handmade by stefanie

There for a while, it seemed like I always had a yak yarn project on the needles - perhaps it felt that way because I was working on a really long term project, the Pennant Cardi using 100% yak sport weight yarn from Bijou Basin Ranch! At any rate, I was apparently going into yak yarn withdrawal, so over the weekend I excitedly cast on for the Odyssey Cowl using the kit I blogged about on Monday , which included this delightfully variegated skein of Tibetan Dream sock yarn dyed by Miss Babs...and then I promptly ripped out my work (all 4 rounds of it) when i realized I'd managed to twist the cast-on when I joined to knit in the round. Such a rookie mistake, but we all make it sometimes, no matter how long we've been knitting. Late last night, I redid the cast on stitches; later today, I plan to knit the first round of the stitch pattern flat and then  join to work in the round (that way I am much less likely to make the same mistake twice). I've continued to zoom on...

Last December, I was gifted an incredibly opulent project kit from Bijou Basin Ranch which included all of this amazing stuff: For those of you keeping track at home, the specific contents were: the Odyssey Cowl pattern by Laura Chau, a skein of Tibetan Dream sock yarn dyed by Miss Babs, a pair of Signature circular needles,  an Allure Sampler Pack , some Purrfectly Catchy stitch markers, and a custom-made project bag by St. Clair Designs using reclaimed fabric and an exquisite upcycled button from Balwen Woodworks. Yeah. that's quite a package! There were only a small number of these project kits made for the 2015 holiday season, and they sold out pretty quickly (can you guess why?)....but the good news is that you can now make your own version of the kit, because almost all of what you need is available in online: Yarn: Tibetan Dream is available in a lot of interesting color options , some of which are dyed by the one and only Miss Babs - and there are some new gradi...

The hat projects just won't stop! In the past couple of weeks, I have finished the following projects: First up, the  Sockhead Hat ( free pattern here on Ravelry ) in Manos del Uruguay Alegria in Maiz. Pardon the unmodeled shot, but I look absolutely terrible in yellow and just didn't want to subject myself or you guys to that dreadful sight. I know it seems weird to buy yarn that you know you can't wear anywhere near your face, and then knit a hat with it, but I just wanted to knit with a color outside of my usual grey/blue/green comfort zone, and I enjoyed the last project I knit in Alegria quite a bit. This particular skein hopped in my shopping cart at Webs because I couldn't resist a good sale! Next, a  Handspun hat  which was knit sans pattern using the leftover gradient Merino/Silk yarn I spun for this sweater . Unfortunately, the end result was a rather large hat that doesn't fit my tiny head (which is kind of a bummer, I was hoping to keep this o...

I logged a lot of knitting time this weekend and though I didn't manage to stave off startitis, I still made quite a dent in my WIPs. To wit: my Tortie Cat socks are now more than halfway done! On Sunday, I put in the placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels and switched to a much-less-fussy stockinette stitch for the feet. I fully expect these socks to fly off the needles now...dare I even hope to finish them this weekend?! I also have been working on the secret gift knitting project for my nephew's birthday - here is the first blobby piece that I've knit so far in a very hard-to-photograph bright red (aka, the only color he deems acceptable these days). Any guesses what I'm making?  I'm signed up for the next 3 months of the Fiberista Club and got my first shipment last week - a mini-skein pack of Cheshire Cat merino fingering from Wonderland Yarns in a specially-dyed colorway (Roger's Park, which is near where I used to live here in Chicago)...

I can't believe we're already halfway through February. 2016 has been moving at breakneck speed, and there are no signs of slowing down: this Spring, I will be attending several yarny events, and you can bet I will share each experience here on this blog. Today, I wanted to give you an overview of what's to come! I'll be attending my first-ever H+H Trade Show in Cologne, Germany March 18-19; this is the world's largest craft show, and I'm pretty psyched to check it out. There will be all sorts of crafts on display, not just yarn and knitting-related exhibitors, so I am interested to walk the show floor to take it all in. It's been a while since I've traveled outside of the country (my passport was majorly expired and had my non-married name on it, if that gives you any idea), and I have never been to Germany, so I am excited to also try as many tasty beers as possible....and to bring home some Wollmeise, too! April will kick off with my favorite f...

Over the weekend, I finished knitting the Snowflake Cowl that's been on my needles since before Christmas! Honestly, I probably could have finished it faster if I hadn't had the CRAZIEST month of work in January. Also, I was sorely out of practice for stranded colorwork and it took a while to get my head back into the game - but once I did, it started to move at a much faster pace (if you missed this post last week, I shared some of my tips which helped me with this project). Blocking in Allure , which is also by Bijou Basin Ranch. Once I finished the knitting part, it was time to undo the provisional cast-on, put alllllll of those stitches back on a needle, and begin to graft both ends together. EEP! It was a quite a long process, needless to say - but totally, completely worth it. Just look at the resulting cowl:  If I haven't mentioned it before, the yarn I used is the most luxurious 100% cashmere yarn ever - Xanadu from Bijou Basin Ranch. Now imagine flu...

Over the weekend, I Finished. The. Snowflake. Cowl . Instead of starting a long term project (*coughcough Liathite *coughcough*), I decided to start some short(er) term projects instead. For instance, I realized that if I wanted to knit something for my nephew who turns 3 next month, I've got to get cracking. So I picked out a pattern from Huge & Huggable Mochimochi, which Tyler got me for Christmas, and started knitting one of the pieces I could make with the yarn I had on hand until the additional colors I ordered from Knit Picks arrived. On Monday night, I cast on a new hat project for the Quince-along, which is a KAL I heard about on the Fawn Knits Podcast and is basically a chance to knit anything you want using Quince & Co yarns for a chance to win some prizes. Who doesn't like prizes?!There are more details on all that here on Ravelry . I unearthes a skein and a half of Osprey which has been lurking in my stash for several years now, and I'm making up ...

I thought I'd try something new in my Etsy shop - in addition to my regular 10-skein sock yarn grab bags , I have curated a five-skein pack which includes hand-picked yarns and colorways; in essence, you will know exactly what you're getting ahead of time! I'll be putting together different series in limited edition which I'm dubbing the Pirate's Packs since I'll be packaging them in cute plastic bags with a Pirate ship printed on them. Pirate's Pack #1 contains 10-yard skeins of each of the following: Ancient Arts Yarn Reinvent, spun from reclaimed luxury fibers* & (autumnal hues) Sincere Sheep Equity Fingering 100% Rambouillet (blue) Anzula Squishy MCN in Seaside O-Wool Organic Merino 2-ply in Evergreen Manos del Uruguay Alegria Sock in Maiz - certified fair trade! I am only making 6 of these packs, and once they are gone, I'll be putting together something different to list in my shop! Also - all Pirate's Packs ...

After knitting a Force Awakens hat for my husband Tyler, I thought I'd take a crack at making a baby-sized version using fingering weight yarn and smaller needles - and I'm happy to report that it worked out quite well! I used the same number of cast on stitches specified in the pattern to make this pint-sized version using three different fingering weight yarns in my stash. Here is Tyler's hat to give you a sense of scale: ICYMI, the Force Awakens hat is a free pattern here on Ravelry . May the Force be with you!

Welcome back to another edition of Stuck on Skinny Yarn. The baby version of the Force Awakens hat is off the needles, but I continue to make slow yet steady progress on the Alegria Hat and Snowflake Cowl  - in fact, both will probably be off the needles in a week's time! The Sensible BFL Socks also grew a few inches since last week:  In light of finishing a project over the weekend, I decided it was probably ok to start another hat project, so long as it wasn't with fingering weight yarn. This sportweight handspun was calling my name - you might recognize it as the yarn which I used for the yoke of my Pennant Cardigan , spun from a gradient braid of Merino/Silk roving from Fiber Optic Yarns.  Curiously, I have to cast on for my Liathite Cardigan  yet. When I measured my gauge swatches, I was slightly off, and I am still trying to decide if I want to knit another swatch on a different size of needles, or if I want to do a little math and figure ou...

The 3rd Annual  Holla Knits KAL  starts TODAY and runs through April 30, 2016! I'm heading up the project KAL for my own pattern, the SpringTastic Socks - but you you can knit any Holla Knits pattern (or patterns!) to be eligible for tons of great prizes over the next three months. Whether you like to knit accessories, or are looking to start your next sweater, there is something for everyone ( click here to read more on the Holla Knits blog ). If you'd like to join the Spring-Tastic Socks KAL, check out the thread  here on Ravelry  - and don't forget to use the #hkkal and #springtasticsocks hashtags on your social media posts! For those of you who purchased the SpringTastic Socks pattern prior to today, your names have been automatically entered in a drawing for a skein of sock yarn - I'll be announcing the winner ASAP and will update this blog post accordingly. If you are just now discovering this KAL, don't worry - there are plenty more prizes up for gra...