Here are the results (in a very pretty Notion document) from my Fall Curriculum Survey. Feeling grateful for all who participated and for everything coming up. You are not alone in the patterns of your creative pursuits! 

Dear reader, 

What a gift to be alive in this sweet in between space. September, or what we call Local’s Summer here, when the tourists are gone and the kids are back in school. The beaches empty out and the year rounders luxuriate in the quiet and the peace and the special moments before the water turns too sharp for an easy plunge.

I hesitate to say it feels like Fall because I want to hold on to these last bits of warmth. But I did pull out a fleece yesterday to put on over my turtleneck and tshirt combo.

I’ve been steeped in the magic this weekend of the second annual Quilt Camp hosted by Green Door Folk School. As I write this I prepare my parting gift to each participant as well as a thank you note to Kristina, Green Door’s fearless leader who brings so much to this community. My gratitude to saylem celeste for co teaching and Ellen Rutt for vibe teching is endless. And these twelve students, I am speachless. None of them knew each other beforehand, no application process to curate a group, and they meshed into one beautiul quilt family. I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried.

This morning we end our time together with show and tell, which naturally makes me weep like a little baby every year. I weep at the ones who on day one said they didn't think they could even really figure out a sewing machine, showing us a whole ass quilt they made. I weep at the ones who prefer to work with a pattern and challenged themselves to break out and become improvisers. I weep at each of them for being brave enough to show up.

Yesterday during camp Michigan State University’s Quilt Index came so that folks could come by and add their family heirlooms to the archive. I added a quilt of my own as well as one my grandmother Marlys made, a woman I never knew but who I know so well through her stitches. The paperwork asked for a title so I texted my dad what he thought it should be named. Magic Remnant. Ah yes, the blessing of a soft scorpio father.

Meanwhile, Common Objects is coming along, our house and the pink shed filled with boxes. The couch, the cash register, the many boxes of candles and books and ceramics. I can’t wait to put it all together like its own special patchwork tapestry portal space.

It feels like it’s time to order wood for the stove, even though I try to wait until October 1, a few years ago the first snow was on October 30. Which is next month. How swiftly things change here. Only a few leaves have started to turn and I await the foliage show with great anticipation.

Being an artist is the great joy of my life, but being an arts educator is what brings me to life when I’m feeling down. When I’m feeling like my purpose isn’t clear. The students I am blessed with remind me of my lineage, my birthright, and my place in the ecosystem of care and creation.

May you not forget your own place, whether you are making money from your art or not. Keep creating it, we need it!

Charming Vessel : A Fall Equinox Planning Workshop is this Saturday September 19 12-2:30pm EST live on zoom (recorded if you can’t make it live)

Class is $55 and scholarships and payment plans are available for all

If you loved Organizing A Day or Time Horizons, this is the class for you. Through a series of slides and journaling prompts we’ll vision what the last quarter of the year can look like. From personal projects to professional goals - we’ll cover a lot of ground in a short time.

I’d love for you to join us, a sweet group is already forming.

CLASSIFIEDS : 

Find balance in your creative life w/a FREE Fall Equinox writing workshop on Sep 22 at 8pm ET. One hour of guided prompts for clarity & action-taking!

SURFACING: The little book of 70 closing practices for writers. Exit your writing time with care and find new feedback that keeps your drafts going.

New book, business, or passion project taking shape? Reach out for creative support, from concept to launch. Contact Carrie for lower blood pressure or visit fordvisuals.com

Creative Spirit Club offers monthly snail mail for makers and seekers — part pen pal, part spiritual friend, part middle school art teacher on peyote.

Sobremesa.Institute. For creatives ready to inhabit Spanish. [Explore the full 2026–2027 collection]

Book a classified ad for next week here 

A mutual aid note : Dee Michaelson of Stoked Coaching lost their airstream home after a wildfire and any bit helps. Check out their gofundme here.

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