Sometimes there comes a point when, as a freelancer, there just isn’t a heck of a lot going on. I’m there. And while on the one hand it starts that familiar worry of “Will I ever have a project again? Where will my $ come from?” on the other hand it’s a chance to chill out. There are some weeks where I work nonstop. And then there are slow weeks. I’ve already dropped off hats and flowers at the shop, my articles and designs are in, I’ve mostly pitched my next round of ideas and I even did my laundry. And so…

I made a peach pie.

I even made some hand pies with it. The idea was to make all hand pies but I quickly realized that there was way more filling than crust. I used a premade crust anyway, and I am more of a filling person when it comes to pie, so I chucked the rest of the filling into what I like to call a “Rustic Tart,” as shown above. With airplane cutouts, if you look closely. The hand pies were for our upstairs neighbors since we like them so much. I really should make my own crust next time, but it was all still very delicious. I used the filling mentioned in this recipe, sans bourbon (but believe me, I would have used it if I had some). I used white peaches because everything else at the store looked dreadful, and they came out super sweet. I’d use regular peaches if I had a choice. And I was curious to add some blackberries to the mix, which I might just do if I make another peach pie anytime soon.

I’ve also been up to a little bit of crocheting. Nicole, if you’re reading, stop now! My friend Nicole is days away from giving birth to her first baby (a girl), and since I missed out on girl crafting with my nephew, I’m still into the idea of all sorts of baby cuteness. I really wanted to give some booties a go this weekend, for the gift, and also to see if I could come up with a pattern that works, so I came up with these.

I used Cascade Yarns’ Heritage for the bootie and then edged it with some embroidery floss (1 skein= perfect amount to edge booties. Don’t waste one bit!). Then I sewed (and sewed and sewed and sewed) the button closures on, making darn sure that no baby fingers will be able to remove them. I love how they came out, and I hope little ms. Ruby will too. I might even have to make an adult sized pair! It’s cold enough here that I need to suck it up and start wearing a sock of some sort anyway.

I also had some fun experimenting with felting this afternoon (hooray, a washing machine!)– I will share the results soon.