handmade by stefanie

It finally happened: I got a drum carder! I haven't had much time to play with it since it arrived on my doorstep, but I did get it all set up last weekend and ran a little bit of fiber through to test the waters. I got a Strauch Petite , which is the perfect size for a small table if you are short on space. It came with some very thorough instructions, but I was glad to check out these YouTube videos to get me started since I am not always mechanically inclined. But, I was able to get it set up and operational on my own, and I processed a little bit of Perendale fiber just to test the waters. Over the holiday break, I plan to play more with it and actually blend  things (now that's a concept). Thank goodness I have lots of blend-able bits and bobs in my fiber stash! I hope you have (or have had) a fabulous holiday; I'll be taking a little blog break next week to rest, rejuvenate, and celebrate the holidays with my family. I'll be back the first Wedne...

I'm working on few secret projects right now, so besides the Purlbreak that's in progress for an upcoming review, the only other active WIPs on the needles are sweaters! I'm about ready to bind off the body  Gift Wrap Baby Sweater : I'm inching ever closer on the sleeves for my So Faded Sweater , although it probably doesn't look too different from last week. I am still holding out hope that I could finish it in time to wear it on (or reasonably near) Christmas, though. I've only worked a few rows on  Sticks + Steel ; once I'm able to focus more time on this, it should be a pretty fast project (though my track record with bulky weight sweaters isn't much better than lighter weight ones, I suppose....). I haven't worked much on my Purlbreak shawl, but that's another project I intend to focus on over the holiday break once the So Faded sweater is done. And that's it! I do have a fun new toy to share with you Friday - ...

I finished another hat! I was 3 skeins of Filatura di Crosa Samarcanda yarn to review, and decided they would be perfect for a fast-knitting hat. It's a well-known fact that I can't resist a green yarn, and I love the tweediness of the fiber blend (33% Kid Mohair, 18% Polyamide, 17% Wool and 2% Acrylic). Before I dive a little deeper into this interesting yarn, I just want to mention the pattern that I chose, the Hishigata Hat by Angela Tong. I knit a Hishigata hat with some handspun yarn (also green) about a year ago and have been meaning to knit another one ever since. Once the yarn arrived, it seemed like the perfect fit - sometimes the stars just align that way! I've always seen yarns from Filatura di Crosa, but I have not actually worked with any of them (full disclosure, think I may have a cone of laceweight somewhere in my stash). I've always been curious about their yarns, which are all milled in Italy. In fact, they are not just made in Italy - they ar...

Over the last few weeks, a lot of knitting-related goodies have "accidentally" found their way into my house. First, I treated myself to a wrist ruler bracelet from I Love Handles after finding a 10% coupon code here . It's already come in handy when knitting while out and about! When I dug my Arwen Cardigan out of storage a few weeks ago, I realized that it could probably benefit from some sort of closure. Once upon a time, I'd sewn on a very tiny and ineffective hook and eye closure; it has since fallen off, and I will just be honest with you here: I'm too lazy to sew it back on. I've tried using shawl pins to keep it closed, and while they're effective, they look a little strange. Then I spotted this post on Instagram from one of my favorite bloggers, Miso Crafty Knits, where she used this closure from JUL on a sweater, and before I knew it, I'd ordered one for myself (act surprised, it's also black). What appeals to me is that it...

...Don't worry, one of them is a baby sweater, I haven't lost my mind completely! It all started innocently enough: after finishing a few hat projects, I wanted to start something new with one of the many sweater quantities that have been lurking in my stash for too long. Never mind that I am still working on my So Faded sweater! Originally, I was going to make a beautiful cabled cardigan with some Berroco Vintage Chunky I'd bought from Webs many moons ago, but I had issues getting gauge. It's been in time out til I had the gumption to knit a gauge swatch yet again, but I just don't think such a complicated sweater is in my future. Simple, soothing knits are way more my speed these days, since I generally don't have much brain power left at the end of the day when I sit down to knit. There is also the issue of arm/hand pain, which has been recurring over the past few years - the last few cabled projects I've worked on haven't been pain-free, and they w...

When I first started knitting, yarns from Brown Sheep were my first experience of non-big box retail yarns. Well-made, affordable, and available in a huge range of colors, their yarn is just as appealing me to now as it was 10+ years ago. I knit the Arwen cardigan back in 2007 in one of their now-discontinued yarns, Prairie Silk, and it is probably the best-wearing yarn I've ever used for a sweater (it still has yet to pill). So of course I jumped at a chance to try out their newest yarn, Prairie Spun DK . First, if you aren't familiar with Brown Sheep, they are a family owned and operated mill located in Mitchell, Nebraska that focuses on sustainably-produced wool and wool blend yarns. They source their fleece and fibers from US sources whenever possible, buying the majority of their wool directly from US growers; breeds include Corriedale, Rambouillet, and Columbian. You can find out more about them here on their website . I knit the child-sized version of the M...

If you're reading this, that means you survived Thanksgiving and Black Friday - congratulations! The holiday season is officially in high gear, and if you are still working on making your wish list or need some ideas for your yarn-loving friends, this post is for you! Enamel Pins The enamel pin craze has not died down, I am still seeing so many fun and adorable designs everywhere I look! They're great for adorning project bags and decorating lapels alike, and there are lots of fun fiber-themed pins that would make great stocking stuffers or affordable gifts for your knitting group. I'm partial to these enamel pins from Bijou Basin Ranch, which make me smile every time I spot them on my project bag: Cross Stitch Ornaments There's no such thing as too many ornaments, and I've become obsessed with wooden cross stitch blanks - they're so easy, even I can do them (and I have zero experience with cross stitch anything) . I love the charming Stitchable Sweate...

It's been a while since I've shared a WIP Wednesday post, mostly because I don't want to make you guys look at the same projects over and over again (to be honest, I was kind of getting sick of them myself!!). The socks continue to plod along, and my So Faded is now at an impossible-to-photograph stage because I am knitting sleeves two-at-a-time (while they are attached to the body of the sweater, no less!). But I finally have two new projects to share with you this week, both of which are with yarns I'll be reviewing in greater detail soon. The first is a hat knit with Filatura Di Crosa Samarcanda  yarn - I'm knitting Angela Tong's Hishigata Hat pattern: My other new WIP is a Purlbreak shawl that I'll be knitting with 3 colors of Superfine Fingering from Zen Yarn Garden : I'm pretty excited to have some fresh new projects on the needles for the holiday weekend. I'll be taking this Friday off, but will have a fun Holiday Gift Guid...

Confession time: I've been spinning yarn faster than I can knit with it (and let's not even talk about yarn purchases), so it's always exciting when I can find a good project to pair with handspun yarn. I had a ton of Swalesdale wool fiber that I'd hoped to turn into a sweater, but I changed my mind when I started spinning it because it seemed a little too scratchy for next-to-skin wear (plus, it had a ton of kemp and VM). It does, however, make a fabulous knitted pillow, and I thought the natural and the hand dyed green yarn would look great in my living room as an oversized pillow . I used US 17 needles and cast on 40 stitches, knitting each row for a simple garter stitch to make each piece, which I then crocheted together - so easy! I was able to buy a pillow insert on Amazon for less than $10, making this a pretty affordable project. When I spotted this free pattern from Manos del Uruguay , I wanted to knit it in the called-for yarn ( Serpentina ), but...

As a handspinner, I really love trying new-to-me breeds of sheep (not to mention other interesting or exotic fibers), but non-spinners don't have nearly the range of options available to them in ready-to-use yarn form. While this has improved over the years since I started knitting, yarns spun from breed-specific wools are still not the norm, especially at your LYS; they're more easily found at fiber festivals or through creative Googling. I was excited when I heard about Shepherd's Lamb, a family owned ranch in New Mexico. Over the years, they have grown their flock to 1000 ewes whose fleeces are used to make  beautiful wool blankets, pelts and knitworthy yarns (you can read more about their story here - it's worth checking out!). In particular, their Rambouillet yarn caught my attention. I've worked with this breed of wool before and have enjoyed it, but I don't think I've ever used a Rambouillet yarn or fiber that I knew exactly where it had been ...

It's been a while since I've shared a crochet project, so I couldn't resist this adorable cactus kit from Global Backyard Industries. They sent me 1 kit of my choosing (there are two cactus styles, Ruby and Charley ) in exchange for my honest review. I've never been great at keeping plants alive myself, and a certain grey cat has a propensity to eat anything green and vaguely plant-like that comes into the house. So a plant that I can't kill and the cat (probably) won't try to eat is something I can really get excited about! Image via Global Backyard Industries website .  What impressed me the most when I received my Ruby kit was that it truly did include everything you needed, right down to the poly-fil stuffing.While I appreciate a good scavenger hunt, realizing you need a straw or don't have the right crochet hook can really be a momentum killer. They also source materials and supplies from American sources whenever possible, which is pretty cool ...

Last month, I finally stopped by Firefly Fiber Arts, a new (ish?) LYS here in Chicago. I ended up purchasing a skein of Woolfolk Luft, an interesting yarn consisting of extremely soft, fluffy merino fiber blown into a tube of mesh cotton. I've never knit with anything like it, and I thought it would make the perfect hat to match my new winter coat. After spending hours on Ravelry, I finally decided to make the Take Away hat by Nancy Eiseman; I just wanted something simple to let the unique structure of the yarn take center stage. I knew it would be cutting it close in terms of yardage for the size I wanted to make, but figured it was worth the risk. In the end, it became pretty clear that I would run out of yarn if I followed the instructions for my size as written, so I ended up knitting til my hat measured 8 inches from the CO edge, and then did 3 rounds of quick decreases to get down to 10 stitches, which I then pulled close with the remaining yarn. I realize that this...

Some exciting new things have found their way to me recently, most notably a fancy new swift and ballwinder from Knitter's Pride : I've been anxiously awaiting their arrival, as I have become increasingly frustrated with my old ball winder and swift. They've served me well these past 7 years, but especially where the swift was concerned, it was time to upgrade to something nicer (and let's not even talk about how many times this happened over the years ). I ended up rearranging my office to find a space for them, and while I plan to tuck the swift underneath my weaving table when not in use, the ball winder has a permanent home on top of the record cabinet:  The smoothness of both the swift and ball winder has made the biggest impression on me; I especially love that I can use either my right or left hand to drive the ball winder, and it takes very little effort at all. This is a very welcome change, as I've been trying to minimize any repetitive ...

When the folks at Be Sweet yarns asked me to review Magic Ball, my immediate thought was that it would make a fabulous woven scarf! I asked if they could recommend some coordinating warp yarn as well, and they ended up sending me two skeins of Magic Ball in the Silver Lining colorway and 2 skeins of Mango Moon Yarns Di Lusso , a sparkly chainette yarn, in the Moonlight colorway. I hand't warped with a chainette yarn before, but it ended up being a great choice! I was a little worried it would be splitty, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. The yarn is very smooth and strong thanks to the blend of 48% Silk, 45% Viscose, 4% Lamé, and 3% Nylon. Each ball has about 65 yards, so I used nearly every bit of the two balls for my warp. Then came the fun part - weaving with the Magic Ball! I wound the first skein onto my stick shuttle and oohed  and aahed  over the succession of yarns, which the label describes as "a divine arrangement of hand dyed bouc...

Holy cow, it's November already?! It's a good thing I'm not knitting gifts for the holidays, because I would be in big trouble at this point. 2017 has been the year of selfish knitting, and I have to say - I'm not sorry. After redoing the charts for this hat I'm knitting in Shepherd's Lamb Rambouillet , it's coming along faster (who knew that condensing 3 charts into just 1 would be such a time-saver?!), although I find I have to pace myself since I decided to knit this project at such a tight gauge (on US 4 needles). The results will be worth it, though - look those lovely textured stitches! These socks came out of hibernation, although they are another project I have to work on in small bursts. Socks still really hurt my hands, which is a bummer because I like knitting them. I'm trying to experiment with ways to hold my hands and my knitting to minimize the strain, but so far I haven't found the magic bullet just yet. Consequently, m...