handmade by stefanie

Brown Sheep is one of the first yarns I ever knit with, and they have always had a special place in my heart - so when they asked me to team up for a mystery knit-along, of course I said yes! Now, I know that not everyone likes a mystery knit-along (or MKAL for short). In fact, I swore them off after being "tricked" into doing intarsia one too many times by Stephen West (said with tongue firmly in cheek). Not all mysteries are a delight to solve, but I promise this one will be.  My goal was to create a fun-to-knit shawl with an interesting detail to finish things off. I don't want to give too many things away, but if you like slipped stitches, stripes, and bold mosaic motifs all wrapped up in a symmetrical triangular shawl, then I think you will be happy with the finished project.  Not only that, but the pattern is available for FREE if you sign up for the Brown Sheep newsletter using this link . And if you want to buy the yarn I used for the pattern, you can pick 1 skein...

For the past 3 years, I've made it a point to knit at least a few bears for the Mother Bear Project, which is a wonderful non-profit  dedicated to providing comfort and hope to children, primarily those affected by HIV/AIDS in emerging nations, by giving them a gift of love in the form of hand-knit and crocheted bears.  They have  patterns available for purchase  as well as everything-you-need kits which include yarn, the pattern, and knitting needles or a crochet hook.  For this year's batch o' bears, I decided to use one of my favorite yarn brands which I turn to time and time again - Brown Sheep . This is a brand of yarn I've been using since the early years of my knitting life. Back then, I was attracted by the affordability that didn't sacrifice quality. And there were so many colors to choose from in each yarn base! Over the years, I learned more about their story: they're a family owned company located in Western Nebraska, and have been working to im...

After all of my adventures with overdyeing finished knits, I was tempted once again to break out the dye pots for this year's Tour de Fleece event. One of my colleagues hosts a team each year, and for the 2019 TDF, Brown Sheep Company provided us with some spinning fiber....and when I say "some" spinning fiber I actually mean quite a bit - here's a photo of what arrived on my doorstep with my cat Tilly for scale. Now THAT'S a lot of spinning fiber! As lovely as all this fiber is (it's a blend of Rambouillet and Columbia wool - heavenly!), I thought it could use a bit of color. To be totally honest, I've been on a real dyeing kick, so any excuse to break out the dyepots is a good one in my book....and this giant ball o' spinning fiber had me feeling particularly inspired to step outside of my regular color scheme of murky shades and greens and blues. But first, I had to separate it out into smaller bundles so that each one would fit in my dyeing c...

The last two weeks have been a little crazy, and I'm glad to get back to my regular Wednesday posting schedule. Since it's been a while since I've shared any WIPs on this blog, I thought I would share everything I'm working on now that all of the secret knitting projects for designs in progress have been published ( I blogged about the 3 newest designs here if you missed it ). To kick off September, I started a Weekender Sweater for this knit-along using Prairie Spun DK from Brown Sheep. And because I like to live dangerously, I used my shiny new Ginger interchangeables from Knitter's Pride (which arrived just in time for the KAL start date) instead of the needles I swatched with. Considering the sweater is to be work with plenty of ease, I'm willing to take the risk. So far, it's looking great and is the perfect, soothing knit. Also in the same roomy knitting basket is another project using Brown Sheep yarn! I'm knitting the Color Block Cowl ...

I haven't made many (or any) resolutions for 2018, but there is something I want to do more of: sweater knitting....for ME! Last year, I was a lot choosier with my knitting projects due to a busier work schedule and the addition of several new crafts which reduced my amount of knitting time. Additionally, there are some projects that I simply can't knit (or have to knit slooooowly) thanks to ongoing issues with my hands and arms. I have a ton of hats and cowls and unfortunately socks are on "knit sparingly" list, it finally dawned on me that I should focus on making myself a wardrobe of sweaters that match my existing wardrobe of mostly black and grey clothes AND actually fit me. The two sweaters I knit last year, the Rockling Cardigan and the So Faded Sweater (which I'll be sharing on a later post), made my realize how much I like to knit and wear the sweaters I make provided they actually fit me . And that is the hard part, because I have to do something a lot...

When I first started knitting, yarns from Brown Sheep were my first experience of non-big box retail yarns. Well-made, affordable, and available in a huge range of colors, their yarn is just as appealing me to now as it was 10+ years ago. I knit the Arwen cardigan back in 2007 in one of their now-discontinued yarns, Prairie Silk, and it is probably the best-wearing yarn I've ever used for a sweater (it still has yet to pill). So of course I jumped at a chance to try out their newest yarn, Prairie Spun DK . First, if you aren't familiar with Brown Sheep, they are a family owned and operated mill located in Mitchell, Nebraska that focuses on sustainably-produced wool and wool blend yarns. They source their fleece and fibers from US sources whenever possible, buying the majority of their wool directly from US growers; breeds include Corriedale, Rambouillet, and Columbian. You can find out more about them here on their website . I knit the child-sized version of the M...

Some exciting new things have found their way to me recently, most notably a fancy new swift and ballwinder from Knitter's Pride : I've been anxiously awaiting their arrival, as I have become increasingly frustrated with my old ball winder and swift. They've served me well these past 7 years, but especially where the swift was concerned, it was time to upgrade to something nicer (and let's not even talk about how many times this happened over the years ). I ended up rearranging my office to find a space for them, and while I plan to tuck the swift underneath my weaving table when not in use, the ball winder has a permanent home on top of the record cabinet:  The smoothness of both the swift and ball winder has made the biggest impression on me; I especially love that I can use either my right or left hand to drive the ball winder, and it takes very little effort at all. This is a very welcome change, as I've been trying to minimize any repetitive ...