I don't know about you all, but I think I could use some extra joy and goodness lately. So when I came across Rachel Borello Carroll's A Little Kindness Monster, I knew that I wanted to create a cute but easy crocheted friend with the same basic purpose: a small softy that you can give away to others! In homage to Rachel's pattern, I'm calling this cutie "A Little Love Monster." So you can send A Little Love to someone in the mail. Or you can drop off A Little Love on someone's doorstep. Or you can give A Little Love to someone to make their day a bit brighter. Or you can even just keep A Little Love for yourself. Because a Little more Love never hurt. 

I've been struggling to find the creative energy/motivation to crochet anything lately, but I still wanted to make some sort of wall hanging for my daughter's room. And if there's one craft material I have on hand, it's yarn. So I created a super simple design by braiding together some of my scrap yarn! This wall hanging is ridiculously easy and quick and can be made in any color combo you feel like using, and you can personalize it with as many (or as few) braids as you'd like to add. So if you don't feel up to crocheting or if you just want something unique, you can make your own braided wall hanging! 

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?