handmade by stefanie

I think it's going to be a photo finish for the dueling shawls; the final rows of my Wonder Woman Wrap are looooong, though I don't have many left to knit: While I have further to go on my Inauguration Consolation shawl, the rows are just a bit shorter: Even more exciting, however, is that I have only ONE other WIP on the needles: the ill-fated Dillinger Hat , which is still in time out. I think I ripped back far enough to fix the mistakes I made, so it's just a matter of picking it back up and finishing it. Easier said than done! Here's hoping I can finish one, some or all of these WIPs this coming weekend so that I can start some new, exciting projects!

It seems like forever since I had new WIPs - but now that several long term projects are officially off the needles, I think it's time to start some new, exciting things! I still have some babies to knit for, so the first cast on over the long holiday weekend was for a striped baby sweater : After I finished my June Cashmere MKAL project (which I'll be sharing this Friday), I decided that starting a shawl project would be a just reward. I bought the Inauguration Consolation project kit at TNNA back in January and have been wanting to start it ever since, but deadline knitting and guilt from too many WIPs held me back. I do still have the Dillinger Hat on the needles, and I still need to work up to ripping allll the way back (about 8 rows I think?) to fix a rather large mistake. I'm hoping I finally feel up to the task this coming weekend - it's such a cute hat, I would love to finish it soon! Believe it or not, that is all that I have on the nee...

When it comes to yarn, there are a few things I can't resist:  1. Cashmere.  2. A great story. 3. A beautiful shade of grey. If you're a regular reader (or an instagram follower, for that matter), none of these confessions will surprise you. I am a total luxury yarn junkie, and grey is one of my go-to colors for knitting projects - let's not even try to count the number of gray projects I knit last year!So, when I was given a choice of colors from the absolutely stunning jewel-tone palette for June Cashmere 's DK weight yarn, guess what I picked?  Yup, I chose  Slate grey. Act surprised!  I was also offered a free knitting pattern, the Journey Mitts , which uses just 1 skein of the DK yarn. More on that in a bit - and how you can score a free pattern for yourself, too. First, I want to share the incredible story behind June Cashmere, which is sourced directly from small family farms in Kyrgyzstan, processed in Europe, and then organically...

Over the weekend, I finished knitting the Snowflake Cowl that's been on my needles since before Christmas! Honestly, I probably could have finished it faster if I hadn't had the CRAZIEST month of work in January. Also, I was sorely out of practice for stranded colorwork and it took a while to get my head back into the game - but once I did, it started to move at a much faster pace (if you missed this post last week, I shared some of my tips which helped me with this project). Blocking in Allure , which is also by Bijou Basin Ranch. Once I finished the knitting part, it was time to undo the provisional cast-on, put alllllll of those stitches back on a needle, and begin to graft both ends together. EEP! It was a quite a long process, needless to say - but totally, completely worth it. Just look at the resulting cowl:  If I haven't mentioned it before, the yarn I used is the most luxurious 100% cashmere yarn ever - Xanadu from Bijou Basin Ranch. Now imagine flu...

Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, I finished my Miya Shawl for the KAL that recently ended in the Bijou Basin Ranch Ravelry group ! This is a great one-skein pattern for their luxurious new 100% cashmere yarn, Xanadu . I'd never worked with a cashmere yarn before (I'd only used blends previously), and this was nothing short of delightful. I blocked it out over the weekend using my Knit Blockers and some T-pins for the lace border (show here on Instagram ). I've been wearing it as a scarf this week (footage not found), but I was unable to snap a modeled shot due to all sorts of life craziness, but I can tell you that it's very lightweight, yet incredibly warm. This will be a great scarf to wear around my drafty office this winter. What's crazy is how I took both of these photos on the same day outside, but depending on how the light hits the yarn, it looks one way or the other! Honestly, I'd say the true color on any given day is very close to one of th...