the warm rainy weather has left me with one thing on my mind: gardening. well, that and crafting to “prepare” myself for the gardening season. on the top of my list are these markers for the raised beds. so, i went upstiars to find the silver box where cris (yes, cris too) and i keep our odd collected spoons. well, with all the rearranging to clear a space for cris’s office, i have no idea where that box is! it was quite disappointing…until i found some other treasures to perk me up!

i found this vintage hand embroidered child’s apron with sweet little white pearl buttons at the shoulders. really, you can never have enough aprons. 

i also found some bowls i had been collecting. i found two different groups of them, and as i combined the two, i found…a complete nesting set! there were even a couple “extras.” (or, the start of another nesting set!)

then, there was this amazing flower tin filled with embroidery hoops, fabric with images to be stitched, and a whole slew of threads! i’m still thinking of the spoons, but while the rain continues to stream down outside, i will, for now, be happy inside with my “new” treasures.

but wait! that’s not all! there is still so much going on here! a package arrived in the mail from auntie “ya-ya” which i have been crossing my fingers over. inside? two liberty of london for target dresses for isabelle. i could have asked for a tea pot, some tea cups, lingere, and a bicycle, but i was really trying to be reserved…

in exchange for the errand, i have assembled this package for our dear auntie. some double-sided cloth napkins packaged neatly in wax paper. i thought about knitting something for her, but alas, i have already embarked on a serious mission: knit myself this sweater.

wyatt and i have come upon this special time of day where isabelle naps after he gets home from school. it has become our “i want to do a project, mom” time and i am cherishing it. today’s project? this messy, fun endeavor. what did wyatt make? a tractor, of course!

we had to take a time out to let some of the glue dry…i started a bowl and a mushroom. i’m so obsessed with amy butler’s polka dot fabric (from the love collection and whatever collection came out before that). i started out making a nest, but i think i may want to use the bowl, not just look at it!

i really appreciate that wyatt and i enjoy at least some of the same things (my passion for tractors, diggers and piles of sand doesn’t hold a candle to wyatt’s). and it’s such a gift to watch wyatt work on a project, to see him thinking, planning, and creating. i want to share the gift of creation with my children. to open them to as many possibilities as i can and to allow them to open windows and doors for me as well.

we did start on our easter eggs. i don’t know exactly why we dye them – we don’t display them (um, hello, a 2 and 3 year old with a bowl full of colorful RAW eggs!?!). but it is fun to do. wyatt and i drew designs with the enclosed wax crayon and, despite starting out as brown eggs, the colors were amazing.

i picked up some home dec weight fabric to make the tent from weekend sewing. as i write this, i am reminded that i didn’t get any fabric for the pillows. i wanted to make one for each of the kids in coordinating fabric. oh well…another trip!

what else is on the crafting horizon? well, i’ve been knitting another hat, this one for isabelle.

in an effort to at least feel a bit more organized, i rearranged some things in my workspace downstairs. my favoirte new pile? the remainder of my love fq’s that need to be added to the quilt i started for our bed. just two more rows of blocks and i’m done!

and, not to be forgotten, a recent thrifting find. 10 cents? um, yes please!

(if you’re not familiar with my “box of crap” as cris calls it, the new piece is that sweet little mug marked “finland” on the bottom. i love the girl and sheep. around the other side is a little boy with a pair of shears and a curl of sheep’s wool).

we’ve all been busily buzzimg around the house working on projects…

wyatt and i tried this tutorial…his batiked tractor is drying by the wood stove.

i copied my friend ruth at ladies night and freezer-paper-stenciled underwear for wyatt.

i’ve been knitting. for wyatt:

and for isabelle:

sewing (for me?!)

for me again!

and one of my new favorite times: girl time!

isabelle and i are having so much fun when wyatt is at preschool. baking. snuggling. tea parties. sewing. lego building. button sorting. bliss.