handmade by stefanie

It's been hard keeping this one under wraps, but I'm pleased to announce that my newest hat pattern is now available at Bijoubasinranch.com. Say hello to  A Most Addictive Slipped Stitch Hat !  Project kits for this pattern are available here ; choose your favorite colors of Himalayan Trail yarn to create a hat that is uniquely you! A simple slipped-stitch pattern creates a fun visual element to this slouchy hat that's interesting to knit. The stitch pattern is easy to memorize, making it great for knit nights or on-the-go knitting. The pattern includes instructions for two variations of ribbing to start off your pattern - you can either knit the Corrugated Rib stitch as shown in the sample, or keep things simple with a stretchy K2, P2 rib. I also collaborated with the folks at Bijou Basin Ranch to share even more ideas for customizing your hat here on their blog . If you can knit stripes, you can make this hat! Click here to get your project kit, a...

Last month, I finally stopped by Firefly Fiber Arts, a new (ish?) LYS here in Chicago. I ended up purchasing a skein of Woolfolk Luft, an interesting yarn consisting of extremely soft, fluffy merino fiber blown into a tube of mesh cotton. I've never knit with anything like it, and I thought it would make the perfect hat to match my new winter coat. After spending hours on Ravelry, I finally decided to make the Take Away hat by Nancy Eiseman; I just wanted something simple to let the unique structure of the yarn take center stage. I knew it would be cutting it close in terms of yardage for the size I wanted to make, but figured it was worth the risk. In the end, it became pretty clear that I would run out of yarn if I followed the instructions for my size as written, so I ended up knitting til my hat measured 8 inches from the CO edge, and then did 3 rounds of quick decreases to get down to 10 stitches, which I then pulled close with the remaining yarn. I realize that this...

I finished two more hats recently! The first one was a project from the first issue of making magazine, the Wildflowers cap by Mary Jane Mucklestone. I used 2 skeins of Naturally Nazareth from Kraemer Yarns , which is a rustic, heathery wool yarn spun with domestically sourced fibers. I've talked a little more about the Kraemer yarn story here ; long story short: this is a really lovely yarn that is made in the USA. On the other end of the spectrum, I had a skein of Preciosa from Knit Picks that I used to knit a free pattern by Liz Abinante, the Thistle hat. This was a squishy 100% Merino single ply that was quite reminiscent of Malabrigo, though it's not spun in Uruguay (the label says it's spun in Peru, which is where a lot of their yarns are made). I chose the Anemone colorway since it's pretty much the complete opposite of what I normally opt to knit with: Thanks for stopping by, have a fun & crafty weekend!

I just can't stop knitting hats! It's like they're the new cowls...or something. I've recently completed 2 more hat projects; the first is a squishy beanie in Ancient Arts MCN DK - I couldn't resist this pretty colorway, Beaujolais: I used a free pattern from Ravelry, Violet Waffles (which I kept misreading as Violent Waffles  for some reason...it's just how I roll), which had a really easy-to-memorize stitch pattern that was perfect for on-the-go knitting (or end-of-day-my-brain-hurts-knitting, for that matter). The yarn is luscious and squishy, perfect for pretty much any stitch pattern you could throw at it: My next hat was knit with some of my handspun yarn, I believe this is one of my first projects spun from rolags made on my Louet blending board, in fact! The pattern is the Hishigata Hat , which can be purchased at a discount right now during the Knitter's Pride Spring KAL with Angela Tong ( details here) . I really liked knitting this patt...

Yesterday, in between random showers of tiny snowflakes and balls of ice, I saw a window of opportunity to run outside and take some photos for today's post - or so I thought. All was clear until I started actually taking photos, at which point tiny snowballs rained down upon me and blew into frame. It's springtime in Chicago, folks. You just have to go along with it...what else can you do, really? So, here is my Cashmere/Yak/Silk hat , with snow, and also the awesome Darth Vader mug that Tyler bought at a comic book store in Berlin, because the snow started coming down and I had my tea in one hand and both of these FOs in another - so I just started throwing things everywhere to get the photos taken as quickly as possible. This hat is SO SOFT. I held a strand of Xanadu and a strand of Shangri-La together. It was a match made in heaven. Oh, and those faint white streaks on the image above that are mostly near the tea mug? That's tiny snow pellets being blown across t...

For me, 2016 will most likely be the Year of the Hat. There are so many great patterns in my knitting library, and I am determined to shop from my stash and knit as many as possible this year since they are fun, useful and - most importantly - instant gratification. Over the weekend, I started a chunky weight hat when I needed a break from all of the teeny tiny yarn and needles from my current WIPs. The Library of Congress Hat from Tanis Gray's Capitol Knits was a super quick knit on size 9 needles: I also finished Tyler's Force Awakens hat , which he is pretty psyched about. Since I added in a fourth color and opted to cut yarn instead of carrying it up the inside, there were a lot of ends to weave it, but I think it was worth the effort. And as you can see, he is already enjoying it immensely! Also, for anyone who has an excess of hats looking for a good home, there is a collection happening right now for the 25,000 Tuques Project, which I discovered via the Knitmore G...

I have to say, I'm really enjoying the instant-gratification projects I've been working on lately. It's a nice balance to my currently longterm project that's on the needles, the Snowflake Cowl . I'm now about halfway through the fourth chart repeat and this is starting to look....like a cowl! I also joined the dark side (or maybe it's the light side??) and cast on for a Force Awakens hat for Tyler. He's pretty psyched for me to finish this one, I think. I ended up starting another hat project so that I could have something simple on the needles that I could work on outside of the house - colorwork and mass transit generally don't mix. So I cast on for a super simple hat with this pretty new skein of Manos Alegria that hopped into my shopping cart when I was buying some Cascade Eco+ on closeout with my Webs gift card. And that crocheted snowman wall hanging continues to elude me! I have a few more pieces this week, but I need to get him finis...

The stack of hats has grown over the last few weeks , and it couldn't be better timing - my aunt is about to begin her chemotherapy. I have already mailed the hats to their destination, and I hope that when they arrive, they cheer her up a bit, despite the circumstances. The modified Rikke Hat in Canopy Fingering and Skein Cashmerino turned out quite nicely: I also finished a super-bright Bowdoin Hat from the new issue of Holla Knits using a skein of Sincere Sheep Tenacious Sock in Vit C. I only wish I had gotten a better image of the finished hat, because it looked really great - but this is the best one I snapped before sending it off to its new home: Also, for any Chicagoans who might be reading this, my pal Heidi from the Hands Occupied blog is hosting a WWKIP day meetup tomorrow - click here for details. It would be great to see you there!  You should also probably check out the new video podcast Heidi has started with Allyson Dykhuizen of Sweat...

My knitting has taken a little detour recently: I can't stop making hats! Just before I left for Minneapolis, I received the news that my aunt was diagnosed with cancer. It was a shock to the family, but the prognosis is very good. Hopefully it's not too much of an invasion of her privacy to say that the tumor itself was already successfully removed, but she does have to undergo chemo as a precautionary measure. After getting over my initial surprise, my next thought was: she's going to need HATS. Lots of hats! Someone in my knitting group mentioned that people undergoing chemo have a tendency to get hot easily, which is something that hadn't occurred to me. But as I was digging through all of my finished hats which are looking for good homes, it seemed like most of them would be too warm, not only given the circumstances but also for the summer months ahead. Luckily, I have a ton of sock yarn in my stash and there is no shortage of great lightweight hat designs in fi...

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my Stripey Fine Giveaway ! The lucky winner is PamfromNOLA. I will get in touch with you to arrange for the delivery of the prize - congratulations! Today, I have a quick FO to share with you: my project for the Celery Slouch KAL , which is happening now through April 30 here in the Blue Sky Alpacas Ravelry group . There is a pretty awesome prize up for grabs, and all you have to do is knit this simple slouchy hat in any Blue Sky Alpacas yarn! Also, you get multiple drawing entries the more hats you knit & share in the group, which is a pretty sweet deal.  It was the perfect conversation knitting project, and I ended up stashing it in my bag so that I could knit a few rounds wherever I happened to be - on the bus, at the salon, or at a party. The yarn is really soft, and it blocked out beautifully over a plate. I'm planning to donate it to charity, but it was fun to wear it for the photo shoot! Have a crafty weekend!

After seeing my list of March goals which I posted on Monday, it may seem strange that I have a new WIP - perhaps even insane! Luckily, it's a quick project which I can wok on outside of the house, which comes in handy since the designs-in-progress are very much stay-at-home projects at this point. Clearly, I can justify just about anything! I heard about the Spring KAL happening in the Blue Sky Alpacas Ravelry group which was announced last week, and you know how I can't resist a KAL...especially when there is a totally awesome prize up for grabs . Over the weekend, I wound off my yarn (3 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas sport in the color used for the pattern, Celery) and I cast on Sunday night...after I'd safely reached my design knitting goals for the day, of course! The Celery Slouch KAL comes along at just the perfect time for me, as my knitting group is collecting hats for women who are currently battling cancer. I have a modest pile of hats ready to donate, and...

It's been a while since I've written a review of a Craftsy class; to be honest, it's been a while since I've logged in and watched any of the 17 (!) classes I'm registered for! However, when I was offered the change to review a new class by Kate Gagnon Osborn and Courtney Kelley of Kelbourne Woolens , I couldn't say no. I'm a huge fan of their patterns, of which I have purchased and knit several, plus I own both of their books, Vintage Modern Knits and November Knits , and I'm pretty obsessed with The Fibre Company yarns , which Kelbourne Woolens distributes. Calling me a fan girl is probably putting it mildly. My Spiral Lace Hat Their new class is called New Directions in Lace: Hats , and it includes 3 great patterns: Spiral Lace Hat - a bottom-up basic lace hat that is super-easy and fast to knit Medallion Crown Hat - a top-down hat wit ha more intricate lace chart True Lace hat - a bottom-up lace hat which includes patterning on every ro...

With TNNA just around the corner, I've been working longer hours and have had much less craft time that I'm accustomed to, but somehow I managed to finish this hat ! I was able to cable (mostly) without a cable needle, which made it go fairly quickly despite the intricate pattern. It was definitely a pay-attention project, though - I think it will be all mindless knitting from here on out....at least til I've recovered from the trade show! The Vorderrhein Hat is designed by Kate Gagnon Osborn and appears in Vintage Modern Knits ; though it calls for Organik, which is a lovely single-ply yarn from the Fibre Company, I decided to sub in a different yarn from the same company: Terra , which I bought earlier this year from WEBS . I love how this turned out - check out the awesome stitch definition! - and I'm sure I'll be wearing it lots next winter! Thanks for stopping by this week - for FO Friday inspiration, visit the  Tami's Amis blog . Have a crafty...

Before I left on my surprise trip to Kansas City last weekend, I whipped up a few quick hats with my handspun yarn. The bin is overflowing, and with Spinzilla just over a week away, I've got to make some room for all of the new yarns I'll be spinning during the event! The darker hat is some pretty merino fiber I purchased at The Yarn Barn of Kansas and spun into a bulky weight 2-ply; it's a charcoal grey with bright pops of fiber combed throughout. I didn't use a pattern, but just cast on some stitches to knit a ribbed border, then worked in stockinette the rest of the way. The brown hat is a 2-ply spun from some natural brown BFL and a hand-dyed BFL roving I purchased at the Renegade Craft Fair a few years ago. I used the Svalbard hat pattern from Kelbourne Woolens, which lent itself to handspun surprisingly well! While I was in Kansas City last weekend, I dropped by one of my favorite area yarn stores, The Studio . There wasn't anything I needed ...

Happy WIP Wednesday! I have a few knitting projects to share this week, plus a progress report on my latest Spin-O-Lution efforts. First, my Elfe sweater is coming along nicely! Over the weekend I tried it on and decided to do a few more increases for the sleeves before binding off those stitches. Now that I have a bit of length from the armholes, I may have to try it on again just to make sure I made the right call. I finally started working on my second Fleece Artist sock - I'm not too far along, since I keep getting distracted by gift knitting/crocheting and my Elfe-in-progress, but hopefully I can get this second sock finished by the end of May so that the new pattern can come out mid-summer. That is the new goal, anyway! So what do I do when I have a self-imposed deadline? Cast on for a new hat , of course! My husband bought me some Knitter's Pride Karbonz needles for Christmas and I have been dying to knit with them. I have no idea why it took me five mont...

Hooray, it's FO Friday, and unlike last week , I have bona fide finished objects to share with you this week! First, I finished my destash Genmaicha Hat , which I knit with The Fibre Company's Canopy Fingering in Sarsparilla and Conifer and Malabrigo Finito in Paloma. Last week, I confessed that I goofed when casting on and ended up knitting the entire hat on US #1 needles (instead of US#3). Oops! The results, however, are a super-cute child-sized hat, so into the gift barrel it goes! At the top right is my amigurumi Roosevelt monster, which was my third and final shipment from the FreshStitches Kit Club . I would have liked to sign up for another subscription, but tax day wasn't super kind to us last month! Perhaps later this year I can jump back on the kit club bandwagon...or, at the very least, treat myself to another crochet amigurumi kit ! I also finished another stockinette baby hat for the Cutie Patootie KAL/CAL - and I still have a fair amount of Cotton...