Caitlin

An in-progress monster truck with the wheels nearly complete and the body starting to take shape. A pink pickup truck needle minder hangs out on the top corner of the pre-gridded Aida fabric.

My nephew has been very into monster trucks lately so of course I had to stitch one for his third birthday card! It’s working up so quickly. Can’t wait to see the final truck! #crossstitch #crafting

So true! I made it just fine and am celebrating with a weekend with one of my best friends, so it was definitely worth pushing through!

I’m taking the @amtrak for the first time today, by myself, and the anxiety is unreal. I forgot how much I struggle with new and unknown things 😕

In progress project with a purple geometric design on gridded Aida fabric. An elephant needle minder and purple heart grime guard add some whimsy to the project.

I’ve had an unexpectedly tough brain week so I decided to start a simple selfish cross stitch project - another mini monochromatic geometric pattern I drafted. It’s been just the mental break I needed 💜 #crossstitch

Amazing, thanks!!

My wonderful friends got me NINE @libro.fm credits for my birthday last week! Now the only problem - which nine should I pick?! So many audiobooks, so little time ☺️ #booksky #audiobooks #librofm

I hope this isn’t a silly question but are there any lists out there of indie authors? I typically read historical fiction, romance, maybe some romantasy and sci-fi. Would love to support more indie authors! #booksky

I finished up TWO audiobooks yesterday. I’m up to a dozen this year already! Who am I?! 📚💙

2 hours of virtual compliance training videos = 2 hours of paid stitching time today! #crossstitch

Blown glass pumpkin

Fused glass candy dish

Fused glass candy dish

We discovered a glass school nearby last year so for my birthday, I set up a private class with friends and family. Here are just a few of the finished items. So much fun! #craftsky #glass #smallbusiness

It was - I realized I read more last month than all of last year!!

Storygraph chart showing 13 days average time to finish a book and a wide variety of moods read - primarily reflective and emotional.

Storygraph chart showing genres read. Top two are self help (3) and memoir (2)

Storygraph chart showing 7 book ratings, averaging 4.32 stars.

Storygraph chart showing pages read and minutes listened. While only 15 pages were read, 57.9 hours were listened to.

Finally had a chance to look at my @thestorygraph.com stats from February! In case you can’t tell, I was all about audiobooks last month and all over the place with genres - just the way I like it! I also usually have high ratings bc I’m pretty quick to DNF if I’m not feeling the vibes 📚💙 #booksky

Trying to access the #ArlingtonNationalCemetary website to confirm what I’m allowed to leave at my cousin’s grave but I’m getting a weird error message. Anyone else? #usgov #doge

Can anyone who’s read The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue convince me it’s worth sticking with it? I’m almost 30% in and it’s not that I dislike it but I’m just not fully drawn in. And it feels too disjointed for my taste? Idk… #booksky #reading

Screenshot from Margins app showing Reading Challenge: 9 of 9 books read in 2025, with confetti celebrating a goal achieved. Covers of the 8 books are included: One in a Millennial by Kate Kennedy, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, The Comfort Book by Matt Haig, The Rose Code by Kate Quinn, Love of My Afterlife by Kristy Greenwood, Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig, and Beyond the Wand by Tom Felton.

Last year was a tough reading year for me, so I set an achievable reading goal for 2025 - 9 books. And then I rediscovered my love of audiobooks and hit my goal for the year on February 28 🤷🏻‍♀️ yay #audiobooks! #booksky

Really hope I’m not heading into a reading slump…had 2 DNFs and 1 I couldn’t even start bc of the narrator in less than a week. All books I was really excited about too 😔 #booksky

I was so excited to start a new audiobook last night but I (luckily) listened to a sample first and the narrator’s voice made my brain itch in an inexplicably uncomfortable way. Guess I won’t be reading that book 😔 #reading #audiobooks #neurodivergent

Screenshot from Margins app showing Reading Challenge: 8 of 9 books read in 2025. Covers of the 8 books are included: One in a Millennial by Kate Kennedy, Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie, The Comfort Book by Matt Haig, The Rose Code by Kate Quinn, Love of My Afterlife by Kristy Greenwood, and Reasons to Stay Alive by Matt Haig

I read 5 books in all of 2024, so I thought setting a goal of 9 in 2025 was reasonable. Welp, we’re not even though February and I’m just one book shy of my goal! (Shoutout to the Margins app for this fun graphic!) 📚💙 #booksky #2025readinggoals

Storefront of Lovestruck Books & Cafe in Cambridge, MA

Two wrapped books with descriptions on them for a blind date with a book

Got to visit a romance bookstore nearby today! I’ve never done a “blind date with a book” before so of course had to pick up a couple! #booksky

An in progress cross stitch project featuring a yellow pickup truck, a multicolor pennant hanging above and primary color border. A blue and white polka dotted grime guard frames the project and a yellow pickup truck needle minder sits near the partially stitched matching truck.

Making progress on this cross stitch for my nephew! My brother’s first car was a yellow pickup he and my grandfather fixed up 💛 #crossstitch

A gray tabby cat sleeps with his head resting on his obliging owner’s hand.

Leroy fell asleep on my hand the other day so therefore I could not move until his nap was done. Yes, the pets run this house #cats #adoptdontshop

A cross stitch WIP showing a small elephant with its trunk in the air. A coordinating elephant needle minder sits slightly above the stitched area. The Aida cloth is a dyed light blue and purple with hints of white specks. In the very corner of the photo, you can spot a hint of a dark gray cat.

The perk to no one I know IRL following me on here yet is I can share my #crossstitch WIPs without spoiling any gifts! Here’s a card I’m working on for my partner’s birthday next week 🐘

Arubian Cunucu Olivia, whose fur is white and light brindle and has large pointed ears, is bundled in a double fleece plaid blanket.

A pupperrito!

Maybe try audiobooks? I’ve been using @libro.fm since they support local independent bookstores.

Question…does anyone else find it odd for a #mentalhealth practice to ask you to answer questions via Google Forms? This is in addition to 14 forms on their secure portal…

An excerpt from The Comfort Book by Matt Haig, which reads “Nothing is stronger than a small hope that doesn’t give up.” Repeated three times.

A little reminder from my latest read that I think we all need right now. Thank you, @matthaig.bsky.social

Finished my fifth book of the year! Which is how many I finished in all of 2024…

So glad I’ve rediscovered my love of audiobooks again! 📚💙 #booksky #audiobooks

Thank you - this was a super helpful read!!

I have a question for all the wonderfully talented #embroidery artists on here…any tips for long and short stitch?? I literally haven’t picked up my embroidery in 10+ months bc both projects have this stitch and I just can’t figure out. I don’t think my fabric can handle me ripping it out again 🫣😔

An in progress cross stitch progress with a border of diagonal 2x2 squares of red, yellow and blue. Small pennants in red, blue, gray and two shades of yellow drape down across the gridded Aida fabric.

Working on a #crossstitch for my nephew today. It’s based off a pattern from Etsy but I made a lot of modifications, including the border design and having the pennants drape down instead of straight across. Really like how fun and colorful it is!