Current Projects
I spent yet another day buying supplies since I have day specific coupons to our local craft store. This time I got a huge discount on yarn because the cashier misunderstood what I meant by certain yarn I had was on clearance. She ended up marking down all the yarn I had. I ended up spending only $30 on over $75 worth of yarn! I also found an amazing book that helped me create a sweater vest template for my husband and son. From this book, I determined that a made a few key errors:
1. I did not shape the armholes correctly. The armholes I made were square, rather than circular.
2. I also did not include shoulder shaping in the front and back of the garment.
I am now halfway through a sweater vest, sized 2-4 years. At the end of the day, I was exhausted, but happy that I was able to figure out the errors that I had made and learned from my mistakes. My goal now is to make a few different designs over the next few weeks, which will allow me to start posting items on etsy.com at or before my deadline of June 1, 2011. My goal is to have my first sale by mid June. Wish us luck!
Coming Soon
Pictures of the completed sweater vest will be posted once completed. The vest will also be listed on etsy.com.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Stitch and Ditch
Knit Machine: Second Attempt
I threw myself into knitting the front of the sweater vest I designed for my husband, determined to have something for him to try on by the time he returned home from work. The front proved to be much easier to complete on the knit machine today. I was able to finish the front at the precise moment my husband walked in the door. After piecing together the front and back, I realized that my calculations were a bit off. The arm holes were incredibly small and the neck hole did not look like it could fit my husband's head!
We both chuckled as he presented the sweater vest. He liked the length, but agreed that the armholes were a tad too small. Who said that your first design project had to turn out perfectly? I decided not to spend any more time on this particular failure, and added another point to the knit machine's score. Knit machine: 2, Melina: 0.
I did manage to work up a sweat while speeding through the construction of the front, and now I know a little bit more about the design process. I cannot wait until the day when I can picture something in my head and have it come out right the first time. A girl can only dream...
Side Projects
My husband is still dead set on having vests make a comeback for men. After a brief outing, armed with craft store coupons, I found a pattern for a child's vest that matched the pattern my husband purchased for himself. He is intent on having matching vests with our little boy. He even researched tailors who could make a few. Trying not to feel insulted at my husband's lack of confidence in my sewing skills (he has not seen any of my completed sewing projects), I continued on my search for the perfect pattern. As if such a thing exists.
I carefully measured my 20 month old and embarked on the mission to create matching vests for the two men in my life. I will keep you posted...
Coming Soon
Make sure to check back for progress updates on the new direction of Cherished Moments!
I threw myself into knitting the front of the sweater vest I designed for my husband, determined to have something for him to try on by the time he returned home from work. The front proved to be much easier to complete on the knit machine today. I was able to finish the front at the precise moment my husband walked in the door. After piecing together the front and back, I realized that my calculations were a bit off. The arm holes were incredibly small and the neck hole did not look like it could fit my husband's head!
We both chuckled as he presented the sweater vest. He liked the length, but agreed that the armholes were a tad too small. Who said that your first design project had to turn out perfectly? I decided not to spend any more time on this particular failure, and added another point to the knit machine's score. Knit machine: 2, Melina: 0.
I did manage to work up a sweat while speeding through the construction of the front, and now I know a little bit more about the design process. I cannot wait until the day when I can picture something in my head and have it come out right the first time. A girl can only dream...
Side Projects
My husband is still dead set on having vests make a comeback for men. After a brief outing, armed with craft store coupons, I found a pattern for a child's vest that matched the pattern my husband purchased for himself. He is intent on having matching vests with our little boy. He even researched tailors who could make a few. Trying not to feel insulted at my husband's lack of confidence in my sewing skills (he has not seen any of my completed sewing projects), I continued on my search for the perfect pattern. As if such a thing exists.
I carefully measured my 20 month old and embarked on the mission to create matching vests for the two men in my life. I will keep you posted...
Coming Soon
Make sure to check back for progress updates on the new direction of Cherished Moments!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Knitting Machine Perils
Today's Projects
Today I decided to set up the knitting machine that my mother gave me. She had had no luck with it and handed it over to me. Why not give it a shot, right? I put in the instructional video, which helped me put the machine together with ease. As a result, I seemed to think I could design a cable sweater and finish it in no time. Little did I know that it would take all morning, just to figure out how to get all my stitches to knit! It did not help that my little boy was jumping off the walls during the entire process. He did occasionally add a helping hand, which allowed me to watch him and concentrate on the task that lay ahead of me.
Three hours and several choice words later, I managed to knit a yellow scarf in stockinette stitch for my son. He proudly donned the scarf while we went shopping for material to make my husband a vest. While out, my husband decided he wanted me to knit him a sweater vest for him on the knit machine.
At home I measured my husband and quickly churned out a sweater vest design to his liking (I would equate working with him to working with one of my bridezillas). I immediately hopped over to the machine and attempted to tackle it once more. Unfortunately, it took an hour to knit 18 rows of the waste yarn after having started and restarted casting on 90 stitches. My perseverance paid off. I walked away from the machine with over one hundred rows knit, but it took 3 hours. Dropped stitch repair galore! I'm finally going to bed!
Coming Soon
We will be posting some photos of Melina's projects that are in progress as we prepare for launching our store on etsy.com.
Today I decided to set up the knitting machine that my mother gave me. She had had no luck with it and handed it over to me. Why not give it a shot, right? I put in the instructional video, which helped me put the machine together with ease. As a result, I seemed to think I could design a cable sweater and finish it in no time. Little did I know that it would take all morning, just to figure out how to get all my stitches to knit! It did not help that my little boy was jumping off the walls during the entire process. He did occasionally add a helping hand, which allowed me to watch him and concentrate on the task that lay ahead of me.
Three hours and several choice words later, I managed to knit a yellow scarf in stockinette stitch for my son. He proudly donned the scarf while we went shopping for material to make my husband a vest. While out, my husband decided he wanted me to knit him a sweater vest for him on the knit machine.
At home I measured my husband and quickly churned out a sweater vest design to his liking (I would equate working with him to working with one of my bridezillas). I immediately hopped over to the machine and attempted to tackle it once more. Unfortunately, it took an hour to knit 18 rows of the waste yarn after having started and restarted casting on 90 stitches. My perseverance paid off. I walked away from the machine with over one hundred rows knit, but it took 3 hours. Dropped stitch repair galore! I'm finally going to bed!
Coming Soon
We will be posting some photos of Melina's projects that are in progress as we prepare for launching our store on etsy.com.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Welcome!
I started Cherished Moments in October 2008, shortly after I married my husband. I had just spent the previous year planning my own wedding while working full-time. After I had a few events under my belt, my life switched gears due to the arrival of my first child, whom we we lovingly call Peanut. As a result, I put a huge part of my business on hold to take a better job, but it did come at a price. I was unhappy working 15 hour days in a bad neighborhood with nothing to show for it. During that time, friends and family continuously asked me how my business was doing. That made me realize, why am I working so hard at something that was not fulfilling to me?!
So here I am, revamping my business to include the things that I love to do the most: knitting and sewing. I get my talent from my mother, with whom I also collaborate on the many aspects of designing and making a project. Her years of experience with knitting and quilting, combined with my business sense and love of crafts are the makings of a great thing. We work well together and our styles complement each other.
As we go along we will share some of the things we are working on and keep you up to date with what's available in our shop.
Coming Soon
Cherished Moments will be opening a shop on www.etsy.com! We are also experimenting with dyeing yarn with Kool-Aid. Check back soon to see the results.
So here I am, revamping my business to include the things that I love to do the most: knitting and sewing. I get my talent from my mother, with whom I also collaborate on the many aspects of designing and making a project. Her years of experience with knitting and quilting, combined with my business sense and love of crafts are the makings of a great thing. We work well together and our styles complement each other.
As we go along we will share some of the things we are working on and keep you up to date with what's available in our shop.
Coming Soon
Cherished Moments will be opening a shop on www.etsy.com! We are also experimenting with dyeing yarn with Kool-Aid. Check back soon to see the results.
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