Card Class for September!

Check out the cards we'll be making at this month's class!  I just love the new Hooligans paper!  It makes the cutest cards - and they don't have to be just for Halloween!

Space is still available in the Sunday afternoon and Monday evening classes.  Pop me a message/email if you'd like to attend!

September Kit of the Month

I'm releasing my September Kit of the Month a little bit early!  It features the BRAND NEW Hooligans papers and embellishments from Close To My Heart!

With this kit you can create 6 different projects!  YES!  SIX!  Make a 12x12 layout, 4 cards and a brag book mini album.  You also receive a six-page color PDF instruction sheet.  And you won't believe the cost - just $25 and that INCLUDES shipping!

Email me at nonapearl@myctmh.com to order yours today!

10 Year Reunion

It was yet another busy weekend - but very fun.  I did the Edmonds Market Saturday morning, and then that evening was my 10 year high school reunion.  It seems SO strange to be 10 years removed from high school.  There are days when I feel much younger than that, and then of course days when I feel ever so much OLDER.

My graduating class was 109, and many of us had gone to the same school from Kindergarten (or at least elementary school) on, so it was almost like reuniting with long lost family.

The event Saturday night was held at the Tasting Room - near Pike Place Market.  Here are a few of the photos from that evening...

(ps... thank you Lie Shia for posting pics on facebook!  :)  I forgot to bring my camera)

Dave and I

Two of my best girl-friends from high school - Sara (middle) and Nicole (right) with Nicole's adorable hubby Shane

Another of my best gal pals - Heather (or as I liked to call her, Hodo) and her cutie-pie hubby Morgan:

This is Heidi (and her hubby Jesus) and her twin sister Heather (and hubby Aaron).  Not only were we close in school, but we have stayed close for the past 10 years!!!  Dave and I love spending time with them - and our kids get along great too!  :) 

On Sunday the reunion continued in the afternoon with a tour of the high school campus, and then a BBQ at the beach.  Once again I left my camera at home, so thanks again to Lie Shia for posting pics on facebook.

King's High School

The renovated senior lounge

Lie Shia in the old Quill Room (school newspaper).  This is the room where Dave and I met, and later flirted before class.  He was the editor of the Quill and I took a Bible class right next door.  Ahhh, memories!

Out at the beach....

Nick and his beautiful family.

Lisa and her darling daughter Elsa:

Gal pals: Erin, Katie, Kimi, and me

My new patterns are up on Knit Picks!

I am really beginning to love Thursdays!  That is the day when the new IDP patterns are posted on Knit Picks!  Here are my three latest contributions!

First Birthday Cake Hat

see the pattern HERE

Rosy Fingerless Gloves

see the pattern HERE

and last but not least....

Rosy Kerchief

see the pattern HERE

Winner

In reading all the comments, no one got the answer 100% correct, but I think Sheila was closest... So Sheila watch your inbox for 2 of my newest patterns.  :)

I'll dissect my coffee table - aka Yarn Mountain - for you in a minute, but first want to share the exciting news that ALL THREE of my new patterns will be up on the Knit Picks website tomorrow!!!  Yahoo!  So tune back in to get the link, or head over to www.knitpicks.com and click on patterns tomorrow morning.

Okay.. back to the mountain of projects...

Starting in the upper left is a Montmartre Fingerless Glove I'm knitting for the Edmonds Market this weekend.  You can find the pattern here or here if you are on Ravelry.  (and more great news - this pattern was just picked up by Knit Picks today, and I'll be test knitting it with the new Capra yarn.  So you might just see that same pattern up on the Knit Picks website soon too!!!)

Moving to the right we have two completed Moebius Neck Warmers (in red and blue) and two more in a honey/plum variegated yarn - these are also for the Market.  There is also some cut felt for "hanky holders" that I need to finish sewing up.

Moving slightly right is the remaining 1/2 of a skein of hot pink Berroco Vintage yarn for the second Montmartre glove, and some white which has  become 1/2 of a pair of baby socks (pattern for those here and here).

In my yarn bowl is the start of a tank top (for me!)in a luscious purple (many of you thought it was a hat), and left-over skeins of yarn from lots of previous projects.  :)

Finally, all the way to the right is a sneak peek at my new Rosy Gloves, under that is the new Rosy Kerchief, and under that is Ruby's sweater.

So there you have it!  The Rosy accessories are up on Knit Picks tomorrow along with my First Year Birthday Cake Hat.

Thanks for reading and playing along!  I have to go knit now... lots to get done before Market Day on Saturday.  :)

Yarn Mountain and Pattern Give-Away

Sadly, not much blogging has been happening around here lately.  It was a busy week last week, and an even busier one this week.

I cleaned off my creative knitting workspace, fondly nicknamed "yarn mountain" (aka - our coffee table) for Ruby's birthday party 2 weeks ago.  Slowly it has started to regain its former shape and size.

Now, it's not too terrible yet.  You can still see wood, the yarn bowl is distinctly visible, and I can still find specific projects fairly well.  Dave was hoping it would never reappear.  LOL, right.

Oh!  And something noteworthy...  In the hubbub of last week I got an super awesome email from Knit Picks.  They've accepted three more of my patterns for the Independent Designers Partnership (IDP) programp.  Whoohoo!  Two of those three projects are in the photo - and they are ones that I haven't released anywhere else yet.  Can you guess what they are?

I'll send both patterns to the first person who guesses correctly!  :)

Gotta run!  Sammie has camp today, then a playdate, and I'm teaching baby socks at knitting class tonight.  :)

Orange Box Jewelry

In working the Edmonds Summer Market, I've made some great friends!  Today I'd love to introduce you to Krissy Maier - designer of Orange Box Jewelry.  You can check out her website HERE and her Etsy store HERE.  You can also be a fan of her work on Facebook!

Her jewelry is beautiful, eclectic, fun, and unique, and best of all - affordable!

Krissy says of her business, "Orange Box has become my full time enterprise, love affair, source of constant entertainment, and cause for panic. I am thrilled to create fun jewelry and statement pieces that help women feel sassy and special. I get a tiny rush each time I resurrect a portion of a vintage jewelry piece that was previously discarded. I am thankful every day to play jewelry. "

Some of my favorite pieces that Krissy makes are her hair clips.  I have short hair, so I wear bobby pins every day, and hers are just SCRUMPTIOUS!  They are fun, colorful, and the best ones are totally zany. 

 

Here are a few more pictures of her unique and lovely pieces

I hope that you will take a minute to pop over to Krissy's website, etsy shop, or facebook page!  Or come and meet her in person at the Edmonds Summer Market!  The Market goes every Saturday from 9 am - 3 pm, through the first weekend in October (except this coming weekend because of the Taste of Edmonds).

Completed Belle

It's been a busy few days.  Sammie had Space Camp every day at her old pre-school last week, Ruby turned one on Wednesday, I had a booth at the Edmonds market all day Saturday, taught Sunday school and card class on Sunday, and then had another card class last night, and will have one more class tonight.  Whew!

In the midst of all that, I managed to get a little knitting in.  I finished the Belle sweater - designed by Cosette Cornelius-Bates (Cosy).  You can check out her AWESOME blog here: www.cosymakes.com and her fabulous Etsy store here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/cosymakes.

I'm so pleased with how the sweater turned out.  It's a fast and simple knit - and best of all NO SEAMING!  I knit Belle in the 24 month size and it fits Ruby perfectly.  Keep in mind that Ru is only 12 months old, but she's in the 85-90th percentile for both height and weight so she fits in 18-24 month clothes now.

Here are a few shots... sorry about the runny nose.  Ru caught her first cold.  Poor baby!  I'm amazed I even got one of her smiling, because she's been SOOOO crabby the past two days.  Praying the rest of us don't get it!

I still need to block the sweater so that the ruffles and button band lay correctly.  For the non-knitters, blocking is where you wash your garment, then lay it out as you want it to look and pin it, so that when it dries the wool will take on that desired shape.  

The sweater is knit in Merisoft Merino in HP66 and SPD332.  I used Malabrigo worsted in 204 velvet grapes for the button band.  The buttons are from Close To My Heart.  Gotta love it when your scrapbooking supplies can double as knitting supplies.

Ruby took her first steps a few days ago.  She's really starting to get the hang of it!

The back:

August Card Club Cards

This month we are using the Passages papers, and using some awesome paper flower techniques that I learned from my friend Donna Smith!  Thank you Donna for letting me teach your ideas to my customers.  :)

If you are in the greater Seattle area, and would like to attend one of these classes, please let me know.  I'm almost sold out, but there is one seat left for Sunday, and 2 seats left for Monday.

Independent Designer!

Well, it's official!  I'm an Independent Designer for Knit Picks!  Check out my first pattern for sale up on their website!

The first link is to all the new patterns up on their site this week:

http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/New_Knitting_Patterns__L300220.html

This link is to my pattern:

http://www.knitpicks.com/patterns/Sushi_Roll_Hat__D10470220.html

I'm so excited about this, as being published has been a dream of mine for a LONG time.  And look at the cute model.  Hehe... I was even more thrilled that they chose to use my photos that I included with the pattern.

I've submitted a few more patterns to Knit Picks so you may see more of my designs on their website in the future!  I promise to keep you all posted. 

Now I'm off to do my happy dance!

EFT: Here is a screen shot of the Knit Picks Online Pattern store!  :D

Happy Birthday Ruby!

Happy Birthday Ruby!  Today she is one year old.  I remember the joy and anxiety of her actual birth day.  She was about an hour old when we got to the hospital, and we were in time to see her get her first bath (which she did not like), and placed under the heating lamp (which she loved).

We spent two full days getting to know her birth mom, and getting to know Ruby.  The hospital was gracious to give us our own room during that time, and we spent the hours passing Ruby back and forth between our rooms, and visiting each other.  Anyone who has experienced an infant adoption knows the uncertainty, fear, anxiety, hopefulness and utter lack of control that surrounds the situation.  We relied on the Lord for every second of those days.

I continually had to remind myself that while Ruby's adoption day was one of the best days of my life, it had the potential of being one of the worst days of her birth mom's life, and we wanted no part in making it any harder on her.  So we prayed over her, and we prayed over Ruby.  We had family and friends praying.  Our whole church prayed.  Not only did we pray, but we reached out to Ruby's birth mom.  We met with her and talked for hours.  We encouraged her, answered her questions, and hopefully eased some of her fears.  We may not have made that day better for her, but I believe with all my heart that God met her in that difficult place, and gave her peace, and assurance, and hope.

And in this past year, not a single day has gone by that I haven't thought of her, and prayed for her.  I can't look at our little Ruby without thinking of her, and her amazing choice.  She blessed my life beyond all imagination when she entrusted her baby to me, and placed Ruby in my arms.  It is with all the love I possess in my heart, that I say thank you to Nicole today and we celebrate Ruby.

On a lighter note, we had Ruby dedicated on Sunday by our wonderful Pastor Wayne Taylor.  He has been my pastor since I was a little girl about Sammie's age.  After the dedication, we had a BBQ Birthday Party for Ru (and of course Dave made an incredible spread!).  Here are some of the highlights of the day:

the dedication:

Ru and Great Grandma Joyce

Ru and Grandma Leslie

Sissy loves cake!

obligatory baby cake pictures:

"this whole piece is for me???"

Daddy's girl

Digging in

"Num num num" (as Ru likes to say)

The final outcome of Ru vs. Cake.  Ru won!  (and no, we didn't let her eat the whole thing!)

Belle Progress

I made more progress on Belle over the weekend!  Sorry again about the blurry pictures.  :)  I have been taking photos with my nice camera, but I haven't had time to do the photo editing/posting.  These are just much easier.  SIGH....

Here is the back view just before I started the ruffle.


Of course I needed my model to try it on!


I let her hold the ball of yarn as bribery so she would hold still for the picture.  :)



And here it is with the ruffle complete.  Now on to sleeves!

August Kit of the Month

My Kit of the Month is back and for August we are turning to cards!

Note that not all supplies are included in the kit.  I tried to leave some things off the list to keep the price low.

Here is a supply list for the $40 "Mega Kit" option:

X7126B - Passages Level 2 papers (or substitute with papers of your choice)

Y1003 - 2x2, Y1006- 3x3 Acrylic Blocks

Z2114 - Cocoa Stamp Pad

Adhesive (like tombo)

For the $12 "Mini Kit" you will need all the supplies listed for the "Mega" as well as:

X7126C - Passages Level 2 Stickease

C1408 - Live Inspired Stamps

Order these supplies on my website - www.nonapearl.myctmh.com

or email me with your order!