handmade by stefanie

Now that I have a long-term project off the needles, I'm excited to work on some smaller projects which are a little more instant-gratification! This week, I'm working on a trio of Tiny Hedgehogs from the kit I bought at Windy Knitty a while back (you can also buy one here on the Mochimochiland website ). I also am working on some crocheted baby converse booties for the next wave of kiddos who will be arriving later this year. I'm not sure I'm totally sold on this particular pattern (it's available for free on Ravelry, and you KNOW how I feel about free patterns!), but I'll see it through to the end. Who knows, maybe it'll all come together and look awesome! And then, late Monday night, after a very eventful evening of monsoon-like rain, flooding, tornado sirens, and a Blackhawks Stanley Cup win, I decided to start some Pookies with little bits of leftover handspun yarn....as one does! Those are all of my WIPs for now - don't forget to check ...

Hooray, it's FO Friday, and unlike last week , I have bona fide finished objects to share with you this week! First, I finished my destash Genmaicha Hat , which I knit with The Fibre Company's Canopy Fingering in Sarsparilla and Conifer and Malabrigo Finito in Paloma. Last week, I confessed that I goofed when casting on and ended up knitting the entire hat on US #1 needles (instead of US#3). Oops! The results, however, are a super-cute child-sized hat, so into the gift barrel it goes! At the top right is my amigurumi Roosevelt monster, which was my third and final shipment from the FreshStitches Kit Club . I would have liked to sign up for another subscription, but tax day wasn't super kind to us last month! Perhaps later this year I can jump back on the kit club bandwagon...or, at the very least, treat myself to another crochet amigurumi kit ! I also finished another stockinette baby hat for the Cutie Patootie KAL/CAL - and I still have a fair amount of Cotton...

Happy FO Friday! Last weekend, I finished the crochet owl hat using one of my favorite superwash yarns, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted . It is so unbelievably cute, I don't know if I can stand it! This was a very easy-to-follow pattern ( Crochet Owl Hat by Sarah Zimmerman, available for free ), so I would definitely recommend it for those of you who are new to crochet. I made one small modification - rather than sewing on buttons for eyes and then crocheting a border to attach around the buttons, I made my eyes all in one piece like so: With a few yards of black yarn, use a sloppy slip knot to get started. Ch 2. SC 6 times in 2nd st from hook, join for rnd. Rnd 1: SC twice into each st. 12 sts. Rnd 2: Switch to your CC (in this case, green). SC 1, SC twice in next st. Repeat til you reach the end of the rnd - 18 sts. Rnd 3: Switch to white. SC 2, SC twice in next st. Repeat til you reach the end of the rnd - 24 sts. Rnd 4. SC 3, SC twice in next st. Repeat til ...

I have five - FIVE! - babies to knit for in 2013, so I wanted a blanket that was pretty but not too difficult to make. I've been working extra-long hours at my day job, so by the time I settle down to knit for a few hours at night, most of my brainwaves are spent. Using knits and purls to create a textured lattice-like pattern, the Lettuce Lattice Baby Blanket was born. Sorry for the terrible pun - it's been a long week (and it's only Wednesday)! At any rate, my new baby blanket pattern is perfect for swaddling newborns, makes a fantastic receiving blanket, and is sure to be a great companion blankie during the toddler years. Knit with superwash yarn, parents will appreciate this thoughtful and easy-care gift. The PDF pattern includes stitch chart and instructions on working with hand-dyed yarns.  You'll also get a chance to master the crochet cast-on method (one of my favorites!) - click here  to view a video tutorial on YouTube to see just how easy this technique...