handmade by stefanie

Last week, the Canyon Steps Cowl KAL came to an end, and I just barely finished my project in time! This is my second time knitting this pattern because it's my own design for Bijou Basin Ranch, and the first one I made is now a display piece in their booth! This time around, I chose the Aasgard colorway from their collection of Valkyrie-inspired colorways (or Thor, if you'd rather!) that are dye on  Gobi  fingering yarn. Baby camel and silk is soooo divine (how could it not be?!), and I love the way the hand-dyed colors shimmer on this blend. The variegated color kind of hides the stitch pattern, but it's so darn pretty that I don't mind if the pattern gets a bit upstaged by the yarn color. It was still fun to knit and I'm super excited to keep this one for myself! Even though the KAL is over, you can still  get project kits here  if you are so inclined. I'd love to see your project if you do, so make sure to share it on Instagram with the #bijoubasi...

Knitting or crocheting ornaments is a fun way to use up leftover yarn while adding a handmade touch to your holiday decorations. They also make great gifts and look adorable on top of a prettily wrapped package in place of a bow. Here are some of my favorite knit and crochet patterns I've used over the years, plus a few new ones to try out! Images via sources below. Knitted Ornaments Top Left:   Holiday Cheer Ornaments (free) by Kate Gagnon Osborn - these fun ornaments are designed for fingering weight yarn, perfect for mini skeins ! Top Right: Knit Candy Cane Ornament (free) by Heidi Gustad - you can't have Christmas without candy canes!! Middle:   Snowball Buddies ($6) by Susan Claudino - a few years ago, I made several of these and they were so darn cute! Most of them were given away as gifts, so I might dig out this pattern and knit a few more for 2018. Bottom: Mochimochi Snowmen and Teeny Tiny Santas ($3) by Anna Hrachovec - I've always been a fan...

I'm so excited to finally share this pattern with you! I've been working on it for a while because I am a Very Slow Knitter these days, plus my design process seems to involve a lot more frogging and reknitting these days. At any rate, it is with great pleasure that I introduce the Canyon Steps Cowl ! A series of triangular motifs grow larger in this fun-to-knit cowl using one skein of Gobi, a luxurious blend of baby camel and mulberry silk. The cowl begins with a wide rib edging followed by 3 sections using charted and written instructions and finishes with a wide rib edging and a stretchy bind off. If you can knit and purl, you can make this project! Project Kit Contains: 1 skein - Bijou Spun “Gobi" (35/65 Baby Camel /Mulberry Silk) in the color of your choice.  1 copy of the Canyon Steps Cowl pattern by yours truly 1 3.4 oz bottle of Allure Fine Fiber wash in your choice of fragrance   1 three pack of custom, hand-made stitch markers from Purrfectly Ca...

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...

Once I knew for sure that I was going to Berlin this March, I decided I should finally finish the Berlin Hat pattern, which is the companion to the Berlin Cowl , so that I could do a photo shoot for both in Berlin . The Berlin Cowl pattern now has a friend - click here to get both patterns for just $9! Tyler and I only spent two days in Berlin before heading to Cologne for H+H, so we barely scratched the surface of the city - but what we saw, we loved, and we both agreed that we'd jump at the chance to go back (if you are just wanting to see photos of the  Berlin Hat , I recommend scrolling down - because first I am going to make all of you look at some trip photos). Yup, that sign says "Wienerstrasse" - you're welcome. We stayed in a neighborhood called Kreuzberg, which was covered in graffiti (which I loved). When we'd walk around, I kept stopping to take photos of the doors which were just covered in the stuff. But it was really every...

It's been a really long time since I've released a totally new design: we're talking spring of last year , by my watch. It's not that I don't have ideas percolating, or that I haven't been working anything in secret - it's just that, for the better part of last year, I have been working on  wrestling with this cowl design - charting patterns, knitting, ripping out for several cycles before I finally found the golden combination. It seems like my go-to projects these days are "easy" stockinette/garter with just a few bells and whistles to add interest while I knit - but not too many bells and whistles, or I simply can't knit on them at the end of a long day of work when I am totally brain dead. Does anyone else have this problem?! I wanted this cowl to be something that was fun to knit and had the potential to be "weekday knitting" (or "conversation knitting" if you prefer). So, each time I found I couldn't master ...