handmade by stefanie

Decluttering my office and craft room is an ongoing quest of mine. Earlier in the year, my focus was destashing yarn (both handspun and otherwise) to avoid overwhelming SABLE anxiety . Many skeins have found lovely forever homes already, although there are still some good things up for grabs on my Ravelry destash page and also in my Etsy shop if you are so inclined. Once the Great Yarn Destash of 2018 was under way, I turned my attention to all of the finished items I never wear of use. I have piles and piles of them - it's madness! So I set up a shop on a new Etsy competitor site called Aftcra where I could host my first-ever sample sale . OH MY GOD! WE'RE HAVING A SAMPLE SALE! Everyone on my newsletter list got first pick, but there's still plenty of good things up for grabs. There are hats, scarves, fingerless gloves, cowls, toys, bags and more, and everything is basically priced at the cost of the yarn so you really can't find a better deal. Also, everythi

The last two weeks have been a little crazy, and I'm glad to get back to my regular Wednesday posting schedule. Since it's been a while since I've shared any WIPs on this blog, I thought I would share everything I'm working on now that all of the secret knitting projects for designs in progress have been published ( I blogged about the 3 newest designs here if you missed it ). To kick off September, I started a Weekender Sweater for this knit-along using Prairie Spun DK from Brown Sheep. And because I like to live dangerously, I used my shiny new Ginger interchangeables from Knitter's Pride (which arrived just in time for the KAL start date) instead of the needles I swatched with. Considering the sweater is to be work with plenty of ease, I'm willing to take the risk. So far, it's looking great and is the perfect, soothing knit. Also in the same roomy knitting basket is another project using Brown Sheep yarn! I'm knitting the Color Block Cowl

I am always on the hunt for ways to use up those mini skeins of yarn that I can never resist - so it's no wonder that my latest designs were inspired by (and created especially for) minis! The nice thing about patterns which use mini skeins of yarn is that the frequent color switches keep me from getting bored while knitting, plus it's a great way to use up leftover bits of yarn if you don't have any mini skeins on hand! After finding a lovely skein of navy blue yarn I'd dyed by hand last fall, I was inspired to pair it with some bright sock yarn colors to create the Mini Brights Slouchy Hat . You'll need 150 yards of sport weight yarn (or you can sub in fingering weight yarn if you'd rather) and five 10-yard mini skeins of sock yarn to knit this colorful hat in either size. If you love the colors shown here, I've created a neon bright mini-skein yarn pack featuring all 5 colors used in the hat here in my Etsy shop for just $12.50  - you'll also rec