Summer Memories

The end of the summer always takes me by surprise.  As much as I love fall, I do mourn those last sultry days before Labor Day.  I know that once the days start to shorten, it isn't long before we here in Michigan are plunged into the deep freeze.  

I had a little spurt of energy in August, which produced a few sewing projects, but I have been soaking up the last warm days and haven't wanted to spend them in my studio...there is plenty of time for that once the snow flies.

One of my favorite summer activities is walking on the Lake Michigan shore.  I realized very quickly that if I saved ALL the stones I picked up on my hikes I would soon need a bigger house!  So, I have allowed myself to keep only ONE stone from any given walk.  Yes, I can carry them around in my pocket all afternoon, but when it's time to head up the hill to the house, I have to choose, and let the others go.  Sometimes this is a several minute decision!  The stones live in a pretty wooden bowl and chronicle my beach walks.  (a happy side effect of keeping only one stone that I hadn't realized!) 

I have planned since I started collecting to some day make them into something.  Maybe put little holes in them and string them like beads, maybe glue them to something... on a rainy afternoon I started playing around with my stones and some wire...I ended up with a couple of necklaces that I kind of like and think a few more rainy days might get me a little farther down the wire-wrapping skill curve.  For now I'm enjoying these little reminders of my summer beach walks.