handmade by stefanie

Confession time: I've been spinning yarn faster than I can knit with it (and let's not even talk about yarn purchases), so it's always exciting when I can find a good project to pair with handspun yarn. I had a ton of Swalesdale wool fiber that I'd hoped to turn into a sweater, but I changed my mind when I started spinning it because it seemed a little too scratchy for next-to-skin wear (plus, it had a ton of kemp and VM). It does, however, make a fabulous knitted pillow, and I thought the natural and the hand dyed green yarn would look great in my living room as an oversized pillow . I used US 17 needles and cast on 40 stitches, knitting each row for a simple garter stitch to make each piece, which I then crocheted together - so easy! I was able to buy a pillow insert on Amazon for less than $10, making this a pretty affordable project. When I spotted this free pattern from Manos del Uruguay , I wanted to knit it in the called-for yarn ( Serpentina ), but...

Between launching a  new free hat pattern  and celebrating Tyler's birthday (which was on Wednesday), it's been a rather busy week. Also, I totally forgot to share my first guest post from the Interweave blog that went live  last  Friday -  click here to check it out ! Anyway, in the midst of everything, I managed to squeeze in a quick photo shoot for this fun cowl that I recently knit with some of my handspun yarn : I can't seem to find any record as to what this fiber is, or where I purchased it, since it was spun for a Tour de Fleece long before I stated to keep better records in my spinning notebook. BUT, I can at least tell you what pattern I used: the  Aspen Cowl by Andi Javori  (note: affiliate link). This was a fairly easy knitting project, and it was fast, too - I just love patterns like that! . The stitch repeats were easy to "read" as I worked, so a lot of mistakes I would normally make were easily avoided just by taking a ...

Over the weekend, I may have let all judgment fly out the window, because I started a new blanket project. I know, I know - the last one took over a year to complete. Why would I do this to myself again so soon after the last one?? I just couldn't resist the siren call - plus, this project is totally different: it's crocheted with a big ol hook (size N, if you're wondering), and I'm using up alllllll of the leftover bits and bobs from my handspun yarn stash. At least, that's the plan. Here is my blanket so far: I'm alternating single and double crochet randomly, and really liking how it's working up. In other news, the chevron baby hat is nearing completion - if only I weren't so obsessed with this blanket project, or it would probably be done already! I also made some progress on the second baby sweater , though I hit a snag over the weekend when my cat (and I'm sorry for being gross) threw up on the working yarn....while it was in my kni...

I've been pretty monogamous with my WIPs this past week, especially since I flew down to Kansas City last Friday for a Royals baseball game. I know, I know....two baseball games in two different cities in one week? I must be insane. But my in-laws scored diamond club tickets for when Tyler was visiting to go to Boulevardia, and there was one for the taking if I could just hop a flight down...which is exactly what I did, and it was totally worth it!  It was insanely hot, but they trounced the Tigers and we still had way too much fun. Also, there were fireworks! It would have been nice to stay the weekend, but since I'd been at the trade show the previous weekend, I thought it would be better to just do Friday/Saturday so that I could have some unwind time on Sunday. The upside of doing so much travel this year is that it stresses me out way less, and I'm feeling pretty at home at O'Hare. Anyway, I'm digressing, but the main point is that my primary trip pro...

Since last week, I've made progress on my two main WIPs AND started a new design! I didn't take the handspun Grivola shawl on my recent trip to DC, but it's grown considerably since I started it last week because of the big  'ol yarn and needles.  The 3 Color (possibly not) Cashmere Cowl turned out to be the perfect travel and trade show project. When I arrived back home yesterday, I was ready to add the third color! I did start a new design while in DC, but didn't get very far along, so I can show you a sneak peek. Here's hoping that it will be done soon so that I can get it released for your knitting pleasure, because the Lhasa Wilderness is perfect for summertime projects.  One of my TNNA goals was to avoid temptation and bring home as little yarn and other swag as possible, and I'm proud to say that for once I succeeded! Here is my modest haul - I am most excited about the green skein of ------ yarn from Baa Ram Ewe, but I've b...

Today is my friend/colleague/mentor's birthday, so I can finally share this FO project! I knit Ysolda Teague's Nathaniel pattern using some of my handspun yarn from Louet's Dorper top . The fiber itself has a in interesting story, because Dorper sheep aren't typically known for their fiber when it comes to making yarn; they are considered a "hair" breed, which means that they don't really produce wool. However, this fiber comes from a flock of Dorper that has been specially bred to create a spinnable fiber with a long staple length (you can read more about that here on Louet's blog ). I'm pretty sure I spun this yarn during last year's Tour de Fleece, and I enjoyed knitting with it as much as I did spinning with it!

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...

Welcome back to another edition of Stuck on Skinny Yarn. The baby version of the Force Awakens hat is off the needles, but I continue to make slow yet steady progress on the Alegria Hat and Snowflake Cowl  - in fact, both will probably be off the needles in a week's time! The Sensible BFL Socks also grew a few inches since last week:  In light of finishing a project over the weekend, I decided it was probably ok to start another hat project, so long as it wasn't with fingering weight yarn. This sportweight handspun was calling my name - you might recognize it as the yarn which I used for the yoke of my Pennant Cardigan , spun from a gradient braid of Merino/Silk roving from Fiber Optic Yarns.  Curiously, I have to cast on for my Liathite Cardigan  yet. When I measured my gauge swatches, I was slightly off, and I am still trying to decide if I want to knit another swatch on a different size of needles, or if I want to do a little math and figure ou...

As I've mentioned before, my friend Jen Geigley recently released an awesome book of patterns called WEEKEND: Simple, Modern Knits . You can read more about it here on my official review - and guess what? I'm reopening the giveaway, because the person whose name I drew never claimed their prize! So click here to find out how you can win a copy of this awesome book, plus a Knitter's Pride Nova Platina chunky interchangeable needle set. Last weekend, Jen was actually here in Chicago for a trunk show and book signing at Nina! I was so glad I could stop by to say hello to Jen, as well as many of my other knitting friends who also happened to be there, too. After the trunk show, I grabbed a drink at Bangers and Lace with Jen and Heidi from Hands Occupied - guess whose beer is at the dark end of that spectrum! Since there is a KAL happening all month long for WEEKEND , I figured I should probably start another project from the book to work on while I was out and about - s...

It's been quite a while since I finished the  Reeds and Rushes Cowl  - as in, just over a month! I'm not sure how this slipped past the FO Friday radar, but at long last, here is one of my most recent FOs using handspun yarn: I ended up making my cowl a little bigger than the original pattern calls for - measured flat, mine is 11.5"x7". To do this, I went up a few needle sizes and added several more pattern repeats before unzipping my provisional cast-on and grafting the cowl closed. I really love how the stitch pattern and yarn look together, though I think that I would add more of a garter stitch border at the top and the bottom if I were to knit this design again. The pattern is available for free  here on Ravelry , and I used some of my handspun yarn which you can read more about  here .

Week 1 of the Tour de Fleece is almost to a close, and I only have one finished skein to show for it. It's a lovely skein, for sure - 4oz of Rambouillet from the Cloudlover Fiber Club's February shipment (the colorway is named Paper Hearts). I've got approximately 126 yards of a 2-ply worsted weight, which will be great for more baby-related projects, I think! You might be wondering what happened with the Museum Grudge Match spinning project that I shared on Wednesday - by all accounts, I should be finished with this handspun project by now. And I would have been, if only my wheel hadn't broken on Wednesday night! I had just sat down to spin after a VERY long work day. I wasn't even five minutes in when the unthinkable happened: the small plastic/rubber piece which secures the footman to the treadle simply gave out. To be fair, this wheel has seen a LOT of action since I bought it used 3 years ago: at least two trips to Kansas City, two Tour de Fleeces, and tw...

Last Friday, after a very long week, I decided to take the afternoon off of work....to reorganize my handspun yarn and fiber stash?! Indeed, that is what I ended up doing, and I discovered that I have accumulated SO MUCH handspun yarn that it no longer fit in the medium sized bin I've been using the past several years....and it was time to graduate to a much larger 66 qt. container. Naturally, this new container is now completely filled, as is the medium sized bin which formerly housed my handspun yarn and now kinda sorta but not really holds all of my spinning fiber stash: As you saw last week , I was already inspired to start making projects with handspun yarn, and this little exercise has only reinforced everything! On Saturday, I decided that I needed to make a baby sweater with some delightfully squishy handspun polwarth yarn I'd also dyed myself (because just knitting a baby gift with normal yarn is no longer enough). I have a couple of old standby baby sweaters I ...

My first Curl was finished at the beginning of the month! I started Caesious way back in January for the informal KAL in Hunter Hammersen's Ravelry group . Things kept popping up to distract me from working on it, but at last I got back on task and finished it up. The stitch pattern was easy to memorize and perfect for my variegated handspun yarn, spun from Malabrigo Nube . It's squishy and soft and fun to wear; I'm thinking of adding a button so that I can take advantage of the openwork stitch pattern which can serve as de facto buttonholes. I love that I was able to use up pretty much all of my yarn (I had a small amount left over which I used to wrap a birthday present); that's the beauty of the patterns from Curls - you just knit until you run out of yarn! I definitely plan to knit more patterns from this book! If you missed my review, click here to check it out . Have a crafty weekend!

Did you miss my review of Hunter Hammersen's new book, Curls, earlier this week? If so, I highly recommend clicking here before you read any further. Ok, all caught up? That's great, because I have one print copy of Curls to give away to a lucky blog reader! Use the widget below for your chance to win this awesome prize which was generously donated by Hunter herself. I'll announce the winner next Wednesday, February 4. Good luck! And now, on to the WIPs! I couldn't resist casting on for the first shawl in the book, Caesious , using some of my handspun yarn: I love how it's knitting up! I spun this super-sproingy 2-ply using Malabrigo Nube , and it's more or less a sport weight. I chose US 6 needles so that the fabric was just the right amount of light and airy. I'm participating in the Caesious KAL which is happening here in the Violently Domestic Ravelry group , and it's been fun to see everyone else's projects shared in the thread . It...

It's true, I live in something of a fiber arts bubble: my world is 24/7 yarn and fiber. So when someone tells me they aren't familiar with the work of Hunter Hammersen, I am a bit shocked - especially now, with the huge success of her new book, Curls . Since its release near the end of last year, Curls has entered its third printing, and it hit the number-one spot on Amazon in the knitting books category. It's been mentioned on tons of blogs and podcasts, and we all pretty much agree: Curls is awesome and we want to knit every single one. The concept is both simple and amazing: easy-to-wear wraps which can be knit at any gauge. Whether you prefer a sock weight shawl or want to whip up a quick bulky wrap, all you have to do is grab your needles, pick a pattern, and cast on (I'm especially looking forward to putting some of my skeins of handspun yarn to good use). As Hunter explains in the introduction, she came across an interesting shape while swatching and quickly...