Kreativ Blogger! Oh my!

What a huge compliment! Pearls Toronto has nominated me for a Kreativ Blogger award.

The amazing thing about this is that I get to talk about other blogs that I enjoy, which I've been meaning to do for awhile now. I'll start with Pearls Toronto. We met at the grocery store. Her and I bonded over some celtic knitted mitts from my mom and voila! A local knit pal was made. She's funny and uber talented and has great energy. Pop over and check out her blog. You'll see exactly what I mean.

Now my part in this is that I share 7 random things about myself.

1. I've only been knitting for a little over a year which is shocking since my mom has been knitting since before I was born and its always been around me. But forced to put my feet up before my daughter was born last year I decided to do something productive with my time and knitting helped fill that creative bug in me.

2. I. love. music. I always have to have some on in the background. Its hard when you have children though as it turns into "Songs for Toddlers". I used to go to concerts 6 times a year and discover new music. And now a tiny part of me is happy to be back at work 9-5 because I can listen to my music all day!

3. I love all Jim Hensen creations. We grew up on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show and any other Hensen production. And now that I have children I have introduced them to it. Well, my son who's 3.5 years can identify them. The baby girl at one year is still having trouble saying Rainbow Connection but I'm working on it!

4. I've made Thursday night my Yoga night. I found a great session at the local community centre with an amazing instructor. One and a half hours just for me and my body. I've fallen asleep twice during the relaxation now. I'm a light sleeper so that's pretty huge.

5. I'm a mom. This is not random if you know me, of course. But pre-kids I used to worry about taking care of them and being responsible. You know, like feeding them properly, teaching them to be nice, not losing them in public places. But now I just feel they're an extension of me and its an awesome feeling.

6. I live downtown Toronto. I love it, I've grown accustom to it. Queen West is my backyard to stroll and pop into shops is so fantastic. Stop for a drink. Shop. You know... But, I want to live outside the city. Have a house where I can sit on the porch and watch the kids play in the yard after dinner. Have some fruit trees. Smell the blossoms. Where in winter time we can make snow angels more than once a year.

7. I'm sarcastic.

Now for my favourite part. To introduce YOU to 5 Blogs that I follow and love. For me these are blogs that have inspired me and reminded me that being creative is a part of me and no matter how I go about it that I need to feed that part of me.
In the order in which I stumbled upon them.

1. 1funkyknitwit
This absolutely funky woman not only knits up a storm and does test knits, but she dyes and spins her own yarn. She has an amazing sense of humour and has been so supportive of my knitting from the very beginning. If I lived in Australia... I'd track her down and soak up all her knowledge.

2. Groovy Moments
I actually know Groovy Moments personally but didn't know she had a blog until a mutual friend pointed it out. A thrifter who loves to upcycle things, a sewer, a traveller and a mom, I love following her adventures. Her and her husband recently took their two small boys on a 3 month trip across the ocean! I love her Soulemama Moments. Janie's also been another cheerleader in my adventures in blogging.

3. Luvinthemommyhood
After reading just one post you will immediately feel at home with Shannon. She's open and warm and her creative soul is overflowing all the time. From her knitting to sewing to photography you will know she's a person you want to hang around (if I didn't live across the country...). She always has amazing KAL's going on, including the one I'm doing now. Oh and tutorial's, free patterns, giveaways... she just doesn't stop.

4. Hey! Jen Renee
You know when you don't even remember how you found someone but it really doesn't matter? Hey! Jen Renee is a stylin' mama with loads of creative juice. A graphic designer? Enough said. She takes amazing photographs, has great craft ideas (just check out her daughter's 5th Birthday invites!), she knits as well as designs (I knit her GAP-tastic recently as you may recall) and had the best maternity wardrobe I've ever seen... She rocks. If I'm forgetting something its because she has such a diverse blog that there's always something changing up.

5. Jane Richmond
I was lead to Jane through a luvinthemommyhood giveaway. I won free patterns from Jane's line and now I'm addicted to her patterns. She designs my kind of stuff! I'm now following her blog and its not just knit talk either. But when it is she is extremely informative. Her photos are always fab (she's her own gorgeous model) and I feel like I can feel the west coast through her posts!

Well, there ya go. I hope I gave you inspiration to go and visit each and every blog I mentioned and give them a spin for yourself (including Pearls Toronto who nominated me). I could have listed more but the list was only 5! When I have about 15 I follow, that's hard.