fruits of my labor

wow...it has been an exhausting couple of weeks, culminating in an even more exhausting weekend. my brother and sister-in-law are expecting their first baby (i get to be an aunt!) in about six weeks, and i hosted one shower at my house for friends, and helped host a second shower for family members at my mom's house. two showers in one weekend--i think that is officially my limit! the above pink cookies were my first attempt at french macarons (well, actually third attempt. the first two batches failed!). these were cherry vanilla, and were a hit! i might be a little obsessed with these now.

before all the cleaning and baking, i first did some crafting for the baby. my main gift was an apple-themed baby quilt, which i hand quilted. the fabric was green and yellow apples on one side, and red and white polka dots on the back. it turned out really cute, but alas, i didn't get a proper picture of it before i gifted it. have i mentioned that i hate quilting? i think i am officially retiring from it after this one, which i finished at midnight the night before the shower. i don't think i've felt that kind of relief in a loooooooong time.

to go with the apple quilt, though, i made a matching apple hat--a much more pleasant, and quick, experience. so cute! i love this hat (i kind of want a red one for myself!). you can also see the quilt in the background here.

pattern: apple of our eye
yarn: debblie bliss cashmerino aran, almost one whole ball of the light green, and just a tiny amount for the leave. i used some scrap brown yarn for the stem
needle: size six and size 8

i can't wait to see my little niece wearing this!

the baby showers weren't my only excitement this weekend...my friend and i hit up target on friday for the release of the orla kiely collection. i had been eagerly awaiting this day more than i care to admit...and i may have bought a lot of stuff. this isn't all of what i bought, but isn't it cute! i'm a sucker for those pears.