Life as a work in progress.....

 

These two images are my favorites, they remind me that life is filled mostly with little things that make our day-to-day lives worth living. We may not see them or appreciate them at the moment, but when we look back at them, they give us a warm feeling of accomplishment, happiness and joy. 

Sometimes our lives get tangled up and we have to go through periods of difficulties. At times like these it's good to look back and appreciate those little moments that brought us joy. I just went on a trip through the memory line by looking through the older blog posts, especially those that have the tag #life 

Looking through them made me appreciate everything that I have accomplished so far and especially for being still able to experience those small moments and live. When I wrote this blog post named Reflections it was about a year after I had my second episode of DVT and first PE. Since then, things go up and down, there are periods of calm and my leg is fine, and then something triggers it, and my leg acts up and I am left in a whirlwind of pain and inability to function as a healthy person. It is rather strange feeling of being totally without control and waiting things out, by following the doctors' orders and hope for the best. This is where knitting comes in hand, as it allows me to concentrate on something different, something that I enjoy and brings me and those who appreciate my knitting creations joy. 

 And so in the world of knitting joy I am happy to announce that I had several knitting patterns published in the past few weeks or months. Below are links to these knitting patterns on Ravelry, they are also available on Knitpicks website, and some will be a part of the new upcoming book: 60 Quick Knit Gifts for Babies, published by Sixth&Spring Books.

Rabbit toy

Striped Baby Blanket

Pencil Jar Cozy

Luvbot 

Making the Gradient Blanket

photo by I Like Knitting

Also, after six months exclusivity period my Helena Cable Cardigan, originally published in February issue of I Like Knitting Magazine and on their website is now available as Ravelry download and will be at some point available on Lovecraft and Payhip.

Last time I was home sick and recovering I created a free pattern code for the readers of my blog. It was overwhelming. This time I offer a free knitting pattern to all new subscribers to my newsletter: Stana's Critters Etc and they do receive exclusive coupons in every newsletter I sent out. 

If you don't want to comit to subscribe to the newsletter but would like to have some discount, I offer you a 20% off from any of my self-published knitting patterns, just use the coupon code blog from now until August 31st, 2022 EST midnight. 

Thank you for reading.

Behind the scenes...

 

Here is a sneak preview of two patterns that will be published in June. Today was the day to take photos of the finished samples and our dog was very involved as always. 

There have been many different blog posts about how much time it takes to create a knitting pattern. How much money a knitting pattern should cost, in order to be profitable. There is never a good way to predict if a pattern will be successful and the designer will earn enough money to cover the cost of creating the pattern and if there will be a profit for the designer in the end. 

These two patterns are going to be a part of Knitpicks IDP showcase in June or July. Therefore, I have received a yarn support to create these two patterns. In order to be a part of the IDP showcase, I had to create a submission and submit it for consideration. To create a submission, you have to knit a swatch, draw a good sketch and take photo of the swatch and create the submission on a computer and send it out. That takes several hours, and sometimes the submission is not accepted. With these two submissions I was lucky, and they were accepted, and I received the yarn support. It took me about three weeks to create these samples. Technically, the actual knitting was less than three weeks, but I have other commitments, like work, house choirs etc. that occupy my time as well. I have to type up the patterns using my notes, and I had to send the pattern to my technical editor. After the initial editing, I spent more time on the patterns, and sent it to the editor again for another read through. After that there is the last editing and the photography. For these two patterns it was about seven hours of computer work and photography so far. Now I will be looking over the photos and pick the best, and if they are not good enough, they will have to be retaken and once all is ready it has to be uploaded and send to Knitpicks and then added to the other variety of websites that I have my patterns available on. It will take another two to three hours at least of computer work to have the patterns ready. 

I am not sure how much money I will make in the end of these two patterns, if it will cover the cost for the technical editor, and even if it will cover the time, I have spent working on them. In the end it all comes down to the fact that I just really enjoy knitting and creating with yarn. I even knitted the cover for my writing portfolio that I presented in order to graduate. 

  Thank you for visiting.

 

Stripes KAL

Petunia

As you can see in my previous posts I had three knitting patterns published earlier this month. The patterns were exploring different knitting techniques. This made me think about the next KAL I host in my group on Ravelry. The Gift KAL is over and I will announce the winners later today. Since I am still not able to knit due to my elbow injury and I cannot work on the toy mystery KAL yet I have  decided to devoted this month KAL to a knitting technique I actually really enjoy: Stripes. 
I will open the new thread in my group on Ravelry and the theme of the KAL is anything with stripes. Join my group and have fun knitting anything with stripes....

Sunny, the pencil box monster

Kittie Blanket

Stripy

Huggalufs

Funky Stripe Scarves

 Thank you for visiting.

Knitting Pattern for Corinna Checker Blanket

photo by I Like Knitting

My pattern for Corinna Checker Blanket is in August issue of I Like Knitting Magazine.

Corinna Checker Blanket

The pattern is now available on Ravelry in my store:
Link here
or you can purchase it by clicking on this button:



or you can buy it on Lovecraft:

Link here

In my yesterday post I was musing about deadline versus leisure knitting and this blanket is a perfect example of how the deadline knitting can be stressful.

WIP 

The day the yarn arrived from Cascade Yarns I have managed to burn my hand.  It was painful. However I had a contract and a rather short time to knit an entire afghan and I needed to include the fabric liner to hide the floats on the back and to make the blanket look really neat. 

I have calculated that I needed to knit about 5000 sts each day to finish everything on time. Somehow I have managed to do that and I shipped the sample to the magazine on time.  

Here are a pictures of the two layers being pin together and hand sewn. 

Checker Blanket WIP

 While I was still finishing the sewing the dog decided to test out the blanket. 

Checker Blanket

Thank you for visiting.

Knitting Pattern for Ella, the elephant

Ella, the elephant

A friend of mine loves elephants. When her first child was born, I gave her Elmer the elephant. For her second child I wanted to give her another elephant, but different than her first child received.
Therefore I have created Ella, the elephant with hearts.

The pattern is available to purchase now in my Ravelry store, or by clicking on this button:



My friend also received Pavo Baby Blanket in matching colors.

The yarn I have used for this two items is Knitpicks Color Mist. I really enjoyed working with the yarn.

Thank you for visiting.

Ella, and Baby blanket

Knitting Pattern for Pavo Baby Blanket

Pavo Baby Blanket

The Pavo Baby Blanket is my second pattern that I used Knitpicks yarn Color Mist.
I just really enjoyed working with this yarn, and the colors are just great, it creates the marbled effect without using two strands of yarn.
A simple broken rib pattern, with I-cord edge in contrast color, the blanket is a square with 33" long sides.
You can purchase the pattern in my Ravelry store, or on Knitpicks website, where you can buy the yarn as well, or by simply clicking on this button:

Ella, the elephant with Pavo Blanket

Since I had some leftover yarn from the project, I used it to create an elephant. The pattern for Ella should be available shortly.
The knitting pattern for Ella, the elephant is available in my Ravelry store or by clicking on this button:



Thank you for visiting.

Gift away 2017

For the fans of my patterns I have a gift away for the next seven days.
If you are on Ravelry and member of my group you have seen the post about it by now.

For those who are not on Ravelry and still would like to have the freebies, the rules are very simple.
Starting at midnight (EST time zone) and ending 24 hours later a selected pattern is free with a coupon code.
For those who needs to check out the time zones:
https://www.worldtimezone.com/

Day One:
It's all about Huggalufs.
You can get the pattern for free on December 12th 2017, starting 0.00 (EST) and ends 23.59 (EST) Eastern Standard Time 
Coupon Code is Huggaluf 

Huggaluf

Day Two:
Lily of the Valley is my favorite flower and it's winter, therefore it's the Lily of the Valley hat.
You can get the pattern for free on December 13th 2017, starting 0.00 (EST) and ending 23.59 (EST)
Eastern Standard Time
Coupon Code is Lily

Lily of the Valley

Day Three:
It was cold this morning while I was hiking with the puppy, and all I could think about was big and soft and squishy and warm cowl to wrap my face to keep the blistering wind away, therefore it's Chunky Cabled Cowl.
You can get the pattern for free on December 14th 2017, starting 0.00(EST) and ending 23.59(EST) Eastern Standard Time
Coupon Code is Cozy

Chunky Cabled Cowl

Day Four:
Yesterday I was baking cookies and also I was decorating our Christmas tree, therefore it's Gingerbread Hearts.
You can get the pattern for free on December 15th 2017, starting 0.00(EST) and ending 23.59(EST) Eastern Standard Time.
Coupon Code is Xmas

Gingerbread Hearts

Day Five:
It's still cold outside and just for fun, I was thinking about Icicles and how much joy they can bring. Therefore it's Icicles.
You can get the pattern for free on December 16th 2017, starting 0.00(EST) and ending 23.59(EST) Eastern Standard Time.
Coupon Code is Ice

Icicles

Day Six:
It snowed last night. Outside the ground is covered with snow, the sky is blue and the sun is out. Just a perfect setting for snuggling under a warm blanket and read some books. Therefore Heavenly Soft Blanket.
You can get the pattern for free on December 17th 2017, starting 0.00(EST) and ending 23.59(EST) Eastern Standard Time.
Coupon Code is Warm

Heavenly Soft Blanket

Day Seven:
As I am thinking about my upcoming toy mystery KAL and holiday gifts, the pattern for Snowman and Penguin comes to my mind.
You can get the pattern for free on December 18th 2017, starting 0.00(EST) and ending 23.59(EST) Eastern Standard Time.
Coupon Code is Snow

Snowman and Penguin

I hope everyone will have a safe and happy holidays.

Thank you for visiting.

Work in Progress - Fall II.

WIP - beginning

Few weeks ago I have received yarn from Knitpicks, Color Mist for two projects.

Comfy Pillow

The first one, Comfy Pillow, is at the technical editing and test knitting stage and the pattern should be available later this month.

The second one, Pavo Baby Blanket is still at the stage when I work on the pattern and the sample to use for photography.

Pavo Baby Blanket - WIP

Somehow, the puppy seems to slow down my knitting time...... he loves to sit in my knitting chair and supervise my work.

Pavo Baby Blanket and the puppy

But even more he loves to go outside and take long walks in the woods. Luckily, there are plenty of nearby parks and nature preserves we can visit. The nature looks amazing this time of year.
Though I am not sure how much I will enjoy those long walks in the middle of winter..... I better start knitting some warm hats, mittens and scarves to keep me warm.

Ginkgo tree

Fall morning by the lake

Thank you for visiting.

Knitting Pattern for Hexagon Owl Set

A while back I have bought a fabric with hexagon shaped owls for a project. I got inspired by the shape and created knitting pattern for Helga, the hexagon owl.

Helga, the hexagon owl

I liked the toy, and wanted to play with the hexagon shape a bit more, so I created an entire hexagon owl set. The set has a toy, a PJ bag, and a baby blanket.

This time I have used bulky yarn, particularly Knitpicks Billow yarn. By using the bulky yarn the knitting is much faster.

You can purchase the pattern in my Ravelry store or by clicking on this button:

Thank you for visiting.

Work in Progress - Fall

Somehow summer slipped into fall and it seems that even my knitting is inspired by the season.
A while back I bought fabric with a small hexagon shaped owls and created  Helga, the hexagon owl

Helga

I also created a PJ bag and a hexagon shaped baby blanket which resemble a giant owl.

Hexagon owl set

Knitting pattern for Hexagon Owl Set is at the editing and test knitting stage and will be available next month.

Another ongoing project is a knitting class that I will be teaching at our local library. We agreed that the class should be aimed at beginners and I have created a pattern for the class and named it Rectangle.
We all started with a small rectangle of knitting when we first learned to knit. Depending on the patience of the people in the class, they can create a scarf, or a bag.

Rectangle - scarf

Rectangle - bag

Thank you for visiting.

Knitting Pattern for Rabbit Lovey

Rabbit Lovey

Knitting Pattern for Rabbit Lovey (cat, piglet, or dog) is available to purchase now.
The sample is using Knitpicks Billow yarn.

Rabbit Lovey

Thank you for visiting.

Knitting Pattern for Triangles Baby Blanket

Triangles Baby Blanket

This square shaped baby blanket with intarsia triangles in two different colors is worked flat, in garter stitch. Worked in bulky cotton yarn it's a fast knit and a wonderful gift for any new baby.

The knitting pattern for this Triangles Baby Blanket is available now to purchase in my Ravelry store or by clicking on this button:

Rabbit Lovey

This Rabbit lovey was created using the same yarn and colors as the Triangles Baby Blanket.
The pattern will be available soon.

Thank you for visiting.