handmade by stefanie

Looking for a fast knit?  I finished this shawl in just over a week - I couldn't put it down!  Now that it's finished, I can't seem to stop wearing it, either - that Finito yarn is just too soft to be believed.  Since I've been posting so much this week, I'll let the photos do most of the talking - but here are the details: Pattern: Haven Shawlette by Mercedes Tarasovitch-Clark Yarn: Finito in Paloma, 1.5 skeins Size made:  Smaller version

Malabrigo Finito Color Spectrum I know I've blogged about Finito several times since it came into my life last month, but I wrote this up for the Windy City Knitting Guild newsletter and thought my dear, crafty readers might enjoy it as well.  If you're wondering, Malabrigo is not a client of mine (though I have designed for them in the past) and I wasn't asked to write this or compensated in any way.  I've just fallen in love with Finito, and I want the whole world to know, apparently.  Ahem.  At any rate - here is the "official" H.B.S. blog review for Malabrigo's Finito yarn: Paloma Just in time for Malabrigo March, Finito hit yarn shops to the delight of knitters everywhere.  Only available once per year, this yarn is extremely limited and sure to sell out fairly quickly.  A 2-ply fingering-weight yarn (which I would say is on the heavier side of the spectrum), it is spun from the finest merino wool in Uruguay - and, if you can believe ...

There's a KAL brewing in the Doodlebug Yarns Ravelry group !  Grab your favorite color of sock yarn from The Wool Dispensary (click here and here to pick your poison!) and cast on for my Tightrope Socks - they're an easy-to-knit ribby sock with smocking.  Since the model in the pattern photos is used for display only, I will be joining in to knit myself a pair.  You may not believe this, but I don't actually have any of my own sock designs to wear on an everyday basis.  That seems kind of wrong, doesn't it?  I'm still trying to decide which color I want to make - I've narrowed down to something in the green or blue family, though.  I look forward to seeing a beautiful array of Tightrope Socks in the near future! Please join us - there is no formal time frame or strict rules for this KAL.  Just fun, easy-going knitting with some super-cool ravelers.  Click here for more information !

I should preface this by saying:  I'll still probably post cat photos on this blog - so don't get your hopes up if you're thinking my new cat Tumblr blog Sassy Kittehs will be giving you a cat photo reprieve!  However, if you happen to enjoy seeing photos of my cats (and the occasional guest cat, too), hop on over to Tumblr and check out my new photoblog.  Highlights include many photos of cats sleeping and other gems such as the grocery bag caper and cat-in-a-box .  If you follow me on Twitter , you'll get automatic updates (lucky you!), but otherwise, bookmark your browser for all the kitty cuteness you can handle....such as this: (This is Tilly's Puss in Boots face)

Welcome to the selfish knitting edition of FO Friday, where at long last I have finished a pair of socks for myself.  It's true! Cookie A's Wedge Socks were indeed a fast knit - I probably could have made them in a matter of weeks if I hadn't been distracted by crocheting and other knitting projects.  But no matter, they are finished now...just in time for the ridiculous 80 degree weather we're having here in Chicago.  Guess they'll be the first ones out of the gate next fall! (I will confess, I have not yet blocked them - but you get the idea, no?) I've also been blazing full steam ahead on my first Finito project - after much deliberation, I decided to make Mercedes Tarasovitch-Clark's Haven Shawlette - a simple sideways garter triangle scarf with a pretty cabled edging.  It's interesting to make and perfectly shows off the subtle variation of the Paloma colorway.  And it knits up fast - I cast on last weekend and I'm nearly halfway done! ...

Perhaps it's a bit self-congratulatory, but I feel as though I've done a bang-up job of shopping from my stash in the past year.  My once-overflowing bins of sock and worsted-weight yarn are trim and slim...which means it's ok to go on a small yarn-buying binge this month, right? Justification #1:  Much of this yarn was really on sale, and I bought it with a specific holiday-gift-knitting agenda in mind. Justification #2:  In the case of the Malabrigo Finito, it's only available for a limited time, so I have to get mine while the getting is good. Justification #3:  I wanted to.  Let's not sugar-coat it!   The downside of my job (if you can call it that) is that I frequently enable myself into yarn purchases.  Besides that, I have the yarn-world equivalent of insider trading:  I'm more or less one of the first people to find out that something is available or going on sale.  Which is why I was able to snag these two skeins of Fin...

It's been just over a week since my last entry - my trip to Kansas City last weekend was fun and productive, though short.  I was able to see a few of my friends and pretty much all of my family - not to mention knit (and crochet) up a storm! On the train ride down, I finished my Abalone Cardigan in Malabrigo Silky (Matisse Colorway): While in K.C. I finished the first wedge sock using the crazy awesome German yarn ( Wollglöckchen Handgefärbte Sockenwolle - say that five times fast); on the train ride home I started sock # 2 and will probably get the heel turned this weekend.  Pardon the crappily-lit self-portrait:  I also completed this sideways double-crochet scarf - the yarn is some wonderfully soft MCN hand-dyed by my pal Kit (who is also a tattoo artist and is responsible for the half-sleeve in the below photo).  It's been the perfect little scarf for this crazy-for-March weather we're having this week: Finally, I got a lot of knitting done on the River...

Here's a quick snapshot of my 3 WIPs before I head down to Kansas City for the weekend: Abalone Cardigan :  I'm closing in on this - not that you can tell by the photo!  You'll just have to take my word for it:  once I finish the sleeves, I just need to add a ribby border to the entire sweater.  Hoping to be done sometime next week, though I suppose a more realistic time frame is the end of this month.  Wedge Socks :  These are pretty fast-knitting and addictive, but I haven't been working on them as much because I've been concentrating my nightly knitting efforts on sweater-finishing.  I'm guessing I'll have sock #1 finished somwhere en route to Kansas City with any luck.  Fun fact: these are my first socks knit with Knitter's Pride Cubics needles!  Sideways Triangle Scarf :  I just wanted something easy to work on, and after cruising crochet patterns on Ravelry, I decided to strike out on my own and just do a simple little triangle...

Happy Malabrigo March!  Spring is in the air, but mostly because we never got a "real" winter here in Chicago (unless you count the five days it snowed, two of which happened to be on days I was trying to fly out of here).  It's been in the 30's and 40's, which is a frigging heat wave here this time of year.  At any rate, I wanted to share the latest crop of projects that have been recently completed by my fellow Ravelers!  It's always so fun to see what colors, yarns and patterns people have chosen, and this week's post features a few of my favorite designs! First up, here's a cute little Kitchy Pleated Bag (you can find the pattern in Malabrigo Book 3 ), knit by chookgirl in Moda Vera Grand and Moda Vera Mousse.  I like the one fancy button hiding on the inside of the bag! Also from Book 3, pk26 knit up a pair of the fastest socks in the west, the Quick Draw socks!  If that color looks familiar, that's because it's the very same one I...