Hot Cocoa Kisses

I think this was my favorite part of the kit. This adorable mug with the delicious hot chocolate (yup, the cocoa is gone)! The cocoa came from Melony at Untie the Ribbons.





















These are coasters that I believe were made by Petite Threla and an adorable gift tag made by Jame of A Forest Frolic.

The adorable hot cocoa stitch marker was made by Dee of Fyrestorm Creations. You can even see the marshmallows on top!!! So freaking cute!

















The yarn was dyed by Curious Creek Fibers. Let me tell you, this stuff is amazing. It's a dream to work with and has great stitch definition! The color is also to "dye" for...I know...that's terrible... I think what I love even more was that she included sample skeins of some of her other yarn! Wasonga and Meru. Yum!


























































The bag is adorable. It was designed by Knit Purl Sew What?





















Last but not least are the patterns! The first one was designed by Jane Robbins. It's called Hot Chocolate Mittens, and they are beautiful! The pattern on the right is my Marshmallow Kisses pattern. I tried to capture a cup of hot cocoa in this pattern. At the top of the leg, I put x's for the kisses and then the zigzagging cables were supposed to represent whip cream and the bobbles are marshmallows, of course!

A bit about me...

So, I figured I should post on here, since Jennifer Jett of Woolgirl listed my blog in the information section of her newest kit, Hot Cocoa Kisses. I don't know about you, but I'd be disappointed to visit a blog and see that it hasn't been updated in nearly a year. D'oh!

So, since it's been so long, I figured that maybe I should write a little about myself. I'll post pictures of the new kit later on.

I live in Illinois, in the West Suburbs. I'm married and my children are two small chihuahuas that are definitely Mama's girls. If I'm around, my husband is chopped liver...well, maybe not chopped liver. They'd probably like that. :)

I actually work full-time (more than full-time actually) as a restaurant manager of a small privately owned restaurant in the western suburbs of Chicago. I am attending school as well, and just recently received my acceptance letter to nursing school!!! I'm very excited about this. I cannot wait to be doing something other than food service!

I came to be designing for Jen purely by accident. I had a pattern that I had written and I sent her an email asking if she would be willing to offer it for sale in her online store. I figured that with Woolgirl being so popular, asking her would be a great place to start. When I heard back from her, she said that she would be delighted to sell it in her store, but that she'd rather use the pattern as a part of one of her kits (the very first Glinda kit). I was stunned. I in no way expected that and was shocked that she liked it enough to want to include it in one of her famous kits, and Glinda no less! Well, I accepted, and the rest is history. It has been a pleasure to get to know Jen over these last few years, and I hope that our friendship will continue for years to come! She is truly one of the sweetest, most thoughtful people that I know.

Later on, once I have a chance to sit down with my camera, I'll take pictures of the amazing Hot Cocoa Kisses kit that she put together. I have to do it soon, because that hot cocoa that came with the kit is about to disappear before I can get a picture of it!

A little bit of an update...

So, for those that may not know, I'm back in school. I started in the Fall of 2009, and in January of 2011, I'll be applying for the nursing program at the College of Dupage. It's a two-year program, so as long as everything goes as planned (I'm not holding my breath) I should be graduating with an ADN and be a Registered Nurse in May of 2013. The tentative plan after that is to continue school to get a BSN, but I'm just taking it one step at a time. First things first, I have to get accepted to the nursing program.

So far so good, though. My GPA is a 4.0, which is really important, since the program is so competitive. Only 110 spots and the school gets hundreds of applicants each year.

This summer, I have the pleasure (yeah...) of taking a Certified Nursing Assistant course. I get to learn how to give old people sponge baths and how to use mechanical lifts and all sorts of other fun stuff... Wish me luck :)

Moving

Yup, it's true.  We are moving!  Don't worry, it's definitely a good thing.  We'll be closer to work for both of us.  It will be cheaper than our current rent and we will be minus one annoying/messy/disgusting housemate.  See?  All good things.

Part of the moving process though, is packing.  I don't know about anybody else, but I HATE packing.  The other times we've moved, we've always waited until the last minute (I know, bad move on our part) and then it's a crazy frenzy to get everything packed and on the truck before we have to be out.  Fortunately, we've learned.  We have already started packing for our April 24th move.  All books (minus the knitting books, of course) have been packed.  All the art on the walls of the living room and dining room have been removed.  DVDs and games are all packed as well as all the CDs and cassettes.  I think we've made some good headway on the packing, though now those two rooms look very naked.

On a side note, if anybody knows anybody that is looking for a 55" Flat screen TV, it's for sale.  It's an older tube model, but works just fine and the sound is good as well.  It is probably not going to fit into our new space, and we really don't want to even try.  Send me a message if you want it!

Woolgirls Easter Kit 2009

Okay, it's official.  I'm a Woolgirl kit junkie.  Here is the latest kit!  A Vintage Easter kit that I just got it the mail today!

 

Here is the whole she-bang opened up.  Pretty, isn't it?

A cute little handmade Easter Bunny stitch-marker.

Handpainted notecards.  Aren't they cute!  I'm torn between keeping them for myself, or giving them away to another knitter that will appreciate them as much as I do!

The inside of the Vintage Easter box and a bag of Jelly Beans!

Some yummy Sock yarn from Madelinetosh in the color Clover.  Not my usual color but I really like it!

A notepad to keep track of all things yarny :)

A cute little origami bunny made by Jen at woolgirl.

A handmade pouch in some Vintage Easter fabric.

I still have yet to post all the awesome photos from my first sock club shipment!  There is just so much in Jen's kits!  What a wonderful surprise to come home to, today!

Loads of good new!

Well, it's been a good long while since I posted anything. Lots has happened in the last few months, and too much to even try to catch up on here. Lots of frustrating ordeals and whatnot that Nick and I have muddled through and we are slowly coming out the other side of.

My main reasons for posting are:

1. My pattern has been published!!! Details in a minute :)

2. I'm down 20.2 pounds!!!!

This last thing I am so incredibly excited about. I joined weightwatchers at the end of December. I didn't want to wait until January first, because I felt like I just needed to get started. No use in putting off the inevitable. It's been 9 weeks and I haven't felt at all like I've been dieting. It's all about the choices we make.

I have more energy than I've had in a long time. My clothes are baggy (yay!) and it's noticeable, which is always nice too. I simply cannot express just how happy I am. I feel like I've finally gotten some control over my body. Before, I felt like nothing I could do would help. The Atkins diet made me feel gross and I couldn't stick with it for any length of time because it felt like a DIET. Weightwatchers is not a diet, and I never feel hungry or deprived. It's awesome!

Okay. Now on to the other good news.

About 6 months ago, I contacted Jen from Woolgirl about the possibility of her selling my sock pattern. We exchanged a few emails, one of which had my pattern in it, and Jen LOVED it! She told me that she would be happy to sell it in her shop, but would be even happier if I agreed to let her use it for a special Sock Kit. After months of planning on her part and nail-biting on my part, the Glenda the Good Witch Sock Kit has finally been released! Woohoo! Here are some pictures:

This is the Glenda the Good Witch Kit as it arrived at my house

The Yarn is Madelinetosh and there is an adorable project bag made by Amy. If you wanted to order a bag from her, you could contact her at ablt4@msn.com .

My pattern :)


Plus lots of other fun goodies!



A sugar cookie recipe with a star and a crown cookie cutters.




A wand and a pencil with Glenda's saying "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?"



A Glenda sticky pad and bookmark.




A Glenda stitch marker made by WeeOnes.



And a homemade soap wand and a baggy of Good & Plenty!

So much fun and so exciting!!!

Yay for Weightwatchers!

I'm down 8.2 pounds in just two weeks!  I feel full and I can eat anything I want.  I'm so incredibly excited about this program!  

That's the only thing of real interest I have to report.   Lots of things OTN, including Stricken, and a Hooded Cable Scarf.  There are others but those are the big ones I'm working on right now.