handmade by stefanie

When you think of Uruguay, inevitably you think of yarn....at least, if you are a knitter! Every yarn I've touched from Manos del Uruguay has not disappointed. I've been fortunate to work with several over the years, but somehow a skein of Serena , their blend of 60% baby alpaca and 40% pima cotton, never found its way into my hands. Until now! The kind folks at Fairmount Fibers, the US Distributor for Manos yarns, recently sent me a skein of Serena in a new colorway called Ethereal. As soon as I felt how soft and squishy this skein was, I knew it wanted to be a lacy cowl of some sort. What I found interesting about this yarn is that it's labeled as a sport weight, but the site notes that it has a "versatile" gauge. I ended up using smaller needles than recommended to knit this project, but I have a little bit left over and may have to try knitting a swatch on US 6 or 7 out of sheer curiosity! This yarn was amazing to work with, and in fact, I forgot that ...

I'm coming down the home stretch for handmade gifts, but my dedication to the cause means there really isn't much I can share here on my blog these days. Luckily, I finished a fun project which I can't wait til Friday to share: a Tiny Elf !  I whipped this little guy up really quickly in Spud & Chloe Sweater yarn - the pattern is available for free here on Ravelry . There is also a fun photo contest happening here on Ravelry where you can share photos of your Tiny Elf making mischief for a chance to win a grand prize! So far, my Tiny Elf has.... ...ridden an elephant.... ...attempted to nab my morning tea... ...and then he tagged along to knit night and nabbed a tater tot as a snack!

I know this isn't the first time I've mentioned it, but it really seems like everyone I know is expecting a baby in the next 6 months. Seriously, I am starting to lose track - or rather, I would, if I didn't keep a running list in Trello . At any rate, when I was sent skein of Winter Silk yarn from Mountain Colors to try out (yes, it was free!) I thought this was the perfect opportunity to get started on my ever-growing queue of baby gifts. Mountain Colors Mountain Silk yarn in Harmony Cottonwood The colorway is the perfect kind of non-gender-specific colorway I love to use for baby knits; I figure, if they know whether or not they'll be having a boy or a girl ahead of time, they'll be drowning in blue or pink. As for the yarn itself, it's a 50/50 blend of wool and silk with a lovely hand; very soft with just enough drape. Though it isn't superwash (something I try to take into consideration when knitting for new parents), I still think it's a gre...