I had such success with my #makenine challenge in 2019 that I decided to go for it again in 2020! You can read all about my 2019 goals and my 2019 reality in my past blog posts. I didn't finish everything on the list, but I did at least make progress!
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So let's take a look at what I have planned for this year!

This past year, I decided to take part in the "gentle, self-guided, slow fashion initiative" that is #MakeNine

Doesn't that description just make you take a deep breath? It does for me. I love challenges, but sometimes I can get competitive or stressed out about them. But the Make Nine challenge feels much more natural than that! And overall, I'd say I was pretty successful with my challenge. Here's a rundown of how it went:

I love all things Halloween, and all things sewing, so when I saw this photo on pinterest of a stitched jack-o'-lantern I knew I had to give it a try this year.

I started out by just gutting and carving the pumpkin like normal, with slanted eyes and a wide mouth. Then I used some twine I had and a large needle and got to work.

You all know I love Halloween. And what better way to show my love than to force my family to wear homemade matching Jack-o'-lantern shirts out in public.

Sometimes I need a quick fun little project as a palate cleanser in between larger projects. And this needle organizer is a perfect little one! I've been calling it Needle Little Lemon because it makes me smile when I say it outloud..... do it!.... see what I mean?! Fun!

​For this quick craft, I used a 17cm (6.6") embroidery hoop, some thread, a little craft glue, a little yellow paint, and some yellow, green, and off white felt.

One of the things I love about sewing my own clothes is the ability to create meaningful garments for meaningful events in my life. There are the huge life events like my wedding (and yes I did make my own wedding dress) and then there are smaller but still meaningful events like running my first post baby road race. Running after giving birth has been a really difficult transition for me, and I felt like I needed to celebrate the hard work I'd put in to get ready for this half marathon. So of course, what better way to celebrate than by making myself a new Madi tank for race day?! Of course, in the end, life got in the way and I didn't end up finishing it in time to wear it for the race. But I still think of it as my Indy Mini Madi.

Hello everyone! Today I'm happy to inform you that my Felt Sewing Toys pattern is ready! And it is FREE to all my subscribers! Not a subscriber? No problem! You can click HERE to sign up, and get your code in the final welcome email. 

Already have your pattern? Then you are in the right place!
This is a tutorial for how to put those sewing toys together!

Making avocado dye is one of my Make Nine projects for the year. Avocado dye has been on my want-to-do list for so so long, and I thought adding it to my make nine list would help me actually get around to it. I've been intimidated by the thought of it, but it was so so easy to do! I shouldn't have waited so long!

My husband Eddie is a grad student, and a few times a year he attends various Alzheimer's and Dementia conferences. Sometimes, these conferences are in amazing places, and sometimes I get to travel with him. And at the beginning of this month, we went to Lisbon, Portugal!