handmade by stefanie

This project has been finished for a few weeks now....except for the buttons. Apparently sewing them on what the hardest thing in the world to do! However, I'm so glad I finally did, because this little sweater is so darn cute: I used Knit Picks Swish Worsted in Electric Blue and Dove Heather. More importantly, I expanded my baby sweater horizons by using a new-to-me-pattern from my favorite book, the Striped Cardi from 60 Quick Baby Knits ! It was a great pattern and I am happy with how it turned out, although I think I would add an inch or two of ribbing to the bottom of the sweater and cuffs if I made it again, as I'm not a fan of the rolled stockinette (even though I know that an intended design feature). This will be mailed off soon for some cute baby to wear this fall. Thanks for stopping by, have a crafty weekend!

There's nothing wrong with your monitor - this IS the exact same baby sweater I posted last week, but with different yarn and buttons. I had a baby shower to attend recently and needed a project that I could work on while traveling, so I turned to my go-to, the Seed Stitch Yoke Cardigan . I knit the sleeves two-at-a-time on the way to TNNA, and started the body of the sweater on the way home. A few monkey wrenches popped up once I got home (namely, losing an entire day to being flattened by a nasty cold I picked up at the show), and I very nearly didn't finish in time to gift this to the intended recipient. Somehow it all came together, and my iron had the good graces to break down only after I'd finished steam blocking this project into presentability. That was lucky! Tip: Add a sample of wool wash to your gift! Also lucky was finding the perfect buttons in my stash, something I hadn't thought through when choosing the yarn color (incidentally, I used Knit P...

First off, I'd like to announce the winner of my giveaway! Congrats to komclaughlin, I will contact you to find out where to mail your copy of Curls by Hunter Hammersen . Thanks to everyone who entered my giveaway; I hope you'll continue to read my blog, because I have more fun things planned for this year (and yes, even some more giveaways). And now, on to the WIPs....I started one new project this week, the Foliage Cowl by Patty Nance, which I cast on for the Holla Knits KAL . I'm using two skeins of Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Bulky in Blackberry, which I won during a Holla Knits subscriber giveaway last year. I'm still making progress on the Block Island Pullover - I finished the back on Monday night and am now working on the front: I haven't been working on my handspun Caesious as much, but I think it's still grown since this time last week : Perhaps the most exciting progress to report is the near-completion of the MCN baby sweater in Frill...

I'm totally mixing up my usual blog schedule from now til the end of year (consider this your fair warning!), which is why I'm sharing a finished project today instead of waiting til Friday. Over the weekend, I managed to finish the sock yarn baby sweater that I've been intermittently working on since October . October! I guess that's what happens when you spend the better part of two months ignoring something on your needles. At any rate, it's finished and I think it turned out pretty well, although I probably won't be knitting the same pattern again. I used a free pattern on Ravelry and let's just say you get what you pay for: my first indication that this wasn't going to become my go-to baby sweater pattern was the vagueness of some of the instructions. I feel competent enough to fill in the blanks and figure it out myself, but I do find it a little annoying - if I wanted to do that, I wouldn't have been looking for a pattern to knit from in...

It seems like I'm not the only one suffering from Startitis this month! I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I suppose it's nice to be in good company. Over the weekend, I started a new spinning project which has been on my mental to-do list for a little while now: After first hearing about opposing-ply yarns on the We Are Yarn podcast, I've been wanting to try this technique to spin a sport-weight(ish) yarn to knit myself a pair of socks. A few months ago, I ordered 8 oz. of Superwash BFL from Nerd Girl Yarns in the #hashtag colorway , and I knew immediately that this was the fiber I should use for this project! Last night, I finished the third single, and tonight I hope to ply all 3 together...and I am already planning my next  spinning project, too! I also started a baby sweater from 60 Quick Baby Knits in some superwash yarn I'd custom dyed back when I worked at Lorna's Laces. It's not super-exciting to look at just yet, but ...

Once again, there are a LOT of new babies and babies on the way in my life: In addition to our newest nephew and my good friend's little one who were both born at the beginning of 2013, a few (more) of my friends are due in the new year, my cousin is due in February, and Tyler's cousin just had a baby boy this fall. Needless to say, I have been doing a huge amount of baby knitting these last few months! Here is the sweater and owl hat which I sent to welcome baby Ritter to the family: Pattern: #21 Raglan Cardigan by Therese Chynoweth Yarn: Brown Sheep Serendipity Tweed  JHB Button Closure Pattern: Crochet Owl Hat from Repeat Crafter Me (free pattern!) Yarn: Leftover yarn from sweater + Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted Rest assured, there will be more cute baby knits to share in the new year! 

I've got another round of secret knitting to share with you this week! I have several baby-related FO's that haven't been blogged on the offchance that my SIL would come across the photos - a slim chance, but not one that I'd was willing to risk! I put together a Box O' Baby for my brother- and sister-in-law, who are expecting next month. We're really excited to have a nephew here in town! The spoiling has already begun.... Monster Booties   I knit these in Michigan colors (my brother-in-law is a fan) using two colors of Berroco Ultra Alpaca using the pattern from Rebecca Danger's Knit a Monster Nursery book. Too cute! Earflap Hat One thing I know for sure: babies need hats! I had leftover yarn from the booties, so I whipped up a hat to match. I used the Pointy Monster Hat pattern from the same book, though I omitted the moster face. I thought that might be overkill! Kimono Cardi   I love making baby sweaters - they're so fast! -...

I was excited to sign up for Crochet: Beyond Rectangles with Linda Permann so that I could build upon my crochet skills gleaned from Vicki Howell's Crochet Lab and Stacey Trock's Woodland Animals . Now that I've become comfortable with the basics, I'm ready to take things to the next level. Crochet: Beyond Rectangles uses an easy-to-make baby sweater to help students learn how to shape, sew, and read patterns and crochet charts. All of these skills apply to any garment, but the smaller scale of a baby sweater is the perfect way to move beyond scarves and other beginner-type projects without becoming overwhelmed. This project-based class features 12 video lessons in all. I found the pattern reading section to be quite helpful, as it covered written instructions, abbreviations, stitch diagrams and how to use schematics. For those that are new to the world of yarn, the lesson on choosing yarn and gauge swatching will help you on your way - not only will Linda gi...