Black Pearl Creation’s Blog

In August of this year, I was already thinking about my winter designs. In the midst of this, I needed someone to review my Iola sweater. Yeah, pictures are nice and everything but you can’t feel and see quality on a computer monitor! So I sent out a Tweet on Twitter and received a few responses. One from Anna of Shoe Smitten and the other from The Fungke Blak Chik (who I am sure is tired of waiting for her sweater but I am working on it. Let’s just say the sheep and the dye had some serious issues!) But Anna received her sweater yesterday and wrote an honest, overall positive review. Check it out here. And of course, she had the right shoes to go with it!

And I am working on the other sweater before I am cursed up one side and down the other!

Anna at Shoesmitten from Twitter tagged me for the 6 Interesting Things Game. The idea is to tell/confess 6 things that is not widely known about you. Once you have done so, you must tag 6 others to pour out their guts!

So let me begin:

1. Greek was my first language. I learned English from my parents (obviously) and listening to Sesame Street!

2. I have a unexplainable fear of success and always manage to pull back just when I am on that cusp.

3. I only have 2 children but they are 11 years and 1 week apart.

4. I can’t stand raw cheese.

5. I love documentaries and Christian action movies.

6. I am a slow crocheter!

There you have it: Me, in a nutshell!

Now I have to choose 6 people to tag:

@neosoulsister
@lexusevents
@ghampceo
@happyhourboston
@bostonswag
@mousewords

On a whim, this past weekend, I decided to cut half of my hair off. I can’t truly say it was on a whim because I knew me and my hair needed it. I colored it a light brown about 6 weeks ago and my hair has been dry since. I cut it because I was tired of thin, lifeless looking hair. My hair always stopped growing once it reached my shoulder blades. Then it just said, “Ok, we are stopping here, forever!” I was already determined to have gorgeous natural hair but know it seems like I just have moss on my head.

My hair was never the kind to curl and coil in its natural state. My hair was trained under the pressing comb. As I got older, pressing combs and curling irons were how it was controlled. Very rarely was a relaxer put on my hair. What my relaxed hair is doing now is what my natural hair does.

So, here I sit in New Hampshire, where very few sisters are natural. You should have seen the looks I got with my twist out over the weekend! My salon owning girlfriend loved it and told me to keep it up. But you know how it is, once you get home, alone – the pity party starts. Now I brought the pity party to my job and need some serious help and ideas. Don’t get me wrong. Nappturality is a great website but I feel a bit lost and overwhelmed and I’ll admit, I want some personalized attention! LOL

The twist out just isn’t working for my hair. My hair is thin. I have about 3 or so inches of relaxed, colored hair. I was thinking about the BC but my cheeks wouldn’t take to kindly and I’ll look like I gained weight instead of lost it. I don’t mind trying products but I don’t know what to use. I am using some items from Neosoul Essentials . Is that enough, do I need more?

That’s my pity party in a nutshell! Feel free to join me!

I got my interview!! Yes, yes! Cee Cee Woolard, of Neosoul Essentials is also the moderator of the Womanpreneur website. She contacted me to put Black Pearl Creations up as a featured business. She added links, some photos and it’s awesome!

Cee Cee is the creator of Neosoulessentials, a natural body care line. She has some hair products in the works and her shea butter (especially in the Eternity scent) is heavenly!

See the complete interview here!

Thanks Cee Cee!

I am having a hard time finding American crocheters who take crochet to a “wearable art” level. After fighting within myself, I decided to post a dress I made for last years collection. Not too many people have seen these. The turquoise color is a sight for sore eyes and the fire red has a hint of shimmer to it.

I hope you don’t mind me tooting my own horn on this one!

Ahh, Canada. The beautiful landscape, friendly people, awesome food and animals. Lots of animals that are now stuck on the engine, tires and frame of my beloved truck. Yes, it does stink. No, the air freshener is not working.

After taking my children to Canada for some R&R, I came away inspired! I had already been thinking about streamlining my line and after seeing the gorgeous sweaters people sport in Canada, I know I am on the right track. Some may think, “Why add to an already saturated market?” The beauty is that there are few hand knitters that design and manufacture sweaters for the public and even fewer crocheters! So, I am not saturating the market, I am making the market! Very exciting times here at Black Pearl Creations!

The holiday season is upon us (at least if you are in retail) and I must warn you: ORDER EARLY! Some of my customers are heeding this advice and submitting their orders before the rush. I also offer gift certificates and I am establishing a layaway program as well. As soon as I have the details worked out, I will post it here.

I won’t lie. I love dresses and I love suit dresses. I like feeling sexy and professional. And sometimes I only want to be sexy. Today’s pin up definitely could not be worn in the office but it could be worn to the club, shopping, or on vacation. The designer Martina is a superb crocheter. She is another on of those crocheters from the Czech Republic. Although I truly admire their handiwork, I am disappointed that I don’t see more American designers doing this type of work. It’s time to step up my game!

For now, please enjoy this beautiful crocheted suit!

With the many payroll issues at my J.O.B yesterday, it was extremely difficult to find a pin-up for our daily fix of Crochet Porn. That being said, today’s pin up is a design I have seen very often and everytime I see a new striped yarn that is made of wool, mohair, cashmere or angora, I want to try this coat! from what I can gather, you make the spiral for the back and then the sleeves are worked in the round from a section marked off. Of course, the theory is always much easier than the execution.

I posted a couple of variations of this coat. You can find patterns either on Ravelry or Google “crochet circular coat”.

Please let me know what you think!