I’ve done embroidery on paper before and it’s a lot of fun. You can use a needle to punch out a particular shape to stitch, or my favorite thing is to take a copy of an old photograph or a … Read More...
Five Senses Crafts and Activities for Preschool
One of the subjects that’s often covered in preschool is learning about the five senses. Understanding our senses helps us describe the world around us and our experience in it, and it’s fun to explore the senses in different ways. … Read More...
Knit a Sweet Blanket with a Pocket for Treasures
When my daughter was in early elementary school we were at Joann together (RIP) and she picked out some variegated pink and white blanket yarn for me to knit a blanket for her bed. Now probably 10 years later, it’s … Read More...
Designer Spotlight: And Wabi Sabi
The two largest categories in And Wabi Sabi’s online shop are funny and relatable quotes and whimsical animals, which I think tells you about all you need to know as to whether this cross stitch designer is for you. But … Read More...
Stitch a Play Mat with a Gorgeous Butterfly
The butterfly on this piece — the Owl Butterfly Playmat by Sophie’s Stitches — caught my eye before I even knew what the project was. Now that I’ve give it a closer look I’m still not 100 percent sure what … Read More...
Book Review: The Wandering Knitter
Knitting and travel are two hobbies that are highly compatible. Travel often involves waiting or time spent on planes, trains, boats, etc., time that can easily be filled by knitting, a portable and productive craft you can do most anywhere … Read More...
Learn about Greece for Kids
Greece is officially the Hellenic Republic, and it’s made up of thousands of islands as well as a mainland on the Mediterranean Sea. It’s considered the birthplace of western civilization, so there’s a lot to learn about this ancient and … Read More...
Cross Stitch Keychain Patterns
One little cross stitch project that’s fun to make, use and give as a gift is a cross stitch keychain. There are lots of different styles of keychain you can make with a cross stitch element, so let’s take a … Read More...
Learning Activities with Snap Cubes
A classic manipulative in the preschool and early elementary classroom is the snap cube, also known as math cubes, unifix cubes or unit cubes. These little one inch cubes often come in a set of 100 in 10 different … Read More...
Knits for the Table for Thanksgiving and Beyond
As we get into the part of the year with a lot of food-forward holidays, it might be time to start thinking about knitting some new things for your table. While a few of these are more fall/Thanksgiving focused, just … Read More...
Fun Halloween Worksheets for Kids
After sharing some witch themed math activities, I found a bunch more fun printable worksheets with a Halloween theme for kids to try, so let’s take a look at some more low-prep Halloween learning fun.
Give kids practice measuring … Read More...
Knit a Leopard Print Shawl and Learn about Yarn Substitution
When I was looking around for free knitting patterns to share recently, I came across this fun leopard print wrap from Yarnspirations.
This fun bulky wrap gives you tons of practice with instarsia and makes a bold statement while keeping … Read More...
Book Review: Stitch Alphabets & Numbers
I came across a post recently from Lord Libidan wondering about where all the good cross stitch alphabets have gone. While you can find lots of fonts on Etsy (and I even shared a few good cross stitch fonts recently) … Read More...
Books to Read for Dia de Los Muertos
Explaining Dia de Los Muertos to kids can be difficult because most of us don’t generally talk about death or what happens when we die a lot with our kids. But Dia de los Muertos is actually a happy, not … Read More...
Knit Little Fish to Use Your Yarn Scraps
I rarely understand why something becomes a trend in crafting. Gnomes and geese are both cute I guess, but I never thought we’d be making them for all seasons. (See, for example, this collection of gnome knitting patterns, or … Read More...
Designer Spotlight: Inkspire Studio Shops
Inkspire Studio Shops offers cross stitch patterns as well as tons of different stitch minders, scissor charms and thread organization tools.
We’ll get to all that, but since we’re mostly here for the patterns, let’s start there.
All of the … Read More...
Book Review: Knit an Heirloom Blanket
It’s kind of coincidental that I recently posted about patchwork blanket knitting patterns right before reviewing a book that makes a patchwork blanket, but this one would also be a great choice if you’re looking to bust some stash and … Read More...
Fall Sensory Ideas for Kids
A few years ago I shared some pumpkin themed sensory activities for kids, but I wanted to get a little more general and do some fall sensory ideas that can take you from Halloween al the way to Thanksgiving. … Read More...
Easy Fonts to Add to Your Cross Stitch
I don’t usually cross stitch text or add words to my cross stitch projects. Sometimes I will sign things using basic block lettering worked in backstitch (luckily my initials are pretty easy to stitch), but if you give your cross … Read More...
Patchwork Blanket Knitting Patterns
Any time of year is a good time for stash busting, but if you can combine it with knitting a blanket that will keep you warm when it (finally!) gets cooler that’s even better. Let’s take a look at some … Read More...