the knit. bangle!

for those of you who have been following me over the past few months, i am pretty sure you might be looking forward to finally seeing the knit. bangle in it's finished state.  i have spent so many hours working on this piece and trying to envision what it might look like when it was completed, and now here it is!  phew!

knit. bangle 001

sterling silver.

measures 2 1/2 inches inside diameter.

weighs approximately 2.5 troy ounces.

knit. ring and bangle.

close up of the detail.

if you're interested in pricing or have any questions regarding these two pieces, please feel free to email me at knit.by.a.pawluk(at)gmail.com, and i will get back to you as soon as i can!

knit. ring 001

hello readers!  i'm really excited today because i get to reveal the first piece of my collection, the knit. ring 001!  i still have a bit more work left on the bangle, but should be able to get photos up within the next week if all goes well.  bear with me, as it has been a very long time since i've done this and i have two very young children who need their mama during the day :)

do you want to see the ring though?  well, okay...  but only because i've had you waiting for approximately 2 months!  

sterling silver.
size 7.

made to order.

allow 4-6 weeks (as i don't have the ability to do casting in my apartment).

price available upon request.

email knit.by.a.pawluk(at)gmail.com

the magic of handmade jewelry is that even though multiples will be made, no two will ever be exactly the same.  there are no machines popping these pieces out and all of the wax carving was done by hand (by me!)  no, they might not be absolutley perfect the way a CAD designer could do, but that's the point.  my desire is to create something that allows the wearer to feel the heart that goes into it.

i hope you all have a wonderful friday! 

ready to get this thing started!

 i'm really excited today because not only am i finished with the first model for my jewelry line, but i have started on a matching ring!  it is coming along quickly and beautifully.  rings are sort of my forte.  i have made so many in the past that even after 4 1/2 years, it's like second nature to me. (thanks to my amazing teacher who made sure i'd never forget a thing he taught me!)

the bangle will be sent out for casting in the next few days.  unfortunately, i don't have that type of set-up here in my little apartment so i do have to pay for outside help beyond the model making realm.  i can say that i'm a little nervous to let my 70 hours of work leave my hands.  but i'm sure everything will be fine and in a few weeks time i'll be posting pics of the finished (and sellable) product right here on this little blog!   

anyway, here's a photo of the finished model...

a little sneak peek of the ring in progress!

(click picture to enlarge and see more detail)

that's all for now!



inspiration.

 i have officially come down with the same awful cold that both of my kids got last week.  the constant runny nose has kept me away from the workbench for the past couple of days and i've made zero progress.  however, i really wanted to give you all a bit of insight into what "knit." is all about. 

ever since i can remember, i have had a huge passion for fashion design.  as a young girl, i dreamed of becoming an illustrator  for a big fashion house and was always sketching up new ideas, buying all the major fashion magazines, and sitting glued to the television during the fall and spring fashion weeks.  well, life took its course and it didn't take me on the path i had planned on taking.  i ended up as an apprentice under two amazing fine jewelry model makers and goldsmiths.  before that, i had absolutely no knowledge or interest in anything having to do with jewelry but mostly because i associated it all to your typical mass produced, hearts, diamonds, name plates, etc.  that stuff just did nothing for me.  

during my apprenticeship, i realized that jewelry could be SO much more than what i had ever dreamed, and i will get into more of that later, but here's where you begin to understand more of what "knit" will be all about.

i designed my first piece, the "knit" bangle, to be representative of the edge of the sleeve on this particular sweater, and thus the brand name, "knit." came about.

notes:

*the ring pictured was made by myself 5 years ago, and is one-of-a-kind.

*the wedding band was also made by myself.

*the engagement ring with mandarin garnet and diamonds is a one-of-a-kind handmade piece by Matthew Hopkins of the Goldsmiths & Silversmiths Co. in Mystic, CT.  he was my primary master and does phenomenal custom work.  if you're interested in learning more about him, please feel free to contact me at knit.by.a.pawluk(at)gmail.com.

preview of the first piece for my upcoming jewelry line.

'knit."

named after this particular piece and is also a reminder of God blessing me with the children that He "knit" and created for myself and my husband.

here's my first piece in the works...

one of the first stages of the carving process.

this is after about 30 hours of sculpting work.

hard to tell, but it's taking a more three dimensional form now.

once the bangle is complete in its wax form, a mold will be made and it will be cast in sterling silver.  stay tuned for much more! 

p.s. - my amhara skirt should be here any day.  i had to do a charge send since they sold out like hot cakes online.  so excited!  i'll try to do an ootd with it soon :)

these are a few of my favorite things.

ice covered trees.

this is what i woke up to this morning.  it snowed yesterday here in south carolina, and afterward we got the treat of freezing rain for hours upon hours.  it was pretty terrible, considering the lack of plows and salt for the roads.  there have been over 2000 accidents and 9 fatalities over the past 48 hours in this state.  i was extremely nervous for my husband to drive to work yesterday.  we're north easterners, so i wasn't scared about him being able to drive properly through the bad conditions.  what i was scared about were all the southerners on the roads with him.

anyway, just because the weather wasn't so great for driving, that doens't mean it wasn't great for my camera!  the way the ice completely coated the trees just made all the ugliness of the situation disappear.  the slightest breeze caused the branches to sway and the most beautiful crackling sound filled the air as the ice broke on the dozens of trees around me. 

 vintage handbags.

this here is a vintage handbag by John Romain.  i picked her up when my grandparents were moving out of their home years ago.  it was actually my aunt's handbag from her days of youth.  apparently John Romain bags were the "it" bag to have in the 60's and early 70's.  this little treasure is a sturdy tweed trimmed with gorgeous mahogany leather and finished off with brass hardware.  the company no longer exists, but you can find them on ebay, etsy and i'm sure at some vintage shops.

similar on etsy (here, here, and here with blue leather)

gDiapers.

my husband and i finally decided it was time to make a switch from huggies to cloth diapering our son.  we chose gDiapers as our cloth diapering method, and couldn't be happier with them.  they're easy to use, will save us a ton of money, and they're just so darn cute on our little man!

for more information, check out the gDiapers website (here).

hope you all are having a good week!

stay warm :)

aimee.

 

it's been a delicious week.

wow, i can't believe it's already saturday evening!  this past week has seriously flown by for me.  my husband has been on a work vacation for the past 10 days and i have to say, i really wish tomorrow weren't the last day of it.  i'm really loving the fact that i can sit back after the kids go to bed and enjoy a nice glass of wine.  i don't ever drink anything when i'm alone in case there is ever an emergency, so having the husband here has really been a treat.

i've also been spoiled with getting enough time in the kitchen without having to baby gate the kids in their room while i cook a good meal.  they're always in some kind of trouble otherwise, so i need to keep them jailed in.  and let me tell you, they ALWAYS act like i've put them behind a barbed wire fence once that baby gate goes up.  my 3 year old saying over and over, "mommy!!!  i wanna get out!  moooooooom?  somebody?  i wanna get out!".  and then my 10 month old will be fussing and fussing and fussing for 30 minutes, until it's time to eat.  anyway, it's just nice to cook in peace and quiet.  --- to have someone here to entertain them while i fix up something scrumptious!  i've been spoiled rotten, and i'm sure going to miss it.

on that note, here's what i got to throw together tonight... in peace and quiet :)

chicken curry masala:

1 lb of boneless skinless chicken breasts

2 cans of diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes diced)

1 yellow onion, chopped

3 tbsp curry masala spice mix

1 can of coconut milk

1 cup of uncooked basmati fragrant rice

serves 4

saute the onions, then add chicken.  cook chicken all the way through.

add diced tomatoes (i chose to dice my own fresh tomatoes versus using canned), curry masala spice mix...

and my brother in-law's key ingredient... coconut milk.  (instead of yogurt)

cook the rice separate.  i used mahatma basmati fragrant rice, and it's freaking delicious!

 simmer the ingredients for about 20 minutes.  add a bit of fresh lemon juice to keep it from sticking if you'd like.  (i did.)

serve over the rice, and enjoy!