handmade by stefanie

Weaving with worsted weight yarn is a little tough, but it's worth the effort! I'm excited to finally post about a project I've been working on for a VERY long time! I originally began it last summer, when I thought I would be making it to give as a holiday gift. However, I decided to put it on the backburner til 2014. Earlier this year, I pulled it out of hibernation to finish it in time for my grandmother's 90th birthday (which was this past Wednesday). There is no pattern for this pillow , as I made it up as I went along. It began with the Schacht Zoom Loom I got at the TNNA Trade Show last summer, which I thought would be a fun way to use up leftover bits of yarn. My first squares were made with sock yarn, since that is what I have the most of in my stash, but I decided that using a thicker yarn would make a pretty great pillow fabric. I used leftover worsted yarns to warp the Zoom Loom, then created the weft (woven part) with my own handspun yarn. It was ...

I finally have some new WIPs to share this week! While they aren't the most thrilling projects in the world, it's nice to mix it up a little - I was starting to feel like I was writing the same post over and over again!  First, I started Tyler's new scarf , which most likely won't be finished in time for this season. I am not a fan of knitting long rectangular scarves, so I'm guessing this will be a slow-burner which will hibernate every now and again. Also, it's not super-exciting to look at; while the pattern itself is fun to knit, the jet-black yarn doesn't allow for a whole lot of visual interest (plus, it's tough to photograph). For some reason, I really hate using circulars to knit a rectangular scarf, despite the fact that I'll knit plenty of other projects flat on circs. It was also the perfect excuse to give these straight Cubics needles from Knitter's Pride a test drive!  My other new project is a crocheted placemat using som...

I'm a little obsessed with buttons, and have a sizable collection of (mostly vintage) buttons - probably more than I could ever use in this lifetime, especially considering I often purchase new buttons for specific projects. I used to keep my buttons in a plastic storage container, but one day I decided that they would be a fun and crafty addition to my home decor. The above container is an antique jar which I found in my grandparents' basement a few years ago, and it has an interesting metal closure at the top; in fact, you can see a few of the crafty items which are doing double duty as home decor: my wooden drop spindle, various knitting needles, and of course - buttons! Since keeping fresh-cut flowers in our house isn't an option (our cats love to eat plants), I've started using vases to display other objects. I've also filled a clear cylindrical vase with buttons and thought that a few wooden needles would add a nice knitterly touch in the absence of flowers...

I'm super psyched about my newest FO! The Robots vs. Downtown pattern has been in my queue since September 2012, so when the designer had a sale last year during the Indie Designer Giftalong, I snapped up the pattern and set aside some yarn from my stash so that I could cast these on in the new year. As I do with pretty much any chart, I ended up enlarging it as much as possible for ease of following along. The pattern was very well-written and included some helpful notes at the beginning, but I did find the chart difficult to follow (even the ginormous 11x17 version I made) due to the gray-on-gray happening with the MC and grid. Luckily, the designer included some guide lines to help with this issue, so I just placed markers with different designs on them to help me follow along. I also relied heavily on my Magma Chart Holder, as you probably noticed in my WIP photos. My only modification was to pick up fewer stitches for the thumb due to my abnormally small hands (and, subs...

Earlier this week, I finished my robot mittens, so I'll be sharing those with you on Friday. In the mean time, I've been focusing my efforts on my two remaining WIPs, though I'm sure I'll start something new soon. It's inevitable! My Canopy Fingering sweater is now past the 30-day point, and alas, I'm not even close to being done. However, I'm happy with the progress, even if it is slow. I'm still a little nervous about the fit, but I've tried it on and I think it should be ok. My swatch grew a bit in size, so I'm sure that means it will be perfect once it's blocked, even though now it's a slightly close fit. Here's hoping these aren't famous last words, anyway! I've seen the most progress on my crocheted blanket in Berroco Vintage ; over the weekend, I passed the halfway point, not counting the border. There are a few shaky rows here and there, but I am confident that they'll block out just fine. Vintage is one of...

I finally upgraded my smartphone, after three years using my trusty (and durable!) HTC G2. It was my first smart phone, and it served me well - I'm not normally into "techie" stuff, but I had really grown attached to my phone and was reticent to part with it. However, I could no longer deny that it was past its prime - several apps I wanted to try out weren't compatible with my outdated Android OS, not to mention it had grown sluggish in recent months. It was time to bite the bullet and pick out a new phone. After a little research, I decided to go with the HTC Sense....and I wish I had done so sooner! Seriously, I didn't think I could like a phone more than my last one, but I'm already in love. Better camera, better interface, and I can finally download Vine!  I suppose all of this back story isn't necessary for my review, but when I was configuring my new phone, I decided to treat myself to a few paid apps, too. First, I purchased Ravul...

Heads up  Craftsy  fans...This weekend only, it's your chance to get up to 50% off pairs of  Craftsy  online classes, or you can opt to purchase even more classes for a bigger bundle discount! Act fast, the offer ends at  11pm PST on February 16, 2014 . Click here to shop the Craftsy Valentine's Day Flash Sale You may like to know: This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links. Thanks for supporting this blog! 

I made this adorable sweater for my friend's baby Nora, who turned one in January; I'd been dying to share this project on my blog, but had to wait til it was gifted, just to be safe. The birthday party was delayed a week due to snow, although it ended up snowing on the day of the party anyhow (at least it waited til later in the day so that everyone could get there without issues). At any rate, it is finally safe to share publicly! When I saw this sweater pattern in the Kelbourne Woolens Baby Collection , I knew I had to make it for Nora because she'd look incredibly cute in it! Since it's a little girly, I decided to make it in some less traditional colors - plus I had two skeins of Sweet Georgia's Tough Love Sock which would be perfect: Lemon Curd and Cayenne.The colors are actually a little lighter/brighter than shown here, but you get the idea. Pattern: Colette by Kate Gagnon Osborn Yarn: Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock Thanks for stopping by thi...

I finally finished the first robot mitten over the weekend (well, except for the thumb....for some reason, I like to save the thumbs for very last)! I even started the second mitten since my WEBS order was delayed by USPS, thus preventing me from starting anything new over the weekend.  To that end, I made some good progress on my 30-Day Sweater , although I still won't be finishing it in 30 days...especially since I have some more pressing projects which will be jumping to the top of my priority list in the next several weeks. However, I am pleased with the progress and it will give me some time to decide if I want to make a hem or a knit ribbing at the bottom of my sweater. There are merits to both, and I have been weighing both options pretty heavily. I was also thinking of working a single two-row stripe in the contrast color before finishing off the bottom of the sweater, something that I think would work much better with a stockinette hem.  Once my WEBS order arr...

Over the weekend, I decided to put some of our expired coffee to good use overdyeing some of my handspun yarn. After doing a little research* into the specifics of coffee dyeing, I combined this reconnaissance with my general dye knowledge from the 4 years I was a dyer with Lorna's Laces and dove headfirst into the Great Experiment. First, I added extra ties on the skeins to keep them neat and tidy during the dye process, then soaked them in a tub of tepid water and vinegar for 30 minutes.  While the skeins were soaking, I prepared my dye. I'd been collecting small quantities of coffee beans over the last several months; my husband works at a local coffee roaster, so we always have an overabundance of coffee beans in the house. Since they are no longer considered "brew-worthy" a few weeks after their roast date, I decided to use them for dyestuffs before sending them to their ultimate resting place, the compost heap.  I can't say I was terribly scienti...

Last weekend I finished the monster from Modern Baby Crochet - look at how cute he turned out! I decided to crochet the eyes all in one piece, which meant that he couldn't be googly-eyed as in the pattern photos, but it did save me some additional sewing, which is always a good thing in my book. The triangular shape makes it easy to put his cuteness on display; he kind of looks like a cross between a monster and a slug or snail! I used nearly the entire skein of Lindon Merino from Three Irish Girls; the name of the colorway is "Rhys," which just happens to be the same name as one of my nephews. The rest of the yarn came from leftover bits and bobs in my stash. My only other FO for this week is this slouchy hat which I designed with my grey Gotland handspun yarn; the pattern is available for free right here on this blog and you can queue it here on Ravelry ! Thanks for stopping by this week - for FO Friday inspiration, visit the  Tami's Amis blog . Ha...

I feel like there's hardly been any progress since last week's WIP Wednesday post, but sometimes that's just the nature of crafting, isn't it? I actually had  made some progress on my 30 Day Sweater - on Friday night I took off for the sleeves and got a few inches of the body knit on Saturday before I decided I needed to rip back and add a few more raglan increases. As you can see, I've caught up to where I'd been pre-frog (and maybe even gotten a little further!), though I feel like I've made very little progress on this project. My only other WIP this week is the slow-but-steady Robots vs. Downtown mittens: Hey, look! That's most of a robot! I must be the world's slowest mitten knitter, because it's taken me three weeks to get to this point. I really need to pick up the pace, because I have a lot of KALs and design work which will need to get done in the weeks to come...and I hate to leave these mittens languishing in hibernation! ...

Photo courtesy of the American Gotland Sheep Society. I was thrilled to come across some Grey Gotland roving at the SOAR marketplace last fall. Gotland is very similar to the breed of sheep used to make Elven cloaks for the Lord of the Rings,  Stansborough Greys . Gotland sheep originated in Sweden (and are still raised there today); they were brought to New Zealand in the 1970s, where they developed their own distinctive traits, in part due to the breeding practices by Barry and Cheryl Eldridge. The Stansboroughs came to be recognized as a breed of sheep in their own right in 2005. While I have yet to come across bona fide Stansborough fleece to spin, I was quite happy with my experience with Gotland. It's very dense and silky - almost heavy-feeling, yet it was fairly easy to spin. It has a halo similar to mohair, and though I've read that commercially-prepared Gotland top has a matte, slightly coarse quality, I didn't find this to be true of the fiber I spun (if yo...