handmade by stefanie

It's not often when you find a pattern you don't mind knitting again and again (or maybe that's just me?!). But when you do, it's nice to have that old favorite ready to go whenever you need a quick gift or a soothing knit. When I originally designed A Most Addictive Slipped Stitch Hat , it used one of my favorite yarns from Bijou Basin Ranch, Himalayan Trail. I knit both of the samples pictured in the original version of the pattern (which then went on to become display pieces in the Bijou Basin Ranch booth), plus another one I got to keep for myself . Recently, the yarn base originally used in the pattern was discontinued, and they have sold out of nearly all remaining stock - but the good news is that project kits for this pattern are still available, because I worked with the folks at Bijou to rework the pattern to use their newest yarn, Himalayan Summit ! This crisp fingering weight yarn is really delightful to work with, and the 50/50 yak and merino b...

A few months ago when I was visiting one of my LYSes ( Firefly Fiber Arts ), I couldn't resist picking up a skein of Smitten from Why Knot Fibers . The rich red of the Red Spire totally drew me in, and once I felt the lovely squish of Finn wool and Alpaca fibers, I knew it would be coming home with me! This skein of yarn has a pretty interesting story, too: the fibers were all raised, processed and dyed in Michigan. I'm guessing most of you are well-versed in the ways of alpaca fibers, but perhaps Finn fiber is new to you. Finnsheep (or Finn for short) are an ancient breed from Scandinavia, known for their soft & durable fleece that also feels a bit silky. These qualities really shine through in the yarn - Smitten is 70% Finn & 30% Alpaca - and since alpaca fiber is fairly similar, it's a great matchup overall. Why Knot take this yarn for a spin? Sometimes, choosing a pattern for such a special skein of yarn can be tough. I struggled with indecision for...

A few weeks ago, I shared my my new hat pattern, A Most Addictive Slipped Stitch Hat , here on this blog. It's gotten such a great reception (yay!) that I've teamed up with the folks at Bijou Basin Branch to bring you a fun KAL for this project kit! If you were thinking about making this hat but haven't gotten the kit just yet, now is the perfect time, because there is a pretty sweet grand prize drawing for everyone who posts a photo of their finished hat in this Ravelry thread ! You can snag your discounted project kit here ; I'll also be knitting along because I didn't get to keep the samples pictured in the photos. Here are the colors I'll be making mine in, Scarlet and Natural Brown: I can't wait to see what everyone else chooses for their project! Besides joining the conversation here on Ravelry , you can also share your photos on Instagram using #bijoubasinranch in your post.

August has been all about finishing overdue projects (see: this post from earlier in the week). Adding to that list is the Dillinger Hat , which I started long after the KAL had concluded, and then it went into time out for over a month while I worked up the motivation to frog back a few inches to fix a mistake in my colorwork. The effort was well worth it, as the hat turned out pretty well! I do wish I'd gone up another needle size, though, because I forgot what a tight knitter I become when stranded colorwork enters the mix. Thankfully, it grew with blocking and fits me perfectly!   For anyone struggling with the crown decreases, I did leave some notes here on my Ravelry pattern page which detail how I approached the decreases to incorporate the design motif and transition into using a single color for the rest of the crown. The yarn was a dream to work with: mini skein kits of lovely hand-dyed merino from Wonderland Yarns/Frabjous Fibers. I've just ...

I was excited to try a new yarn courtesy of Heart of the Mitten , an online store & yarn shop in Michigan who is also the exclusive US retailer of Dale Garn. Lerke Pluss , is a shop exclusive available in a gorgeous palette of 20 colors . It's an interesting blend of 53% Merino wool and 47% Egyptian Cotton, and it's made up of several plies which creates a nice, round yarn with lots of bounce - so if you find traditional cotton yarns tough to work with, this yarn is worth giving a try. Plus, it arrived with a packet of delicious tea! I really liked this yarn overall; the only downside I can come up with is that the yardage per skein is on the low side (87 yards in 50g). That's not a problem for a small project, but if you plan to make something larger like a sweater, be prepared to weave in a lot of ends. Having said that, I'm confident that the effort will be worth it. This yarn has excellent stitch definition and is super-soft, but I have a feeling that it wi...

I'm coming down the home stretch on several projects, which means I can start something new, right? Of course! Late last week, I cast on for a simple pillow using my May Legacy Club Yarn Club shipment and a free pattern I found on Ravelry, the  Basketweave Pillow . It's my new on-the-go project, so it'll probably be on the needles for a while, but hopefully I will finish before the end of the Knitter's Pride Spring KAL . Second sleeve syndrome has set in with my Rockling Cardigan , as I feared it would. Two-at-a-time sleeves are where it's at, but obviously that ship has sailed and I need to make the best of it! I will say that I 'm loving the Sirka Row Counter for keeping track of the various "at the same time" instructions, though. It rocks! The baby sweater is looking oh-so-sweater-y and I should have it off the needles by the end of this week, hooray! I finally started this super-cute Dillinger Hat that I got from last year...

I'm really excited to introduce the Jinxproof Hat pattern with everyone today, because I've been working on it for what seems like for-EV-er! I started it over the holiday break, but it grew from being just a simple slip-stitch hat pattern in a chunky weight yarn to a choose-your-own-adventure short story that allows you to custom-make a hat based on your preferences and whatever yarn weight you have on hand (sport, worsted, or chunky). The Jinxproof Hat is available for FREE now through June 15 to anyone who signs up for my newsletter , after which the pattern will be available for $6 in my Ravelry store (Note: if you already subscribe to my newsletter, an email with a free download link will be arriving in your inbox later today - I got your back!!). I asked the kind folks at Briggs & Little Woolen Mill to supply the yarns for each hat sample. They're Canada's oldest mill and seriously the nicest people ever (full disclosure: I work with them in my day job...

Over the weekend, I finished my Pokemon hunting gloves and I was so excited to finished a project that I started a new hat project ....as one does, right? I'd had this skein of yarn from Harrisville Designs in my stash for a really long time; it's long since lost the label but I believe it's Highland ? Anyway, it seemed like the perfect choice for the Woolly Wormhead KAL that's happening right now (there are prizes!!). Since the hat is knit sideways, I actually broke out a pair of straight needles  (if you're wondering, they are Zing from KnitPro) for the occasion instead of my usual interchangeables. While I'm not normally a fan of straight needles, sometimes it is  nice to mix things up a bit, and I am enjoying the change of pace. So far, so good anyway!

I started two new hats in the last week! I needed another worsted weight project on the needles, so I started the   Thistle hat, a free pattern by Liz Abinante using this uncharacteristically bright (for me) skein of Preciosa from Knit Picks. I also decided to test the waters of fingering weight yarn knitting with a wee chevron hat on some funky US 2.5 bent DPNs. I'm using up both stash yarn and scrap yarn with this one, which always feels good! Also made some huge progress on the baby sweater, and I'm so glad that my crazy idea for modifying this pattern for contrasting button bands and cuffs appears to be working. I'm just two sleeve cuffs and many yarn ends away (not to mention buttons) from calling this first one done! The only thing I haven't gotten much done on is my travel knitting project, the bright green socks I've been knitting since mid-April. But, I am still spinning for the Tour de Fleece, slowly but surely - I am maybe a third of the wa...

The hat projects just won't stop! In the past couple of weeks, I have finished the following projects: First up, the  Sockhead Hat ( free pattern here on Ravelry ) in Manos del Uruguay Alegria in Maiz. Pardon the unmodeled shot, but I look absolutely terrible in yellow and just didn't want to subject myself or you guys to that dreadful sight. I know it seems weird to buy yarn that you know you can't wear anywhere near your face, and then knit a hat with it, but I just wanted to knit with a color outside of my usual grey/blue/green comfort zone, and I enjoyed the last project I knit in Alegria quite a bit. This particular skein hopped in my shopping cart at Webs because I couldn't resist a good sale! Next, a  Handspun hat  which was knit sans pattern using the leftover gradient Merino/Silk yarn I spun for this sweater . Unfortunately, the end result was a rather large hat that doesn't fit my tiny head (which is kind of a bummer, I was hoping to keep this o...