Red White and Blue All Over

I promised you something red, white, and blue.... three weeks ago! I've been working on some wonderful custom orders in the interim, and hope to show you some of them soon In the meantime, here is the promised patriotic bling. I'm seriously in love with this clasp. It's whimsical and unique and of course, goes well with the patriotic theme. The classic bracelet has two different colors of blue, deep almost royal, blue, and a light aqua. Iridescent cherry red finishes off the classic color scheme.

Patriotic star bracelet

The coordinating bangle is slim and subtle, and has deep royal blue and cherry red beads in a simple pattern.

What I especially like about these particular bracelets is that they're extremely wearable throughout the year, not just to watch fireworks and parades. But they'll look great for those occasions, too! Both pieces are available in the shop.

So, do you have a favorite "look" between the two? My personal favorite is the classic bracelet, mainly because of, you guessed it, that twinkling star. I wonder what's next for this star accent? Black and gold? A "superstar" themed piece? What do you think?

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.

bangles, bangles everywhere

I can't seem to stop making these bangles! First there were simple beaded ones in saturated colors, like these ones. I've got most of the rainbow here! This rainbow is available individually or as a set of cool blues (the bottom three) or hot tropics (the top three). I've found that they're a lot of fun to stack for more visual impact.

I beaded each one with matching glass seed beads because I can't seem to make "plain" anything.. Next, somebody wanted crystals instead of beads for extra sparkle, so these ones appeared. They're my favorite so far, and I can't wait to do more with these larger crystals.

Finally, someone else thought that a charm bracelet made with this technique would be a great idea, so she picked the charms and I knitted them, along with some Swarovski crystals, to form this set of bangles.

They're pretty easy to make, and definitely fun to wear! I'm wondering if anyone would be interested in a tutorial or pattern to make your own, or perhaps a kit with all of the supplies, as well as directions? Please comment with your thoughts. :)

In the meantime, I'm working on a special project. Every year, one of the churches in my area hosts a Mother's Day Tea, and part of the festivities includes a raffle of a variety of products and services. There has been everything from a movie night basket, to Avon products, and even a full photography shoot donated by a local photographer. I'm making this set of bangles for the event:

Time to chug some coffee and get knitting.

Going Green

How can knitters be environmentally friendly? Short of keeping sheep in your backyard and using the fleece for yarn, something my town would frown on, there are a few things that you can do. I've blogged about these things over at the Fiber Arts Guild.

Have you ever wanted to try making or using tshirt yarn? what about upcycling old sweaters, or using yarns made of recycled material? Then check out "Earth Day for Fiber Artists" for some resources and fun suggestions.

See you there!

pretty in pink

Hi there, sorry for the temporary disappearance. Between custom orders and sickness (the flue bug that just won't quit) I haven't had a chance to catch up here. Recently I've had the opportunity to create some pretty in pink custom orders. First there was the silver and pink crystal bangle, which turned out so well I listed one. (That happens a lot, my customers are smart and have lovely ideas.)

pink crystal bracelet

Then there was the matching pink knot necklace. The tricky part with this one was making the wire wrapped clasp. I used heavier gauge stainless steel wire. Ouch! My hands were killing me in the end, but the results were pretty, so I'm sure I'll be doing it again. If you decide to try it, take your time and take  plenty of breaks. I found this tutorial from Trina Ann to be very helpful. Since I don't have bail making pliers I used a knitting needle, size 7, to wrap the wire around for the coil.. I worked the loop using a wire jig, and my kids were fascinated, watching as I snaked the wire around the pegs and created the shape.

The final piece is actually a fun set of bangles in black, silver, and hot pink. Yes, we're back to bangles. They're multiplying like rabbits around here. It started with just two, but now there's a whole collection in a rainbow of shades, with more coming as colors  are suggested to me or as I see pretty wire. There's a very citrus-ey bunch hanging out in the bracelet box now, but they'd clash with the rest of the pink in this post. Maybe next time.

The Story Behind... Peacock Pearl Necklace

Here is the story behind a very special piece - the Peacock Pearl Necklace.

Last week we had a mini summer - temperatures nearing 80, no humidity, brilliant sunshine - perfect weather for being OUT. So the kids and I went to the zoo, the park, and played outside as much as we could. On one of our zoo expeditions, my littlest became fascinated with the peacocks. They are allowed to roam freely at our zoo, and frequently hang out around the pavilion area looking for crumbs, standing around, and being gorgeous. Sometimes a male will make his tail stand up, but that doesn't happen too often.


During our lunchtime she kept running off to where several peahens were pecking and wandering around. She was almost dancing when the male of the group showed up. (gander? gathering? flock? What are a group of peacocks called, anyway?) Even with his tail down, he was still shimmering with all kids of color, making the poor peahens seem positively drab by comparison.


Cameras started going off and a crowd gathered when the male made his tail feathers fan out. He stayed that way for several minutes, probably agitated by the crowd, the cameras, and the babies who reached out and touched one of his feathers. (My daughter was guilty of that one) Check him out protecting his group! (Herd?)

Peacock at the Pittsburgh Zoo

Look at those colors! I'm in love with jewel tones, particularly the rich teal color of Mr. Peacock's neck. Then there is emerald green, more blue, even hints of purple and gold in the feathers. I went home that day and couldn't get this guy out of my head, and then I remembered my small collection of peacock pearls. (deep teal dyed pearls, with hints of purple and green)  I didn't have very many, and I loved them, so I knew that whatever I did with them needed to be extra special.

Peacock Pearl Necklace

 Peacock inspiration and peacock pearls. What a perfect match! I decided to make a short necklace, just over 20" long, with a look influenced by the short pearl strands seen on  Mad Men. Mad Men is a TV show about an ad agency and set in the 60's. This is one of my favorite shows and I'm very grateful to NetFlix for suggesting it. Seeing Betty look elegant and put together with her impeccably tailored clothes and pearls, even while relaxing at home, has spurred me to put more effort into my appearance and ditch the sweats a little more often. (I'm a SAHM with two toddlers. It gets messy around here!)

One of my friends has called this piece "The Floating Necklace" since it rests so delicately around my neck, and it truly feels like it's floating. In fact, it's so light that you can barely feel it at all.

Well, there you have it: The story behind The Peacock Pearl Mad Men Floating Necklace. Now that's a  mouthful!

Guest post... sort of.

I've mentioned the ever-so-awesome Fiber Arts Guild before, and today's post is over there. I'm the rotating blog editor for this week -eeeks!- and spent all of my blogging time over there, getting everything ready. This kickoff post is all about my favorite layers for spring, and will hopefully give you an idea or two for adding to your own spring sweater wardrobe. :)

See you there!