Stars and Hearts

Good morning! It seems that I get my best blogging and knitting done at odd hours, like early in the morning or late at night. This is likely because my kids like to have my attention during normal business hours and it's hard to make wire do what I want it to do when I have a 2 year old climbing on me. But despite the clinging, yet ever adorable, kiddos, I have gotten a little actual knitting done, and I have just enough time before they wake up to show you!

Here's the rainbow gold cuff, complete with a star toggle clasp. I love the clasp and want to buy 50 of them and use them in every single piece that I do for the next 6 months. The color mix is my standard rainbow mix, but I added some orange and a little extra blue to it. The effect is really fun, I think.

Rainbow beaded cuff

This is the original silver one, although it doesn't have a star clasp... yet. I'm thinking about switching the regular clasp out for one, though. (Also notice the lack of orange - it adds so much to the new gold cuff, gotta add it to this one as well.)

rainbow silver cuff

And finally... more pink and a bunch of hearts. Clearly, somewhere inside this tomboy was a pretty pretty princess just waiting to get out.

purple heart bracelet

I added some metallic black beads to balance out all of the pink. Speaking of that pink, the color is actually called amethyst and it's considered a purple, but depending on the light the wire looks like a deep fuchsia pink or an intense purple. For that reason it was tricky to photograph, but in the end I feel like I captured the color accurately. Not pictured here is the gorgeous heart shaped toggle clasp that finishes this off. Like I said, super girly!

This week I will be preparing for a 3 day camping trip and amusement park day trip with my husband and the  aforementioned toddlers, so there will be no knitting this week! Looks for something patriotic next week, though.

Wordless Saturday

Because I'm currently working on a big wholesale order and have  no time to type. Also thought you might like some eye candy... and I've already blown the whole "Wordless" thing. Oops.

Jewels on Copper - a brilliant customer's suggestion

Black Tie - love those pearls!

Copper Luxe - Clearly I'm on a pearl kick

"Baby's Independence", my picture that was an honorable mention in a photography contest.

So here's my (sort of) wordless update. What are you up to?

Playing Catchup

First, apologies to my lovely readers for completely abandoning you all month. I've been working through some personal stuff, and although I've had many ideas for posts worked up in my head but they just haven't translated well to the virtual page.

So... here are bits of what I've been working on lately.

More wire jewelry, of course. The copper one is a new design experiment of mine, placing beads close together just along the edges, so show off the knitting a bit. The "Favorite Jeans" bracelet is for a friend of mine who's moving several states away. :(



simple copper bracelet



earthy blues bracelet



I've also picked up some actual yarn for the first time in a few months (!). This ribbon yarn is so gorgeous, love the ombre blues and silky feel. I've been wearing the blue bracelet a lot - can't believe how well it matches my wardrobe, and I love the pop of color. It's also comfy and lightweight. Don't worry, all ordered bracelets are custom made for you the customer. You won't get any pre-worn items.

blue gadget case

textured ribbon bracelet

Finally, here's a pic of my precious baby girl, who is almost a whole year old!! She's my very reluctant model, and she thinks hats are toys to be played with, not worn. The hat she's "modeling" is a new design, made for a friend of mine who's expecting a little boy. Oh, and those ears took me several HOURS to figure out. I reknit those puppies many times before finally hitting the trifecta of size, shape, and placement on the hat. I cannot wait to make more in other colors! I'll work on "traditional" colors first, like pink and tan with cream trim. Have an idea for a good color combo? Leave me a comment and if I use it I'll send you a coupon for my studio. :)



   knit baby hat blue bear



Love the devilish look on her face in the second pic. It was taken a second before she ripped it off.

If you would like one of these adorable hats for your little one,  drop me a line. I need a more cooperative model to take better pics before I can list it in my studio. The gadget case isn't listed yet, either, as it needs a button for a closure and I haven't found the perfect one yet.

However, everything else is availble in myonline studio. You don't need an account to order, which is a nice plus.

Do you have a little one who likes to wear hats and will hold still long enough to snap some nice pics? Are you a photographer who needs a cute prop for baby pics? Please contact me by commenting or emailing and I'll send you a hat in your choice of color and size. You can keep the hat in exchange for some cute pics that I can use to promote it. :)

"Sea-ing" Green

Catching the morning light

A view from the top



Pretty clasp to finish it off



This was my submission for CCC's week 25 challenge - sea green. The bright spring green bits are actually genuine freshwater pearls. They fit the theme perfectly, I think. The other colors are black, aqua, and light green glass beads. (Sea glass? If only...) Everything was randomly gathered and strung on the wire, then knit, so no two will be exactly the same. Suddenly my wardrobe is in need of a LOT more green... hehe.

The funny thing is, I've has a little summer cardigan in actual yarn on my needles for weeks now, but I keep getting distracted by the wire. And beads. Oh and the pearls!! Loooove the pearls. As my adorable niece would say, "Vewwwwwy niiiiiiice!"

Tropical Orange and Blue

OK, so I just realized that for the past month my posts have been all about the color challenges. I have been knitting other things, but often selling them before having a chance to blog about them. Which is a good problem! Anyway, I'll try to blog more often in the future. :)

Last week's challenge colors were vibrant oranges and blues, very tropical. Unfortunately I once again had a lot of personal stuff going on and didn't have time to incorporate those colors into something knitted, so I made a simple stretchy bracelet. I love the blue beads in this... check out the tiny painted flower in the center of each one!



Also, I got an amazing camera for Mother's Day, and can't believe the difference between this pic, taken with my new baby, and my older product pics. So much clearer, even when cropped in close! Love it.

This is a new project, a custom order for my sister. It's a multicolor selection of beads, mainly cool blues and green, with a few other colors thrown in for contrast. It's quite fun and summery. I was playing with autofocus, and the camera focused through the front of the bracelet to the back. Here's a different shot:

Sorry for the ramble, but I'm so excited about this project and my spiffy camera. :D Now on to my favorite color challenge pieces for week 24. First we have another Studio V design. The little turqoise bird accent did it for me. So unique!

Next is an entry from Blue Sharky. The copper is so pretty, as are the bright beads she used. I like the overall style of this set.

The third jewelry piece I chose was a piece from Vintage Mom. I liked the deeper colors she chose for her piece.

The final piece I chose wasn't a jewelry item, it was a self portrait. As soon as I saw it I knew I would be featuring it. It's so pretty! The artist is Jen Ashman.

As always, there were many beautiful submissions from this extremely talented group of designers. Looking forward to seeing the results of this week's challenge, greens with accents of smoky gray and teal. Some of my very favorite colors!

PS If I showcased your work and I don't have a link to your site, please leave one in the comments. Thanks!

Berries N Cream

FYI I've been working on this post since Monday!! Unfortunately cranky babies who are teething and not feeling well tend to be rather clingy. They also like computers and like to hit as many keys as they can reach... not good! So I haven't had much computer time lately.

I've recently joined a group on Facebook that does a color challenge each week. (Everyone makes something in a specific color combo in their medium of choice.) It's definitely gotten the creative juices flowing, and I love seeing what other artists come up with. I've been inspired to play with colors more than I had up until this point. This week's combination was a "Berries and Cream" theme. Pink, red, cream, and chocolate brown, how yummy!

This is what I came up with.

I strung copper wire with a random  arrangement (I never do random! It was so fun.) of glass pearls, pink beads, and deep brown swarovski crystals, then knit it into a bracelet. The ends are tapered and its closed with a copper toggle clasp with a miniature rose detail.  I sold it before I had a chance to take detail pictures, though, so this is the only one I have.

Here are a couple of my favorite entries for this particular color challenge. I have a thing for pearls, and the shimmery disks on the earrings are actually pearls!



BigFatUselessCat Designs

 My other favorite, also involving pearls, was this lovely from Sunshine Jewels. The closure is so modern and beautiful, don't you think?

Sunshine Jewels





Finally, if you need a place to keep all of your lovelies safe, check this out! Storage and display from Joyous World

Joyous World on Etsy

PS If you would like a berries n cream bracelet of your own, I would love to make another just for you! email me at boojayknits@gmail.com. :)

Spring fever

What could be cuter than a little girl in a shimmery, fluffy tutu? They are THE accessory for little princesses everywhere, and I've recently learned how to make them. I now understand why they're so popular, because they are so much fun to make! Almost makes me wish I was little so I could wear one... almost. LOL



In other news, spring has finally arrived in my neighborhood. To celebrate, I've done the wire knit bracelet in new, springy colors - copper and aqua. The finishing touch will be a delicate copper toggle closure with a perfect spring blossom.

See? Even my needles match, LOL


It's going to be bee-yoo-tiful!

posted from Bloggeroid

Bling

This is my latest creation. I worked on it for most of last week, because I could only do it when my kids were asleep. The wire is too fragile to risk being tugged or twisted by little hands. The finished piece is delicate yet strong, and measures approximately 2" wide and 7.5" long measured from each clasp. The knitted portion is just over 6".

I tried to capture the shine of the piece, and the contrast of the black and silver. It's truly gorgeous! Try it... add a little shine to your next outfit with this one-of-a-kind bracelet. I can't wait to make this in other colors.

I would love to hear your suggestions for future color combinations! Do you have a favorite metal or color? Or maybe you have an outfit that needs that something. Maybe even a favorite sports team? (Black and gold, anyone??) Whatever it is, I'd love to hear it. :)

Testing

Knitted metal seems like such a contradiction to me. Knits are "supposed" to be soft, like sweaters or socks, and metal is, well, hard. But what if I combined the two ideas? I've been testing this metal + knitting combination out this week, and the result looks a little something like this:


That's fine gauge silver wire, knitted on small needles that bangs up my hands. :( But the end result is worth it, don't you think? Those beads are way prettier in real life; they have an iridescent shine to them that reminds me of soap bubbles. Tiny, black, soap bubbles.

The resulting texture in quite interesting. It's hard because it's made out of metal, but it's flexible and light because it's knitted. This is going to be a cuff, or a wide bracelet, when it's finished. Currently I have an inch left to knit, then I have to figure out a closure for it. Lobster claw or magnetic? Which would you prefer?

In other knitterly news....

I'm test knitting a sweater for Stefanie Japel. THE Stefanie Japel. In case you don't know, she designs knitwear and she is one of my favorite designers. Her designs are flattering and intuitive, and most of them are also seamless. (I hate seaming. It's right up there with cleaning up puke on my "Ugh" list.)

Anyways... I, along with a bunch of other knitters, are knitting a test pattern for her. I don't know if I'm allowed to post pics or anything, so I won't. But I will say that it's a perfect spring sweater. Light, flowy, and flattering. Can't wait to go yarn shopping!

[p]\posted from Bloggeroid