Vidi šta sam dobila! -- Look what I got!

Pre nekoliko dana mi se muž vratio iz Norveške gde je proveo mesec ipo dana. Kako bi mi nadoknadio vreme provedeno van toplog doma ponudio se da mi donese neko lepo predivo. I ja sam birala i birala i izabrala Garnstudio Drops Alpaca predivo. Petrolej i roze boje. Po sastavu je 100% alpaka, a na dodir 100% milina. Jedva čekam da počnem da ga koristim.

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My husband has recently returned from Norway where he spent a month and a half. In order to make up for the time away from home he offered to bring me back some yarn. So I chose Garnstudio Drops Alpaca yarn, petroleum and pink. It's 100% alpaca and 100% joy. I can't wait to start knitting.

Pepa Prase u domaćoj izvedbi - A homemade Peppa

Pošto Ema ima dve godinice i u fazonu je Pepe Praseta, mama se potrudila da pronađe amigurumi koji će odgovarati željama njenog prvenčeta. Kraće surfovanje internetom dovelo je do recepta Debbi Birkin, objavljenog u časopisu Woman's Weekly Magazine, u novembru prošle godine. Recept je veoma jednostavan i pravo ga je zadovoljstvo plesti. Ukoliko niste iskusna pletilja, ova mustra vam neće predstavljati veći problem. Jedino što je ušivanje raznoraznih delova i njihovo punjenje dosta velika gnjavaža.

Za izradu Pepe sam koristila St. Georgeov Tango (svetlo rozi, tamno rozi, crveni, plavi i beli) i igle br. 4. 

Princeza je oduševljena, Pepa je već i večerala s nama, obišla bakino dvorište, rekla svim ukućanima laku noć i sada mirno spava. Uživancija!

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Since Ema is two years old she is all about Peppa Pig, so mommy did her best to find an amigurumi that would fit fulfill the wishes of her first born. After a short surf on the Internet I came across the pattern by Debbi Birkin, published in Woman's Weekly Magazine last November. The pattern is very simple and is a joy to knit. If you are not an experienced knitter, this pattern will not give you a lot of trouble. The only trouble is that sewing up all the numerous parts and stuffing them is quite boring.

For making Peppa I used St. George's Tango yarn (light pink, dark pink, red, blue and white) and needles no. 4. 

The princess is overjoyed. Peppa has already had dinner with us, was shown around grandma's garden, wished all the members of the family a good night and is now sound asleep. Joy!

Na ovaj sam izuzetno ponosna iliti šta je zeka doneo baki

Moja mama je jedna od onih žena koje kada naiđu na udoban komad garderobe nose ga do iznemoglosti. Tako ona ima jedan svetlo sivi prsluk koji nosi po kući i to već tridesetak godina. Zato je meni palo na pamet da je obradujem jednim novim "pokućnim" prslukom. Listala sam jedno starije izdanje Knit Simple magazina i ugledala ovaj model. A kako se Uskrs približavao, odluka je pala. Imajući negativna iskustva sa jeftinijim predivima, odlučila sam se za Vlnapov Exclusive. Izbor boja nije bio naročito velik, ali s obzirom da je tražila neku neutralniju boju, a stari prsluk je bio svetlo sive boje, izabrala sam ovu tamno sivu. Nazvala sam je telefonom i tražila da mi pošalje svoje dimenzije, otvorila Knit Simple i počela da pletem. Pomalo sam strepela što je u pitanju predivo sa kojim nemam iskustva, što su igle malo deblje, što nemam nju ispred sebe pa da naslonim rad na nju i vidim kako napredujem, ali zagrizla sam i rekla sebi biće kako bude. I bilo je super! Prezadovoljna sam i sa receptom i sa predivom i sa krajnjim rezultatom.

Pošto je i ona izuzetno zadovoljna sa prslukom, došla je do zaključka da ne može u njemu da dinsta luk, već da će ga koristiti za izlaske. I opet nosi stari svetlo sivi prsluk...

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My mum is one of those women who upon finding a comfortable piece of clothing will wear it forever. She has a light gray vest that she has been wearing around the house for about thirty years. So, I had an idea to surprise her with a new "homewear" vest. I was looking through an older edition of Knit Simple magazine and came across this model. And, as Easter was fast approaching, the decision was made. Having had unpleasant experiences with cheaper yarn, I opted for Vlnap Exclusive. The choice of colours was limited, but since she wanted a more neutral colour, and the old vest was light gray, I opted for dark gray. I phoned her to send me her measurements, opened Knit Simple magazine and started knitted. I was a bit apprehensive about using a yarn I had no previous experience with, the needles being a bit too thick, not having my mum around to put my knitting in front of her and see how I'm doing, but I told myself - be as it may! And it was great! I am extremely satisfied with both the pattern and the final result.

And, since my mother is also very happy with the vest, she concluded that she cannot fry onion wearing it, and that she would wear it when going out. So, she's back to wearing her old light gray vest...

Haljina za devojčicu - Little girl dress

U poslednje vreme sam bila baš zatrpana poslom (što je, u principu, dobro) ali i nekim drugim manje dobrim obavezama, pa baš nisam stigla puno da pletem. Kada mi prođe dan a da nisam sela bar 15 minuta da se družim sa svojim iglama imam osećaj kao da je dan bio izgubljen.

Ipak, uspela sam da završim Little Sister's Dress na vreme da mala princeza stigne u njoj na rođendan kod svoje najbolje drugarice iz vrtića. Pretila je opasnost da će joj biti pretoplo u ovoj haljini (taj dan je bilo preko 20 stepeni), ali smo haljinu ipak obukli.

Recept za haljinu je savršen, ništa nisam morala da menjam, tako da ga od srca preporučujem, čak i pletiljama početnicama. Jedino što zahteva veću debljinu prediva, tako da sam ja za dete od 2 godina plela najmanju veličinu (kao za 3 meseca). Eto potvrde da je neophodno uraditi gauge pre nego što počnete plesti (iako ja to nerado radim, jer jedva čekam da počnem novi projekat).

Koristila sam St. George predivo, Una 23. Ovo predivo nikako ne bih preporučila početnicima, jer se jako lista, pa morate biti dosta pažljivi da podignete celu petlju.

Još jedan podvig vezan za ovaj projekat je to što sam sada prvi put plela "kako treba". Naime, do sada sam prave petlje plela "through the back loop", misleći da je to jedini način. Međutim, nije. Sada kada sam plela "through the front loop", pletivo mi je puno ujednačenije. Trebalo mi je dosta vremena da treniram ruke da pletu drugačije, ali vredelo je. Isti problem sam imala i kod krivih i očica, tako da sam se i tu prevaspitala. Čovek se uči dok je živ :))

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I have had tons of work lately (which is, basically, good), but also some less than pleasant obligations, so I haven't had much time to knit. When a day goes by without at least a quarter of an hour of knitting, it is a day wasted.

Nevertheless I managed to finish the Little Sister's Dress in time for the little princess to wear it to a birthday party for her best friend from daycare. There was a serious danger that the day would be too hot for this dress (it was more than 20 degrees that day), but she wore it anyway.

The pattern for this dress is flawless, I didn't have to change a thing, so I wholeheartedly recommend it, even to beginners. It did ask for a thicker yarn, so for a two-year-old I knitted the size for a 3 months old baby. Just goes to show how important it is to do the gauge before beginning the project, which I rarely do because I can't wait to start a new project.

I used St.George Una 23 thread. I would not recommend it to beginners, because you need to be very careful when sliding a stitch, for it tends to break apart into individual threads.

Another personal victory connected to this project is the fact that this is the first time I have knitted something "the correct way" (if there is such a thing). All these years I have knitted "through the back loop", thinking that is the only way to do it. However, it is not. Now that I have switched to knitting "through the front loop", my stitches are much more even. It took some time to train my hands to do it differently, but it was so worth it. I had the same problem with purl stitches, so I changed that as well. You live and learn :))

8.mart, međunarodni dan žena - Mother's Day card

S obzirom da smo celu proteklu nedelju suprug i ja naizmenično dežurali oko Eme (temperatura preko 39 u trajanju od 5 dana), nisam baš bila nešto predpraznično raspoložena. Ali, kako bih sebi malo skrenula misli, skoknula sam do svojih mi omiljenih blogova i kod mame koja ne radi na repeat pronašla odličnu ideju za čestitku za osmi mart.

Naime, sve što vam je potrebno je:

1. parče hamera u željenoj boji
2. lepak za papir
3. skalpel
4. fotka drage vam osobe (dete ili čak i vi) koja drži ruku ispruženu, a prste skupljene (čik nađite jednu takvu kad vam treba!)
5. cvetić (možete ga i sami napraviti, a možete ga i kupiti kod Kineza, ja sam izabrala drugu varijantu)

Fotografiju razvijte na onu klasičnu veličinu nekadašnjih foto albuma, da bi vam stala čestitka u klasični koverat (praktičnosti radi). Kada birate fotografiju, bilo bi dobro da ispružena ruka ne bude ispred lica, jer je onda cvet nešto teže namestiti. Isecite po jedan mali trougao ispod i iznad savijene šake i kroz ta dva otvora provucite dršku cveta. Sve lepo prilepite na isečeni hamer, dodajte veselu poruku, spakujte u koverat i čekajte pozitivne reakcije! Mi smo poslali po jednu svakoj baki i sutra ćemo predati treću vaspitačicama u vrtiću (malko se ulizujemo, od malih nogu, ali šta da se radi :D ).

Having in mind that my husband and I spent the previous week playing nurse around Ema (a fever of over 39 degrees, lasting for 5 days), I was not really in the mood for the upcoming holiday. But, to take my mind off these things, I opted for reading some posts by my favourite bloggers. I came across this great idea for a Mother's day card on mothers don't operate on repeat  blog.

What you need is the following:

1. a sheet of paper for making cards in the desired colour
2. paper glue
3. a scalpel
4. a photo of a loved one (a child, or perhaps even you) with their hand stretched open and fist closed (I dare you to find such a photo when you really need it!)
5. a paper flower (you can make one, but I bought mine)

Print out the photo in the desired size (compare it to the envelope, make sure it fits). When choosing a photo, it would be better to have the hand stretched out away from the face, it will make the placing of the flower easier. Cut out one small triangle above and one under the fist and pull the flower stem through these openings. Paste everything to the paper, add a nice message, put the card in the envelope and wait for the oohs and aahs.

Faza prsluka - Vest phase

U jednom od ranijih postova sam već govorila o mom pletenju u fazama. Nakon faze kapa usledila je faza prsluka.

Naime, pletenje prsluka se pokazalo kao veoma praktično iz više razloga:
1. prsluk bude brzo gotov što dovodi do velike radosti kod pletilje i osećaja ispunjenosti
2. u eri centralnog grejanja u stanovima, a naročito vrtićima, pokazao se kao veoma praktičan komad odeće (jer, kako će dete da bude samo u majici? 'će da ozebe!)
3. pošto je za njegovu izradu potrebno malo prediva, dobar je način da smanjite svoj stash

Ova dva prsluka su pletena po ovom receptu: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/pckristina/round-robin
Međutim, nije vam potreban neki poseban recept za njih. Naime, glavna fora je u tome što je motiv u obliku srca pleten krivim petljama, dok je ostatak pleten pravo, pa je nakon toga svetlijom od dve vunice korišćene za štrikanje izvezen, ovako. Ne morate za motiv uzeti srce - možete i slova ili neki drugi geometrijski oblik.

 Ova dva prsluka su pletena bez recepta. Dopala mi se ideja pojasa sa satenskom trakom i gornjeg dela na preklop.

A ovaj crveni prsluk je rađen po ovom receptu: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/pckristina/just-a-little-undershirt Međutim, pokazalo se da ove trakice mnogo izazivaju dete i u njemu bude želju da ih žvaćkaju, tako da se nije pokazalo kao naročito praktično rešenje.

A uputstvo za ovaj prsluk možete pronaći ovde: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/pckristina/pebble-henrys-manly-cobblestone-inspired-baby-vest

Pletete li vi prsluke? Šta vi volite da pletete klincima?

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In one of my previous posts I have written about my habit of knitting in phases. After the cap phase came my vest phase.

Knitting vests for kids turned to be a practical thing for many reasons:

1. the vest is completed in a very short time, providing the knitter with instant gratification

2. in these times of central heating in flats and daycares a vest proves to be a very practical piece of clothing (answering the age old questions in our tradition - how can you send out your child in just one shirt? won't it catch a cold?)

3. since for the making of it you do not need a lot of material, it's a good way to reduce your stash

 The vests shown in the first two photos are done according to this pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/pckristina/round-robin, however you do not need a special pattern to make it. The main thing about it is the heart shape which is done in purl, while the rest is done in knit stitches. After that, all you need to do is to embroider around the shape (like this). The shape doesn't have to be a heart. You can do letters or any other geometrical shape.

The next two vests are my own design. I kind of liked the idea of having a satin ribbon around the vest and the V-shaped neck of it.

The red vest in the fifth photo is knitted according to this pattern: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/pckristina/just-a-little-undershirt However, it turned out that the two cords are quite a challenge for kids and that they can't resist chewing on them. Not a practical solution.

And the pattern for the orange vest can be found here: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/pckristina/pebble-henrys-manly-cobblestone-inspired-baby-vest

Do you knit vests? What do you like to knit for kids?

Pobednik (Pobednici) darivanja za Dan zaljubljenih

Drage moje,
prvo moram da kažem da sam oduševljena ovako velikim odzivom! A oduševljena sam i vašim divnim crvenim radovima. Jedan lepši od drugog. A kao dokaz da romantika još nije izumrla u našoj generaciji, priložile ste i par lepih misli.
Pošto ste meni sve mnogo drage,  zadužila sam Emu da odigra ulogu Suzane Mančić i izvuče sretnog dobitnika.
E, sad, pošto je odziv zaista bio velik, odlučila sam da dodelim još jednu nagradu iznenađenja.
U pitanju je futrola za mobilni telefon, skroz u fazonu današnjeg dana. Dizajn je moj, a pattern ću, nadam se, objaviti uskoro.
Pa da počnemo sa izvlačenjem...

 A evo je i futrola!

Dobitnicama čestitam od srca, a ostalima se zahvaljujem na učešću i želim vam svima srećan Dan zaljubljenih!