handmade by stefanie

When I first started knitting, I made everyone in my family scarves for Christmas one year - that would be between 10-12 scarves by my count. Each one had a different stitch pattern, some of which were beyond my skill level at the time, but somehow I got them done in time. I definitely sweated it, but managed to meet the deadline with minimal drama, if memory serves. Over the years, I have knit a lot of gifts for people, but the numbers have been steadily declining for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it's stressful to do! Besides worrying about making the deadline, you also have to worry about it fitting, or being something that they'll end up liking/using. I've found that my idea of what people will like and enjoy can differ from reality, so I've taken to offering up a bin of finished handknits and letting folks take what they want. Their selections almost always surprise me. So, fast forward to this year. I wasn't planning to make any gifts, but then ...

Sorry for the radio silence, I ended up taking an unexpected 11-day trip back to Kansas City earlier this month and I just didn't feel like blogging. So I didn't. And to be completely honest, as this dumpster fire of a year rolls on, I find myself less and less motivated to maintain my blog and social media presence (such as it is) in favor of spending more time doing things IRL. I'm hoping to find something of a balance this fall since I do still enjoy writing and sharing the crafty things I'm learning and doing here, and I assume that someone somewhere likes to read about it. At least I hope so! With that in mind, I thought a good first step would be to get back to blogging every Wednesday(ish), starting with a recap of what I've been working on lately. The key word is simple knits. To wit: I just finished a Boxy Worsted pullover in Malabrigo Twist - miles and miles of stockinette stitch on pitch black yarn. Impossible to photograph, but something I predict I...

It's been a while since I've shared a crochet project, so I couldn't resist this adorable cactus kit from Global Backyard Industries. They sent me 1 kit of my choosing (there are two cactus styles, Ruby and Charley ) in exchange for my honest review. I've never been great at keeping plants alive myself, and a certain grey cat has a propensity to eat anything green and vaguely plant-like that comes into the house. So a plant that I can't kill and the cat (probably) won't try to eat is something I can really get excited about! Image via Global Backyard Industries website .  What impressed me the most when I received my Ruby kit was that it truly did include everything you needed, right down to the poly-fil stuffing.While I appreciate a good scavenger hunt, realizing you need a straw or don't have the right crochet hook can really be a momentum killer. They also source materials and supplies from American sources whenever possible, which is pretty cool ...

Not long after I finished the Cozy Memories blanket , I had the (possibly insane) idea to try crocheting a blanket with all of my leftover of handspun yarn . Perhaps my reasoning was that crocheting was faster, so certainly I would finish this blanket faster than the last one, which took one and a half years to complete. If that's the case, I was right on the money, because I started this on July 31 of last year, and it was completely done and blocking by the end of June! I used a large crochet hook (size N, or 9mm) and just alternated single crochet and double crochet as I pleased while using whatever random bits of handspun yarn happened to be nearby. The crocheting part was finished by the end of April, but I spent most of May procrastinating weaving in all of the ends. Finally, I decided that if I took it on our road trip to Kansas City last month, I would probably weave in all those fiddly ends out of boredom - another notion that ended up paying off. I always ha...

Over the last few weeks, my crafting time was focused mainly on a few deadline projects that I couldn't share publicly. Now that they are done, I can get back to my regular WIPs, a few of which seem close to the finish line! The waterlilies socks are getting closer to the finish line - last night I started the toe shaping on the second sock! But the big news is that I'm on the FINAL color of Find Your Fade ; how did that happen?! I picked up the crocheted handspun blanket last weekend and discovered that it was just a few rows away from being done - so now the crocheting is complete, but I do have ALL of these glorious ends to weave in: Most of the yarn is big and fluffy, so I was excited to give these darning needles from Knitter's Pride a try - they've made the process so much easier since I don't have to struggle to thread each yarn end through a narrow needle eye! I also warped my loom for another destash scarf project, though I was i...

I have another free pattern out this month on the Knitter's Pride blog! You can whip up these Quick Crochet Mitts in just a few hours using the easy-to-follow instructions on this blog post . I used a 20.00mm crochet hook and a skein of Briggs & Little Super to make this project, and you can probably get two more pairs of mitts out of the same skein - so it's not only fast, but also affordable!  Click here to favorite or add to your queue on Ravelry. Happy hooking!

On Wednesday, I mentioned that I had 2 new free patterns that I'd neglected to share here. Oops! The first one is really more of a tutorial, and I'm afraid I missed the "timely" boat since Halloween is long since over: You could just as easily make it in non-Halloween colors, or even a Winter/Christmas/Hannukah/Festivus palette, if you dared. Also, if anyone knows what constitutes a Festivus color palette, I'm all ears. You can favorite/queue the pattern here on Ravelry , or visit the Hobium blog here for the free tutorial . Next, I designed a chunky pair of knit mitts using Briggs & Little Super yarn and some truly enormous knitting needles: You can favorite/queue the pattern here on Ravelry , or visit the Knitter's Pride blog here for the free pattern . BONUS! There is a giveaway to win the yarn & needles for this project (pictured above) which is open through Midnight CST on 11/24/16 - click here to enter! I've got two mo...

I am just a million ends and a few buttons away from having 2 finished baby sweaters ! How did that happen?! I've been able to avoid starting new projects because I am awaiting some yarn that is being held hostage by USPS currently - boo - which is pretty annoying, since it's for a sample that I need to finish by the end of this month. Ah, the Chicago postal service. They seem to have sixth sense for these things. Anyway, in the interim, I'm just trying to focus on finishing the projects that I have on the needles so that there is less distraction once the yarn finally shows up. To that end, I've been working more on the lightsaber-green socks : And also picked this hat project back up which I started about a week and a half ago and then promptly ignored: I'm still pretty enamoured with the handspun crocheted blanket , too - I think it's grown about an inch or so since last week: That's it for this week! I have another quick FO project to share...

While I was waiting for the issues with my left arm to resolve, I worked on some crochet projects which I never got around to sharing on this blog once they were finished! Here's how I kept my hands busy during the worst of my golfer's elbow flare-up, when I could barely knit a stitch: I made this Crochet Hat with some Plymouth Yarn I had in my stash and a free pattern from Little Things Blogged . I got a little carried away with the slouchy bits, but I think it still turned out pretty well. And, of course, I topped it with the world's biggest pom pom! It's been a while since I made any toys, so I decided to use a skein of yarn I bought at Yarn Con earlier this year to make a cute little Bunny using this pattern from FreshStitches . I don't know why, but I always have a few limbs askew on my toy projects, and even though I was trying to make things reasonably lined up, this little guy still looks like he's trying to pose like a supermodel: I also croch...

It's an unusual WIP Wednesday! Though, I have many, may WIPs, most of them are still in hibernation until my arm issues resolve. So, currently I am working on crocheting a cute little bunny with some hand-dyed yarn I bought at YarnCon last month: ( yarn and pattern details here in my Ravelry notebook ) Since spinning is another activity I can do while waiting for my left arm to get back to normal, I decided to start spinning the two Foxy Batts I bought in the Yarn Hollow booth at Ply Away last month. Tilly is guarding my first single, and I'll be spinning another to ply with it: I've been working on self care to get back to my regular knitting routine as soon as possible, and I'm getting closer, but I'm not there yet. Over the weekend, I was able to finish a project that's been on the needles since mid-April, the brioche cowl with 2 colors of Art Yarns Merino Cloud (you can find Artyarns yarn here at Patternworks ) . ( yarn and pattern details here...

There's been absolutely no progress on all of the knitting projects from last week's post - no exaggerating! As the week wore on, it became clear that the issues in my left hand and arm weren't going to resolve unless I took a little break from knitting all the socks. What really kicks things up is typing, but unfortunately I don't have the option to skip work for a week. Of course, I still needed to amuse myself somehow... first, I tried arm knitting, which I always thought was lame. This assumption was quickly confirmed as I fussed with some very large yarn to produce a disappointingly floppy fabric. I know some people enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me - if I want to whip something up quickly, I would much rather crochet....which is what I ended up doing for most of the weekend! I completed a pretty cowl from Crochet With One Sheepish Girl using 2 skeins of my own handspun merino yarn. It's so soft and squishy....I may have to keep it for myself! ...

It's been a while since I crocheted anything, so I was perhaps overdue. I started this cowl very early in the morning in the Cologne airport on my way back home from H+H last month. I'd read that most airports in Germany didn't allow ANY knitting needles past airport security, and figured I shouldn't chance it - so I planned to pack all my knitting WIPs and just take a crochet projects on the return flight home. I'd packed some yarn for the project, which in hindsight I realize was a silly thing to do because I brought home SO MUCH yarn. I ended up using one of those skeins instead - Merino Cloud from ArtYarns. While I didn't get as much crocheting done on the flight home, I was glad I had something to do, because it was a long trip (14 hours doorstep to doorstep).  This is the third time I've crocheted the Calm Cowl , which is available for free on Ravelry . It's pretty easy to do, although I still sometimes have issues with making neat and tidy...

On Wednesday night, I put the finishing touches on this adorable crocheted fox hat ! I used a pattern from Knit Simple , and a new(ish) yarn from Knit Picks called Mighty Stitch , which turned out to be a pretty good choice for crochet. There were a TON of ends to weave in on this project, but I think it was worth it, since the end result is totally cute. Late last night, I finished the Suitable for Use hat from Hunter Hammersen's new book ( click here for my review ) in some yarn I can't tell you about yet. I know, I know...what a tease! But that hat is blocking and I think it'll be a lovely gift for someone in my family. I'll have to get a better shot of it in natural light since the deep forest green is hard to pick up indoors. Have a crafty weekend!

The good news is that I finished a lot of projects over the weekend. The bad news is that I didn't start any new ones in their place, and instead just plodded along on any WIPs that remain. So this is going to be a very, very  short post! I'm about halfway done with the sleeves for my Broad Shoulders cardigan . Will I be finished in time for the KAL's end date of next Monday?! Place your bets now! There's no change in the granny square situation , and though I have been working on my Hunter Hammersen hat (say that five times fast), you really can't tell...so there's no use in boring you with a photo. The only project which has truly made a stunning transformation is the crocheted fox hat , which is a few more pieces (and a nightmare of ends to weave in) away from being done. That's it for this week. If you are looking for a little more excitement, I recommend checking out my Monday blog post, which has 4 really great prizes up for grabs! These 4 ...