Imperfictly perfect

I just read Annie Modesitt's blog and she writes about some people who criticized her for some silly grammar mistakes she made (even though she made some on purpose to emphasize her point she was making). Believe me - thanks God for having a spelling-check on this blog because many times I touch the wrong key and I'd be in trouble without it. Though her today's blog posting made me think about how imperfection can lead to great things.

It is hard for me to admit, but I am born a perfectionist, and, as Annie correctly assessed, it does NOT make for a happy life: To keep being perfect takes a lot of energy out of you and many times things are out of your control and then you can drive yourself insane. I had to reassess this when I gave birth to my daughters and could not stand up to my unattainable standards. And giving up being perfect makes one happier. I first realized this when I was flying with my 2 then young daughters overseas by myself (first daughter was barely 2 years old and the second daughter was just about 6 months old - still breastfed at the time - an extra stress for me!?). I set my hopes really low for having a pleasant trip and it turned out to be better than expected. That was a lesson to me - do NOT try to be perfect - nobody really cares anyways. Here are few examples of how imperfect things can actually turn into great things.


My daughter made a dress!

My eldest daughter (8 1/2 yrs) has been working on improving her knitting skills. This past week she was learning how to purl and thus being able to transition from garter stitch to Stockinette Stitch. This was her first swatch - red rectangular (see below). She also wanted to learn how to decrease and so she did try on the same swatch and viola - here it is - we turned the swatch into a Barbie's red-carpet dress! Yes, it has few imperfections - see the enlarged stitches at the lower part of the dress, but it turned out to be a nice detail on the dress. I am very proud of her. She was so excited, that she even learned how to sew it together on the same piece! Had she was dwelling on the piece to be perfect, she would never have the finished dress today! She astound me how cleverly she added a piece of yarn that was leftover from sewing the dress for a belt. Very stylish I must say - not to be bias.
















Imperfect apple:

Another example of imperfection turned good is my rotten apple. The other day I dug out of my apple bowl an apple that was getting rotten. Since I don't like to waste things (learned from my Grandma who lived through the starving years of the World War II and I was reminded of it growing up - doing the same thing to my kids, by the way), I cut the rotten pieces away and then looked at it and saw a very interesting picture - an apple within an apple. How imperfectly perfect! My husband made me take a picture of it and here it is:












So the lesson is, I guess, accept being imperfect and see what happens in your life. You never see what will come your way.

What did I do today?

Lots of things. Got all my laundry done (wait a minute, not just mine - it's the whole family's laundry) and cleaned up the house a little. Went to the doctor's with my daughter for pre-op check-up. Dropped off couple submissions for one publisher. And yes, I've done more swatching.

I am currently working on a few submissions for Knitter's magazine. It looks like a fun and colorful issue they are preparing for next summer. I have a few ideas of what I'd like to make, though, I have to choose only 2 - 3 and focus on that. Then more swatching for another 2 books. I really enjoy the process of designing and swatching, though I am NOT a fan of the paperwork some publishers require for submissions. Though I understand it's necessary.

Otherwise pretty uneventful day, which of course does not have to be a bad thing.

Knit Simpe, Fall 2007

A new pattern of mine was published in Knit Simple magazine. This one is an easy and fast project for fall and a great addition to your wardrobed for the upcoming season. Here is a preview of the Striped Vest:















Working

In past couple weeks all I have been doing is swatching and sketching for new design proposals for magazines and books, so I have not been posting as much as I would like. My living room and kitchen are a mess: tables full of skeins of yarns and pattern books.

Though, I have a new pattern almost finished (just have to proofread it) and it is ready to go for sale in my store. It is a pattern for a "Leaves Top". Here is a preview:
















Again, I am making the pattern in a wide range of sizes: 4 - 12 yrs (chest sizes 22 - 30"). I offer this patter FREE of charge to someone who is willing to give me feedback on it (first come first served basis) . So if you'd like to make this top for your daughter and are able to complete the project within 3 weeks or so - it is knitted on size US#8 needles! - please let me know. You can leave me a comment here on the blog or you can reach me privately at my Etsy store Simona's Designs.

OK, that's all for right now. Happy knitting!

I am BACK!

So it's been a while since I wrote my last post - something over 2 months. As you know, I was traveling, better said, I went to visit my family in the Czech Republic. In fact, I was not traveling that much. Most of the time I stayed in my home town - Brno. Though we took a few trips throughout Czech. We went to see few castles, took one trip abroad - to Slovakia; and made a few trips to see friends.

First castle we visited was castle Pernstejn, where I went with my cousin and her daughter. We took a historical train there. It was kind of neat, but it was very stinky! When we went home, we took a regular train back. One way was enough. It just shows how spoiled we are these days. I'm sure in the old time, people were happy they did not have to walk.















Then we went to the museum of Old Toys located in the Brno's castle Spilberk. Some toys on display were dated all the way to 1890's! On the flip side, it was interesting to see toys I used to play to be displayed in the museum! I played with them in the late 1970's and they made their way to the museum already!













Then we went to see castle near Prague - castle Karlstejn. Kids love seeing this one especially because they know it from a very well known Czech movie "Night at Karlstejn."















Then we took a trip to Slovakia. My grandmother was born in Laksar Nova Ves (near Malacky) and we took her there to see her native place and visit her mom's and dad's graveyards. I am glad we could have gone with her because she's getting older and we wanted to make sure she's able to visit the places before she becomes immobile. Then we continued to the capital of Slovakia - Bratislava and walked the streets for a little and then headed back home. So it was a nice one-day trip.





















Then we went to visit one of my dearest friends Simona at her new house . It was nice to spend a weekend with her and her son. Her house is in Horni Cerekev (near town Pelhrimov) - half way between Brno and Prague. We took a train there and that was an adventure by itself for the kids especially, and me too - it reminded me of when I used to live there.





















Lastly and not least, I went to visit my girlfriend Tana in her cottage in Petrovice (near Moravian Caves). It was a bitter-sweet visit because it was the last time we spend there; she sold the property to buy a new house closer to Brno. We spend a few good times there!












And if we were not traveling, I had my mom over for frequent visits. I enjoyed spending time with my sister and her boys.




















And I had enjoyed spending time with my high-school girlfriend Zlatka and her daughter who just turned 1.

And not lastly, I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know some of my new neighbors.


And this is the view I enjoyed every night and miss now - a sunset over my hometown.


So before I went to Czech Republic, I thought how much of free time I will have on my hands. WRONG! I had not gotten a chance to start any new project or a design while I was there. I could not believe it; I had always something to do, somewhere to go, somebody to come over, or somebody to go to visit or to go out with. I am very fortunate to have that. It was hard to go back home, here to America. I consider both places homes. So when I leave from here for the trip to Czech Republic, I always say I am going home to visit my family. When I am coming back here (the USA), I always say it's time for me to go home. How strange and how great!


Copyright 2007, Simona Merchant-Dest

Shaped Lace Tee & Boy Shorts Pictures

So I have taken the pictures of my unfinished Shaped Lace Tee (I will try to finish it on the plane) and my Lace Boy Short matching panties (my own design - see previous post for sizing). The first pictures is a front, next pic is a detail and third pic is the back of the Boy Shorts. I will have the pattern available probably in a week or so, so check my Etsy store here for that. Next 2 pictures are of the Tee, of course.

Yarn used: Lion Brand Cotton Ease (3 balls for the Tee, 1 ball for the Shorts) in color194 Lime.
Needle size: US #7 (4.5 mm) and #5 (3.5 mm).


I loved working with the Cotton Easy very much. It is rather inexpensive yarn substitute. It is machine washable and dryable (but I am not taking a chance and washed it by hand). I will use this yarn in the futures for some other projects definitely.













TRAVEL TIME
Today I am leaving for the Czech Republic. In past couple days it was little crazy because I was trying to pack for the long trip. Finally everything is packed (except for few minor things) and we are off for the summer. I'll be traveling for next couple days so if you purchase any of my patterns on Etsy, please give me few days to fill your orders. since I will not have access to the Internet right away. Hopefully our Internet connection in Czech will work. We had it installed last year, but we are unsure as of it working. Otherwise it is quite a nightmare to find Internet access in Czech. They have Internet cafes in Brno where I can go; but most of them are in bars type of things establishments where people smoke and I usually have all my 3 kids with me. So I have to find a babysitter (or bother Grandma) to get to the Internet!! The connections there are usually very, very, very slow (very frustrating when you try to get in and out fast)! So please be patient if you have not heard from me withing 24 hours, which is my usual response time to your orders.

Off I go...

Shaped Lace Tee

So this is my second project in a couple years I have been working on from somebody else's pattern. I just love the book by Joan McGowan-Micheal Knitting Lingerie Style. First project I made from the book is the Shaped Lace Tee. I have finished knitting all the pieces and I am ready to sew it up tomorrow (if I'll have time). I am still blocking the sleeves. I liked the Tee a lot, but I was missing a matching panties, which would go with it. So I have designed them myself to match the Tee; better said I have designed lacy boyshorts. I have made a pattern for wide size ranges - to fit upper hip size (OR low waist, same difference) of 31 (35 1/2, 39, 43, 46, 49 1/2)". Now I am testing it in my size to see if the pattern works. I am almost done with one side. I can't wait to finish it and see what it looks like together.

I wish I had my camera here to take some pictures. I will have to do that tomorrow, so tune in if you are curious.

Yarn-overs vs. Make-ones

So here I am - trying to write my KNIT TIP of a DAY and I found out that it is merely impossible to fit all the info into a small space on the right bar. So I have decided to make a post on its own about it.

HOW TO READ A KNITTING PATTERN? (Part 5)

YO vs M1.

So what is the difference? OK, here is the scoop.

YO – yarn-overs are mostly used for open (lace) work. Mostly they are used in conjunction with knit- togethers to preserve the same number of stitches in your piece. For example, k1, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo. - here you started with 6 stitches, after working one ssk and one k2tog, you have decreased by 2 sts; therefore there are 2 yo’s to replace the decreases, and at the end of row, you have 6 stitches again. The “holes” YO’s leave are desirable and used as a design (decorative) element. On the following row you purl or knit the YO stitch in the same fashion as any other stitch.

M1 – make 1 is usually used to increase the number of stitches in you work. There are few different ways you can work M1 in your project (I will post about that at later date). But why YO’s and M1’s are often confused is because one of the ways you can “make 1” (M1) is that you work YO in first row, and on the following row you purl or knit (as of pattern) through back of the loop to twist the stitch and prevent a “hole” from happening. With “make – 1`s” the holes are not desirable.

If you have any more questions about that , please leave me a comment here and I will try to help you if I can.

Brooks Top Picture Ready

OK, we have finally taken the pictures for the Brooks Top. Here is a preview. The pattern is available in my store SimonasDesigns. The cardi can be worn by itself as a top or over a tank top or t-shirt as a cover up for late-summer nights. You can get lots of use out of this. It is well-fitted and flatters any shape. The pattern is written in wide range of sizes.


FINISHED MEASUREMENTS:
Chest * 34 (36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46)"
Length * 22 (22, 23, 24, 24, 25, 25)"
Shown in size chest 38".

Materials:
*2 8oz./230g ball (each approx. 550yd / 500m) of Brooks Farm Yarn MAcero (50% Merino Wool, 25% Alpaca, 25% Acrylic) in color # MA13.
*One pair of straight US size #7 (4.5mm) needles OR SIZE TO OBTAIN CORRECT GAUGE
*One circular US size #7 (4.5mm) 24" long needles OR SIZE TO OBTAIN CORRECT GAUGE
*Tapestry needle
*6 buttons

Gauge:
*18 sts and 26 rows = 4" square over St st with US size #7 (4.5mm)

Things are moving along

Here it is - a preview of the pattern. These past couple days I was working on the earlier mentioned pattern. I got it formatted with my new Print Shop software. And yes, it was somewhat frustrating. I wanted to save the document as a PDF file, but after saving it, it came out to be this huge 17 MG file, which of course is nearly impossible to e-mail. So I had to save it in smaller resolution and the formatting got distorted, so I spend lots of time fixing that. But now it looks great (if I say so myself): I left a lot of spacing for easy reading, it's got many detailed pictures, charts and schematics. So the pattern is finished except for the pictures - still waiting for Hubby to take them for me, so I can replace the self-made "portraits". I am keeping my fingers crossed that we'll find some time to do it this weekend.


Fitted Knits KAL:

I have decided to join into a knit-along group of Fitted Knits. I myself love designing body fitting garments and this book has tons. The author knits and designs from top-down and I have never tried that, so I am looking forward to learning how to do that: learning a new way of knitting. I started the "Bold & Bulky Mini Cardi" last night and took me all 4 hours to finish the whole body. So today I am working on the sleeves and before I go to bed, I'll have a new piece of garment!! It is actually quite easy and efficient way to knit because you have all your pieces done in one - no sewing (or only the bear minimum). Picture's coming soon.


Knitter's Magazine Virtual Tour

This is cool. The Knitter's magazine has a virtual tour of their magazine on line for the upcoming summer issue Knitter's 87. It's pretty neat because it has also short videos of the photo shoots. You can see it here.

Successful Day

Today, well I guess technically yesterday because it's after midnight already!, I had a late start. But I managed to go to the gym and get on treadmill for 5o mins. Though, I had to walk for 2 - 3 min every 10 mins because my fitness level went down after not running almost for a year. I had been using the elliptical machine (our treadmill at home has not been working properly) for the past year; thus being able to watch TV or read a book!!! But now when the time is coming to go to the Czech Republic and where I do not have easy acess to a gym, I am forced to run outside for cardio. So I am trying to train for that because once I hit the road, I cannot hop off of it like on a treadmill if I get tired. So there it is. I have 3 weeks to train.

CLEANING
SO when I was at it being ambitious and all, I vacuumed and cleaned the floors and kitchen when I got home. I don't enjoy doing this because it gets messy really fast and you cannot see the results for long, but I enjoy clean house. So there it is.


OTHER THINGS DONE
Finally, I have completed the application for TNNA I had been trying to complete for the past week. (I do not like filling out paperwork.) Put all my letters, applications and my Published Design Portfolio together, and it's ready to be sent off tomorrow.

Finally, I have finished re-writing my newest pattern for the Brooks Farm Yarn Top (I have to give it some better name!). Now I just have to check all the measurements and formatted so it's presentable and clear. Magalie, I got your message and once it's ready I'll e-mail it to you. Thank you.

If anyone else (one more person) is interested in getting this pattern for free and in exchange get me a feedback on the pattern, please let me know. See post below.

And now I am finally off to bed.