Still here, working on one stitch at time.....

 

Staircase to....

This image is one of my favorites. I took it few years ago at an old castle in Czech Republic named Pernstejn. If you ever have a chance to travel to Czech Republic, this is a wonderful place to visit, as it's usually not overrun by tourists. The castle has been used by movie makers as a setting for several movies, especially fairytales. The castle has been on my wish list for many years, but the opportunity to visit always seemed to slip away, until few years ago, when I stayed at my friend's place who live nearby, and finally I was able to see the castle. I hope to return to visit this castle again at some point in life, but more importantly I want to visit my friends again. I visited them this summer, but the castle didn't fit our itinerary, so hopefully the next time....

This brings me to my knitwear adventures. I still create and knit and write patterns, just at much slower pace than I used to. The blog posts are less frequent, my toy mystery KAL happens about once a year and the time seems to never be there for all that I would like to create. 

I am working on a flat version of my Paw Print Heart pattern, and this should be published and available within a week. I also am participating as independent knitwear designer in two major events that happens around this time of year.

On Ravelry it's the Indie Gift-a-long which runs to the end of this year and participants can win prizes. This year there are over 250 independent knitwear designers and thousands of knitting and crocheting patterns. 

If you are not on Ravelry, then the Fasten Off might be for you. This event is held entirely online and there are about 100 independent knitwear designers who offered their patterns. You can participate in games, meet fellow crafters, and win prizes. 

When I started this blog in 2011, I really didn't know what to expect and I definitively didn't imagine that one day there will be more than a million of visitors to this little space online. 

Thank you all for visiting, reading, and believing in my craft, ideas and creativity. 

I will continue one stich at time.

  

Dandelion Honey

 

These jars are filled with sweet syrup made from dandelion flowers. I remember it as a special treat my mom and grandmother used to make when I was growing up. First time I made it by myself was in the spring of 2020. See the blog post here. Since then, I have continued making the syrup each year in the spring, when the dandelions are in bloom. 

This year I have posted a picture of my dandelions and violet flowers collection and once again I have received request for the recipe. I have included the recipe in my e-book Baba Yaga's House. But if you are not interested in knitting, you may not want to buy an entire e-book filled with knitting patterns and some extras, therefore I have decided to write the recipe here.

This recipe goes back to my childhood. We would gather dandelion flowers and made what we called honey, but it’s rather a syrup. This is a spring time activity, and I would highly recommend leaving plenty of blooms for the bees and other pollinating insects when collecting the dandelion flowers. 

Ingredients:
Dandelion flowers (400)
2 liters (0.5 gallon) water
1.8 kg (4 pounds) sugar
Lemon juice (from one lemon)
Orange slices (optional)

Directions:
Step 1: Collect the dandelion flowers.
Step 2: Wash the flowers. Add them to a large pot with the water. Add the lemon juice and sliced orange.
Step 3: Bring to a boil, let it simmer for 15 minutes. 
Step 4: Cover the pot with the lid. Let it sit overnight in the pot. 
Step 5: Strain the liquid through a cheese cloth or a strainer. 
Step 6:  Add the strained liquid to a pot, add the sugar and bring to a boil.
Step 7: Lower the temperature and let the mixture simmer, stirring occasionally. The longer you let the liquid simmer the thicker the dandelion honey will be.  
Step 8: Sterilize small glass containers, then pour the dandelion honey inside. Cover. Let it cool to room temperature. 
Step 9: Keep in the refrigerator, and use it as a sweetener for teas, lemonades, etc.  

Thank you for visiting and enjoy! 

All the best....

 

to you all, who continue to read my blog throughout all those years, or who stopped by to check out my free knitting patterns. I hope that your year of 2022 has been a good one and you are going to have pleasant and safe last days of this year. 

As another year is coming to an end, I look back to what I have accomplished as a knitwear designer. When I started this blog in March 2011, I didn't know what to expect and where my knitting journey will take me. It has been eleven years since I published my first knitting pattern. Although it didn't turn to be my full-time profession, I still continue to create and publish knitting patterns. As I mentioned in my newsletter, I am creating at a slower pace than before. Life is full of surprises. 

 

I hope to create another toy mystery Knit-a-long for the beginning of the next year, and also some new wearable items as well. In the meantime, you can still browse my previously published 320 knitting patterns and I hope that it will inspire you to keep on knitting, one stitch at time. 

All the best for the New Year!

Thank you for visiting and reading.

Spring....

 

Since my last blog post I have been busy. I am still in the midst of deadline knitting for various third parties and although some patterns were already published, some are still waiting for publishing, and several are still work in progress. I know everything will eventually get done and finished, but there are moments when I feel rather overwhelmed. It is not just the knitting projects, but also our garden and the work that goes into it each spring. This is also the time of year to make the Dandelion Honey. 

See my blog post about it here: Spring WIP

Over the period of February and March I worked on several knitting patterns for Knitpicks IDP Showcase. See the group photo of the finished pillows bellow.

The patterns are all available on Knitpicks website: My patterns on Knitpicks website. and hopefully soon will be available on Ravelry, Payhip and Lovecraft websites. 

My One fish, two fish, three fish pattern was featured in an email by Knitpicks about toy patterns. If you have received the email and look at other toy patterns available, they have included nine other toy knitting patterns of mine. 

I hope that your spring is peaceful and filled with joy and moments of peace and calmness. We all need that in these turbulent times. Stay safe and healthy and thank you for visiting and reading. 

Dreams...

 

I took this picture sometime last year as the sun was setting in and the light was just perfect. When I look at this image it evokes a dreamy world of endless possibilities. It also reminds me of my last year e-book project Baba Yaga's House a whimsical collection of knitting patterns, recipes, and images. 

This month knit-a-long is all about small and fun projects that can be knit up quick and used as a small whimsical decoration for Halloween, like this broomstick:

...or maybe an eyeball or two, or a whole jar of them, or an eyeball coaster:

Patterns links:

Baba Yaga's House

Broomstick

Deadline Morning Coaster

Eyeballs

My plan was to sent out my first newsletter last month, but the computer decided to stop working and took a long spa vacation at the hands of a computer specialist. After the unplanned break things are getting back to normal and hopefully the first newsletter will go out sometime this month. Don't forget to sign up for it here on my website:

Stana's Critters Etc 

Thank you for visiting and reading.

Spring WIP and Memento Hat II

 An update on the Memento Hat: See at the end of this blog post. Including the links to where to purchase the pattern. 

The test knitting for this Memento Hat is almost finished and I enjoy seeing the pictures of the test knitters finished hats. I also have the pattern back from the TE and I will be looking over the suggestions and making the corrections based on the feedback. Bellow is a picture of my dog with an older version of the same hat, knit in worsted weight cotton yarn. 

I plan on finishing the edits and have the pattern published by the end of this month. But sometimes things do not work according to plans. For example, last weekend I really thought that I will look the edits over during this week.

But, our garden still needs to be tended and cared for, the plants need to be planted and seeds seeded and the time left after the work was done I have used to lounge in the hammock wearing the Memento Hat. I guess, as I age I have realized that there is always another day to sit in front of computer screen but perhaps there might not be another day when the weather is warm, the sun is shining and I have an hour to just exist and be present and enjoy the peace and quiet of simply being alive.

The pattern is now available on Payhip: Link here: Memento Hat

You can purchase the pattern in my Ravelry store: My designer page

Soon the pattern will be added to Lovecraft: link will be added here when available 

Or you can purchase the pattern by clicking on this button:

Thank you for reading and stay well.

Spring WIP and Memento Hat

 

This is a picture of my last year Dandelion Honey. Each jar was filled with a sweet syrup and a whole lot of memories. I wrote about it in this blog post: Work in progress. Every time I have used the Dandelion Honey I recalled the memories from my childhood and the time when I was making it. I have included the recipe in my e-book Baba Yaga's House. 

This spring as I watch the flowers bloom I though about making the Dandelion Honey again. And so instead of sitting in front of the computer and finally typing up the knitting patterns for Bernie's doll and few other projects I went to collect the Dandelions and spent my weekend making the sweet syrup that will flavor our teas, or lemonades for the next few months. This year I added another project to try: A syrup made from Violet flowers. I have collected the flowers on my friend's lawn and I made sure that there were plenty of flowers left behind for the pollinators to feed on.

I started this yesterday, and as I am typing up this blog post I just finished pouring the Dandelion Honey into jars that will be stored in the fridge until it's all used. In the picture bellow you can see this year Dandelion Honey and the syrup made from Violet flowers. 

After a few weeks of knitting samples and writing pattern that will be published by a third party later this year I started to work on a new project. Few weeks ago I have been accepted into an Influencer program at Knitpicks - We Crochet. I have received a box filled with yarn and few other things. You can see the box in the picture bellow.

I had a project on my mind that I was going to do with the Memento yarn. But I decided to create a different hat, one that can be worn during the summer days. I named it Memento Hat. Pictured is the large size and I have used less then a skein of Memento yarn in Moonshadow colorway. Over the next week or so (life permitting) I will type up the knitting pattern and post the test call in my group on Ravelry. After the pattern goes through the hands of technical editor and is fully test knitted I will publish the pattern. If everything works out it will be just in time for the summer. 

A rough cost for this project:

A skein of yarn: Memento $9.99

Knitting pattern: Memento Hat $4.99 (I have to pay the TE)

Your time to knit this hat: ???? ( I knitted the hat in few hours over this past week)

The perfect hat for all your memorable summer adventures: Priceless 

Thank you for visiting.

Brunelli Wrap

 

These two photographs may seem irrelevant to the title of this blog post, but in a strange sense it represents part of the knitwear designer process. When I looked at the sky I saw these heart shaped clouds, and I had a camera in hand and was able to take a photo. In a way it was a luck that I looked at the sky at that exact moment and had a camera and was able to capture the clouds shape before it disappeared and changed its shape. If I looked at any other moment the heart shaped clouds would be gone and I wouldn't have these two photos. It seems that the same goes for submitting to a third party submission call. 

My ideas are few of hundreds submissions that the editors look through for each submissions call and sometimes it needs a bit of luck and the right moment for an idea to click and be accepted.

Brunelli Wrap is a perfect example. It was rejected so many times that it felt like it's not worth it. Yet I kept returning to the sketch and swatch, and decided to knit a sample anyway. It was at that moment the pattern was accepted for a publication. Here is the post I wrote about the Brunelli Wrap after it was published in October Issue of Knotions Magazine. The rights to the pattern has returned back to me and I can offer the pattern to purchase on my Ravelry Designer Page,  Payhip, Lovecraft website and you can also buy it by clicking on this button, which takes you to Ravelry:

Picture bellow is by Kellie Nuss for Knotions Magazine.

Thank you for visiting and reading. 

New Year , a bright new beginning...

 

What a year we have left behind. It will not be forgotten easily. I do not know what the New Year has in store for us, or what the future is going to be like. I can only hope and wish for more good days than the bad days and take each day one step at a time, and one breath at a time. This image, that I have taken two years ago, reminds me of the feelings I have about the past year and the year ahead. I do not know what is awaiting for me or anyone else ahead, and I know that sometimes it is not easy to continue for it just may seem to be too hard to go on and climb another step. But I also see the beauty that is visible only if we allow ourselves to see it. 

Take one day at a time, one step at a time, one breath at a time. 

 I wish and hope that we all will be able to see the light even in the darkness. 

Bellow is a picture of my grandmother's yarn.  It may look like a bunch of leftovers and discarded old yarn, but in the second picture you can see that even these leftovers can be turned into something new and positive. It just takes time and it is done one stitch at a time.

Take it easy, be kind, and start small. One stitch at a time will in the end create something new. 

We will have a toy mystery KAL starting soon. More details will be in my next blog post. 

Stay safe and healthy. Thank you for reading.

The Year 2020 and Happy Holidays

 

What a year this has been. It will be remembered for generations and taught in history classes. 

 Happy New Year 2020 was my first blog post of this year. 

This is my last blog post of this year. 

Between these two blog posts the world dealt with some challenges and we are still not over the Pandemic. I have seen posts about how so many people wish this year didn't happen and how the New Year cannot come fast enough. 

Whether we liked 2020 or not, it is a year of our lives that will never be repeated. We do not have the option of replay or start from the beginning, and we should try to embrace this year with all that has happened to us, the world, society, and individually. It is upon us what tomorrow and future holds.

 I sincerely hope that you, the reader, will have a Happy Holidays and may your days be filled with love, kindness, compassion, and generosity towards each other. 

Stay focus on the breath and look up to the stars and Universe, for we are all made of the same material.  

Joy to the world, and may you find some peace and health. 

Thank you for reading. 

PS: In my small world of knitwear design work, I have managed to published 34 new knitting patterns this year. This include plenty of self-published patterns, including an entire e-book Baba Yaga's House and also having my work published by variety of third party publishers like: I Like Knitting, Knitpicks, Lovecraft, Interweave, and Knotions. 

E-book Baba Yaga's House

 

"On the way into the forest Hansel crumbled the bread in his pocket and stopped as often as he could to throw the crumbs on the ground." 

                                                Brother Grimms' Fairytales  (Hansel and Gretel) 

    The idea for Baba Yaga’s house started many years ago when I baked a gingerbread house. I baked one only once because I realized that it is quite a messy process. However, I always wanted to knit a ginger bread house after that baking adventure.  Last year, when I finally decided to knit the house. I made a sketch and realized that it looked rather like another famous house from a fairy tale of my childhood. What I ended up producing was a rough sketch of Baba Yaga’s house with the chicken legs.  

    The house itself was rather plain and needed accessories and characters to fill the world of the fairy tale. There are endless characters and inspirations to be found in the world of fairy tales; this e-book is just a little slice of the fantastical world fairy tales are. As a bonus I have included a few recipes and ideas I have tried out while working on the knitting patterns and the creation of this e-book. You can purchase each pattern individually or as the e-book.

The list of knitting patterns included:

Apron 
Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga's House
Broomstick
Cat Pin Cushion
Fox Pin Cushion
Frances, the Fox
Frog Bag
Love Potion Garland
Rockefeller, the Owl Ornament
Winter Trees
Witch's Hat

The extra recipes:
Dandelion Honey Syrup
Lavender Syrup
Calendula Cream
Chalk Label Decoration
Lemon or Lime Cubes
Linzer Cookies

You can purchase the entire e-book on Ravelry: Baba Yaga's House

on Payhip: Baba Yaga's House

and on Lovecraft: Baba Yaga's House

    The picture bellow was taken in a castle Pernstejn that has been used to film many fairytales' movies. Visit to the castle has been on my list for years. I managed to see the castle during my last trip to see my mom, family, and friends. The photo makes me think of all that is possible if we follow our dreams and imaginations. My journey into the world of fairytales started a long time ago and hopefully will continue for some time. There is so much more to explore. 

The beginning...

Thank you for visiting, and for reading. 

Rockefeller the Owl Ornament

 "He was so tremendously frightened by the sight of the owl sitting in a corner..."

                                                    Brother Grimms' Fairytales (The Owl)

Rockefeller is seventh knitting pattern in the fairy tale inspired series.  The sample pictured bellow was made last year, and the sample pictured above was made last month. A friend of mine named the owl Rockefeller after the tiny owl that was discovered on a Christmas tree at Rockefeller center in New York City. 

You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry, Payhip, or Lovecraft or by clicking on this button, which takes you to Ravelry website:

 

There are three more patterns to add to the collection and then the entire e-book will be available. 

You can have a sneak preview here on Ravelry:

Baba Yaga's House e-book

Thank you for visiting.

Snowmen Garland, Paw Print Pin Cushion and Paw Print Heart

 Over the past week I have published three knitting patterns. They are all quick and wonderful last minute knitted gifts. Each of these takes about two hours or less of knitting.  And all you need is less then 50 yards / 46 meters of yarn. The patterns suggest worsted weight yarn, but it will work in any yarn weight. The size of the finished item will be different from the samples done in worsted weight yarn, and you will have to adjust the needle size accordingly to the yarn weight. 

The first and the most easy of the three patterns is Snowman Garland: 

You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry: My Designer Page

or clicking on this button, which takes you to Ravelry:

 

or you can buy it on Lovecraft website, or on Payhip

My second pattern is Paw Print Pin Cushion: 

You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry:

or clicking on this button, which takes you to Ravelry: 

 

or you can buy it on Lovecraft website, or on Payhip

My third pattern is the most difficult of these three as it requires stranded knitting, increases, and decreases working in the round, but it's also my favorite one of the three:

Paw Print Heart

You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry:

or clicking on this button, which takes you to Ravelry:

 

or you can buy it on Lovecraft website, or on Payhip, or in my Etsy store

Here is a picture of our dog with the Paw Print Hearts. He has been an inspiration behind this pattern and as a thank you I will donate $1 from each pattern purchase during the month of December to our local animal shelter. Our dog has arrived from an animal shelter and he has been a wonderful addition to our family. 

Thank you for visiting, and thank you for buying my knitting patterns.