handmade by stefanie

This week's FO is pretty spectacular: my Lace Leaf Edge Shawl in Lhasa Wilderness Yarn (say that five times fast)! This shawl was designed by Jen Lucas , who actually lives in the Chicagoland area as well, and it appeared in the Knit Accessories 2014 issue of Love of Knitting . When I saw that it specified one of my favorite yarns from Bijou Basin Ranch, Lhasa Wilderness, I had to put it in my queue! It's knit top-down, and then the lace edging is worked across the live stitches. It took a long time - I think I spent at least a week on the edging along - but you know what? I'd prefer that to binding off a billion stitches any day! Also, the lace pattern was fairly easy to memorize and became pretty addictive the more I worked it! The wingspan is pretty impressive - longer than my built-in bookcase - and the fabric drapes fantastically! I used the Natural Brown color of Lhasa Wilderness (which is also known as Sassenach from the  Outlandish  series), and I cannot ...

Did you miss my review of Hunter Hammersen's new book, Curls, earlier this week? If so, I highly recommend clicking here before you read any further. Ok, all caught up? That's great, because I have one print copy of Curls to give away to a lucky blog reader! Use the widget below for your chance to win this awesome prize which was generously donated by Hunter herself. I'll announce the winner next Wednesday, February 4. Good luck! And now, on to the WIPs! I couldn't resist casting on for the first shawl in the book, Caesious , using some of my handspun yarn: I love how it's knitting up! I spun this super-sproingy 2-ply using Malabrigo Nube , and it's more or less a sport weight. I chose US 6 needles so that the fabric was just the right amount of light and airy. I'm participating in the Caesious KAL which is happening here in the Violently Domestic Ravelry group , and it's been fun to see everyone else's projects shared in the thread . It...

It's true, I live in something of a fiber arts bubble: my world is 24/7 yarn and fiber. So when someone tells me they aren't familiar with the work of Hunter Hammersen, I am a bit shocked - especially now, with the huge success of her new book, Curls . Since its release near the end of last year, Curls has entered its third printing, and it hit the number-one spot on Amazon in the knitting books category. It's been mentioned on tons of blogs and podcasts, and we all pretty much agree: Curls is awesome and we want to knit every single one. The concept is both simple and amazing: easy-to-wear wraps which can be knit at any gauge. Whether you prefer a sock weight shawl or want to whip up a quick bulky wrap, all you have to do is grab your needles, pick a pattern, and cast on (I'm especially looking forward to putting some of my skeins of handspun yarn to good use). As Hunter explains in the introduction, she came across an interesting shape while swatching and quickly...

This week's FO is the project I knit during my trip to Kansas City at the beginning of the month: the Tokyo Tower Bandana by Olga Buraya-Kefelian, which I knit with a skein of Blue Sky Alpacas Extra yarn. If you haven't used this yarn before, it's worth seeking out - oh, the softness! It's really delightful to knit with, and once I blocked my finished project, the fabric just got squishier. I've been wearing it a bunch ever since. The pattern was pretty easy to follow, with the caveat that there is a lot of counting once you get to the lace detail. I got off on my stitch count a few times, but was able to catch it each time to rip back and fix the mistake to get back on track. The frogging was well-worth it - my eyelet Tokyo Tower looks perfect! Pattern:  Tokyo Tower Bandana  by Olga Buraya-Kefelian Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas  Extra  yarn in Lake Ice

I haven't really blogged about my craft goals for 2015, but one of them is to start and finish a spinning project each month (I supposed I'll get around to blogging about the rest of the goals at some  point!). Left: Two different dye lots of the Bramble colorway Right: The resulting singles, ready to ply on the new Schacht Lazy Kate I got for Christmas! I decided to start with some merino roving my husband gifted me for Christmas from Manos del Uruguay; through a series of unfortunate events beyond his control, he ended up receiving two very different dye lots of the same colorway (it was either that or wait til long after Christmas was over to get matching dye lots). Luckily, I am not one to be daunted by such things, and I rather liked each version of the colorway - it was kind of nice to see the full range of variations! Not only that, but I was sure that they would look just lovely spun into singles and plied together. Since it's been a while since I've du...

It's been a while since I've written a review of a Craftsy class; to be honest, it's been a while since I've logged in and watched any of the 17 (!) classes I'm registered for! However, when I was offered the change to review a new class by Kate Gagnon Osborn and Courtney Kelley of Kelbourne Woolens , I couldn't say no. I'm a huge fan of their patterns, of which I have purchased and knit several, plus I own both of their books, Vintage Modern Knits and November Knits , and I'm pretty obsessed with The Fibre Company yarns , which Kelbourne Woolens distributes. Calling me a fan girl is probably putting it mildly. My Spiral Lace Hat Their new class is called New Directions in Lace: Hats , and it includes 3 great patterns: Spiral Lace Hat - a bottom-up basic lace hat that is super-easy and fast to knit Medallion Crown Hat - a top-down hat wit ha more intricate lace chart True Lace hat - a bottom-up lace hat which includes patterning on every ro...

I finished my OMG Heel Socks on Monday night! I used the yarn my nephews gave me for Christmas, two skeins of Crystal Palace Sausalito . I made the intentional decision to make fraternal twins, and I really like how they turned out, colorwise. I also like the sock pattern itself - I got a lot of questions about it on Instagram about what I thought of the OMG Heel (which stands for O ne-needle M ini G usset).  The short answer is yes - I ended up being happy with the heel it produced, and I would definitely it into other patterns. The pattern itself (by Megan Williams of the Stockinette Zombies Podcast ) is really well-written for both cuff-down and toe-up; the instructions are written for working on two needles via magic loop, but it's very easy to translate to DPNs for those of us who prefer that (ie, me). I will definitely be knitting the  OMG Heel Sock  pattern again: it's perfect for variegated, self-striping and hand-dyed yarns and it's easy enough to fol...

It's been a while since I posted a WIP Wednesday - but don't worry, the disappearance of this weekly feature was only temporary! At the moment, I have just two projects on the needles, and best of all...they are both for ME! The first is something I started in December, about 5 seconds after finishing my last holiday gift project: The pattern is the Lace Leaf Edge shawl by Jen Lucas which appeared in the Knit Accessories 2014 issue of Love of Knitting; I'm using the yarn called for in the pattern ( Lhasa Wilderness from Bijou Basin Ranch) in the Sassenach colorway. It's at the extremely hard-to-photograph stage since I've finished knitting the body of the shawl, and am now working across allllll of those stitches to create the lace border. I have a ways to go, but the chart is starting to go faster for me! My next WIP was started during my trip to Kansas City last week - my first sweater of 2015! I'm really hoping that this year will truly be the Year of...

While in Kansas City last week, I was fortunate to catch the Plains Indians exhibit at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art , which was in its final week. There was plenty of eye candy for the craft enthusiast: beautiful beadwork, exquisite quilts, and colorful painted motifs. Below are just a few of my favorite pieces; if you have a chance to check it out when it arrives in your neck of the woods, I highly recommend it!

I'm sure I've mentioned more than a few times that pretty much everyone I know is expecting a baby in the next 6 months (if they haven't already had one). Now that I've finished my holiday gift projects, I'm all about some selfish knitting in the new year, but I can't let my friends and their new little ones go entirely without something handmade! The Baby Sweater Buffet pattern by Allyson Dykhuizen is perfect for all of my baby sweater needs (and yours, too) - it's totally customize-able and knits up quick in worsted weight yarn. I made this cute little Calico Cat sweater recently using some Brava yarn from KnitPicks and three vintage buttons: I also whipped up a pair of mitts in Blue Sky Alpacas Techno yarn - which is on sale for 50% off at WEBS right now (well, discontinued colors anyway). The yarn itself has an interesting construction I just had to try out for myself: it's a tube of whipped alpaca fiber! It was rather nice to knit with, ...

Breaking news! I've teamed up with the Feel Good Yarn Company to bring you a delightful indulgence in the new year. The Pamper Yourself sock kit features my Say What sock pattern (which originally appeared in Conversations Socks ) and two skeins of therapeutic SilverSpun yarn. Making this kit extra luxurious is the inclusion of a Lavender LaviShea® lotion bar (my favorite scent!). The bar melts with your body heat and absorbs quickly and completely without leaving a greasy residue, penetrating deep into the skin to re-hydrate, moisturize and induce relaxation. Say, Ahhh, to pampering - you deserve it! Kit Contents: Feel Good Yarn Company® SilverSpun [87% combed cotton, 5% silver, 5% Nylon, 3% Spandex; 173 yd per 50g skein]; color: Natural; 2 skeins LaviShea® Lotion Bar [unrefined shea butter,100% natural soy, premium botanical oils, essential oils, skin-safe fragrance; 1.35oz.]; fragrance: lavender; 1 bar  Downloadable PDF pattern Click here to purchase kit from th...

Ever since I discovered that the original yarn called for in my Alameda Sock design was discontinued, I have wanted to update this design. To be totally honest, the yarn I originally chose wasn't particularly well-suited to becoming socks, being that it was a rather inelastic cotton yarn. As much as I wanted a pair of hand-knit cottony summer socks, it just didn't work quite like I had imagined. When two skeins of beautiful Violet GEMS sport weight yarn arrived on my doorstep, I realized they would be the perfect yarn choice for version 2.0 of the Alameda Socks , and last fall I cast on for a pair which would also conveniently serve as my grandmother's Christmas gift. Two birds, one pair of socks! That's the saying, right?? Anyway, I loved the way they turned out, though the yarn substitution did necessitate a few changes to the original pattern due to the difference in gauge. I chose to revise this pattern to be knit in 2 sizes (instead of the original 3)...

Welcome back! Today is my third and final post sharing the handmade gifts I made this holiday season. As you might have guessed, as Christmas drew nearer, I started to run out of steam! I managed to make a fun little crocodile for my nephew Ethan: Unfortunately, I only managed to complete one stripey sock for Tyler in time for the holiday (insert HO joke here?), and he was the lucky recipient of said single sock and an IOU on Christmas morning. The good news is, I managed to finish the second sock the end of the following day since I was able to knit in front of him! I used the directions for the Chittery Chattery socks and worked a striped stockinette stitch pattern instead of the knitting the pattern as written with three colors of Louet GEMS Sport . Tyler loves them! That pretty much wraps up the tour of my holiday knitting. I had high hopes for also whipping up some cute ornaments to use as stocking stuffers, but unfortunately, that never happened. Perhaps in 2015 I wil...