Vogue Knitting Preview... Yipee!

Oh I can't wait for spring time knitting!  Check it out!



Summertime Blues - explore the pacific palette ace of a crystal blue persuasion



Postcards from Rio - citrus brights and coral spice infuse Carnaval style into tropical tops



It's All White Now - style gets a cool pick-me-up with cool, crisp white



Set Off Sparks - sexy is back with a shapely camisole that dares, bares, and dazzles



So Hot It Sizzles - the body electric: slinky bikinis in metallic yarns make the most of a minimal amount of fabric



Credit for pictures and captions go completely to Vogue Knitting and their preview site.  I just couldn't do them justice in my own words, the designs are gorgeous and stunning.  Enjoy! 

Blog Hop

Hello Friends!  Well, I finally wrapped up my One World One Heart blog networking event, complete with some very cute giveaway prizes. 

And guess what?!  Here comes another blog event! :)

Marni over at Sassy Sites is hosting a blog hop for newbie bloggers (ie. blogs that are no older than 6 months of age).  So yeah, Rhea Sunshine Designs qualifies!  If you're interested in participating, just scroll to the bottom of the blog hop list and click on "What is a blog hop?" and it'll tell you what to do.

For those of you who are also participating the this Sassy Blog Hop and this is your first time here, let me introduce myself:

My name is Rhea and I'm crazy! My husband can attest to that! I’m originally from Maryland but now I live in New York. I’ve been married since May 2007 to an absolutely fantastic man. I’m also a Christian who accepted Christ at age 18 and my relationship with God has changed my life.  I started this blog to share my passion for the creative arts.  I love to knit!  I also enjoy learning new crafting skills and creating beautiful treasures.  Whether it's something with yarn or some other medium, my most favorite experience is standing back, looking at a completed project, and thinking "wow that is gorgeous and I made that!"  So please go enjoy yourself in my blog :)

Announcing the OWOH 2011 Giveaway Winner!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered my "mystery" giveaway for One World One Heart!  I made a point of visiting all the blogs for everyone who entered and I must say, they were all so super creative and for that, I loved them all!!  I'm really glad that this drawing was random because if I had to pick a favorite, well, I just wouldn't be able to do that.  So without further ado *drum roll please*...

The winner of my giveaway is:

Sigrid @ Kreative Bastelwelt

and you won...


An adorably soft teddy bear, Valentine's Day hard candy, and beautiful spring time stationary pages.

 Thanks to all for the encouraging posts, for introducing yourselves, and even for leaving some very cryptic messages because you don't write in English very well! ;) Thanks and best of luck to you all in your future blogging endeavors!

"If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land." ~2Chronicles 7:14

Support Local Yarn Shops

So sorry for taking a whole 10 days off from blogging.  Life really got in the way, I had to travel 9 hours to Virginia for a family emergency, and well... I really just didn't want to blog about anything going on in my life at that time.  But now that I'm back, I can reflect on this positive experience!  During one of my breaks from hospital hiatus, I found this really great local yarn shop:  Coordinated Colors Yarn Shoppe

I picked out a couple hanks of yarn (there was so much to choose from) and the owner graciously wound them for me.  The store started out as an online-only business, so if I need to add to my supply at any point in the future, I can simply call/email in an order, and it will ship to me at no additional handling cost.  How fabulous is that?!  Here is the project I started during my long intervals of waiting:



Lion Brand Curtain Call Shrug, Pattern #60368A

The yarn I'm using is a lighter weight than what the pattern calls for; therefore, I made a gauge swatch, upped the needle size, made another gauge swatch, and hopefully this will work out.  Otherwise I'll either be frogging the whole thing or giving it as a gift to someone much smaller than me.  Either way, I needed something to keep me busy and help me feel productive.

Gotta Be There

I have to head out of town tomorrow morning for an undetermined amount of time.  At this point, definitely not longer than a week, and maybe only through Wednesday, but I'm really not sure.  So as much as I like to be organized and have everything planned out ahead of time, I'm not being afforded that luxury.  I have to pack in the worst way... just pick a bunch of articles of clothing that I like to wear often, have pieces that I can layer in case it's warm, cool, cold, rainy, sunny, etc. and make sure I have the essentials (shoes, undergarments, toiletries, and the like).

Not quite my suitcase, but really close

I'm taking the same approach with my knitting.  I might have quite the significant amount of down time, either passing the time at someone's house or growing affixed to a waiting room chair.  Either way, I will go crazy if I have to make small talk the entire time.  Enter in the sampling of my yarn stash, my circular knitting needle set, stitch markers, sewing needles, a crochet hook, and maybe a set of dpn just for good measure.  I'm not sure if I'll take any patterns with me or just wing it by falling back on some faithful favorites.



Yarn Stash Pic from Healing Hillary's Blog

I just know that in times past, my knitting has been my 2nd therapy, immediately following prayer and the study of God's Word.  I know my Lord is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.  He has created everything and is completely sovereign to control all that is His.  Who am I?

Wonderful Women

Sorry all for not blogging yesterday; the snow and ice storm completely blew up my plans!  But now I'm back and I wanted to share a couple of websites that I found...

http://jdiamonddesigns.weebly.com/

This particular site is run by my long time friend, Jen!  She is a fabulous stay-at-home-mom with so much energy, creativity, and ambition.  I love her ribbon hair accessories that started as a craft project for her daughter.  I really hope that she will be so proud of herself as her endeavors grow into something that she will cherish long into the future!

http://www.melscrochetedcreations.com/

And through Jen I also found this site that is truly an example of a goal that I aspire to achieve.  Mel has embraced her love of crochet and has really developed it into a web-based business!  That is what I hope to do with my knitting someday because I am that passionate about it.

Enjoy these beautiful examples of amazing women who are working to make their dreams come true!! Be inspired! :)

Cupcake Creativity

Created by Jen @ A Thousand Words

I wanted to share this blog post with you all because it was just so super cute. I've been in a cupcake mood the past few days because I just read a facebook post about the 2nd Annual Gardiner Cupcake Festival to be held on Sunday, May 1st.

From the same blog, A Thousand Words, the author also created her own video tutorial about tips for frosting cupcakes. Enjoy!

Thank you Katie @ Explanation Required for sharing this site!