handmade by stefanie

Confession time: I have a fondness for clever gadgets, especially when they relate to crafting. And let's not even talk about the ridiculous amounts of needles, hooks, and other tools I have....because today I'm going to share a few of the latest knitting tools I've tried out recently! A few months back, I spotted something intriguing in the Indie Untangled newsletter called End Minders . They are colorful little pieces of 3D printed PLA (it's a plant-based non-toxic material that looks like plastic) in the shape of bunnies, and the idea is that you could wrap your yarn ends around them so that they don't get tangled with your working yarn in a project. They were invented by Michelle of Crafty Flutterby Creations , and when I explored her shop a little more I noticed that she had some in the shape of sheep . Of course I had to give them a try! I have used them on pretty much every project ever since. They really do keep my cast on yarn out of the way, plus t...

Some exciting new things have found their way to me recently, most notably a fancy new swift and ballwinder from Knitter's Pride : I've been anxiously awaiting their arrival, as I have become increasingly frustrated with my old ball winder and swift. They've served me well these past 7 years, but especially where the swift was concerned, it was time to upgrade to something nicer (and let's not even talk about how many times this happened over the years ). I ended up rearranging my office to find a space for them, and while I plan to tuck the swift underneath my weaving table when not in use, the ball winder has a permanent home on top of the record cabinet:  The smoothness of both the swift and ball winder has made the biggest impression on me; I especially love that I can use either my right or left hand to drive the ball winder, and it takes very little effort at all. This is a very welcome change, as I've been trying to minimize any repetitive ...

A few weeks ago, I shared a post about blocking handmade gifts ; I thought I'd revisit the topic by sharing a few of my favorite time-saving tools to block finished projects with stellar results every time! This is by no means an exhaustive list of every useful item to have on hand - rather, it's a collection of my favorite blocking tools at the moment. Sock Blockers: Every now and again, I'm asked if it's necessary to invest in a pair of sock blockers. While they aren't exactly essential, it's undeniable that they make finished socks look extra-amazing (more about that here ). Not only do I use sock blockers on all of my hand knit socks for gifting, I also use them on my own every time I wash them!  Blocking Mats : It was years (as in, at least 10) before I got a set of blocking mats. I always figured that using towels and/or clean cardboard was every bit as good as a blocking mat, and couldn't justify the expense. Then, as I started to do more and ...

Hi all! I hope you are still as excited about Thirty-One as I am (and if you aren't, I promise to return to my regularly-scheduled blogging next week)! Today, I wanted to talk about The Perfect Knitting Bag. If you're like me, you are always on the prowl for the shangri-la of carry-alls, and it can be quite a tall order to fill: lots of compartments and pockets, roomy without being ginormous and rivaling that of a suitcase, comfortable to wear and carry, and most of all....it's got to look cute, too! As I mentioned before, the cute & roomy Thirty-One bags my friend Julie had when she last visited were what inspired me to check out the website and decide to host a virtual party. As I'm sure she can personally attest, they fit the above criteria for The Perfect Knitting Bag, plus they are durable, too! There are several sizes and styles to suit pretty much every taste, and here are a few of my favorites: Retro Metro Foldover : there are two pockets on ...