handmade by stefanie

I made significant progress on my Rocky Coast Cardigan over the weekend - by Sunday night, I was nearly done with the sleeves (I decided to knit them two-at-a-time on magic loop). Alas, I decided that I needed a little more room for my arms in order to be happy with my cardi, so I ended up frogging an entire weekend's worth of work on Monday night. I'm happy to say that it will be worth the pain, since these sleeves fit me much better the second time around. Plus, I'm still optimistic that I can be finished by the end of next weekend! Since I can't start any of my Malabrigo March projects til Friday, I found myself without a portable project to stash in my messenger bag. As a solution, I decided to crochet a few Owl Hats in the interim with yarn from my stash. I'm using the same pattern as before with the same modifications as well; the yarns used are Malabrigo Worsted in Pigeon and Knit Picks Andean Silk (which is apparently discontinued) in Imperial (fore...

Last week, I received my order from Doodlebug Yarn's Malabrigo sale: Top to bottom: Malabrigo Worsted in Cognac and Natural, Arroyo in Plomo. A pretty modest haul, yes, but this is me trying to avoid buying more yarn when I already have a very healthy stash to knit from. Plus, I have a lot  of Finito squirreled away for a rainy day; I fell in love with it last year and bought skeins of several different colors. Of the six skeins I am hoarding, I've decided to pull out one for this year's Malabrigo March celebration. Here is my plan for next month: 1. Finito in Coffee Toffee: Waiting for Spring mitts for the General Accessory KAL . I might try to convert this pattern into mittens! 2. Arroyo in Plomo: some sort of top-down cropped cardigan (I might DIY it since I haven't found a pattern that matches what I have in mind) for the General Sweater KAL. 3. Malabrigo Worsted in Cognac and Natural: Maple the Moose from Crocheted Softies  for the General Cro...

Happy FO Friday! It's been a week since I finished Tyler's new gloves, but I wanted to save them for today's post. They were quick to knit - I made them in less than a week! - and I used some lovely hand-dyed BFL yarn I bought at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival last fall. It was a huge skein of yarn, so I have plenty left over for more projects. I used the 5 in 1 Adventure pattern from Marly Bird's Mittens and Gloves Galore class on Craftsy ( click here to read my full class review from earlier this week; there is a special affiliate link for 50% off your class registration!). Conductive Thread from Knit Picks You can't see them, but there are two small silver dots on the index fingers of both gloves; late last year, I purchased some conductive thread from Knit Picks so that Tyler can operate his smartphone and iPod without having to take off his gloves! I know that Knit Picks is getting a beating for their mishandling of a security breach on...

Remember my Calm Cowl ? I have been working on it steadily since I last shared it on this blog , but I feel like it will never be finished! I am nearly done with the third ball of yarn (Wisdom Yarns' Limerick), but I think that I'll keep going and dip into my fourth ball. It's certainly been a great project to take on-the-go; it's accompanied me to various places such as our favorite coffee shop, a bowling alley, and the Genius Bar at the Apple store, not to mention countless trips on the CTA. My Sock Monkey Monkey is nearing completion; even though I feel like I don't work on it very much (it is the "kitchen" project du jour), somehow I am coming down the home stretch at last. I am loving the yarn, which is a hand-dyed worsted with a very nice twist from Haldecraft . Can't wait to finish my monkey! Just as soon as I finished Tyler's gloves last Friday night, I cast on for the Rocky Coast Cardigan  with the Canopy Worsted I scored for 5...

Click here for 50% off your class registration! This review is long overdue; I was originally hoping to post it last December, but holiday gift knitting and crocheting took over all of my brain power, and it became my white whale on my blogging to-do list. Honestly, I have to thank my husband for finally getting me back in the class review swing of things - if he hadn't needed a new pair of gloves because his  current gloves  (knit in 2008, mind you) kept springing holes, I might still be procrastinating. I've taken several Craftsy classes in the last year, but I still watched the introduction, even though I feel well-versed in all of the bells and whistles the  Craftsy platform provides. It's always nice to get to know the instructor (although in this case, I've had the pleasure of getting to know Marly at trade shows and other knitting events), plus she outlines what the class will cover and shows each of the projects that will be made along the ...

Happy FO Friday! I finished my first project from Amigurumi On The Go, which I bought recently via Craftsy Deals . This is the Cat Roundie Bag , which I modified a bit, mostly because I didn't want to sew on pieces of felt. Instead, I decided to crochet as many features as possible and embroider the rest. Below is what I did if you decide you'd like to do the same! The main yarn used is a lovely space-dyed purple from Manos Del Uruguay (just in time for their Fair Trade February celebration!); the contrasting colors are all bits and bobs from my amigurumi stash. This was a very quick project to make, though I highly recommend blocking the finished pieces (especially the round bag pieces) so that they lay nice and flat. Modifications - To Make Cat Features Cat Muzzle: Work first 6 rnds of bag front instructions in contrasting color. Fasten off. Cat Triangles (worked flat - make 5): Ch 2. Row 1: SC 3 sts into second stitch from hook. Row 2: CH 1, SC 3 sts. Row 3...

Happy Valentine's Day! What better way to celebrate than the Craftsy Valentine's Day Sale , am I right? I thought I'd pass along these awesome deals on classes which start at $9.99. If you've been wanting to explore the world of crochet, both of my personal favorites, Crochet Lab with Vickie Howell and Amigurumi Woodland Animals with Stacey Trock , are currently on sale for $9.99. I myself just signed up for How To Say It: Pattern Writing For Knitters by Edie Eckman for $14.99 (and yes, there will be a review on my blog sometime soon!). I know I have said it many times - I am in love with the Craftsy platform and am a serial Craftsy class-taker. I know that once you sign up for your first class, you'll fall in love, too! Enjoy the savings and have a happy Valentine's Day!

After making the decision to put my Destash Dolman to sleep for a bit, I comforted myself by casting on for two new knitting projects. The first is a pair of gloves for Tyler, whose current gloves keep springing holes (they were, after all, knit in 2008 ). The new gloves will look an awful lot like the old ones, being that they're his favorite color (or not-color, if you prefer), black. I am, however, using a different yarn entirely - this time, a 100% BFL worsted-weight yarn that I purchased at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival last fall. It's a huge skein, so gloves are just the beginning! As you can see, I've accomplished a lot in just a few days' time - I'm already on the second glove! I'm using Marly Bird's 5 in 1 Adventure pattern, which is a part of her excellent Mittens and Glove Galore class on Craftsy , in which I am enrolled, so be looking for my full review here on this blog soon. In the mean time, if you can't wait to hear my t...

I dedicated most of this weekend to working on my Destash Dolman , only to realize that I'd miscalculated the amount of yarn I needed when substituting. Oops! On the plus side, it fit very well when I tried it on, so I know I'll be pleased with it when it's completed...whenever that is! The problem is, the yarn I ran out of ( Anzula Squishy in Clay) is apparently not one that is sold in many shops. Also, it's $36; kind of a bummer to drop that kind of cash on a skein of yarn from which you'll only use about 100 yards! Usually in this type of situation, I can track down a skein in someone's Ravelry stash that they're willing to sell, but no such luck. Ah, well, these things happen. I'll put this project on hibernation for a bit and concentrate on other things....like swatching for my next sweater, the Rocky Coast Cardigan ! I thought I'd share a few photos from the barista throwdown at Metropolis that I mentioned last week. In this one, you ca...

On Tuesday night I put the finishing touches on my slug for the Fresh Stitches Slug-a-Long : The yarn is a combination of various leftovers in my stash - Organik from the Fibre Company, Cascade 220 , and Berrocco Vintage . This was a fun little project that took me only a few hours to complete and it's already found a home with my crafty pal Susan! I also finished my Spanish Moss Legwarmers from November Knits . I completed the knitting portion at the barista throwdown on Monday night, and then did the sewn bind-off the following evening when I was at home and had access to the instructions, which I always need to reference. I love, love, LOVE the yarn and colorway - The Uncommon Thread's Heavenly Fingering in Zitouni. It's so very luxurious and soft. I'm excited to wear these around my home office with my favorite skirt. Celebrate FO Friday by checking out more posts over on the Tami's Amis blog ! Have a crafty weekend!

I've made some major progress on my Calm Cowl , which recently joined me for a few journeys on the CTA and a barista throwdown at the coffee shop where my husband works. Just last night I started on my third ball of yarn! I've made a little more progress on the Destash Dolman , which I'll be focusing on for the weeks to come so that I can get it off the needles finally. I'm halfway through the 19th stripe! My only other WIP is the  Roundie Bag that I'm crocheting for my grandmother's birthday. I haven't made much progress since Monday, but I'm hoping to finish it over the upcoming weekend. The yarn is Manos Yarns' Maxima , and I just happened to get this started in time with their Fair Trade February event! That wraps it up for this week, see you back here on FO Friday! Looking for a little WIP Wednesday inspiration? Hop over to the Tami's Amis Blog for all the blogginess you can handle!

I'm getting serious about amigurumi this year! In January, I decided to set up an amigurumi station in my living room so that everything I need - safety eyes, crochet hooks, and YARN of course! - is all in one place (not pictured: poly-fill stuffing, but it's been added to the general vicinity since this photo was taken). Each drawer is filled with worsted-weight yarn that has been earmarked for amigurumi: the top drawer contains small bits and bobs of leftover yarn; the middle drawer contains half-used skeins that would be suitable for accent colors; and the bottom drawer is stuffed with full skeins of yarn just waiting to become something cute. My husband bought me Stacey Trock's Crocheted Softies book for my birthday last year (which incidentally was the anniversary of its publication!), and since then it has been my #1 source for cute amigurumi patterns. Several holiday gifts were made from this book, in fact! Recently, I purchased Amigurumi On The Go via Cra...

Happy FO Friday! Last weekend, I finished the crochet owl hat using one of my favorite superwash yarns, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted . It is so unbelievably cute, I don't know if I can stand it! This was a very easy-to-follow pattern ( Crochet Owl Hat by Sarah Zimmerman, available for free ), so I would definitely recommend it for those of you who are new to crochet. I made one small modification - rather than sewing on buttons for eyes and then crocheting a border to attach around the buttons, I made my eyes all in one piece like so: With a few yards of black yarn, use a sloppy slip knot to get started. Ch 2. SC 6 times in 2nd st from hook, join for rnd. Rnd 1: SC twice into each st. 12 sts. Rnd 2: Switch to your CC (in this case, green). SC 1, SC twice in next st. Repeat til you reach the end of the rnd - 18 sts. Rnd 3: Switch to white. SC 2, SC twice in next st. Repeat til you reach the end of the rnd - 24 sts. Rnd 4. SC 3, SC twice in next st. Repeat til ...