Right now, I’m in Michigan for a few days visiting family. I’m so rarely around that, whenever I am, it isn’t unusual for someone to slip me stack of handkerchiefs made by my great grandmother, or a neat pin discovered in a forgotten drawer. Even so, yesterday was a red-letter day: I inherited my mom’s craft project basket, untouched since I was a toddler! Remember when I was asking for your favorite portable crafts a few days ago on Facebook and Twitter? As it turns out, I probably didn’t need to bring anything with me. Among other things, the basket contained kit upon kit for counted cross stitch and embroidery, holiday decoration sets, and tools I’d never even seen before. I’m going to be busy for a while.

Check out those amazing embroidery hoops! (And the scissors! Oh, the hummingbird scissors!)