When we moved, we found ourselves puzzling over what to do with a big wall cutout in the living room meant for an old-style TV (you know, the kind we had way back when in the stone age before flat screens—reason #276 my kids will think I'm ancient). Shelves seemed an obvious answer, but given how low to the ground it was, it would immediately become the 1 year old's stomping grounds (aka useless for any actual storage). We brainstormed a bit and decided to turn it into a reading nook! Perfect for my little nerdlets-in-training who LOVE to read. So I designed this handy book basket to add to our new reading nook. It's sturdy, lovely, and ideal for storing and toting around books. 

In spite of all the craziness, we've successfully made our move cross-country! And we are excited to be here in Arizona (even if it's basically like living in an oven right now). But it turns out that moving from a tiny student housing apartment with cinderblock walls into an actual house means that we suddenly have waaay more wall space to fill. That, combined with moving being really expensive, means that it's the perfect time for some DIY wall art. So I pulled out my hooks and created this crocheted mandala wall hanging! Oh, crochet, is there anything you can't do? 

Our family is getting ready to move cross-country to Arizona, which is both exciting and overwhelming. I've never lived there before, but one thing that it always makes me think of is cacti. A cactus is a pretty amazing plant. They are such a cool example of adapting to grow and even flourish in extremes. They're basically the ultimate example of "blooming where you're planted." So for this move, I'm trying to think like a cactus, if you will. There are so many wonderful opportunities out there that I'm excited for and I can't wait to bloom in the desert with my little family. I think it's going to be really great for us. To celebrate, it felt especially appropriate to design a cuddly cactus plushy. 

Another day, another new crochet pattern! Today I have a baby blanket pattern for you all featuring a gorgeous stitch I came across recently: the triads stitch. This blanket has been the epitome of a quarantine crochet project for me. It's fairly mindless, the stitches are soothing, it's an awesome stress reliever...and I didn't have enough yarn to make it the way I wanted to, so I had to redesign it a several times to make it work with what I had on hand. But the end result is still lovely! I'm so excited to give this one to the new parents-to-be. Can't you just picture a snuggly newborn wrapped up this beauty? 

The Cookie Pal accessory patterns are now finally ready to share! Thank you to those who have been waiting so patiently for these patterns. When I first designed the Cookie Pals, I had no intention of making them accessories. But then when it was time to post the first pattern, something possessed me to make a tiny backpack and shorts...and the rest is history. So it definitely wasn't a necessary step, per se, but I'm kind of glad that I pulled it off (even though it meant designing them last minute every week), because this is exactly the sort of thing I loved as a kid. So I'm excited to share these fun accessory patterns with you all!

Happy Earth Day, friends! In honor of Earth Day, I have a new pattern for you all: a forest-inspired basket. Not only is this basket lovely and functional, but it's also made from upcycled T-shirt yarn. Super cool, right? Based on the materials I had available, I made mine into a birch tree forest, but I think this basket would look awesome in a huge range of colors, so you can use whatever you have access to.