I’m headed to the Detroit Maker Faire at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. today and I can’t wait to see all the vendors and innovators who embrace the D.I.Y. lifestyle in grand fashion.

Check back here for a full report. Or, better yet, go check out the event yourself. It’s open from 9:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. today and 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow.

Click for ticket info. See you there!

I stopped by the Margaret’s Hope Chest summer work party Friday night at Lasting Impressions Bed and Breakfast in Grand Rapid’s lovely historic Heritage Hill district. My 4- and 6-year-old CraftSanity vice presidents of fun came along, so we kept our visit short. (Later Abby asked if we could stay overnight at the “breakfast in bed,” too.)

We said hello to about a dozen quilters who turned out to stitch for a cause. You can hear the whole Margaret’s Hope Chest story on CraftSanity podcast episode 105 and read about the charity in the new Craft Hope book, too.

I was happy to see familiar faces and meet some new quilters, too, including Amanda Jean, the quilting genius who writes the wildly popular Crazy Mom Quilts blog. The good news is that there’s time to sew with this wonderful group of quilters and meet Amanda Jean, too. Here’s what you need to do:

Grab your sewing machine and head over to the Eastern Avenue Christian Reformed Church Fellowship Hall, 514 Eastern Avenue SE in Grand Rapids, Mich. today from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Contact Carin Vogelzang at 616-855-2862 or email margaretshopechest@yahoo.com if you need more info.

Margaret’s Hope Chest is in its fourth year of distributing hope in the form of quilts to people around the globe who need a boost.

Okay, I better get on the road. Enjoy your weekend! I’ll be back to post handmade thimble instructions very soon.