handmade by stefanie

Happy October! Fall is one of my favorite seasons, with winter being a close second (I know I'm probably in the minority on that one). I've already started bringing out the hand-knits and wearing some of the new socks and cowls I spent the summer knitting whenever I can. It's a great time of year to be a knitter! There are so many amazing patterns coming out right now that it's going to make it tough to stick to my holiday gift and baby knitting list.  I'm looking pretty good for my holiday knitting, but I have three friends who are expecting - a total of four babies to knit for! It's time to focus, and not let anything bright and shiny distract me. And yet, my Pinterest account suggests otherwise. I've been coming across such great new patterns and unearthing some previously undiscovered ones along the way, so naturally  my Ravelry queue is threatening to return to eight pages once more. Perhaps the only way I've avoided that inevitability is to pi...

I've been remiss in posting about Renegade Craft Fair last weekend.  All of the car nonsense kind of distracted me last week - but it's time to return to my regularly scheduled blogging. I'm sure it's no surprise to learn that I had a modest budget for Renegade this year, but I think I made my dollars count.  As always, there were lots of cool things I'd like to have purchased - lovely-smelling soaps, nifty ceramics, and some really cool terrariums (there were two vendors of terrariums this year - and very few items with birds on them, now that I think of it.  Way to go, Portlandia !).  Everything I purchased fit perfectly in this wee canvas tote bag, which I bought from Alysson at The Sweatshop of Love .  Her mom hand-stamps them, and it's absolutely perfect for taking a sock project on-the-go....which brings us to item #2:  my annual Rhino Fluff purchase! Last year, you may recall the amazing blue skein of silky sock yarn I purchased from Rhino...

at long last, the wait is over (never mind if i was the only one waiting with baited breath!) - the sanguine gryphon 's fall collection of patterns is out today, and with it, my newest sock pattern.  i present to you the heliotrope mid-calf stockings - fancy socks to be worn for any occasion.  slightly old-fashioned, slightly modern, and fun to knit! innocence and mayhem at once*.... Fanciful mid-calf stockings begin with a ruffled, ribbed cuff and an eyelet row to secure top of stockings with a ribbon.  An ornate cabled pattern at the top of the sock is followed by a twisted-rib panel on the front, with cabled "clocks" on either side and stockinette stitch worked on the back. This top-down sock begins with an intricate cable chart and morphs into an elegant, easy-to-memorize pattern that has enough to keep an advanced knitted interested while not being terribly fussy.   Finished Sizes 7 (8, 9)”/18 (20, 23) cm foot circumference, unstretched ...

extreme close-up? i've been on pins and needles the past couple days, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the sanguine gryphon's fall collection!  my contribution is the first to come out of the (non-self-published designs) i've been working on all year, and i couldn't be more excited. on wednesday, the new fall colors were announced .  some photos of my project from the shoot arrived in my in-box at the beginning of the week, and it appears as though the collection will be debuting somewhere in the neighborhood of the 22nd.  meanwhile, there is much speculation surrounding this teaser photo gryphon posted in the ravelry forum - is the project behind her back, or on the box in the background? it's like a mind puzzle, an awesome mind puzzle!

it's been a busy end to august - there have been band practices, social engagements, extracurricular work meetings, and of course lots of knitting and designing to get done.  not much happened for me in that last category over the weekend, as i was too busy running around with my friend from kansas city on friday and saturday night after work, and sunday night my band played a show in logan square.  (sometimes i need these sorts of things to force myself to give my hands and arms a break from knitting; it's harder for me to take a break if i'm just sitting at home.) i am pleased to report that, despite all the general zaniness of the last few days,  i did manage to knit a pair of flip-top elbow-length fingerless gloves - although i have to confess it was a slower week at work, and most of the knitting got done on a day i had some client cancellations.  you may recognize the yarn from last week's post - crystal palace's mochi plus - it's true, i just could...