It's a few weeks into the new year, and I think I've finally nailed down some crafty goals for 2024. To be honest, it has been difficult to get this post written. It took about a week into the year before I even felt like I could make any goals. Being the primary caretaker for our daughter has meant that my time to dedicate to creative work is extremely limited. Making super specific or challenging goals doesn't feel particularly motivating to me at the moment. And so I kind of fell into the "why bother" line of thinking for a few days. But, I realized that just because I don't feel like I can make the kinds of goals I usually do, doesn't mean I can't make any goals.

This year my goals list is pretty short, and I'm keeping it simple. I don't want these goals to add any stress to my life! I want there to be more wiggle room than I've given myself previously. This year is not about production, it's about nurturing my creativity. I realize I don't have to make goals at all, but I find comfort in a little structure. I think it would feel weird for me to have no goals at all. So without further ado, here are my goals for this year:

2024 Crafty Goals

- My #1 goal: When I do have time to make, spend most of that time playing. Work on whatever will make me the happiest in that moment.

- Try to use up more yardage than I bring in for both fabric and yarn. I'll track my yardage each month to help me stay on target. I'm less worried about this goal, I feel confident that my buying habits are in check after many years of tracking.

- Finish up 1 or 2 long-term projects in progress.

- Sew something with my vintage sheet stash.

- Finish my colorwork mittens (I'm so close already, this should be a quick win!).

- Restart my art practice. This one is already in progress, I'm taking this class at the moment and feeling so inspired.

- Crochet more amigirumi.

That's it! Low-key and (hopefully) managable. A few specific goals, but most are pretty open ended, which I think will be good for me. Have you made any crafty goals for 2024? If you're looking for some advice for making crafty goals, I wrote a post about my general approach to crafty goals a few years ago, you can find it here: Tips for Making and Keeping Crafty Goals.

Happy Making!

Welcome Baby P + Summer Catch-up

Happy Monday! After spending the summer away from this space, it's time to slowly make my way back. It was an eventful summer and we have a lot to catch up on!


First and foremost, the main reason I took time away from posting is because we had a baby! This summer we welcomed a daughter to our family and we've spent the last few months getting to know each other and figuring out how to be parents. Many times I thought about sharing my pregnancy here and on social media, but I just never figured out a way that I was comfortable with. I was not a particularly happy pregnant person and keeping it private felt like the right thing for myself and Michael. On that note, I don't plan to share much about her here on the blog. She'll be "Baby P" to preserve her privacy. I will share some of the things I've sewn (and will sew in future) for her! That has been fun, to be able to make things for her. Look for a post soon with some baby-related sewing projects.


I've had a lot of fun shopping for second-hand baby clothes, and have found so many cute things at the thrift stores. Almost her entire wardrobe is thrifted! I love having new things to look for when I have the opportunity to go thrifting. There seems to be no shortage of cute stuff!


Despite having a brand new baby, I did manage to mostly take care of the garden this season. It's definitely done better other years, but most of that has actually been the weather. We have gotten an incredible amount of rain and parts of the garden have drowned. The wet killed nearly all of our pepper plants, and even a tomato plant. Thankfully we still got a lot of tomatoes, enough to put some in the freezer for soup this winter.


The dahlias started to bloom around the time Baby P was born, which was really nice to come home to! I made sure to get out and cut some just about every week. A lot more blooms went to the bees and pollinators than usual, but that's not a bad thing!


I've tried to squeeze in some crafting here and there where I can. I finished up a baby quilt, pieced a baby quilt top, made some blocks from scraps, and sewed a few other odds and ends.


I also started working on some crochet projects, specifically amigurumi. I've always wanted to be able to make them and I'm finally doing it! So far I've made a cat, a turtle and a pear. It's nice to have small projects that I can easily pick up for a row or two. Being able to finish things feels really good too!

Cat and turtle are kits from The Woobles, and the pear pattern is from Crochet Amigurumi for Every Occasion*.


Dusty is doing a great job being a big sister. She is loving all the time we're spending at home and even the late nights. She'll often come help us feed Baby P in the middle of the night, and demand pets of course.


Now that I'm dipping my toes back into posting, I thought I'd share a little of what you can expect from me going forward. My current plan (goal is probably a more accurate word) is to try to post once a week. I'm hoping to share a monthly favorites post and one tutorial/informational post a month, and fill in with project posts. We'll see how that works out. Sometimes it may be less, sometimes more. I'm giving myself grace during this season since my time is so limited.


I am still planning on hosting a Lined Drawstring Bag Sew Along this year. I'd love to know what you'd like to see for this year's sew along. If you have any specific post or tutorial requests, please let me know in the comments! You can see past year's posts here.

I think that's everything I wanted to catch you all up on today! I hope you had lovely summers and are enjoying the first weeks of fall. I'll be back soon with a project post.

Happy Making!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.

October Monthly Report

Happy November! It's time to reflect on what I worked on in the month of October and check in with my crafty goals and stash tracking. See past monthly reports here.


I did a ton of sewing this month! It felt good to finish a bunch of things and I felt motivated to sew more often. I managed to finish my vintage sheet bear paw baby quilt and pillow. Now I just need to photograph them and the large throw version I made too! I love how they all turned out. It was even more satisfying to finish since it was a long-term project.


I also started and finished a baby quilt for a friend. I dug back into some designs I did for Quilty Box a few years ago and adapted one for this quilt. I'll be sharing it at some point as a free tutorial.


Whoops, I made more Halloween bags! This everything size lined drawstring bag was made with scraps from my Halloween Nine-Patch Quilt. I've been holding onto the scraps for five years, so it feels good to make something with them! And who doesn't love a patchwork bag? I think it turned out pretty cute.


One more I made right before Halloween with this adorable ghost fabric from Bring Your Own Boos* by Cotton and Steel! This is another everything size lined drawstring bag.


I finally had to retire the key fob that a friend made me years ago as I had completely worn it out! I managed to salvage the hardware and made myself a new one with this scrap of Liberty quilting cotton. It was tough to choose a fabric for this since it's something I use/see every single day!


I finished my first crochet project!! My scrap yarn basket is done! This thing used up 2100 yards of yarn, which is incredible. I held 5 strands at a time. It was made completely of scraps and partial skeins of dk, worsted, and aran weight yarns. Now I want to make another (albeit smaller) with sock weight yarns, because I have a lot of leftovers there too. Feels so good to clear out the scraps! I used this tutorial from My Poppet to make my basket.


I told you I was busy this month! I also finished a woven scarf! I need to get some better photos of it, but it's nice bright pink.

To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in October:

October Fabric
Used up: 13.75 yard
Brought in: 7 yards
Net: -6.75 yards
Year to date: -52.75 yards

October Yarn
Used up: 2494 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: -2494 yards
Year to date: -3494 yards

I bought fabric, again! I picked these up from Stash Fabrics and Hawthorne Supply Co. I wanted a few specific things for the sew along later in November, but I also realized that I've maybe restricted my buying a little too much. It's fun to bring in new fabrics to spark inspiration so I'm going to try to find a better balance. We'll see! Still managed to stay in the negative with all my finishes this month. And a lot of yardage used up on the yarn side too, woo hoo!

Let's check in my with 2022 crafty goals. This month I:
- Finished up the rest of the vintage bear paw quilt projects (long term WIP).
- Finished a weaving project.


On the DIY front, I finally painted our main bathroom this month. It needed it so badly and I had been putting it off since we moved in. It's a small room and our only bathroom with a shower, so a bit tough to paint! I'm very glad it's done and it looks so much better. Just a fresh coat of white.


Dusty kitty all snuggled up on my Keep Turning Quilt. :)

Have a Great Month!

September Monthly Report

Happy October! It's time to reflect on what I worked on in the month of September and check in with my crafty goals and stash tracking. See past monthly reports here.


This month's report is jam packed! I did a lot of sewing in September! I finished two quilts, one I've already posted about (here: Floral Chain Quilt). The other quilt I finished was my Vintage Sheet Bear Paw Quilt, which I'll hopefully be posting soon. I just need some sunshine so I can photograph it. It felt good to finish not one but TWO quilts! I can't remember the last time I finished two quilts in one month. Very fancy!


I also started a new quilt. I dyed some more lawn fabric and cut out a lawn indigo quilt. I haven't started sewing it yet, but everything is cut!





I made four lined drawstring bags this month. I shared details about all four of them in this post. It was fun to play around with some different variations from the expansion pattern.

Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern + Expansion Pattern


To keep myself accountable for my stash goals, I track my yardage for fabric and yarn each month. Read more about how I track here. Here is how I did in September:

September Fabric
Used up: -28.25 yard
Brought in: 3 yards
Net: -25.25 yards
Year to date: -46 yards

September Yarn
Used up: 0 yards
Brought in: 0 yards
Net: 0 yards
Year to date: -1000 yards

I bought fabric this month! I finally made it to Cate's Sew Modern in Guilford, CT. Picked up a few fat quarters and some holiday fabrics to use in the drawstring bag sew along later this year. Thankfully I used up a lot of fabric this month, so that more than offset what I brought in.


I started a crochet project!! I am crocheting a scrappy yarn basket using this tutorial. I used this skillshare class to help me get started. It's using up so much leftover yarn, which is making me so happy!


Let's check in my with 2022 crafty goals. This month I:
- Completed a TWO term WIPs this month!!
- Knitted a little on my mitten WIP.


Kitty enjoying the sun and a quilt :)

Have a Great Month!

*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.