troduction<br >)ecially preschoolers with doting， creative mothers.<br > When I was about five years old， my mother was a 4-H craft leader. Her basketmaking workshops had<br >，. enthralled. After each basketW session， I d try my hand at weaving baskets under her direction. Later，<br >grade school， pupils who completed their work quickly and correctly could use their spare time<br >corating bulletin boards and doing craft projects. One such project was making a doll-size log cabin<br >replete with a loft， tiny twig ladder， cornshuck mattress， miniature quilt， and other furnishings.<br >other project involved making puppets and a theatre， then putting on a show.<br > Through the years， my interest in gardening and crafts has followed a steady but circuitous path. By<br > ten， I was veo~ involved with cooking and table settings. This spurred my interest in flower arranging;<br >aeral years later came corsage making. Cornshuck and dried apple dolls， gourd bird feeders， pine and<br >lecone wreaths， Indian corn door swags， vegetable block printing， unicorn plant birds， yule log candle<br >lders， and sachets all hold special attachment in my memory from my "growing up" years.<br > Because I had been exposed to vegetable and flower gardening since early childhood， it seemed<br >ly natural to become a horticulture student in college. During my undergraduate years， I was able to<br >)rk at a local flower shop to supplement my college allowance. Needless to say， it was also an invaluable<br >trning experience. In graduate school， I did yard work to augment the income from my fellowship. In<br >dition， I wrote a weekly column on gardening for the local newspaper.<br > Since college I have lived in a variety of places， sometimes with lots of room， more often with very<br >tie. At present I have about the best space for craft work that I ve ever had. My basement<br >mdry/furnace/utility area is finished with vinyl tile flooring， drywall， paneled ceiling， recessed<br >lating， wood cabinets， and a large sink. In the adjacent hallway are long open shelves for books and<br >ogs also oftcr endless new ideas.<br >vii<br >