I’m kind of a craft book hoarder, and I have always liked buying new. But financial necessities forced me recently to take more advantage of the library and engage in many fewer impulse buys. To my surprise, I discovered that I kind of like borrowing first. I found the try-before-you-buy that the library offers to […]
Read More: Who knew books could be so witty?Category: being green
Foodie for the summer


Something about the appearance of the first local strawberry every year puts me on a local / organic / sustainable food and green-living kick. Ideally, I’d like to think along these lines all year round, and I do try, but it’s just so much easier when the farmers markets open up and the fresh local […]
Read More: Foodie for the summerBrown (or aqua with cherries) bagging it


I figured I’d take the momentum of having a new reusable lunch bag, and see what else I could do to reduce the waste involved in lunching away from home. First thing I did was make myself a set of Lunch Box Napkins like I have for my kids. Theirs are lemons, but I made […]
Read More: Brown (or aqua with cherries) bagging itLunch Box Napkins


A few of you asked for more information about how I make my napkins, so I decided now was as good a time as any to whip up a few for the boys’ lunch boxes and photograph the process. This tutorial makes three small napkins, which when folded in half, are approximately the size of […]
Read More: Lunch Box NapkinsSeasonal Napkin Disorder


Can one ever have too many seasonal cloth napkins? Is there really such a thing as an overabundance of soft, gentle, go-ahead-and-use-them-everyday kitchen linens? It’s been over two years since I made my first set of napkins out of quilting cottons, and in that time I have not bought a single package of paper napkins. […]
Read More: Seasonal Napkin DisorderMorning Coffee with Heather Bruggeman


Hi there! Ready for another Morning Coffee interview? Fill up your cup and have a seat. Today we’ll be chatting with Heather Bruggeman of Beauty That Moves. What Draws me to Beauty That Moves I found Beauty That Moves just over a year ago, when Amanda of Soulemama mentioned Heather’s “Month of Balance” series. Balance […]
Read More: Morning Coffee with Heather BruggemanFrom Grandma’s table to my hips


I’ve had a small pile of fabric set aside for the last three months. In that stack was: two thrifted pillowcases in a lovely pink, yellow, and aqua stripe a roll of polka-dot grosgrain ribbon in dark brown and aqua my grandmother’s tablecloth, white with a yellow, pink, and aqua floral border These were to […]
Read More: From Grandma’s table to my hipsAll dressed up and noplace to go


I’ve been thinking a lot about pillowcase dresses. I’ve made two before, and enjoyed the process. My main problem is not having all that many little girls in my life to give them to. There’s always sewing for charity and for gifts, and I’ve done both, but there’s also the idea that maybe I could […]
Read More: All dressed up and noplace to goNot so intimidating anymore


From the moment I saw the lounge pants in Amy Butler’s In Stitches, I was smitten. This was two years ago, and I had barely a month of sewing under my belt. Every delicious project in that book looked impossibly complicated to me, so after a month of drooling over the pants, the apron, and […]
Read More: Not so intimidating anymoreThis is their lumber store


This morning I got my first taste of Farmers’ Market Season. My regular markets haven’t opened yet, so I went to one that was new to me. This is the third summer that I’ve frequented the local markets, and I remember that first season, when the boys liked to tag along. Eamonn, in particular, liked […]
Read More: This is their lumber store