Hello Again, April Sponsors!

I would like to thank my sponsors for this month. Please take a moment and give them a visit.

Good to See You Again, Rachael!

Is the Easter Bunny visiting your house? What kind of treats do you hope to get?
The Easter Bunny isn't visiting my house this year.. I'm still hoping for a chocolate egg that my dad always gives me each year though. :)


What is your favourite springtime flower?
I love daffodils and lilacs!
Those are my two favourites, too! Lilacs smell so sweet, and are the loveliest colours.


Coffee or tea, and what kind is your favourite?
Coffee! I love iced coffee, and blended coffee. The cold ones tend to be a bit sweeter to me. :)


What is your most exciting project this month?
One of my most exciting projects actually has to do with coffee! I'll be sending some coffee themed paintings to an art gallery's coffee shop!

Blog ~ Art Shop ~ Knitwear Shop ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Tumblr 

Hello again, Rachael!

Rachael is a year long sponsor of Knit, Nicole, Knit! and I love hearing from her every month.
What are your three favourite etsy shops, besides your own?
I've always been a huge fan of TheBlackApple on etsy! Her stuff is kind of what made me start selling on etsy!
I don't have any others.. they change daily!
Wow, really nice stuff in that shop! Love it!

What is your favourite green treat to consume on St. Patrick's Day? Are you doing anything fun for the holiday?
My favorite green treat is probably the drink my mom makes every year.. it involves ginger ale, and something else mysterious... I never know, but I like it!
This year I'm getting a tattoo! It's not FOR the holiday.. it's actually the day my pup Mowgli passed away.. So, I'm getting a tattoo in his honor.. it happens to be the day before St. Patrick's day.
Mowgli was such a cute pup. I bet the hattoo in his honour will be beautiful.

What are you most looking forward to with the start of spring?
I'm excited to start planting a garden!
I'm definitely excited for gardening, too!

Blog ~ Art Shop ~ Knitwear Shop ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Tumblr 

Another Giveaway!

Yes, that's right, you can enter a second giveaway to win some of my earrings!! This one is being hosted by Rachael of Talk2TheTrees. The prize is THREE pairs of earrings in the colour of your choosing!

Rachael is a year-long sponsor of Knit, Nicole, Knit, and an absolutely awesome person. If you didn't win the giveaway on here (or even if you did!) go and check out her blog and enter to win!

Hello, Rachael!

A big hello to Rachael of TreeTalker, back for another month of sponsoring!
What is your most exciting project this week?
I've currently started making hats for a children's hospital. The hats are for children who are battling cancer. They had a need for adorable boy hats, since most people make cute little girl hats with flowers. I'm excited to send the boys bunches of monkey and bear hats!
Making baby hats feels so fulfilling. I knit for a local hospital, as well, and there is a shortage of boys hats there, as well. Babies in monkey and bear hats will be adorable!

What are you top 5 favourite recording artists?
Stars, Ingrid Michaelson, The Weepies, Sufjan Stevens, and Azure Ray.

How do you get out of a creative slump?
Whenever I'm in a creative slump.. I know I need to focus on something else. I normally take the doggies on an adventure to the canyons and play a game of fetch. I also bring my camera around and take lots of inspiring photos of nature!
I wish my dog was as interested in adventures as Charlie and Wicket are! He's happy just lounging all day!

How do you feel about Valentine's Day?
I'm excited for it! It will be my second Valentine's Day with my boyfriend. I don't know what our plans are quite yet.. I've got to think of something!!

Blog ~ Art Shop ~ Knitwear Shop ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Tumblr 

Thanks Rachael! We will be seeing you again soon!

Welcome Back, Rachael!

Rachael of Talk2TheTrees/TreeTalker is back again this month!


How were your holidays? Did you do/see/taste anything awesome?
Oh dear.. my holidays this year have been a mess! Just in two weeks, my car broke down, my house flooded, I had a huge vacation planned, and the day I got back I caught a very bad cold! On top of all that I had holiday orders to get out. It's been less than a happy holidays.. but I'm doing my best to still see the light in things! After the flood we were able to put our Christmas tree back up, and rewrap the presents. I'm hoping to get over this nasty cold by Christmas.
This Holiday season has been quite the test for me. I have to try extra hard to be happy. Sometimes it makes more sense to just be sad.. to give up. But it takes lots of guts to face the problems with a smile. As all this was happening, I had two options.. to either give in, cry and be sad.. or toughen up and fight back with a smile.
I felt so bad reading Rachael's blog and tweets about all these things. I know the feeling when everything goes wrong at once, and it seems like it will never get better.

Any New Year's Resolutions?
I would love for my art shop to grow a bit more! Aside from that, I'd like to drink more water, and take my doggies on more walks.
Those are three great resolutions!

What do you want the most for your business this year?
I would love to eventually close my hat shop, or at least slow down sales so I can focus on my art more. As much as I love knitting and making hats, it's very time consuming when I just want to paint!

What are you most looking forward to this year?
I'm looking forward to looking forward to moving. (There was no typo there!) I have plans to start looking for a new place to live in the next few months.. so I'm looking forward to looking forward to that! I know that if I start looking now I will get too anxious and excited.. when I'm still in contract with this place!

What is your current favourite blog?
NieNie Dialogues has been a favorite of mine for a while now!
Thanks so much, Rachael!

Blog ~ Art Shop ~ Knitwear Shop ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Tumblr 

Say Hello To Rachael!

Happy December, everyone! This is my first sponsor spotlight, and I am a little nervous! Rachael is absolutely lovely, so she is definitely going to start this off on the right foot.

Tell me about yourself!

My name is Rachael "TreeTalker" Caringella. I currently live in Utah with my two doggies and my boyfriend. I always say "One is stinky, one is hairy, and one has a biiiggg nose." It's my little joke. Ever since I was little I have always loved nature. I really did talk to trees, and I still do! I am currently settled into a little itty bitty apartment in Utah, though I make no plans to stay in Utah, I'm growing quite fond of this area. I am inspired by nature, trees, Fairy Tales, mushrooms, cemeteries, dreams, antique bottles, tarot cards and palm reading, acorns, tea sets, tiny mammals, fairy rings, old photographs, ghost stories, small collectibles and paper flowers, gift boxes, and other various containers

How did you start hand making?

I've been making art since before I can remember, I just always knew that was what I wanted to do, and I would be lost without it. I studied art in college for two years before dropping out and trying to make it on my own. I'm still very happy with my decision to leave school. Aside from painting I also own a little hat shop where I make and sell animal hats and pixie hats, as well as other beanies of course.
Rachael's hats are super cute! 

Where do you sell, both online and elsewhere?

I sell online mostly, though I have sold some stuff to friends out of my house. This spring I will be sending 20 paintings to a show in Georgia, where they will be up for sale. I would love to do a craft show one day.. I just need to gain the courage first!
I can relate! Craft shows can be nerve-wracking. Nearly every show I do, I freak out and assume I won't sell anything, and that all my knits are terrible. I've slowly been getting better. 

What do you do other than create?

I love to explore and go on little adventures. I take my doggies on a walk with a camera in hand. I love taking photos. I hardly ever have time to just sit and do nothing. I'm hardly ever board because I stay so busy.

What does your workspace look like?

It's currently a small corner of the house, gated from the animals. It is often very messy. But it works for now. Every day that I paint, I wheel out my portable studio and take up half the living room.

What is your most indispensable tool, that you would be completely lost without?

I would normally say a paintbrush, but since discovering my love for mixed media, I can paint with just about anything and like the results!

Anything else?

Hmm I love to be happy, and inspire others to be happy!

Blog ~ Art Shop ~ Knitwear Shop ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Tumblr 

Thanks Rachael! I will be posting the responses to my questions from all my sponsors in the first few days every month. Stay tuned for Minimalist Knitter!

The First Advertiser!

As soon as I'd posted the last update, I tweeted to a few fellow Etsians that I had ad space available. The first lovely lady to respond was Rachael of Talk2TheTrees.
I was really hoping she'd respond, because I absolutely adore her stuff! She knits and crochets, and paints, as well. Rachael has two shops on Etsy, one for yarn works, and one for her art. She also has adorable pups that I would let kiss me until the end of time.

I forgot to mention it in the original post, but advertising for the rest of November is free! Two dollars for a month and a half of advertising? You really can't afford not to! You pay now, and as soon as I get the ad and payment, your ad goes up, I write a post like this about you and your shop/blog, and your ad will remain on my blog till the end of December.