handmade by stefanie

Red overdyes - before Red overdyes - after I was thrilled to actually have a Sunday off this week - and I don't know if it was the holiday, or just the fact that it was finally not raining outside, but I really had a jones to dye something . I've been wanting to play around with crock pot dyeing, but because I'm paranoid about having dye fumes in our house, had to wait til the weather permitted.  Most of Sunday afternoon was spent on the back porch, tending to my yarns, knitting, and drinking beer - sounds like a perfect day to me!  I used some Jacquard dyes I'd picked up at Blick, a LOT of vinegar, and just a tiny bit of dish soap to make sure the dye got worked through all the skeins.  The yarn in question is stuff from my stash that just isn't my style (read: pink!).  I started out with a couple things I wanted to overdye red - I remember hearing somewhere that a dyer on etsy would overdye skeins of yarn with red if they didn't sell as-is - and then the...

It's still quite cold here in Chicago, so I'm really glad I finally finished the last pattern in my Nest Egg series - a cowl to coordinate with the hat and fingerless gloves featuring the same cable pattern.  This cowl is so warm!  I've made a few cowls over the last year or so, and I always liked the way they turned out, but their either a) didn't cover enough of my neck or b) let the wind through the fabric because they had a lace pattern on them.  I know, I know - that last one I should have seen coming!  But sometimes, it's easy to get blindsided by how cool something looks that the practicality gets thrown right out the window. Practicality is, of course, very important when you're readying yourself for another Chicago winter - or waiting for one to finally throw in the towel! With that in mind, I created this extra-warm cabled cowl which is knit flat and cozily overlaps around the neck, secured with two buttons. Just the facts, ma'am: Pattern:...

Security Breach This past week has been super-weird - I need to preface this entry by saying that.  In my non-knitting life, things are really heating up....in the case of the project I've been working on since January, that's a good thing - I can log more hours and really hold out hope that this thing is going to take off!  In other areas, it's not so good - Tyler's work situation continues to suck, and as his hours get whittled away more and more with each passing week, so does our "fun" money.  We aren't the type of people who live really high on the hog - for us, a blowout is to go out to dinner and spend less than fifty bucks on a meal and a few beers.  We are, unfortunately, very good at being broke - our three years in Portland was a great crash course in this, and let me tell you, we ate a LOT of pancakes and quesadillas.  I digress - where I was going with all this is to say that, along with the rest of the world, we're feeling the pinch a...

Robin 'helps' finish the dino. Dino is done!  Tuesday night was the second night of The Sweatshop of Love 's dinosaur-making class - I spent most of the time sewing the top of the body together because I got super anal-retentive about the placement of the scales.  I'm usually don't worry myself if something is imperfect - after all, it adds character to a project, and in this case, it's just a toy! - but for some reason having wonky scales was really bothering me!  Sometimes the masochism of doing something only to rip it out and do it again is fun, apparently.  Securing the leg. At any rate, I spent the lion's share of this morning with Robin purring in my lap as I finished sewing together my dino.  I mentioned in the last blog post that I picked up some good finishing tips - my favorite being something I wish I'd thought to do eons ago:  when attaching legs or other bits and bobs, tie a firm knot with the yarn you're using for sewing.  Espe...

Intense mustard yellow Just had lunch with one of my knitting buddies who is beginning to dye her own yarns - and of course, she let me squish and ooh and aah over her latest handiwork....not to mention bring home a few skeins to play around with!  I'm loving these shaded solids....not sure what designs I'll create with them, but rest assured I'll keep you posted.  Beautiful variegated blues Meanwhile, I'll probably have a new design ready to post by the end of the week, and with any luck, an FO or two!  Despite the tantalizing yarns trying to lure me into casting on for yet another project, I'm going to try to resist the urge until I get at least one or two things off the needles.  It's been weeks since I've touched my Koukla cardigan - also known as one of my Malabrigo March projects.  At this rate, it'll be done by next Malabrigo March!  Last week, in an attempt to rekindle my interest in knitting this lovely, lovely sweater, I finally made ...

Now that the fun of blog week is over, it's time to return to my usual posting fare - but before I get into my WIPs and FOs and all that, I want to spread the word about Shannon Okey's Kickstarter Campaign for the Cooperative Press Fresh Design Series . Even if I weren't a part of the project (I have a design that will come out in the Toy book), this would be the type of company and project I'd love to throw my support behind.  They have a great concept and working with them has been nothing short of fantastic.  Plus, you can get some excellent thank-you gifts for pledging - for ten bucks, a digital version of The Knitgrrl Guide to Professional Knitwear Design can be yours!  Even if you aren't planning on pursuing a career as a designer in this field, it's a really great book that is chock full of interesting and helpful information.  There are lots of other thank-you gifts available for various levels of pledging - so please take a minute to check out their ...

Last week I made this panda chart to play around with - Tyler has a love for pandas and I thought it would be fun to knit some panda-themed projects (I have a really cool top-secret one in the works!). Since my whale chart was so well-received on Ravelry, I thought I'd share this one as well .  I can't wait to see everyone's panda-emblazoned FO's! I knit up this swatch using some leftover Malabrigo Sock in Terracotta for the contrast color and some lovely chocolate brown silk/wool blend yarn from Brooks Farm.  I think this is destined to be the cozy for my new Eco Travel Mug!

Today is the last day of Blog Week - thanks for reading!  Here's how we'll be closing out the week: Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys? What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords? Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter? No one told me to get ready for my closeup. This had changed drastically over the last year.  When I used to knit primarily at home, I would watch dvds with my husband - usually whatever came from Netflix, or a selection from our home library (my personal faves for knitting were Arrested Development , Seinfeld or Invader Zim - so easy to pop in a disc and knit the afternoon away!).  I've even been known to knit in between takes while T...

Welcome to Day 6 of Blog Week!  As we begin to wind down, it's time to talk about the future: Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make but can admire the result of those that have. I'd like to design a sweater someday - I've modified sweater patterns to suit my needs, but have yet to design a unique sweater for myself.  I'm not sure if I would take the extra step of grading it to be published, although that would also be an excellent challenge for myself as well.  Perhaps I can combine this goal with my resolutions to improve my ...

Buttons! Glorious Buttons! Tea Leaves:  Fancy Buttons Today I'm playing the wild card!  It's time to talk about the joys of embellishments - namely, buttons, because the right buttons can make or break an FO.  Over the years I have acquired huge containers of buttons, and I never tire of sifting through them, time and time again, in search of the perfect accent for my project.  Each time, I come across buttons I hadn't noticed before.  With such a huge amount to dig through, I'm always amazed when I can find the right number of buttons I need, but it's rare when that isn't possible and I have to head to the craft store.  I have so many that I feel guilty keeping them all to myself, so I've taken to selling some in my Etsy shop and letting my friends shop my stash.  I recently used some very fancy buttons that I'd been saving for several years, waiting for the right project to come along.  That project happened to be the Tea Leaves...