My dear reader, Vicki K, sent me a lovely box of hand-knit dishrags (and a pretty lavender sachet!) as a housewarming gift.  They are so cheerful and welcoming in our apartment kitchen.

Thanks so much, Vicki!  You are too kind.  (And your packaging was beautiful too!)

And as a housewarming gift to myself, I bought a new clock from and furthermore.

Something I love about Etsy is that if you ask someone for what you need/want, you just might get it!  I asked Brenda for a larger clock in blue, and she made one just for me.  And I love it!  Thanks, Brenda!

All of the happy mail arriving at the new apartment is making it a happier place, of course!  I can’t wait to share more of the interior. :)

Finally, Emily and I found a craft we can do alongside one another.

I paint with Pebeo Porcelaine paints.

She paints with watercolors.

Fine modern art?  Perhaps.

This reminds me that I should do this simple watercolor project soon with my new partner in crime. :)

Our family spent the weekend traveling up to Galena, Illinois for a family reunion.  When I say family, I mean 170+ people descending from Evan’s Grandmother.

She turned 95 yesterday.

(Happy Birthday, Grandmother Eleanor!)

Every year, the family has a huge campout.  Here’s the group:

They’re so much fun!  And I feel like I really know at least a fraction of the group.  Which is definite progress. ;)

While we were there, I ventured out to beautiful downtown Galena.

And visited some antique stores.

And showed tremendous restraint.

It was a great trip.

And now it’s time to house-hunt.

And Friday, we officially set out on our journey to Virginia.  Tulsa has been a fantastic home for us for almost 5 years.  Evan made his first short film here.  I began to blog, sew, crochet, and take pictures of it all right here.

We had two babies here.

And we bought a house.

And we made some really great friends.

We are sad to leave our friends and home–but always game for new adventures!

Goodbye, Tulsa!  We heart you.

I just finished this family tree for my friend, Mandy, who lives in Maryland (and who is a very talented photographer).  Her father just got married, and she wanted a tree to represent the new family.

It’s completely handstitched with applique and embroidery, and I made it with a combination of new and vintage fabrics.

Although I might alter the design a bit, I’d like to offer custom family trees in my shop.

I’m also kinda wanting one for my own family… made with bits of our old clothing.

Maybe I’ll start one after we move. :)

Thank you for all your thoughts and prayers for our family.

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” -James 1:2 (NASB)

Joy (not to be confused with the emotion happy) is something we have in abundance right now.

We’ll be moving in 2 weeks to live closer to family.  (Yes, our house finally sold!)  I’ll try to update regularly in the mean time.  Thanks again for your prayers!  We are thankful for each and every one.

I’ll be out of town for a while, honoring my father-in-law, Joe Derrick, who passed away last night.

Please say a prayer for our family.  Thank you.

I find myself getting nostalgic about college as I grow farther and farther from that era of my life.  It’s been 7 years now since I graduated from Wofford College with my B.A. in English.  And now that I have real responsibilities to little, dependent human beings, I realize just how precious & carefree those college years were.

I mean, at what other time in my life could I take a nap in the afternoon on the lawn of a gorgeously green college campus, go read & discuss Shakespeare, and then lazily traipse to the dining hall to be fed by someone else?  And then someone else clean up my dinner dishes?

Dang, I miss that.

Oftentimes, dinner would be followed with a meeting.  I was a sorority girl.  Did I ever tell you that?  True story.  Nearly everyone at my school was “Greek.”  I was a Kappa Alpha Theta.  And still am.

So yesterday, I got a bit inspired and made this little homage to Theta:

I was going to share a metaphor about spools of thread being like students with all their potential or something, but it was way cheesy.  Of course, I seem to have shared it anyway. ;)  Please pardon my sentimentality.

Graduation season always makes me a bit nostalgic.

Get out there and vote for your favorite handmade top on Made by Rae!

Here are today’s tops:

Lots of inspiration and talent on display this week, so don’t miss it!  :)