handmade by stefanie

Earlier this week, I gifted this crocheted owl pillow to my secret santa from my knitting group...none other than Allyson from the Sweatshop of Love ! I used the Owl Pillow pattern from Ana Paula Rimoli's book, Amigurumi at Home , and Swish Worsted, which is a lovely merino yarn from Knit Picks. Turns out it's great for crochet! Since I don't have an actual work party to attend this time of year, the holiday party that my knitting group throws is pretty much THE celebration of the season for me (other than weekly visits to the Christkindlmarket). It was a great party this year, and my secret santa (Laura from Ink Whale Design - we are a talented group!!) spoiled me with some gorgeous yarn from Hazel Knits and these hilarious gift tags & card: My other project for this week was answering the call put out on the Spinzilla blog for handspun bows made from yarns spun in this year's event. They'll be using the bows to create a colorful banner display at t...

Earlier in the week, I whipped up a Dustland Hat for my husband's secret santa at work - he drew the new guy who also happens to be his boss. Talk about pressure! Unfortunately, it turned out way too large the first time, so I ended up frogging it halfway to move up the decreases and make it a more normal-sized hat. In hindsight, I should have gauged first, as the first attempt was truly gargantuan - and I only knit the medium size! It's a great pattern though; all of the different stitch sections are easy to memorize and kept me interested so that the hat went fast (both times). I'm happy with the results and will probably make another one for myself at some point. Back in the queue it goes! Pattern: Dustland Hat by Stephen West Yarn: Cascade 220, 1 skein in Aporto Find more FO Friday inspiration over on the  Tami's Amis Blog !