Knitted Frogs in a Sweater Project

 

I have been busy with a really fun project over the last few months. Here is a full class photo of 21 frogs in sweaters with a larger frog as a teacher. Last year when I started to work full time in the education field, I was thinking about knitting a little toy for every child in the classroom. Somehow things didn't work out as by the end of the school year I had five frogs finished. So, last year the children each got a new book and a bookmark with their picture holding their favorite book. I thought of trying to knit the toys for each child this year, and I made a frog here and there, using up scrap yarn from previous projects. Somewhere around the beginning of January I realized that I only needed to knit 3 frogs each month for the next five months in order to have a whole classroom. I challenged myself and in early January I started to really work on this fun knitting project. I have finished ahead of schedule and the frogs are ready to be given away at the end of this school year.  I am not sure if I will do another knitting project like this next year, perhaps completely different toys or maybe something else. 

At the moment I have returned to my sketches for the next toy mystery Knit-a -long. Stay tuned for the next fun toy mystery KAL. These knitted frogs were actually our last year toy mystery KAL. 

The pattern is Fran and you can find it in all places that my knitting patterns are available.

Thank you for visiting.

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.

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.

September is here...

 

...and there is a Knit-a-long for the Farmer's Market hosted in my group on Ravelry or anywhere you happen to be knitting. It's just for fun, a toy to give to someone, and also perfect project to use up all those remnants of yarn from your stash. 

In this blog post you can find the links to the pattern where you can purchase it:

Farmer's Market

In the picture bellow you see a behind the scenes when I was working on the Voyager Sweater few years back.

See the blog post about the sweater here: Voyager Sweater 

Over the past few months I have been busy with work that has yet to be published by a variety of third parties, or has been published and I have not had time to post about these projects, yet. At the moment I am busy with two other projects that will be published at some point in the future and I don't have as much time as I wish to work on my independent work in the meantime. 

Sometime this month I hope to send out my first newsletter, for which you can subscribe on my website: 

https://stanascrittersetc.com/

In the meantime, thank you for visiting and reading my blog. 

September 2020 - Knitting Patterns

 Somehow this month has been an amazing time for me as a knitwear designer. I am feeling like a real knitwear designer with work published by several third parties. See the list and pictures at the end of this blog post.

First let's start with a little bit of history.

This is my first finished knitting project that I remember. I recall that I did a lot of crochet projects prior to this sweater, but this is my first for so many things. I remember the trip to formal East Germany, a town now called Chemnitz. At that time it was named Karl-Marx-Stadt. We went to a Department Store and I picked up the yarn for this sweater and another sweater. I created the pattern, though I didn't know that it was a pattern that I created. I just draw a picture and calculated the number of stitches and rows based on a small swatch that I knitted. I also remember that I did not know how to cast on. My mom helped me by casting on the stitches. I knitted the sweater in four pieces, in three colors using an intarsia technique. At that time I did not know that you need to wrap the yarn around each other. This actually created a small holes around the V shape where the yarn was changing. These small holes were not on the sleeves. By then I learned that the yarn has to be wrapped around each other. When I was wearing the sweater people were asking me how did I created the pattern of holes perfectly placed along the color change on front and back of the sweater. My grandmother helped me to sew the finished pieces and knitted the crew neck edge around the neck opening. I loved that sweater and was wearing it a lot. I do not have it anymore. I do not know what have happened to the sweater. We might have unravel it to use the yarn again. This is how my love for knitting started. 

After years of knitting, in 2011 I tiptoed into a knitting pattern writing.

My first published knitting pattern was for the Apples in May 2011. The link to this free pattern is here:

Apples

My first knitting pattern published by a third party was for Snowballs, in January 2012. The pattern was originally published by Petite Purls, In Issue 11, Winter. It is available as a free pattern. Link here:

Snowballs

And so it continued for the past nine years. Creating, sketching, knitting samples, making notes, writing patterns, editing, sending out my ideas to submission calls and more of knitting, creating, editing, and writing. As of today I have either independently or through a third parties published 279 patterns.

The list of my Knitting Patterns on my blog or on Ravelry with pictures My Knitting Patterns.

This month eight of my knitting patterns were published.

Independent work is Meg and School of Fish

In October Issue of I Like Knitting Magazine are: 

Pawsome-Hat  to complete the Paw-some Dog Cowl and Human Scarf 

A set of Spotted Around Hat and Spotted Around Scarf

and Harvest Poncho

All the photos of these four patterns are by I Like Knitting

Brunelli Wrap was published in October Issue of Knotions Magazine.

photo by Kelli Nuss for Knotions Magazine. 

Misty Cowl was published by Knitpicks in the new textured collection titled Pathways. 

photo by Knitpicks.

Cuddly Cat Pillow is the last pattern that was published by Interweave Knits in their Gifts 2020 Issue magazine.

photo by Interweave Knits 

I hope to continue with creating more knitting patterns in the future for some time.

As for the rest of this year, I have an e-book project, that I started to work on last winter and slowly it started to take shape over the months of pandemic and staying home. This collection of small knitting projects will be released over the next three months. These small projects are all using small amount of yarn that I had home from a various previous knitting projects. They are all a fantastic, funky, fast and instant gratification giftable items for almost everyone. 

More on this project is coming up over the next three months. Just to give you a little sneak preview... if you look closely into my knitting bag in this picture, few of those critters are peaking out.

Thank you for reading and for visiting.

Express yourself

This morning I have received an email from @lovecraftscom where crafters and independent designers are asked to create a blog post or Instagram post and tell about why they create. I have entered a similar competition organized by Lovecraft last fall. You can read my blog post here.
I have not won the blogger of the year at that time, but my entry was inspiring enough that Lovecraft has decided to feature a little post about me based on this entry from last year.
You can see my blog post about it here or read the article on Lovecraft website here.

Since I wrote that blog post nothing has really changed. I still love to create for the simple joy it brings me. Crafting has helped me to go through the pandemic and stay at home orders. I have managed to let go of everything that is going on in the world and for a few brief moments I felt calm and peaceful concentrating on one stitch at time.

Voyager Sweater

Being an independent knitwear designer have helped me through the difficult time when I was furloughed from my work. Even though the money I get from my knitwear design business does not cover my living expenses, it allowed me to feel as if I have contributed something into our family budget, however small amount it is.  I hope to expand and earn more as the time goes by.

Frances

If I were to win this competition by Lovecrafts I would use the money towards this new e-book, and hopefully an actual printed book project that I started to work on late last year. At first it was going to be just a few knitting patterns that are collection of whimsical and joyful ideas, inspired by fairytales and woodland creatures. An example of the patterns that would be in this collection is Frances.
This week I came with an idea to include in the collection few other things, like recipes, pictures and such. Like the dandelion honey, a sweet childhood memory of mine. Pictured bellow.

Dandelion Honey

Thank you for reading and visiting. It means the world to me, and it have helped to put food on our table these past few months.

#WhyIMake

Huggalufs

Last week I have received an email from LoveCraft about creating a blog post answering the question to "Why Do You Make?" By creating this blog post I am entering their competition for Blog Personality of the Year, 2019.

I do not expect to win anything. I know my blog is not one of those famous and fabulous, whose daily readers are in thousands or more, but still the question about why do I continue to create has been on my mind lately.

I am not a well known designer who's patterns are "hot right now" and knitted by many people, but I have been creating all my life. I realize each and every time I think about why do I continue to create that it is for the pure joy knitting brings me.  The minute I take those knitting needles and a skein of yarn I let go of other things, and concentrate on creating one stitch at the time.

I wish I could show what I have achieved to my grandmother. She was the person who taught me how to crochet and knit when I was a little child. At first I preferred to crochet, and embroider, but then when I was about thirteen or fourteen I picked up the knitting needles and started my first sweater. Here is an old photograph of me proudly wearing that first sweater.

My first sweater

 After I finished that first sweater I continued to create many more.
Growing up behind the Iron Curtains gave me the opportunity to be a designer without actually realizing it. We did not have access to many knitting magazines or fashion journals. The limited access to everything encouraged us to make our own clothes instead of going to a store and buy them. My mom and grandmother were really talented seamstresses and created most of my clothes throughout my childhood and teenage years. I tried to sew as well, but I was much better with the knitting needles then with the sewing machine, so I continued to knit sweaters, and other accessories without using knitting patterns. I would draw a picture of what I wanted the sweater to look like and then I would start to play with yarn. I would make a small swatch, calculate the numbers, and then I would knit.

After the Velvet Revolution, and the fall of the Berlin Wall world started to open up. Would you believe that it is thirty years since that wonderful autumn?! I wish I could be back in Europe for the festivities and attend the various celebrations of this anniversary.

Falling in love is a wonderful time. It can make you move across the world. Even though I left my country to live on another continent I took with me my knitting needles and I continued to created. For many years I knitted for joy, and when my child was born I started to knit toys. I knitted various toys, creating them based on my child drawings, other kid's drawings, or simply based on their requests.

Loopy, a monster based on drawing by my child

In March 2011 a friend of mine helped me to start this blog. The link bellow will take you to the very first blog post.
Welcome...

It was about the same time another friend of mine asked me to read and explain to her a knitting pattern she was working from. About the same time I was asked if I could write up patterns for some of my creations. I tried and somehow it made sense to other knitters and they could follow my directions.
It has been an interesting journey ever since.
I created a children's book using my knitted toys and my photography.
See the Monster Al book. I also used Monster Al and his friends for my Thesis project to earn BA in Creative Writing.

Monster Al and his friends

I also managed to collaborate and work with various yarn companies. I have had many of my knitting patterns published in knitting books, and on various websites. As of today there are more than 250 knitting patterns available. Not bad for someone who loves to create with yarn.
I continue to create one stitch at the time, enjoying the knitting process more than writing the knitting patterns.

Scraptastic Scarf and Cowl

Thank you for visiting and reading.

Rhinebeck 2019

It has been two years since my last trip to Rhinebeck sheep and wool festival.
My blog post about that trip is here:
Rhinebeck 2017

It was time to revisit the festival again.

Rhinebeck 2019

The weather could not be more beautiful. Sunny and warm, but still cool enough to wear something knitted. My Rhinebeck sweater was the Voyager Sweater, my first sweater knitting pattern. The progress on the project is here:
Voyager Seater WIP

Voyager Sweater

This year I was invited to a brunch organized by LoveCrafts. It was a wonderful gathering filled with interesting people and crafters. After the brunch it was time to head to Rhinebeck festival.
I met in person with few people I know from online world. I admired the creativity of others and their knitted or crochet items. I browsed a whole variety of yarns. I did not plan to buy anything, but in the end I picked three skeins of Miss Babs yarn. For a while I have a project and a design on my mind and I have been looking for a yarn to use it for this design, and I think I found it in the color combination of the subtle Fleur de Sol and a colorful Mad Hatter. I cannot wait to start this new project.

Yarn

Thank you for visiting.

Knitting Pattern for Voyager Sweater

Voyager Sweater

In January last year I started to make sketches for Voyager Sweater. It was an independent project, that I had to put aside whenever knitting work for a third party landed on my needles and desk. I have finished the sample last June. I started to work on the pattern in July and that part of the whole process took the longest. Originally I created six sizes. Then I decided to make additional sizing to make it available for more variety of knitters. The final pattern is available in twelve sizes. The sweater has two length sizes, and the sleeves are also possible to customize.

The pattern went through several TE readings and I have to say that my collaboration with Maggie of Midnight Purl has been fabulous.  Here is the link to her website.
https://www.midnightpurl.com/

The pattern has also been test knitted and the sweaters the test knitters made look amazing.

Voyager Sweater

I have to say this is my first knitting pattern for a sweater in 12 sizes. It has been a long journey, but the results are satisfying. You can purchase the pattern in my Ravelry store, on LoveCrafts, or by clicking on this button: 



I am already thinking about other sweater designs. This Voyager sweater has reignited in me the spark for sweater knitting. My first ever knitting project was a sweater, which I designed myself. After that I was knitting sweaters for many years until one day when I just stopped knitting sweaters. I was knitting everything else but sweaters for years. In the meantime I began my knitwear designer career as a self-publishing designer, also working with various yarn companies, and having my patterns published in various knitting book collections, magazines, and websites. In a way this Voyager Sweater is my way to revisit the beginning of my knitting experience. I love the process and hope to continue to create more.

My first sweater

Voyager Sweater

Some details about the sweater sizes and yarn:

Finished Sweater Measurements:

Sweater at bust: 32.5” (82.5 cm) [34.75” (88 cm), 37” (94 cm), 39.25” (100 cm), 41.5” (105 cm), 43.75” (111 cm)] {46” (117 cm), 48.25” (122.5 cm), 50.25” (128 cm), 53” (135 cm), 55.25” (140 cm), 57.5” (146 cm)}.

Length: 22.50” (57 cm) [27.25” (69 cm)].

Sweater Sizes:

For bust circumference sizes: 30.25” (77 cm) [32.5” (82.5 cm), 34.75” (88 cm), 37” (94 cm), 39.25” (100 cm), 41.5” (105 cm)] {43.75” (111 cm), 46” (117 cm), 48.25” (122.5 cm), 50.25” (128 cm), 53” (135 cm), 55.25” (140 cm)}.

Suggested Yarn: Cascade Yarns Eco Peruvian Tones, Bulky (100% Peruvian Highland Wool; 478 yards (437 meters) /250g (8.75 oz) 2 [2, 2, 3, 3, 3]{ 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3} skeins (shorter length), 2 [3, 3, 3, 3, 3]{ 3, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4} skeins (longer length).

Yardage:

Shorter length:  835 y (764 m) [890 y (814 m), 930 y (850 m), 1005 y (919 m), 1060 y (969 m), 1115 y (1019 m)] {1155 y (1056 m), 1235 y (1130 m), 1290 y (1180 m), 1350 y (1234 m), 1405 y (1285 m), 1434 y (1311 m)}.

Longer length: 935 y (855 m) [995 y (910 m), 1040 y (951 m), 1120 y (1024 m), 1180 y (1079 m), 1240 y (1134 m)] {1290 y (1179 m), 1375 y (1257 m), 1434 y (1311 m), 1505 y (1376 m), 1565 y (1431 m), 1600 y (1463 m)}. 

Thank you for visiting.

PS: Since I have posted this pattern to Ravelry this morning, the pattern made it to page 2 of "Hot Right Now". That is awesome. Thank you for everything.

Knitting versus Deadline Knitting

I like to knit.

Playing with yarn

Ever since I learned how to knit I enjoyed the process. I have knitted all those years when knitting was not fashionable. My first ever finished project was a sweater. I actually unknowingly started my knitwear designer career with my first knitting project when I calculated the number of stitches to cast on and how many rows I needed to knit. I also used three colors and intarsia technique, without actually knowing how to cast on. My mom helped me with the cast on process, and I continued from there. I knitted the sweater and created an original design element, small holes in the place where the yarns should have been twisted around each other when I changed them. I didn't know that at the time. I finished the sweater, my grandmother helped me to sew the pieces together and made the crew neck around the neck opening. I had that sweater for years. Last year, when I visited my mom I found an old picture of me in that first sweater.  The picture was taken by my grandfather. He was an excellent photographer and writer.

First sweater

I kept on knitting all those years. I might have thought about knitwear designer career from time to time, but I never pursued that until few years ago. It was when a friend of mine mentioned the website Ravelry and I joined the knitting website when I realized that there is a possibility to be a knitwear designer. I was given the opportunity to share some of my ideas and projects, and I learned to write knitting patterns. I started to submit to various magazines and yarn companies and to my surprise my ideas were accepted. This whole thing is a work in progress and I am still learning.

Somehow my hobby turned into a part time job.  I can create and knit, and sometimes I earn some money. With the opportunity to have my work published by magazines, yarn companies, or in a various knitting books  the deadline knitting arrives as well.

Knitting is a leisurely process created one stitch at the time.
However when working under contract for a third party, knitting turns into a deadline knitting and the process is suddenly less of a leisure and more of a stressful event as the whole process needs to be finished on time and delivered to the third party by a certain date. Sometimes there is plenty of time to work out the pattern and knit the sample. Other times the process is more limited and has serious time constraint.

There have been moments when I am complaining about knitting. It feels frustrating, especially if something is not working the way it should, or if I make a mistake and have to rip out portion of my knitting and start over. Yesterday morning I emailed the finished pattern and in the afternoon I mailed out finished sample that will be published by a third party. Now I have to wait until the pattern is published to share the pictures of my work.

Today I spend my morning in the garden picking out the berries.

Berries from our garden

And because I like knitting, I already started to think about my next knitting project. But that has to wait, first I need to finish the final read of my Voyager Sweater pattern.

Voyager Sweater

Thank you for visiting.

Work in Progress II

It is already March, I cannot believe how fast the time slipped away.

Voyager Sweater

I finally finished the pattern for the Voyager Sweater. It started about a year ago, when I made the first sketches. The pattern is at test knitting stage at this point and will be published later this year.

Today I also tried to get a bit organized in my knitting world. I am not sure how successful I will be, but I needed to clear my table with all the paperwork. I work better when things are a bit more neat and organized.  I tend to do this periodically. I organize my projects, my yarn, my paper work. Then I reorganize everything again. During this time I usually pick yarn for a new project that I want to work on next. 


 

Organized?

Work in Progress III.

My last few posts were all about knitting patterns that were published.
This post should be about the projects that are still work in progress...

Najin

Najin, the toy mystery KAL started with clue 1 last week. Today I have released second clue, there are two more clues waiting to be released in the next two weeks before the final pattern will be available.
The pattern is available in my Ravelry store.
If you would like to join the fun, it's happening right now in my Ravelry group Stana's critters etc.

Eyeball Coaster

In the past few weeks I have been super busy with work that will be published by a third party. It's fun and exciting, but in a  way it's also stressful with all those deadlines that comes from third party publishing. Yesterday, I just needed a break from it all, and started to knit something just for fun. I finished today and wrote up the pattern. It's being test knitted at the moment and will be available at the beginning of next month, just in time for others to knit before Halloween.

Voyager Sweater

It seems appropriate to finish this blog post with a note about my project named Voyager Sweater. I had to set it aside due to all of the contracted work, but I am slowly getting some work done on the pattern and grading, and hope to have it ready for test knit pretty soon. During my visit at home I have found an old image of me in my first ever finished knitted project - a sweater that I knitted when I was I think 14 years old.  Ever since I finished that first sweater (it was knit, with three colors intarsia, and I have made up the pattern and calculated the entire project by myself) I couldn't stop knitting sweaters. I made so many of them it's impossible to count, and then one day I just stopped. During those years I  have knitted many other projects, even few baby sweaters for my friend's babies, but I have not made a single sweater for myself. Last year when I went to Rhinebeck I think I found my long lost passion for knitting sweaters. I have decided to knit and also write up the pattern. The knitting part, including photography is done, now it's just the less fun part, sitting in front of the computer and write up the pattern in seven different sizes. It's rather tedious work, but it will be eventually done. 

Thank you for visiting.

Work in progress III

Oriana

After finishing The owl gang I kept thinking about owls, and I just kept on thinking about owls and cables. Oriana is the result.
The pattern is at test knitting stage and will be available at the and of August.  I made her a friend, second Oriana using fingering weight yarn and sport weight yarn held double.
The two toys will be donated to our library for some fun gift away after the summer reading contest is over and kids are back to school.
I usually take a group photo of my toys that I donated for the summer reading program, but I didn't do it this year, so instead you have a picture of the two owls named Oriana, that will be donated at the end of summer.

Oriana I & II

My plan for the next few weeks is to work on the Voyager sweater pattern and finish the grading and writing of the pattern. The sample I was working on is finished and has received compliments from fellow knitters. I also managed to take some wonderful photographs of the sweater. The pattern should be available for test knit later in August, and published sometime in the early fall.

Voyager Sweater 

I also plan to work on our next toy mystery KAL, I have few ideas as to what mystery toy he/she should be....

Thank you for visiting.