Handcrafted for the crafty

It's Saturday morning. The kids have watched their fill of cartoons and have headed outside before it gets too hot. That means my husband and I can geek out on our favorite Saturday morning show: The New Yankee Workshop.


I haven't ever done any woodworking myself, and - realistically - I don't see myself being able to have a big woodworking workshop any time before retirement, but that doesn't mean I can't live vicariously through those who do. Watching Norm Abram go through the incredibly detailed steps of a project with such care and perfection just makes me adore him.

I recently stumbled on a beautiful woodworking project online that spoke to my sewing-obsessed heart. Blake over on LumberJocks.com (an online community for woodworkers) spent almost three months building a beautiful sewing table for his mother's birthday gift. Inspired by a sewing table that his great-grandfather made for his grandmother, he designed a simple piece that would hold his mother's machine, notions and would give her plenty of workspace.

The result is stunning in its simplicity and ingenuous details (like smooth, rounded edges on the table so fabric can easily glide over). I can only imagine how proud his mom must have been when she saw the finished piece. I found the posting of the project when it was complete, but Blake had documented his progress through eight different posts, and fellow LumberJocks members cheered him along and offered advice - not just on woodworking issues, but also on ideas for creating the "perfect" sewing table. It looks like a very active, friendly community.

So until I'm able to convert my garage into a sewing studio/screen printing station/woodworking mecca, I'll have to get my my fix from great blogs and online communities like these. Enjoy!