handmade by stefanie

Whee!  Day Four of Blog Week is upon us!  Today we'll be talking about: Write about the fate of a past knitting project. Whether it be something that you crocheted or knitted for yourself or to give to another person. An item that lives with you or something which you sent off to charity. How has one of your past knits lived up to wear? Maybe an item has become lost. Maybe you spent weeks knitting your giant-footed dad a pair of socks in bright pink and green stripes which the then ‘lost’. If you have knit items to donate to a good cause, you could reflect on the was in which you hope that item is still doing good for its owner or the cause it was made to support. Have you seen this hat? Missing:  Awesome Hand-Knit Hat Last seen:  Several years ago in a booth at the Grafton Pub in Lincoln Square Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted in Vaa Pattern: Foliage by Emilee Mooney, Fall 2007 Knitty Last known whereabouts I lost this the last time my parents came to town.  I

Blog Week is rolling right along with Day 3: How do you keep your yarn wrangling organised? It seems like an easy to answer question at first, but in fact organisation exists on many levels. Maybe you are truly not organised at all, in which case I am personally daring you to try and photograph your stash in whatever locations you can find the individual skeins. However, if you are organised, blog about an aspect of that organisation process, whether that be a particularly neat and tidy knitting bag, a decorative display of your crochet hooks, your organised stash or your project and stash pages on Ravelry. A big mess. I've already posted earlier this year about my attempts to get organized . It's an on-going project, since I have a knack for undoing all my work.  I can't seem to keep my yarn room tidy for more than a few days!  My grandmother used to say that an artist shouldn't be afraid to be messy (in fact, I think she encouraged such things,).  App

Welcome to Day 2 of blog week, where we have yet another topic to discuss: Look back over your last year of projects and compare where you are in terms of skill and knowledge of your craft to this time last year. Have you learned any new skills or forms of knitting/crochet (can you crochet cable stitches now where you didn’t even know such things existed last year? Have you recently put a foot in the tiled world of entrelac? Had you even picked up a pair of needles or crochet hook this time last year?  Owl Cardigan:  Adventure in Steeking Last year I steeked my first sweater, and somehow managed to never write a post about it.  I'm not sure why - it was quite the learning experience!  This seems like as good of a time as any to talk about the ins and outs of steeking a cardigan....for starters, I chose to experiment with steeking because I wanted to knit the cardigan faster in the round - I also figured I should branch out and try something new, and a coworker of mine h

Osprey Pillow! Welcome to Day 1 of Knitting and Crochet Blog Week - for the next seven days, I'll be blogging about all things knitting-related along with several other bloggers who will be ruminating on the same topics.  Today's topic: Part of any fibre enthusiast’s hobby is an appreciation of yarn. Choose two yarns that you have either used, are in your stash or which you yearn after and capture what it is you love or loathe about them. As I was knitting with Quince & Company's Osprey Worsted, I couldn't stop exclaiming about how much I was enjoying working with it.  The entire time I was knitting my project, I couldn't stop squishing as I went along - I can't think of the last time I've been this ecstatic over a yarn.  Besides being easy to work with, the yarn had a fantastic drape to the knitted fabric that stayed that way once it had been blocked.  Ultimately, I also love the story behind the yarn.  I find it incredibly satisfying to

I finished Malabrigo March Monster #2 this week - this time, I used up all of my bits and bobs of Chunky (you may recall seeing this in both incarnations of my Kitchy Pleated Bag! )...with a little bit of Zealana Eco Chunky to fill in the blanks. Pattern:  Tony the Toy Box Monster by Rebecca Danger - from The Big Book of Monsters Yarns: Malabrigo Chunky in Charrua (brown/blue) and Frank Ochre Zealana Eco Chunky (NZ Merino/Cashmere blend) in Chestnut Meanwhile, I came across another fantastic FO using my free whale chart...I might have to make myself a pair of these - they're a little too irresistible! Ravelry user Gatchan knit these up these sport-weight fingerless mitts with two colors of Phildar Tonic.  My favorite detail is the continuation of the checkered detail on the thumb! Check it out for yourself! I should also probably share my sheep mitten FO photos - though I'd like to get a few better-quality images!  They turned out well - and they're nice an

I have two FO's to show off this morning!  First, I finished my Shiatsu legwarmers - they are blocking as I type!  I'm pretty happy with how they turned out - They should be great to wear with skirts in the next few weeks.  I have to say, I'm very impressed with the yarn I used from Knit Picks - it knit up quite nicely and now that it's blocked, it's even softer and squishier!  I'll definitely be using this yarn again. Pattern:  Shiatsu by Judy Sumner - from Knitted Socks East and West Yarn:  Knit Picks Gloss DK in Robot (3 skeins) - a lovely (and affordable) merino/silk blend! I'm pleased to announce that I have finished my first Malabrigo March project!  There were a few hiccups along the way, as I ran out of yarn twice!  oh, the perils of destashing - usually I don't have this problem when making toys or monsters with leftover skeins of yarn.  Murphy's law decided to pay me a visit, and I did have to make a trip last week to Nina to snag

I should preface this blog post by stating that I enter a lot of contests - you know all those five-minute surveys they print links for on your receipts and you can be entered to win a gift card or cash prize?  I do those pretty consistently.  Every product giveaway that sounds mildly interesting, every "comment on my blog" contest...I'm there!  I started this campaign last summer as I entered the "slow season" at work - seeing how many contests I could enter per week is apparently the best use of one's time.  Obviously.  I did end up winning some body wash last year, so at least I have something to show for all my efforts.  The law of averages has yet again bestowed on me a prize - this one's about a hundred times cooler than body wash, though - by leaving a comment on Threadpanda's awesome blog , I won the new eBook from The Sweatshop of Love , Hello Winter! Is anyone surprised to learn that I've already started a project from the book?  I

I've been remiss in sharing my latest purchases on here - too many distractions I guess!  It's been nearly a month since I was browsing through the craft section at the Half-Price Books near my vet and happened upon several copies of Stefanie Japel's Glam Knits for $7.  Who can resist a killer deal like that?  Obviously, not this gal!  I also have caved - TWICE - on my yarn diet.  The first time, Purl Soho's spring cleaning sale got me...but it was such an amazing deal on Imperial Stock Ranch's pencil roving, I couldn't resist.  I already have a light-grey skein, and I thought it might be cool to make some super-warm colorwork mittens for next season.  Plus, check out the free samples they included in my package!  I was thinking of using them for making some beginner entrelac swatches.  The second time was a total fluke of an accident.  My husband and I were out running errands and the car wouldn't start - we have a '96 Saturn that tends to overhe

On the eve of the anniversary of my grandmother's passing, I came across this blog post by Benjamin Levisay, CEO of XRX (they're responsible for Knitter's Magazine , countless books, and the fabulous Stitches Expos), which hit close to home for me.  It's been 13 years since my grandmother died of ovarian cancer, and I can't help feeling that it wasn't a coincidence that I stumbled upon this story tonight.  I've seem some really amazing examples of the knitting community banding together to help those in need - crafters and non-crafters alike - and I hope that everyone will spread Sue's story and help her get the treatment she needs.  Please consider purchasing a raffle ticket to help defray the cost of her medical bills and let her know just how many people are wishing her well in her battle. 

It feels like ages since I've released a pattern - this one has been in the works for a while now.  At last it is tested and ready to go - just in time for Malabrigo March! I designed these wristwarmers to coordinate with my Nest Egg Beanie - in fact, if you knit the smallest sizes of each pattern, you can knit the set using only two skeins of Malabrigo Rios!  This pattern features a nice ribbed cuff, stockinette palm, and a cabled panel that runs along the back of the hand.  There is a chart to work from, and the pattern is perfect for showing off the beautiful variations of hand-dyed yarns. The details: Pattern:  Nest Egg Wristwarmers , $6 Yarn:  Malabrigo Rios (Superwash Merino) in 'Solis' Needles:  US #7 DPNs Notions:  Cable needle, different-colored stitch markers, darning needle. buy now | add to cart | show cart

...at least for a little while.  I've been working on this bad boy since last October, and while I'm loving the finished product, I'm ready for some faster-knitting projects.  It's going to be a while before I get back on the sport-weight sweater horse, despite the fact that I have at least two more sweater's-worth of sport waiting in the wings.  Luckily, I have even more sweater's-worth quantities of worsted to keep me busy 'til I'm ready to re-open this door!  This was a fairly easy pattern to follow - all measurements were in the metric system, which I find I kind of enjoy - it really doesn't make sense that we're one of the few countries that still insists on clinging to the English system of measurement.  I mean, the English don't even use the English system these days!  Come on! My only critique of this pattern would have to be the cables in the charts -  I found the yarn overs to be a little fussy and awkward at times, especially

What will you be doing to celebrate your favorite yarn this month? I will be releasing a wristwarmer pattern any day now, using the wonderfully machine washable yarn, Rios !  Keep your eyes peeled!  (For my fellow junkies, I am offering 40% off ALL patterns in my Ravelry Shop - check out my twitter feed for the coupon code to enter at check-out!) Speaking of Malabrigo Rios, today I'll be starting a new sweater for myself (yes, the sport-weight cardigan is done and blocking - more on that later!) - I've got a bunch of beautiful skeins of Glazed Carrot I picked up at Nina to make Hilary Smith Callis' Koukla Cardigan from Brave New Knits.  Since I already have several non-Malabrigo projects on the needles, I won't be going too crazy with my cast-on projects this month - but I will be using my many and varied Malabrigo leftovers to knit some monsters from Rebecca Danger's Big Book of Monsters , which arrived the other week and significantly lengthened my Ravel