Still Waiting

I'm still waiting for my son to make his appearance, and I'm also waiting to hear about my newest patterns.

I finished another new one yesterday though.  Seriously the needles are on FIRE these days. My mom came over and helped me out with the photo shoot (being that my feet are a bit swollen these days) and in all honesty, I prefer to be BEHIND the camera not in front of it.

Here's a sneak peek for you...

More Pattern Knitting

Well... still no baby!  I'm trying very hard not to be discouraged, especially since I'm still 1 week from my due date.  Today was my "wish" birthday for our son.  How cool would it be to have the birth date 3-6-12?

Anyway.... to stave off the late pregnancy crazies I've been knitting up a storm.  It feels good to keep the hands busy, and I can knit while sitting/bouncing on one of those giant exercise balls.  Supposedly this helps the baby drop into position.

So, I finished both designs for Knitterella's test knitting project.  I can't wait to show you the finished garments (once she releases the pattern).  They are really beautiful - and simple enough that even a beginning knitter will have great success knitting them.  I think the set would make a fantastic gift.  I've put aside my set for just one special person to receive.  Can't post names though - she reads my blog!

I also finished typing up all 4 of my patterns that were in the works.  Two just got submitted to Knit Picks for final approval.  I'll hear back (hopefully) soon about their release.  I'll release them in my Craftsy, Ravelry, and Etsy shops the same day they go live on Knit Picks if they are picked up.  Otherwise, it should only be another few days/week before they get posted.  That is the beauty of self publishing!  ;)

Not to be all teasing, however, I do have a sneak peek at a new sock pattern I'm whipping up.



This uses the Knit Picks Glimmer line of yarn.  Though it isn't a St. Patty's Day pattern, the green feels very festive to me, and it cheered me up just working with it.  I love the glimmer sock yarn, because there are small strands of sparkly fiber that wind through each skein, and it just makes the whole project feel magical.

Since that photo was taken, I've gotten another 2-3 inches knit.  If this baby keeps staying put, I could have a new pair of socks knit up in record time.  Sigh...

I'll leave you with one last picture - just because it makes me smile.  We had oranges and left over curry for lunch.  Ruby loves curry (all spicy food really), and her favorite food is oranges.  Sometimes she'll eat the peel if I don't grab it away fast enough.  Anyway... I just love this little snapshot of her.

Hope your day is delightful!

New Patterns Coming Soon!

My mom has the kids today, and I'm busy typing up a bunch of new knitting patterns that have been on the back burner for the past few weeks!  Woohoo!  It will feel so good to get these out before baby comes.

I just had to take a quick break, however, and share some of the shots I got from the photo shoot for my new Football hat pattern.  Samantha was a crack up.  I can't use most of these shots, but they are too cute to not post somewhere!

My girls are such football fans.  Even Ruby will squeal with delight every time she sees a "Peehawk" logo.  Her Seahawk shirt is her favorite, and she asks daily to wear it.  Eventually, I think each one of us in the family will need to have one of these football hats.

If your family feels similarly, then you'll be glad to know that this pattern includes 5 sizes - infant, toddler, child, tween, and adult.

Arlan's Name Banner

It was baby shower central this weekend, and it began with Arielle's shower on Saturday morning.  She is pregnant with her first baby, a boy they have named Arlan (after her husband's grandpa).  Arielle is due just one week after me, so I expect our little guys are going to be great friends!

Her baby's room is painted grey, with splashes of color here and there, and lots of books.  I love making name banners for my friend's children, and so it was especially delightful to know his name ahead of time!

Here is the banner I made for baby Arlan.  I really loved picking out this fabric.  It was the first "boy" fabric I've been able to shop for (besides our son's quilt fabric).  I'm so attracted to grey and orange and green color combos.  I'm glad boy colors aren't just blue any more.

Fabric Banners

For the past few months I've been busy making banners to sell.  They are so much fun to make, and look super cute hanging in kids rooms, in kitchens, over a fireplace, or really anywhere!

I just posted these to my Etsy shop...









And these are a few I've made as custom orders.  I love to match the fabric to people's specific decor - like for nurseries.  I've done a few for teacher's classrooms too.  I posted those a few weeks back in September.  :)

This one is hard to see.  It says "Dog Room" and was for a sweet woman who was giving it to her sister.  Her sister runs a doggy daycare.  My favorite part was the little dog icon in the center.  He turned out so cute!

If you are interested in ordering a custom banner - just send me an email and we can chat.

nonapearl@firebin.net

Ruffles and Rust Weekend

On Friday and Saturday, my friend Wendi and I set up a spectacular booth at "Ruffles and Rust - a vintage show to inspire".  We had such a great time meeting people and selling our crafts.

While we don't sell antiques - we do decorate our space in antiques, and so we fit in to the show pretty well.  I've been scrounging blogs for photos to share.  I forgot to bring my camera, and neither Wendi nor I had the presence of mind to take photos of our booth.  Sigh...

But here are some photos of other people's booths.  :)  I came home with a few treasures, but for the most part used self control.  It was an incredible experience, and I did come home with TONS of great ideas for decorating my home.  I can't wait to get started!  This week is all about "purging" so that I can have space to make things look fresh and new.  And I can't WAIT to get started on our nursery!

These are the few pictures that Wendi got on her phone:

John Bob's space is always a favorite:

Here are photos that Sweet Savannah got: 

And these ones I found on Auntie's Finding Joy blog: 

Green and Orange Stockings

Over the weekend I finished another 8 stockings, this time in greens and yellow/oranges.  Only 6 are pictured because I grabbed one of each color and added it to our "family stocking stash".  So these 6 will be for sale at my upcoming show.

Today I'm working on new Christmas themed fabric banners, and blue stockings.  I also have some knitting to get done.

Hope you day is going well!  We had an awesome weekend, full of pumpkin patches, visiting friends, and great food.  I'll try to post some of those pictures soon.

Sewing Stockings

Last December I started knitting stockings for our family.  I finished two of them, then put them aside, because it wasn't Christmas anymore.  I figured that I'd finish the other 2 this year.  February and March and April came and went, and I did nothing with the stockings.  Then May hit and I had to start getting my inventory up for markets.  Then June - September came, and went.  Still nothing happened with the stockings.

Now we are in October - and I'm in my busiest knitting part of the year (for Christmas shows).  I did pull out the stockings, and sadly, decided that they were ugly, I didn't want to knit (now) 3 more of them, and the yarn would be better used for owl hats!

Yikes!

So I went on an etsy prowl for stockings, thinking I could purchase them.  I did find some very beautiful ones.  But at $50 a pop, that comes to $250 for stockings for our family!

Double Yikes!

As this is transpiring, the nutty, creative part of my brain piped up and said - "Nona - you are sewing now.  The stockings you love don't look "that" hard.  Why don't YOU make them?!?!"  :)  And for once, this part of my brain wasn't over stepping, or getting bigger than my ability (although this does often happen).

I popped over to YouTube for some instructional inspiration.  Then off to the fabric store I went to gather supplies.  I came home with some "trial" fabric, and within 2 hours, had whipped out my first stocking!  It was so cute!  And best off all, with the supplies I purchased, I was able to make 4 stockings, not just one with that fabric.

So back to the fabric store I went to get supplies in a few more colors.  And as of this morning, I have finished 8 stockings!  Whoohooo!!!   I'm going to keep working on them this week in the other colors.  I decided that we'll keep one of each color for our family, and then sell the extras.  Hopefully I'll have a nice assortment finished by the 22nd for my next big show.  And hopefully people will want to buy them!

Here are photos of the finished ones.  :)  Tomorrow, I'll post the process.  It's not quite step-by-step, but enough to get the idea of how I made them.

You might be wondering about names/personalization.  At this point I don't have a way to machine embroider them.  Our family isn't going to put names on ours.  That way, every year the kids can pick a different color and no one has to complain that "they always get stuck with the ugly yellow one".  It would be totally possible to hand embroider a name on, but I want to keep the price low, and can't do that if I have to personalize them.

PS... Don't forget to leave a message on THIS POST to enter to win 30 cards!  I'm less than 300 hits away from 200,000 hits, and that is when I'll pick a winner!  I'm guessing this will happen tomorrow - Wednesday at the very latest.

October Template of the Month - Mischief

Are you feeling a little mischievous?  How about a little spooky?  It won't be long until all the neighborhood rug-rats (mine included) will descend upon us in search of treats!

Do you know what you're doing with your Halloween photos this year?  How about making a delightfully creepy mini album for them?  Better yet - how about making TWO - one to keep, and one to give to grandma!

My latest template is here and it features the Mischief papers, Midnight felt shapes, and Newsprint Rub-ons from Close To My Heart.  Best of all, you can make 2 mini albums with just 1 pack of Mischief papers!

The Mini Albums have 10 pages, and 3 pull out tags for additional photos.  The template includes 7 full color pages of cutting diagrams, photos of each page, and detailed assembly instructions.

Here are some detailed shots of the inside of the album:

Purchase this fantastic template for only $5!

Please note: templates and licenses are sold separately!

Are you a paper-crafting teacher?  Limited Teacher's Licenses can be purchased for only $10 more.  Click on the "Mischief" template below (or other desired license) and then click "add to cart".

Kit Template:
Mischief Typeset Dreamin' Fanfare You and Me Thrifty 30 Sophia Lucky


To read about Teacher's Licenses and what they allow, please click on the "Nona's Papercrafting Template" tab above.  All of the details are outlined there.  You can also see all of my other available templates there.

Look What I'm Playing with Today...

Today, I'm working on my template for October, and I'm playing with

this...

and this...

and this...

I can't wait to show you the finished project(s)!

September's Template - Typeset

Well, my September Template has finally made it's (delayed) arrival!  Thank you all so much for your patience.

September was a very busy month for me - my oldest went back to school, I was knitting and sewing for the market during the week, then working at the market every Saturday, I published 2 new knitting patterns, and I cut into my "work time" by about 4 hours every night.  (Pregnancy makes me VERY tired.)

But, now I'm back and I have a FANASTIC template to share with you all.  :)  It's one that I'm most proud of, and I hope that you all enjoy.  If you are frugal, or enjoy teaching to groups, you will love this template too.  The cutting is simple and fast, and there is very little waste with the paper you cut, but LOTS of leftovers!  In fact, just by supplementing a few sheets of cardstock, you can make BOTH projects (cards and mini album with box) TWICE with one paper packet!

Check it out!

And here's some close ups of the details:

With this template you can make:

An accordion fold "Year in Review" mini album with matching box

8 cards (2 each in 4 designs)

This template can be purchased for only $5 by clicking here -->  

NOTE: Templates and Licenses are sold separately!

A limited teacher's license can by purchased for only $10 by clicking on the Typeset name,

(or other desired license name) and then clicking "add to cart"

Kit Template:
Typeset Dreamin' Fanfare You and Me Thrifty 30 Sophia Lucky

To read about Teacher's Licences and what they allow,

click on the "Nona's Papercraft Templates" tab above.  It is all outlined there.

You can also see all of my other available templates on that page as well.

New Template for you TOMORROW!

Look what I finished this morning!?!?  Yup - it's the prototype for a BRAND NEW TEMPLATE!  WOOOHOOO!!!!!!!

I'm super proud of this one.  It is JAM PACKED with a two HUGE workshop projects, and best of all - you only need 1/2 a paper packet to make BOTH!

Once nap time comes I'll be working on the template.  Hoping to have it 100% ready to go by tomorrow morning!  Keep checking back.  You are NOT going to want to miss out on this one.  :)

Fabric Pennant Banners

I've been deathly afraid of sewing machines for DECADES.  (I think it has something to do with a few sewing projects going horribly wrong as a child.)  Anyway, about 2 years ago, stitching on paper became all the rage, so I had a sit down tutorial with my mom and started stitching on my scrapbooks and cards.  It went well.  No fingers were lost, no hair was torn out, projects got compliments... all in all success in my book.  So my mom loaned me (pretty much permanently) her sewing machine.

This bad boy is over 30 years old now.  It has a lovely old, machinery and oil smell, and it makes a delightful clackity clack when it stitches.  It even has a sweet little hum after it's been plugged in.

The only bad thing...

I've been terrified to use it again!

After paper crafting with it for about a year, I tucked it in the corner with great hopes of doing more.  Ruby came along, and it continued to sit.  We moved, and it sat.  Life  happened, and it just patiently, quietly, waited for me in the corner of my craft room.

Then, inspiration hit.  I found the most gorgeous fabric and I had to do something with it!  But it was fabric.  And I'd only ever sewn on paper.  YIKES!  However, the love of this fabric, and the flooding of ideas took over, and I just had to pull out my old, lovely, Brother sewing machine.

It took a few tries to get it threaded, and a few more to get a bobbin wound and reloaded (there's no automatic anything on this puppy).  But I made my first pennant triangle for the banner.  Then I made another, and another, and another.  I was on a roll!

And surprisingly, I was smitten too.  All those fears, and past comments that I "hated sewing" or that I was crafty with everything but fabric just seemed to melt away.  Believe it or not, I was having FUN!

So, many hours later, I have two lovely fabric pennant banners finished, and a stack of fabric ready to make an additional 10 or so.  Perhaps I'll even share a tutorial - so long as you accomplished sewers and quilters don't point out all the mistakes I'm making.  Haha!  I'm just sewing by the seat of my pants here, so I'm sure that I'm breaking a few rules.

Here are pictures of my banners.  They are double sided - 3 different fabrics on each side.  12 pennant triangles total and about 2 1/2 yards long.  I made one in blues/golds, and one in purple/pink floral and golds. They need to be steamed, but I'm so happy with how they turned out!

Close up of the "boyish" fabric:

Close up of the "girly" fabrics: