Orthodox Christmas

Today is the Orthodox Christmas! So, Merry Christmas to you all!
I don't have anything to write today. It's a quiet day all around. My best friend Ivana and my friend Zoran and me were in the church last night. It was my first time in church for Christmas Eve and I was really happy last night. :)
That is all I want to be remembered for this day ♥

Christmas Eve

Today is Christmas Eve for Orthodox Christians in Serbia. It was a beautiful snowy day. I love snow and I hope it will snow some more this winter. My friends tell me it will, so I am preparing for a new one, since this one is melting unfortunately. I see so few kids sledding this year and I remember how we used simple plastic bags when we were younger and returning from school. I wish I could do it now :) But I feel I won't survive, lol! Well, giving my childish nature, I won't put it past me ;)

I also designed one more thing in my head. I will have to draw it although my drawing is terrible, just to make sure I won't forget it. Currently I have to write the patterns for already finished things and I promised myself not to design or start anything new. But being me, that's not going to happen :)

I finished a yellow capelet last night. Although it was already knitted, I needed to add the buttons I bought weeks ago, so I did just that. And I feel like I've done something, which is why I wanted to write every day in this blog. To some accidental viewer these writings won't make sense, but they mean so much to me. I need to stay true to myself and not talk about doing things but do them, in spite of the difficulties. Now on to enjoying the day before Christmas!

First Goulash this year!

I made first goulash this year! It is one of two recipes I love to make. First is white chicken meat marinaded in soya sauce and honey, then roasted in butter, with a side of rice with curry and Worcester sauce. It's called "Chinese chicken" and I found it on the Internet. Yummy! :) And second is the goulash I make. Goulash is made in so many ways, but I saw the recipe for this one on a Serbian cooking site, together with pictures, and I just had to make it.

Here is a picture of goulash with macaronis:

 

After a while I added some of my own ingredients, which I tried following the comments below the recipe. And I loved how it turned out! Now I enjoy making it "my way" for my family.

Next time I make it, I will write a recipe in english and make a whole post about it. I will make a recipe for "Chinese chicken" too.

One more knitting pattern finished

Today I finally finished a new knitting pattern, called "Moro Shrug". I am currently waiting testers to finish testing Sonja Shrug so I can post Moro Shrug for testing.

I have about 16 patterns in total that wait for me to be written. Two of them are down, 14 more to go! Although most of the projects are finished, some still need to be tweaked. Only seven of them are photographed. I really don't like taking photos, because I mostly do it myself. I put the camera on a tripod and set it to "smart". I usually make about 50 pictures of one item so I can find at least 5 that are worth posting. Last time a friend of mine helped me. She took a photos of me wearing my shrugs and shirts in a studio we once worked together. Maybe we'll repeat that soon :)

Although I would love to make some pictures in snow! Especially hats and capelets, they would look lovely in white setting.

First snow

Last night the snow begin to fall! And I LOVE snow! A few friends of mine and I got together to celebrate a friend's birthday. It was wonderful and relaxing and there were lot of laughs. And in the midst of it we saw that snow begin to fall. I was happy thinking how I will wake up today and see it through my window. It reminded me when I was little and when I saw it for the first time so white and beautiful through my window.

A glimpse on the street from my window:

Anyway, today is Sunday and after New Year's celebration, I'm glad it's finally peaceful and I get to finish some of my work on next pattern. I watched movies, talked to my friends and decided to stay home today to rest a bit. I love peace the snow brings! ♥

Saturday madness

Yes, this will be hard to manage writing posts every day. But on the other hand, I write this mainly for myself so I can see if I can do it. I like giving myself tasks and seeing if I can go through with them. Hopefully, I will learn something new doing this, which is mainly the point for me :)

Currently I am testing a new pattern "Sonja Shrug". It's being tested on Ravelry and I can't wait it to be done! It is the first pattern I test so I had to learn many new things.

As far as knitting/crocheting, when I have an idea I can't wait to begin making it. So I tend to work on 2-4 projects at a time, while writing patterns for them on my laptop. Usually I write only one size, mine, so afterwards I have to calculate other sizes in my head, on papers on the computer. I am always surrounded with yarn and paper :)

About 2 months ago my friend and I made photos of some of my finished boleros/sweaters, but the patterns are not written completely. Only Sonja Shrug and now I'm in a process of making another bolero pattern that is similar to Sonja's. So last night I did the most difficult part and I am very proud of that fact. The shrug is knitted from top to bottom and it's a raglan style. I previously calculated all stitches and rows for 6 sizes: XS-S-M-L-XL-XXL. But the lacy part on sleeves gave me grief. I spent 3-4 hours writing the pattern, checking if I did something wrong and I finally went to bed at 7 am. But I was happy and content. :)

Since I did what I wanted yesterday, I've decided to give myself a free day today. I don't have to work every day ;) So I am going to enjoy the company of my dear friends, relax and enjoy the evening. I hope you will do something relaxing too :)

The First Day

Today I got an idea. Granted, it's probably not a new one, but it doesn't matter to me. This is the first day of New Year 2016. and I have some new year's resolutions. We all have them each year, but do we follow them? Probably not all of them, but some. For me, it's time to change things, some smaller and some bigger ones. I won't write about them here, at least not for now. I will however say this. Among my family and friends I am known as a talkative person. Yes, I talk a lot! :) And when someone talks much, they don't do much. That's the reason I won't write what I want to do, I will give my best to do it.

Now onto the "idea". :)

I want to write in this blog every day during year 2016. It will be like my diary. I used to have one when I was young, well... a couple of them ;) I don't know why I want to do this, I just know that one of my new year's resolution is to follow my heart no matter what. If I feel I need to do something, I want to do it instead of imagining doing it.
A little bit about me. I am a knit and crochet designer. I sell finished items on Etsy and also patterns on many marketplaces. Knitting and crocheting is what I love to do the most, it's where my heart is. It's something that I've always wanted to do. And I finally got to do it. But it can also be overwhelming sometimes, especially if you are not well organized like I am not.
Everything I did and learned was by myself. It can be gratifying in a way but also very limiting and lonely sometimes. So I had to make some decisions.
It's hard to keep up with two shops that are in a way very different. In one I sold finished items, mostly gloves, that I make myself, leaving me with very little time to create and design new things. And that is something that I've always loved. You can't imagine how many things I juggle in my head, this one is filled with ideas! That is why my pattern shop is so "all over the place" (like I call it) with so many different things. I have baby shoes, gloves for adults, bags, jewelry and so many things. There is no coherency :) I don't know if I can change that. I am a person that makes a layout for everything she can do and instead of going from beginning I tend to "plug the holes" in that layout. I do need more discipline and I intend to learn how to do it.

My goal right now is to design and design some more. I want to connect with like minded people. I want to learn more and share what I have learned. Let's see if I can do just that! :)

And for the end. I will continue writing this blog each day. I don't know what I will write. Maybe just what I ate that day, lol, but it's a new adventure for me and I hope if someone stumbles upon this blog they will find something to be inspired with.

Happy New 2016. Year and may you find the courage to follow your heart! ♥