handmade by stefanie

Last night I rolled back into Chicago just in time for rush hour - what a treat!  I had a great time at TNNA - but after being bombarded with so much yarny goodness, I need a few days to decompress and get back to my normal routine.  I'm also woefully behind in showcasing fellow Ravelers' FOs, so without further ado, here is the latest crop: You may remember Purselover from the last episode of SITW - and it's even possible that you recall she was pondering knitting a mondo version of the Kitchy Pleated Bag using Malabrigo Rasta .  Well, she walks to the walk (I had to resist the urge to say something dorky, but you can use your own imagination if you'd prefer a more knitting-appropriate yet eye-roll-inducing expression).  She used 4 skeins of Oxido and size 19 needles to create her 'extra-bulbous' version of this design!  Another creative use of my whale chart has popped up on Ravelry, this time in the form of an adorable hat.  I think this is my fa...

Working on some colorwork socks at the moment - I recently bought Wendy Johnson's new book, Toe-Up Socks for Every Body , and I am in love with so many of the colorwork designs!  I was never much of a colorwork sock girl...I always make my stitches and floats too tight, and then the sock fabric isn't stretchy enough and it's nearly impossible to get over one's ankles.  It's amazing, however, what going up a needle size can do for you.  My floats and stitches are still sometimes a little too tight (hence the slight puckering in the unblocked sock pictured below), but there is still plenty of give and i think this will actually be wearable. This is my version of Wendy's Critter Socks ; while I think ducks and cats are fine little critters, for some reason I've had whales on my brain.  I made my own colorwork chart to plug into her pattern, and if you'd like to have some whales on your socks (or gloves or hats...), this chart can be ea...