My latest embroidery hoop project.

So, funny story: A couple of months ago, my mother-in-law Cindy was visiting and we were anticipating our second baby being born (hooray, it’s a girl!). We spent quite a bit of time at home while she was here because I was either super pregnant and desperately uncomfortable, or because I had just given birth (and resting sounded absolutely blissful).

But one afternoon my MIL asked me why one of my embroidery hoops hung on the wall said behave. I looked at her funny, glanced up at the hoop, and let out a little laugh as I told her it actually said be brave.

There’s a running joke with our family, both Zack’s side and mine, that I’m the sassy one in the bunch. I don’t mind asking aloud the hard questions, and I for sure don’t mind adding a little pizazz to the conversation. Basically, I like the keep the mood light while making my neighbor feel welcome to be as they are. It’s not always easy to do, but I enjoy the challenge ;)

But back to my embroidery hoop saying “behave”/”be brave”.

Now, every time I look at the collage of hoops on my wall — they actually say “be love,” “be grace,” and “be brave” — I think of Zack’s mom. Here are the hoops in their glory:

Cindy’s visit with us ended and she flew back to Michigan, but I didn’t want her to forget about our little knee-slapper. So, a few weeks ago I sat down with my embroidery thread and made her her very own BEHAVE hoop. Oh, yes I did! #sassy

And when she called me to tell me she received a package in the mail — even said hello into the phone — I began to laugh. Me laughing made her laugh, and for a good bit of time that’s all we did on the phone together. It was amazing, and a really special moment in our relationship for me.

I love that we have this little joke to fall back on. I love that while she’s really the least-sassiest person I know, she has an embroidery hoop that says “behave”. It’s my secret dream she hangs it in her office so she can think of me while at work ;)

So that’s my latest embroidery hoop project. It was a fun one to make, for sure. I’ve been stitching while I can — in between afternoon naps or while sipping my morning coffee on the weekend. It’s one of my favorite craft projects right now, probably because of the rhythmic sound of the needle hitting the cloth and the pop of color against the neutral backdrop. It’s just the best.

Related: I’ve got a fun sewing project up my sleeve. If you’d like to stay in the loop on what I’ve got going on you can join my email newsletter by clicking here.

Do you stitch, and if so what designs are you working on? I also love to knit (and crochet), and lately I’ve been looking at the basic watercolor set Maxwell has and thinking it would be fun to get a larger palette of colors to play around with.