handmade by stefanie

Last weekend, I discovered a pretty major mistake in my Dillinger Hat and put it in time out until I am ready to frog back and fix it. Can you spot where I went wrong? I don't always mind frogging, especially when I know it'll be worth it in the end (and it always is), but I'm having a hard time with this one because I was so excited to finish this hat over the weekend. I still managed to finish the baby sweater my sister requested, which meant that it was time to face my second sleeve syndrome head-on and pick the Rockling Cardigan back up. I'm not very far along, but that's only because Tilly keeps using it as a pillow every time I set it down for just a moment! I never have the heart to disturb her when she looks so blissful. So, I started a baby hat to match the afore-mentioned  sweater I just finished. It won't be long til I see my sister in Kansas City, and I would like to hand deliver them if I can! With TNNA just around the corne...

Happy Friday! I have a new free knitting pattern over on the Knitter's Pride blog today: the Spa-Riffic Wash Cloth can be made in just 1 weekend using two strands of a cotton fingering weight yarn held double. I used one skein of Patti, a 100% organic cotton yarn from Kraemer Yarns , and it was probably one of the most enjoyable cotton-knitting experiences I've had in a while.  Like all of their yarns, it's made in the USA, so you can feel good about supporting a homegrown business. I am pretty sure that I have enough yarn left over to knit another wash cloth, too! The pattern was created especially for the Knitter's Pride Spring Home Decor KAL/CAL , which is happening now through June 30. You can knit or crochet ANY home decor pattern of your choosing for your chance to win some pretty great prizes (more on that here ). Also, double dipping from other KALs is encouraged! Click here to favorite or queue this pattern on Ravelry. I also guest blogged...

I'm coming down the home stretch on several projects, which means I can start something new, right? Of course! Late last week, I cast on for a simple pillow using my May Legacy Club Yarn Club shipment and a free pattern I found on Ravelry, the  Basketweave Pillow . It's my new on-the-go project, so it'll probably be on the needles for a while, but hopefully I will finish before the end of the Knitter's Pride Spring KAL . Second sleeve syndrome has set in with my Rockling Cardigan , as I feared it would. Two-at-a-time sleeves are where it's at, but obviously that ship has sailed and I need to make the best of it! I will say that I 'm loving the Sirka Row Counter for keeping track of the various "at the same time" instructions, though. It rocks! The baby sweater is looking oh-so-sweater-y and I should have it off the needles by the end of this week, hooray! I finally started this super-cute Dillinger Hat that I got from last year...

Between launching a  new free hat pattern  and celebrating Tyler's birthday (which was on Wednesday), it's been a rather busy week. Also, I totally forgot to share my first guest post from the Interweave blog that went live  last  Friday -  click here to check it out ! Anyway, in the midst of everything, I managed to squeeze in a quick photo shoot for this fun cowl that I recently knit with some of my handspun yarn : I can't seem to find any record as to what this fiber is, or where I purchased it, since it was spun for a Tour de Fleece long before I stated to keep better records in my spinning notebook. BUT, I can at least tell you what pattern I used: the  Aspen Cowl by Andi Javori  (note: affiliate link). This was a fairly easy knitting project, and it was fast, too - I just love patterns like that! . The stitch repeats were easy to "read" as I worked, so a lot of mistakes I would normally make were easily avoided just by taking a ...

I'm really excited to introduce the Jinxproof Hat pattern with everyone today, because I've been working on it for what seems like for-EV-er! I started it over the holiday break, but it grew from being just a simple slip-stitch hat pattern in a chunky weight yarn to a choose-your-own-adventure short story that allows you to custom-make a hat based on your preferences and whatever yarn weight you have on hand (sport, worsted, or chunky). The Jinxproof Hat is available for FREE now through June 15 to anyone who signs up for my newsletter , after which the pattern will be available for $6 in my Ravelry store (Note: if you already subscribe to my newsletter, an email with a free download link will be arriving in your inbox later today - I got your back!!). I asked the kind folks at Briggs & Little Woolen Mill to supply the yarns for each hat sample. They're Canada's oldest mill and seriously the nicest people ever (full disclosure: I work with them in my day job...

Last weekend, I finished a several crafty projects (all the better to start new ones, right?!). First, some fingerless mitts which used the leftover yarns from the Fade : The pattern called for US 4 needles and fingering weight yarn, and I thought that might be a little too loose for my liking so I went down a needle size. I should have knit a few more rows to make up for the gauge difference, but that didn't occur to me til I had already grafted both mittens together. There was no way I was going to rip them back to knit a few more rows! I also finally finished the destash scarf that's been on my loom for several weeks now. All it took was an afternoon baseball game to knock out the final 20 inches of weaving! Since I was able to get the loom cleared off on Saturday, that left Sunday for warping a new project: I'm using handspun for both the warp and  the weft. The warp is a two-ply Louet Merino and I'll be weaving with a skein of Cloudlover Superwas...

This week is all about knitting sleeves! I finished the body of my Rockling Cardigan and started on the sleeves; usually I prefer two-at-a-time, but I just couldn't fathom doing that while managing several giant balls of the bulky yarn I'm knitting with. So, against my better judgement, I am knitting the sleeves one at a time on DPNs - but on the plus side, I finally get to give my Sirka Row Counter a proper test drive! I'll share more about the Sirka on a later post once I've used it more, but so far I am totally digging it. Last weekend, I started a baby sweater for one of the few people I will accept commission work from at this point (hint: they are all very closely related to me by blood). I'm knitting a pattern I've used before ( Seed Stitch Yoke Cardi ) from one of my favorite baby knitting books, 60 Quick Baby Knits . Since a few of my friends are also expecting later this spring/summer, I am hoping this motivates me to knit some more baby stuff ...

Shout it from the mountaintops: my Find Your Fade shawl is officially done! Look at how gargantuan this thing is: I started it on January 2 of this year after being inspired by all of the beautiful color combinations I'd seen posted on Instagram, and realizing that I could probably find 7 skeins of sock yarn within my own stash to make one for myself. Sure enough, I dove into my stash and found exactly what I needed! Here are the yarns I ended up using, in order: Koigu KPPPM - Black/White/Grey (they just have color numbers instead of names) Ancient Arts 80/20 Merino/Nylon Fingering - Russian Blue Fleur de Fiber Asbury Sock - Dirty Martini Susquehanna Knitting Company Sparkle Sock - Winter Waves Hazel Knits Artisan Sock - Aquarius Leading Men Fiber Arts Show Stopper - Drama Queen Koigu KPPPM - Black/Purple I'm hoping this becomes my go-to shawl in the fall - or maybe even the spring since it's been on the chillier side here in Chicago. I find...

I've been focusing on the Rockling Cardigan since it's my oldest WIP currently on the needles. I am almost finished with the body of the sweater - last night, I started the final section of ribbing before bind off! I'm also working on the second destash sideways mitt with my leftover Fade yarn. Currently, it looks like a mess of spaghetti, especially since the first mitt is still on the needles while I figure out a way to graft the ends together and leave a spot for the thumb...a detail I'd neglected to think about when I decided to sub in a provisional cast on. Oops! One new WIP is joining the mix this week: I started a cowl project with some chunky handspun yarn using the Aspen Cowl pattern by Andi Javori, which you can find  here  in the Interweave store. (note: affiliate link). I still have the same project on the loom as last week and I've only added about 10 inches, so there's not much to report on the weaving front. Here's hoping ...