handmade by stefanie

For the first time in the seven years since I started working at Stitchcraft Marketing, I didn't go to the TNNA Trade show this past weekend, which is the annual buying show for yarn shops (and hence, where a lot of my clients exhibit). It's kind of nice to have the year off, because while trade shows are fun, they are also quite tiring. I spent a very relaxing weekend at home crafting and watching the Royals get swept by the reigning world champs. So it goes. I'm not one to suffer from FOMO, but I am curious to hear what everyone thought about the new venue in Cleveland. I'm especially interested to hear who was - and wasn't - there in the wake of last weeks' surprising announcement that Classic Elite Yarns is closing . It seems like this news has made the rounds of social media, but they aren't the only yarn-related business to recently announce that they are closing their doors: Lantern Moon posted about a "closeout sale" earlier this month ...

Yesterday I got back from the TNNA summer trade show, which returned to Columbus to the delight of pretty much everyone, judging by how busy and lively the show floor was for most of the weekend. My measurements are 100% unscientific, but it seemed like there was way more activity when compared to the rather quiet January show in San Jose. The company I work for, Stitchcraft Marketing , created a community art installation called #StitchLove , which was on display in the TNNA lounge in the center of the show floor. It was the brainchild of my colleague Mari and I am so proud of how it turned out - we all are! L-R: Mari, Me, Leanne & Ben. Seeing everyone's contributions was really cool, and by the end of the weekend, the wall was quite full! Although I'm pretty sure I didn't get a chance to check out every single booth, I did see some pretty cool things while I dashed from meeting to meeting. I was really psyched to spot Katrinkles , whom I discovered on I...

I spent last weekend in San Jose for TNNA , so I don't have a ton of progress to show here since I left most of my WIPs at home. I did, however, make the most of the flight to and from the show by tackling the nightmare of ends on Tyler's Royals socks : On the way there, I wove in all the ends for sock #1; on the way home, I did sock #2. Now all that's left is to knit the afterthought heels. The trade show was the usual whirlwind for me, and I did a terrible job of taking photos and making notes to share on my blog later. But I DID manage to come home with some cashmere yarn from Lux Adorna - my only purchase at the show: While I was at TNNA, I heard the sad news about the passing of Yordano Ventura , a pitcher for the Royals (honestly, that's what spurred my cashmere yarn purchase above...I needed the comfort and a little cash(mere) therapy). It's kind of given these socks some new meaning as I work on (finally) finishing them. One of his de...

In the first of many reviews and giveaways made possible by my TNNA Marly Bird Designer Dinner swag bag, I'm pleased to share a review of a new-to-me yarn that I have been seeing around Ravelry and instagram: hand-dyed yarn from Annie Modesitt. It seems like the current trend for designers is to branch out into other related avenues such as stitch markers, project bags, and, of course....yarn! ModeKnit Yarn  is hand-dyed in Minnesota in shaded solids, variegated colorways, and the ever-popular gradients, which are new this season. They offer four different yarn blends and three different yarn weights (lace, fingering and worsted), and the color options are always changing (you can view more info about the yarn bases and colors here on the ModeKnit website ). I received two sample skeins of ModeWerk Flow (they use the word " Flow " to indicate gradient colorways in yarn, and I think they are available across several bases within the brand), which is a machine washa...

Instead of my regular WIP Wednesday post, I'd like to share some of the highlights of last weekend's TNNA trade show while they're still fresh in my mind! I took the oh-so glamorous Megabus with my pals Allyson (of Holla Knits/Sweatshop of Love), Heidi (of Hands Occupied), and Leah (of ). Since my track record with Megabus travel isn't great (in 2013 I missed my bus and had to take the overnight...which was rather unpleasant as you might have guessed), they were instrumental in ensuring I made it to Columbus in a timely fashion....or at all, for that matter! The weekend started out with a really phenomenal beer and the most over-the-top meal (in terms of presentation) at Wolf's Ridge - I'm not one to take photos of my food, but this was the perfect time to break that rule, don't you think? And I promise you, there WAS food underneath the floral arrangement... Then I went to Marly Bird's infamous designer dinner, which was a lot of fun as always. I...

While I was at TNNA earlier this month, Stacey Trock (from FreshStitches ) asked me to be a guest on her new podcast! We sat down to record a quick interview on Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis amidst all of the hoopla and mayhem that is TNNA. I had a great time hanging out with one of my crochet heroes, I hope you enjoy the episode! If you have any questions for us, you can post them here in the FreshStitches Ravelry group ! Save Up to 50% on Select Craftsy Classes! Don't miss out on  Craftsy 's Birthday Flash Sale! Get select online classes at  up to 50% off  for a limited time only. You won't see so many classes with prices this low again soon. Hurry, offer expires  May 11th at 11:59pm MT . Shop  Craftsy's Birthday Flash Sale !   (This post contains affiliate links which means I will be compensated if you purchase after clicking these links. Thanks for supporting this blog with your purchase!)

I just got back from the TNNA Summer Trade Show in Indianapolis this past weekend; I'm guessing a lot of my readers are on the consumer side of things and will probably never attend this type of trade show, so I thought I'd give you an inside look on today's blog post. As my friend Liz said in this amazing photo (right) she posted of the show floor over the weekend, this is where your  LYS goes to shop! The Summer show is usually in June, so this year's show was about 6 weeks earlier than usual...in terms of planning and preparation, that's pretty significant! There was also a venue change from the Columbus Convention Center (and the beloved North Market/Jeni's Ice Cream). Despite all of these issues, the show turned out well. While I definitely missed some of my favorite places from Columbus, it was nice to explore someplace new and Indianapolis is actually quicte nice. There was even a really cool coffee shop across the street from the convention center c...

I'm heading down to the TNNA Trade Show in Indianapolis today, so I have pre-scheduled this post to unveil my newest design: the Pedi Purls socks! My feet often  get cold while waiting for my nail polish to dry; a bright pair of toeless socks are a fun solution to the problem! I designed these socks in Baah Sonoma especially for the trade show; they will be on display in the Lavishea booth because they were inspired by a new Lavishea product making its TNNA debut, I'll try to get a shot from the booth to share for you next week. The concept behind these socks is something I'll be exploring more this summer (hint, hint): quick-to-knit sock projects which have interesting stitch patterns that are easy to memorize, allowing you to work on them while on-the-go.  The pattern is written to fit the average woman's foot and can be easily customized for size if you are familiar with sock-knitting. There are also instructions for adding a toe to your socks, b...

Over the weekend, I finished my Spindleberry Shawl , can you believe it? I wasn't planning to start a new project so close to TNNA, but I ended up casting on for a pair of socks with some Tibetan Dream that's been in my stash for a while now: The pattern is called The Hub of Fashion, and the body of the sock is knit sideways, something I've never done before! Here we have the rarely-seen Robin photobomb: I'm still not finished with my Dorper project for Spinning Spring Training ; I was hoping to at least finish the singles before I left town, but realistically, that's probably not going to happen: I've also been making progress on my North Hollow Cowl in the new yarn from Blue Sky Alpacas, Extra - over the weekend I finished the first half and started the second half: It's soooo soft! I am really enjoying working with it, and the design is turning out to be the right mix of mindless/mindful knitting: it took a little concentration to get every...

I'm pretty excited to be the  Team Louet  captain for an inaugural spinning event this fall,  Spinzilla ! This new event is a fun way to see which team can collectively spin the most yarn during Spinning and Weaving Week (October 7-13, 2013). The time is now to choose your team and build your spinning fiber arsenal: there are a lot of prizes at stake, but we'll also be competing for a traveling trophy and the glory of it all! Registration opened this morning and costs $10*. You'll want to hurry, because space is limited to 25 spots for each team! Our only stipulations to be a part of  Team Louet (besides registering here ) are: 1. Team members should be using Louet spinning wheels . 2. While you are not limited to using only Louet spinning fiber , we do request that team members spin at least two singles of Louet fiber during the course of the event. Of course, I'll be keeping my captain's log right here on my blog in addition to the Team Loue...

Recharging phone & self at the hotel, Day 1 of TNNA! At last, I am getting a chance to collect my thoughts and share my TNNA trip with you! I really enjoy going to Columbus for the summer trade show - at this point, I know lots of great places to go to, if only I have the time! My morning coffee/tea run took me invariably to North Market (which is also where I had several tasty lunches). I know this is probably sacrilegious to say, but I managed to go the entire trip without getting any Jeni's ice cream. Don't worry, I made up for it by drinking some tasty local beers - my favorite was the White Dragon Jasmine Saison from Barley's Brewing Company , which was pretty much the most delicious beer I've ever tasted! Columbus was celebrating Gay Pride at the same time our convention was in town, so on Saturday I was able to catch a little of the Pride Parade! This year, I had fewer meetings and social obligations, which was pretty nice! I did attend Eucalan ...