I took Nici to my friend’s yarn shop the other day, to get her a little refresher in Knitting 101. When we walked in, my friend was working on a crown. And a hat. A crown-hat hybrid. Perfect for the coming chill. And also My Little Princess. It’s a free pattern, you can find it here. Practical and also worthy of fulfilling the must-have princess requirements of most preschool and prekindergarten aged girls but not a single shout-out to the Disney marketing machine? Thank you!

I’ve been thinking about this project for months now, and I think it’s about time I tackle it. I love horses. The girls love horses. Who doesn’t love horses? And want their own stampede galloping across a wall in their home?

Pea’s current obsession is “The Sound of Music.” She knows all the songs, she loves to tell me about how beautiful the mountains are. But her absolute favorite thing about this film is the scene where Maria and the kids are putting on a show for their father with the puppet theatre and the marionettes. She watches that scene over and over. She’s always had an affinity for puppets, but the enormous puppet theatre (hello, Daddy? You up for that one?) coupled with the puppets that actually dance has her completely spellbound. So this project is upcoming this very weekend: our very own marionettes. I’ve been tossing the idea around in my head for some time, but in light of recent destructive events at the hands of my little tyrant, I tabled it for a while. But there are some things – her things – that are precious, so why not? The link to the craft site these puppets come from is one that I’ve linked to before, and you should bookmark it. The girls and I have attacked many of these projects with gusto, and they are fantastic. The site was dormant for a while, although that didn’t stop me from religiously checking in to see if there was something – anything – new. And hey! What do you know! Today? There was! These little photo magnets that I’m dying to make for Pea’s locker at school.

This weekend it still feels like summer, but I think this is going to be the last of it. And as I’m dreaming of cooler days ahead, I totally get into the mood to attack my long list of projects: hats to knit, furniture to paint, floor pillows to sew. Yes, more things to add to my To Do List, but these things? Are good things.