Future Friday ~ Pinwheel Flower Hat

Hapy Friday! Man have I been looking forward to this weekend! I have been doing SO much this week (mostly for the day job), but those details will come up in the weekend wrap up.
For this Future Friday I am introducing a little girl hat: the pinwheel flower hat. This one is already reserved for a cutstomer but I am planning on making some for the Etsy store in the future. BTW I have recently opened it to start adding products. Look out for a blog in the near future about the grand opening and other details on that. 



http://www.etsy.com/transaction/58194124



I am making this hat out of a SUPER soft yarn in a pink and green! I plan on maing a modification to this hat by adding a jewel/crystal of some sort into the center of the flower. I think this will make it POP a little better and give a little more "princess" to the look. Nothing says princess like bling :).

On a side note I already have a model for this hat but I am still looking for a little boy to model the rhythm hat. If you or someone you know may be interested please feel free to message me and pass the info along. (There is a tap at the top of my page to get in touch). Also I am making things all the time for people of all ages, if you are interested for future shoots, I would love to hear from you too!

Weekend Wrap-UP ~ Busy bee! rhythm hats, polar bears, and lions, oh my!

Happy productive weekend time! I just LOVE the feeling of getting things accomplished. Although my poor fiance has been left to his own devices this week because I've been so busy, I have been tearing up my to do list and taking names! I was quite sure at times I had taken on too much this week and my head was going to explode but it didn't and I feel so relieved to be able to look back on what all Innov8ive Knits has gotten done this week:

Polar Bear photo shoot & edits. I finished up the polar bear set sometime last week and since my customer was in need of them for a shower fairly quickly I found a last minute model and did a shoot after work one afternoon. We met up in a grassy area near an abandoned church that my model's mommy recommended. I would have never thought to go there but they turned out very good. I got the chance to finally sit down and narrow down the pictures I took and edit them. Put to work some of the new things I have learned in my much valuable Photoshop class- taking out odd things in the background, adding my business name in the photos, making the pictures have brighter pictures and softened them with more light. I'm so thrilled with how they turned out. I was concearned with that after I looked at the original pictures because my settings weren't right and they turned out a little blue straight from the camera. I'm really pleased overall with them and quitr proud of them. Each time I do a shoot like this I do new edits and new angles, and they look better. You can almost see the progression in my albums. Photography is so important in a mostly web based business.

You can see the full set of pictures on my Facebook under Polar Bear hat & diaper cover set in my albums.

Also this week I finished the Lion Toy. I must admit that this project entailed a bit more than I exptected! There's about a MILLION strands of hair this bad boy needs to have individually cut and attached to his head. I have taken some pictures but haven't gotten the chance to edit them just yet because I want a couple more first. I do plan on sometime before this weekend taking him to the park and photographing him in places children would play- sitting in a swing, on a see-saw, climbing ladders, etc. I think this will bring a fun, playful element to the pictures.

AND I started the rhythm hat from last Future Friday's post. It is coming along fairly quickly and the colorwork is very cool. I love watching a project take shape, I think that is my favorite thing about knitting/crocheting is watching a shape develop from nothing. It's like magic.

On the business side I have also put together some spreadsheets to keep track of profit, what has sold, and what hasn't. And I'm preparing for doing a grand opening on Etsy. I was going to wait until I had a few more things in stock to add but what time is better than the present right?  I am planning on having it open by the end of the month! I've also created a new cleaner/professional Quote & Invoice template. On top of that I have hired a graphic designer to create my logo and we are working on the details of the design and soon it will be on EVERYTHING. I can't wait to get new business cards, make new website banners etc.

 Things are really coming together, and although it's not at the point where it pays all the bills it makes me happy and it certainly is growing. I've picked up 4 custom orders just this week! Once the Etsy store is open I hope to be selling stock and picking up more orders. Especially with Christmas on its way I need to take advantage of that and be prepared. If only I had more time to knit!

Future Friday ~ Rhythm Hat

I just LOVE little boy clothes! I had a customer request a clean and simple newborn hat. No fru-fru's, animal faces, etc and something warm too. Hats like this are excellent for everyday wear, not just a photo prop. Sometimes when giving a gift (as in this occasion), you want to give something extra useful. When you are uncertain of a mom's style or they already have a little of everything, a hat like this is just the ticket. In this case less is more. It has unique color-work that puts a fresh attitude to the common hat.




http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/rhythm-hat



Pattern: Rythm hat
I plan on using a sport weight 100% peruvian wool yarn. It's a nice wool that is warm and sturdy without being itchy. Being wool it is a hand wash only item. I will be using a denimn blue and a pesto like green colors per my customer's request. I think they will contrast nicely and really pop to show off the work!

As a moderation I plan on making this hat just a tad longer than the pattern calls for. This will give a little extra growing room and assure that it will cover the baby's ears no matter how big his newborn head may turn out to be. The baby will be in a chilly area and we want to make sure his little ears will be nice and warm.

I have been doing a lot of crochet patterns lately and although they work up a good bit faster and have a truly hand made look, I have been really missing my knitting needles these days! I am quite looking forward to popping those pointy needles out and getting to work on this project.

If you were to buy a hat like this, what colors would you like to have???

Future Friday - ROAR! Lion toy

This future Friday's project is a custom order from a local customer. In fact it's a project that I plan to start tackling this weekend.


http://www.etsy.com/transaction/57164587

 This is a pattern from one of my favorite Etsy designers- Beezy Mom's Creations. I've decided to do this project in a special yarn made of a tightly wound cotton that makes it durable, absorbent, and washable. As a baby toy, this will need to be washer friendly and a natural fiber that can be in a baby's mouth. This will be filled with fiberfill with a lining around it so the fill cannot be pulled through the stitches.

I'm very excited to add to my portfolio Innov8ive Knits very first toy! If you or someone else are possibly interested in a special hand made toy let me know. I am always interested in new ideas and challenging projects!

Weekend Wrap-Up- Newsie Hat photo shoot/ editing

This week was a short one thanks to the holiday but man was it smack full of adventure! From last week's weekend wrap-up you all know I finished my new favorite children's hat - the red newsie! This thing just has such a classic look I couldn't wait to get it on an appropriately sized head (and not just mine). 


This week I got the chance to use it in a photo shoot on the most precious little blue eyed boy I know! He was such a trooper for the shoot and was surprisingly content sitting in the grass for a nice chunk of time. Special thanks to Valerie for letting me borrow him :). Since this hat has such an old fashioned style, I really wanted to convey that in the editing of the picture. Give it an all around look of refined & antique. Valerie dressed him in sweet little overalls with no undershirt and brought some antique looking toys along for the shoot, which not only helped him keep occupied it really added to the effect.

Little story about the photo shoot ~ Sometimes when your brain starts leaking out of your ears and you start acting like a crazy person, you know that you are doing too much in too little time. Prime example here. This whole week I have been doing strange things at work like scrambling simple paperwork, forgetting to do routine things, etc. The night before the shoot I made sure to charge my camera and have it ready to take with me to work in the morning because I was heading to the park right when I get off. I was so totally excited and prepared. Once I made it to the park after work I realized that I had brought the camera and totally FORGOT to bring the hat! I mean HELLO it was main reason for the shoot. So last minute I got my sweet fiance to save the day and interrupted his studious homework time to bring it out to me so I wouldn't be late. After he so kindly saved the day and I was on time (being late is a huge pet peeve of mine) I couldn't find my little model and his mommy. Why might you ask? That would be because I was at the wrong flipping park on the other side of flipping town! I can't even begin to explain how embarrassed I was. This type of behavior is so unlike myself and I could have just DIED! Luckily, I was able to make it to the other park in a somewhat reasonable amount of time (although late grrr) and got to do the shoot in plenty of time before sunset. Little Mason (my model) really kept his cool for me keeping him waiting so long and close to bed time. I still can't believe I did that :-/

I hope that the photos will end up useful in the future for sales. They will be the only impression that most of my customers or anyone interested for that matter will come across before they make a decision. I am learning slowly how to use photoshop from trial and error and I must admit I'm pretty proud of these edits. (BTW I am taking a photoshop class at the local university and plan on sharing some of the tips & tricks that I learn with you- if you bought Photoshop like me and then realized it's a little more in depth than you anticipated) If they don't sell before my grand opening of my Etsy store, the goal of these is to really catch the eye and show the attitude and quality of the work for customers. We will see how affective it is here soon enough :) Wish me luck!

Future Friday- yoga/pilates socks

So I've recently decided that I would like to add a line of yoga/pilates socks to Innov8ive Knits lineup of goodies. I have a ton of great new ideas for these, but I had to narrow it down to just one to get started. This is the next thing on my list to knit up! 

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/chelseacreature/115-35-yoga-socks-with-cables-in-alpaca-and-kid-silk

Pattern: Yoga Socks with Cables

The original pattern calls for a blend of two yarns: alpaca and kid silk. For those of you who don't knit, this makes for a very warm, soft, and fuzzy end product. Since it doesn't get terribly cold here in Alabama, and I'm not a big fan of that look I would like to use a different yarn. The end result will be very similar to the look in the above picture. 

This makes for a simple, classic pair of socks that depending on the color used can be appropriate for both men and women. There is something so attractive to me about a crisp, clean cable… Now that I think about it, this pattern looks very similar to the cable on my never ending scarf!  When you know what looks you like, you know.

I'm very excited to get started on this project and add to the different types of shop selections.  As a side note here is a list of the "shop selections" I plan to provide via Facebook and my Etsy store: 

• Children/Baby clothes & hats
• Adult hats
• Scarves
• Skinny ties
• Wedding Veils
• Yoga/Pilates socks

If you have any opinions/ideas on what color I should use on this Future Friday project please feel free to comment below! Also, I would love to hear from YOU on what you would like to see in the store next. It just might be the next Future Friday topic. :)

Introducing: Innov8iveKnits.com

Now Innov8iveKnits officially has it's OWN domain name!! 


I was recently given some advice about starting a business (especially one based around a product/service that someone may consider a hobby), "If you want people to treat your business like a business, YOU have to treat it like a business first." People react based on your attitude and how you treat things. You're demeanor is contagious and reflects your business tremendously. You can't treat a business like a hobby and expect others to think of it anything more than how you treat it. This is just one more step forward to Innov8iveKnits being what I have been dreaming for it to be.


A domain name shows professionalism, not just a hey I like to blog on my free time because it's fun and stuff, cool, yay! Although, I must admit I do find it quite rewarding.  It's also easier to remember than yadayada-website.blogger/soonandsofourth. Having a domain name is crisp, easy, and to the point. 


In addition, the website will be having a few new renovations (most likely over the weekend) to feature separate pages such as- about me, contact, for sale, etc. I think this will help make the page more accessible and user friendly.


AND speaking of treating your business like a business, I am in the process of having a logo made! I'm quite excited about having a uniform branding label for all things Innov8iveKnits. It may be some time before it hits the streets… or the website BUT it is in the works and I can't wait to share it!


Next time you are in the need of an Innov8iveKnits fix, all you have to do it type : www.Innov8iveKnits.com!

Weekend Wrap-Up ~ Laborous weekend!

Happy Labor Day weekend(well not anymore it's basically over)! I am so thrilled to finally have a good chunk of time to put forward to the things I love- my business! Sometimes it's so hard to get anything done and devote the time and things that it truly deserves and needs while working somewhere else full time. I could use a few extra hours in the day! There is something to be said about the feeling you get, when you get up in the morning and do EXACTLY what you want to be doing.

Special thanks to the storm in the Gulf here all weekend, I have an excellent excuse to stay on the couch all day and knit(and probably gain a few extra pounds). I decided to tackle a project for stock that I've been dying to knit. I had to pick up another project to break up working on the endless scarf. I think this hat is just WAY too precious for it's own good and can't wait to put it on a little model! Speaking of which do I have any takers??? I need a little sweetie around 12-24 months  (maybe even older) for a photo shoot!!



This so does not fit me but gives you an idea or what it will look like on a real head until I can do a photo shoot.

 This hat has been one of the more complex patterns I have done in quite some time. There is a lot of shaping  and short rows to get this thing to do what it does. I'm really enjoying watching it take shape. Each row turns it into something new.

This hat will look so precious on a little one, give them a sophisticated older look. This will make for great pictures, especially with grandparents. I've seen this hat done on Ravelry (click on the link to see the picture) and they had the child on his grandfather's lap and they were both wearing a hat like this in a similar color and it was just TOO cute!

BREAKING NEWS!!! I've also decided to start a line of yoga/pilates socks. I teach pilates on my free time and really enjoy the pair I made for myself. There are holes in the heel and toes so you still have the capability to grip the mat while keeping your feet warm. The warmer the body the better the stretch & more calories burned (plus they are pretty darn stylish if I may say so myself). I am really looking forward to converting some of my favorite regular sock patterns into yoga/pilates socks. There's a million different options for these and I think people will enjoy them as much as I do. These are also good for dancers that need grip in these areas of the foot. I have seen these placed on top of ballerina shoes and bare feet as far as dancing goes. Living in Alabama it's hard to think about needing to keep warm but the cold season is right around the corner and I cant wait! Keep your eyes out for the new line of those!