handmade by stefanie

Remember Kickstarter? For a while, it was all the rage - I think I was backing several Kickstarter projects each year, nearly all of which met their funding goal and came to fruition. In fact, that's how I discovered one of my favorite Chicago breweries, Begyle - I was a Kickstarter backer! It's been a while since I've backed a project in the fiber arts world, but Stashley recently came across my radar and they have quite a ways to go to meet their funding goal by September 6. I know first-hand just how hard it is to get a Kickstarter funded (my band did one several years ago and I swear I've never worked so hard to raise money - it was nuts!), so I thought I would help spread the word by writing a quick little blog post. Plus, I would genuinely love to use this service to reduce the crazy amount of stash that's currently taking over my craft room/office - so sharing this project isn't entirely altruistic! You might be wondering why I don't just try to sell...

In early March, we began sheltering in place in our apartment in Chicago, not knowing that we would be completely picking up and moving in three months' time. It's kind of insane to think that we managed to pull off an interstate move amidst the pandemic - plus I've been working full time from home the whole time. Even though I've maintained virtually the same schedule I've had for the past 8 or so years of working from home, it does seem like I've also had more time to craft. Here's how I spent my Chicago quarantine time: First, I focused on finishing the projects which I already had on the needles prior to the quarantine: Yarnbits cowl by Eileen Vito, which uses leftover bits of scrap yarn! Handspun cowl using a stitch dictionary pattern. Sophisticated Baby Stripes pattern using Kraemer Yarns Tatamy Tweed DK. Destash Stripes Handwoven Scarf Uknity Shawl by Jennifer Weissman, which was also a destash project. I also knit a ...

...Because the pandemic isn't over. Even though a lot of people seem to be bored with it . A friend of ours shared this song on Instagram recently and I think it totally sums up where we are as a country (unfortunately): And so, I'll keep staying home, sewing masks. At the end of July, I sewed my 100th mask, and set a new goal of 200 - which I think I'll meet pretty easily, now that I have figured out an efficient system that works in our new apartment. And I keep ordering fabric because I keep finding more fun prints that I want to wear on my face. Attention, mask-haters: it's actually kind of fun if you can express your personality with your face mask. I believe that's what's known as making lemons out of lemonade?! I mean, look at these two nerds doing a drive-thru coffee pickup: We keep all of our clean masks hanging by the door so that we can grab & go on our way out - and then I also keep ziploc bags with clean masks in my purse and, now that...