handmade by stefanie

Hooray!  Sad Sack September is almost over!  I can't think of a better way of celebrating than caving in to my startitis and casting on for lots of small (and not-so-small) projects using yarn I shopped from my stash.  That might be the silver lining to this whole dead car debaucle/smashed laptop screen ridiculousness - rediscovering the joy of shopping my own stash!  I have some amazing yarns that need to see the light of day, beginning with my mmmmmmmMalabrigo. A month's worth of knitting? So here's my list of projects I'd like to complete for this month's Malabrigo Stockpile event - ALL of the yarn is from my stash.  It's an ambitious list, for sure, but I'll be happy if I complete only half of this list!  1.  Foliage Hat - Malabrigo Worsted in Vaa (to replace the one I lost a few years ago) 2.  Madison Hand Warmers - Malabrigo Worsted in Vaa (to match hat) 3.  Metheglin Cowl - Malabrigo Rios in Solis and whatever odds and s...

Dead Laptop Screen My last update was apparently truncated by Blogger.  Or it might have been the antiquated G4 I've been using this week since I smashed the screen of the 'good' laptop Monday afternoon (It's being fixed, but can't get back home soon enough!)...who can say.  The great thing about this resurrected dinosaur of a laptop is that we've sort of opened a time capsule - all of our favorite websites from four or five years ago!  Photos we forgot we had!  Silly MP3's we never bothered to put on the new computer's iTunes!  The not-so-great thing, of course, is that the computer is slow as hell, and most of the websites I need to do my job well either don't work at all (this thing doesn't even have OS 10) or are so slow I can make myself lunch while they load.  It's better than nothing, though, and I've been able to find some apps for my Android to help fill in the spaces and cobble together some semblance of a work-week.  So ...

House of Mirrors Fingerless Gloves and Tightrope Socks are now available to purchase in my Ravelry Shop! Along with the Button Bunnies, these patterns both use the fabulous yarns from The Wool Dispensary, who made their debut at YarnCon last weekend!  From now until Oct. 31,  enter " IheartTWD " at checkout to get 20% off any or all of these patterns.  Then be sure to stock up on pretty yarns from The Wool Dispensary's Online Shop! House of Mirrors - Twisted-stitch cabled fingerless gloves using Useful Restorative (sport-weight) from The Wool Dispensary Tightrope Socks - Smocked, ribbed top-down socks using Useful Stimulant (fingering-weight) from The Wool Dispensary Bree and Sam had a fantastic debut at YarnCon.  For those of you who bought yarn and patterns at the show, thank you so much for supporting two awesome, talented ladies!  Be sure to check their website to see the next wave of awesomeness to emerge from the dye pots!

I know, I know...every post in the last month has mentioned [event name redacted] in some way.   It was like Christmas for us Chicago yarnies - eager anticipation, counting down the days, and then it's over way too fast and you have to wait til next year.  Life after [oops, almost said it]:  we must move forward, not back. I suppose I should fill you in on all the other stuff I've been doing besides the three new designs that debuted this weekend. To be honest, I'm not sure where I've found the time to do all this - releasing three patterns in the same month is a doozy! - but I've managed to cram in lots of other fibery activities that haven't found their way onto this blog.  Here's a summary of things I may have forgotten to mention:  Dead Fish Hat!  My nephew turned 7 this month, and what better gift for the silliest second-grader I know than Thelma Egberts' Fish Hat: Dead or Alive? .  Clearly, it was the right choice...and because it's so ...

Swimming in candy. Since Mr. Nubbins didn't get to go to Renegade or Stitches this year, I thought I should finally humor him and let him hitch a ride to YarnCon in my Wool Dispensary project bag.  Mr. Nubbins made a lot of friends on Saturday - he even spent some time hanging out in the candy bowl at the Windy City Knitting Guild table.  I managed to catch him before he ate all of the lollipops, fortunately. Sam is the yarn dyer! (Side note: I joined the WCKG at the beginning of the year but have yet to make it to a meeting - something always gets in the way!  Before it used to be work or a show, now it's stupid things like me forgetting because I was on a bus that got hit by a car - which actually happened last Tuesday!  The funny thing about that was, I was marooned fairly close to where the meeting was taking place, but because of my extreme annoyance at the situation, all thoughts of the meeting went out of my head as I concentrated on my Plan B for Ge...

I couldn't be more excited for YarnCon this year!  Having lived in Chicago for going on 6 years now, you'd think I'd be more blase about this celebration of local-ish fibery goodness.  This is only my second year attending YarnCon, however - now that I am free from the service industry shackles AND live much closer to where YarnCon is being held, I've been counting down the weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds....nanoseconds....you get the idea.  I'm excited . It sounds like this year's lineup will be stellar - Fleur de Fiber , Grinning Gargoyle & The Sweatshop of Love are all on my hit list.  I'm intrigued by some of the other exhibitors, such as Arrow in Her Quiver and Liz Abinante of Feministy.com , too Nearest and dearest to my heart, however, is the official launch of The Wool Dispensary at YarnCon.  Bree & Sam, the brain trust behind The Wool Dispensary, are addicted knitters-turned-purveyors of beautiful hand-dyed yarn.  You'll d...

*cough*yarncon*cough* The day I've had circled on my calendar is almost here - YarnCon is this Saturday! I've got three new patterns releasing in conjunction with the blessed event - and while I don't want to spoil the surprise just yet, I can show you a few sneak peeks (be sure to check back this Friday, when all will be revealed!): I grabbed coffee with my pal Sam from The Wool Dispensary last week, and received my Kickstarter rewards - an awesome limited-edition poster print and official Wool Dispensary project bag! If you missed out on funding their launch via Kickstarter (and reaping such rewards as have been bestowed on yours truly), I'm told they'll have project bags and posters for sale at YarnCon ($3.50 and $10, respectively).  So wait - what's that on the needles?  Just a little colorwork sock featuring the leftover skein of Useful Stimulant in Circus Popcorn, that's what!  The main color is some Fortissima Socka I got in a swap (whi...

I've been remiss in posting about Renegade Craft Fair last weekend.  All of the car nonsense kind of distracted me last week - but it's time to return to my regularly scheduled blogging. I'm sure it's no surprise to learn that I had a modest budget for Renegade this year, but I think I made my dollars count.  As always, there were lots of cool things I'd like to have purchased - lovely-smelling soaps, nifty ceramics, and some really cool terrariums (there were two vendors of terrariums this year - and very few items with birds on them, now that I think of it.  Way to go, Portlandia !).  Everything I purchased fit perfectly in this wee canvas tote bag, which I bought from Alysson at The Sweatshop of Love .  Her mom hand-stamps them, and it's absolutely perfect for taking a sock project on-the-go....which brings us to item #2:  my annual Rhino Fluff purchase! Last year, you may recall the amazing blue skein of silky sock yarn I purchased from Rhino...

Mystery Toy! I have two more patterns slated to be self-released this year - Pattern A is a super-cute toy pattern that will be coming out next week just in time for Yarn Con , and Pattern B is a sport-weight sock that will be out by December (year end at the latest!).  I'd like to offer one of these patterns for FREE to anyone who purchases 2 (or more) patterns from my Ravelry shop between now and the end of September.  Here's the deal: 1.  Purchase any 2 patterns from my Ravelry shop.   2.  Forward your invoice to the e-mail address provided on said invoice with a note telling me which pattern you'd prefer - "new toy" or "new sock" should sufffice! 3.  When the pattern you requested comes out, I will send you a link for your free download!  It's as simple as that!   Where is all this coming from, other than the goodness of my heart, you ask?   You can thank our sad, dead car.  We've been unable to drive it for...

First, the disclaimer: I wasn't solicited or paid to write this entry - I just really like Hiya-Hiya needles.   When I was at the TNNA show in Columbus last June, I did get a free pair of #2 circs from the nice people in the Hiya-Hiya booth, however - otherwise, I just want to share the love! I've been using Hiya-Hiyas for years - when I worked at Lorna's, we frequently would pool our collective resources to order a big, magical box of needles.  That was when I first got hooked on them - for one thing, you can't beat the price.  And for the money, they perform well - to be honest, I like them better than a lot of those "expensive" brands.  Not only that, but each package of needles usually comes with a prize - a darning needle, a stitch marker, a blocking pin.  It's sort of like Cracker Jack, but with knitting needles! Yes, it's nice to splurge now and again - and some splurges are worth it! - but it's also great to have affordable basics that...

At last, FO photos of my Earth & Sky KAL project!  It didn't take too terribly long to weave in all the ends - I did most of them each time I finished a clue, as suggested in the pattern.  No matter the project (but especially where intarsia is concerned), weaving in the ends as you go is always a good time-saver.  I couldn't be more pleased with how my first-ever intarsia project turned out, and I really like the color placement.  I'm also happy to report that the silver-colored yarn that I mentioned was a little on the scratchy side has softened up considerably since blocking. As you can see, I love my new shawl!  Bonus points to Tyler for capturing The Happy Shawl Dance.  That's something the world really needed to see.  Now for the bad news:  while I successfully used up every scrap of navy blue sock yarn in my stash,  I barely made a dent in the other skeins!  I suppose there are worse things - I can probably have enough lef...

Some friends and I went to the Walworth County Fair yesterday - I spent lots of time petting sheep and goats, but there was also a considerable amount of fried food consumed.  Here are the highlights - you can view the entire album here ! 

You can voice your enjoyment,  love or complete befuddlement for any of my blog posts with one click of a button!  Look for these new reaction buttons at the end of each entry!  They're similar to the ones in the Ravelry forums, minus the option to be a phantom disagreer - you'll just have to own your 'disagree' through actual commenting!