tour to raise awareness for the event and get more people shopping locally for their fabrics. I feel a bit hypocritical writing this post though, truth be told, because in all honesty I would love to shop more frequently at *my* local shop in Ann Arbor, but sadly they cater to a very different type of sewist than I — one who is more traditional and enjoys a wall full of batiks, for instance — that I have a hard time finding the fabrics I want there (and yes, if you’re wondering, I have offered my feedback, no surprise to…

Elliot thinks that name is so funny. Earplanes. I am always amazed at how many people have not heard of these, and after someone inquired on Instagram (Clementine is wearing them in this picture), I thought some of you might be interested.

You can find these at just about any drugstore, and the “kids and smaller ears” size just fits Clementine, who is now 3 and, as we discovered on the way to and from Florida last month, really knows how to throw a tantrum when the airplane ascends/descends. Also, what’s with the apostrophe in the word “kids?” I know I’m no Punctuation Queen but seriously. I feel like it should be after the “s” or not at all.…

I’m going to be in the Seattle area next week and I’m excited to announce that I’ll be at Dry Goods Design in Ballard on Thursday evening, December 6th, to help celebrate the opening of their new make*do*mend studio space. A sewing studio full of Berninas??? Awesome!!

Here’s a blurb from Dry Goods: “December 6, 2012 – Open Studio Night with special guest Rae Hoekstra of made-by-rae.com and creator of the famed Washi Dress Pattern. Join us for our first studio night in the new make*do*mend at Drygoods Design space! Rae will be speaking to sewing clothing, tips and tricks on the Washi Dress, fun variations and more. You will also get the…

Never fond of finishing what I start before the next thing, I pooped out before I had a chance to write all of the “Best of Quilt Market” posts that I wanted to…but I can’t stop thinking about a few other cool things that were at Quilt Market that must see the Light of Blog. Anna Maria’s booth was one of them!

You already know I love Anna Maria Horner’s fabric designs (hello shower curtain?? And to the two or three ladies who keep emailing me repeatedly to ask if I will sell it, I’m very sorry but it’s not for sale). Her latest line, Field Study, is currently vying for the award of “favorite AMH fabric line” in my heart (with Good…