handmade by stefanie

Although my Cheri Chevron shawl has been off the needles since mid-June, it's taken me all this time to finish weaving in the (many) ends and get some photos taken. Yes, I can be a procrastinator when it comes to finishing work! I needed a refresher on weaving in ends on garter stitch, and found this fabulous video from Staci Perry of Very Pink Knits (she's basically my go-to any time I need  to brush up on a specific technique, because she has a video for everything). Staci makes it super easy - just look for the smiles and umbrellas and you can't go wrong! You may recall that this is the shawl where I lost at Yarn Chicken ....and then had an epic fail in my attempt to order more yarn to finish it. Oops, it happens. Anyway, I don't think it's obvious that I ended up finishing the shawl by using the variegated color the rest of the way - can YOU tell in the photos?! View Pattern & Yarn Details here When it comes to styling shawls, I am kind of a doof...

It's been over two months since I cast on for the Leonarda Wrap with the gorgeous skeins of One Silky Merino I bought at the Fiber Story booth at Stitches Midwest. Despite having successfully knit this project before, I ran into some issues as I neared the home stretch which had nothing to do with the pattern and everything  to do with my inability to follow it correctly. Eventually, things righted themselves, and I managed to finish and block my project to perfection! I absolutely loved this yarn, so I was a bit disappointed to find very little info about it on Ravelry or the internet at large - it's almost like they're trying to keep it a secret! Given the scarcity, I'm pretty happy I indulged in a few skeins when I saw it at Stitches. I only wish I hadn't misplaced the label and could tell you the name of this colorway! Pattern: Leonarda by Laura Chau - includes instructions for rectangular wrap shown here, plus two sizes of a triangular shawl. Yarn: Fi...

I'm always a fan of multitasking, so when I was asked to knit a display piece for the Bijou Basin Ranch booth using one of Laura Chau's shawl patterns, I was pretty excited to cast on as part of the #KPChauKAL that is currently happening here in the Knitter's Pride Ravelry group . Two, two mints in one! I was a little nervous that I wouldn't be done in time for Stitches Midwest this weekend, but I bound off on Tuesday night and had it blocking the next day (it had to share the usual blocking space with some homebrewing equipment, though): The pattern is the Leonarda Shawl , and I knit the larger size option for the triangle version (the pattern also includes instructions to knit a smaller triangle shawl as well as a rectangular wrap). Rebel that I am, I didn't gauge beforehand, which totally came back to haunt me when I was far enough in to start worrying that I might run out of yarn because I was a little off on the suggested gauge. OOPS. The good news is th...

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...

In the wake of finishing several WIPs over the weekend, I was on the prowl for a new project I could start in addition to the MANY top-secret projects which are currently on my needles. Yes, there are exciting things afoot (pun intended), and I can't wait til I get to share them with you! Alas, that won't be for a while...next month at the earliest, to be exact. Until then, I'll be ever-so-slowly knitting on my new WIP, the Spindleberry Shawl by Joanna Johnson. I'm using a skein of Skein Merino Cashmere Fingering in the Ochiba colorway; I realized that I didn't have a single grey shawl, and this just happened to be in my stash!  I was able to snag the pattern for free when it was first published thanks to my Ravulous Hot Right Now widget that I have on my phone ( click here to read my review ). I've never made anything with fringe, and it's not something I would normally be into....but for some reason I like it in this design. Bonus: the fringe ...

This is my last WIP Wednesday for 2013, can you believe it? I sure can't! I'll still be blogging next week even though I'll be visiting family for the holiday, but my posts from now through the end of the year will be focusing on projects I've finished recently (and not-so-recently) which I am finally at liberty to share. Don't forget to follow my blog to keep up! I am thrilled to report that the yarn I ordered to finish the Marin shawl arrived on Monday afternoon: Oh, look at that - the yarn for my next  shawl arrived too! I'm planning to make the Velocity Shawl from Interweave Crochet with those lovely skeins of Seraphim yarn from Bijou Basin Ranch which I purchased during their December sale (free shipping + everything's on sale!). I have no idea how to do Tunisian crochet, but I guess I'll be learning in the new year because I've become obsessed with the pattern and won't rest until I've made one! At any rate, I promptly finish...

It was only a matter of time before Stephen West joined the roster of excellent talent on Craftsy , right? Last week, Stephen's new online class, Shawlscapes, launched. First, you will you get to hone your skills with the guidance of a shawl master as you knit the Boneyard Shawl . Then, you'll learn various methods of construction and patterns which you can use to either modify existing designs or create your own from scratch. Finally, Stephen will show you how to block your masterpiece - the class description claims: "Stephen literally turns blocking on its head, suggesting different methods that will surprise you." Now who doesn't want to see that?! What's more, a portion of all class sales through midnight tonight will be donated to a veterans' organization in honor of Memorial Day here in the US! Click here to sign up for Shawlscapes with Stephen West for 25% off!

Amazingly, I've been avoiding startitis this month, spending most of of my crafting time working on the Destash Dolman I started earlier this month and the Panoramic Stole I began on Christmas Day. Don't get me wrong - there are TONS of projects I'm dying to start, but for some reason I am content to work on these with the hope of finishing them much earlier than expected (and, of course, giving me free reign to start something new!). The Destash Dolman has become my outside-of-the-house/transit project, since I don't need to reference the pattern while I'm working. I've definitely made some good progress after a few adventures outside of the homestead: last WIP Wednesday, I had three stripes completed - now I'm up to 8! The Panoramic Stole has seen the most progress, especially since I've been working on it diligently for the past four days. I finished up the first skein of yarn on Monday night and have reached the point in knitting where I...

Even though this week has been busy with work and preparation for VK Live! this weekend, I've still been finding time to knit (is anyone surprised?). I've made considerable progress on my Malabrigo baby blanket . Of course, since it's just an endlessly-repeating pattern, it's not super interesting to see progress shots...unless there is a cute kitty in said photo, right? I also started a project that has been in my queue for a while now, Marly Bird's Gradient Serendipity Shawl . I'm using the Himalayan Trail I bought from Bijou Basin Ranch at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival back in September, rather than the Lhasa Wilderness used in the pattern. I love the other projects I've made with Lhasa Wilderness - Narwhal Mittens and the Union Long Beanie - but wanted to try something new. Plus, I love the natural brown color, and it's soooo soft. It's knitting up quite nicely; the cast-on is the hardest part (336 stitches!). Once you work ...

I took five projects with me to Kansas City; four FO's returned with me, and I started the fifth project on the train back to Chicago! I was halfway to the heel on sock #2 for the Jelly Beans Sock KAL before leaving for KC; about halfway through the train ride down, I realized I'd left the instructions at home . Genius! Luckily, I had sock #1 to use at a reference. I'm not terribly experienced with short-row heels, but I have to pat myself on the back and say I did a pretty good job with reverse-engineering sock #2, which was completed sans instructions. I can't tell which one is the off-book sock, can you? One note about the yarn ( Spinnery Sock Art - Forest  in Natural Gray): it bloomed quite nicely once I blocked it with a little Eucalan .  I'll have to give some of their hand-dyed colorways a try next! I know I shared a photo of my finished Tarragon Swan Cowl  earlier this week, but I wanted to share a photo with an actual humanoid (even if it is just m...

As you might have guessed by a lack of a post on Friday, the final day of the WestKnits Mystery KAL , I didn't finish my shawl.  I'd like to say it wasn't for lack of trying, but my progress simply won't support that claim: As you can see, I'm not even halfway through the final clue! It's going to be smooth sailing from here - but on a really slow-moving ship (that seems to be the theme for most projects these days). Here's hoping this can be off the needles by the end of this month!

It's done, it's done, it's DONE! And I love it...(is anyone surprised?) This shawl is enormous - as you can see in this photo I took while it was blocking, it's longer than my massage table (which, if you're interested, is a good 75 inches in length). I used three colors of The Fibre Company's Canopy Fingering , which is one of my new favorite yarns - alpaca, merino and bamboo. It's delightful to knit with. I think this will be a staple throughout the fall and winter - it's perfect for draping around my shoulders, and since it's in my three favorite colors, it'll pretty much match everything I own (not that matching is ever a huge priority for me, considering most days I don't actually interact with the world at large!). One of my friends on Facebook commented that it looked like a Japanese rock garden, which hadn't actually occurred to me, but now I can totally see it. It was a pretty zen-like knitting experience, too - very soo...

Warning: this post contains spoiler photos for the WestKnits Mystery KAL!  This weekend, I was amazed at how much progress I made on my all-but-forgotten toe-up socks in just a matter of days. Indeed, when you diligently knit on something, you can cover a lot of ground...it goes without saying that the inverse is true when you ignore a project, though I still always hope the knitting fairy will come along and knit a few rows when I'm not looking. Last Saturday night, I turned the heel, and now I'll just be blazing through the pattern repeats til it's time to bind off. My goal is to have this pair of socks completely off the needles by the end of this coming weekend - then perhaps I can get down to business with those lovely colorwork socks I started in June...or cast on for a quick-knitting pair of pom-pom peds to give my new pom-pom maker a test drive....or get down to business on my holiday sock knitting....well, you get the idea! I'm plugging away on the ...

Warning: there are WestKnits Mystery KAL spoiler photos in this post!!   Last Sunday, I was determined to finish the short-row section on my Color Affection . It took the better part of the afternoon, but I did it! I am now working through the final rows of the edging...and it's taking forever, not surprisingly. I am determined to get this off my needles before the month is out so I can spend August making a birthday present for my nephew and finishing both socks I have in progress (and maybe, just maybe, finish the designs I've been ignoring for several months, too). It's definitely at its least photogenic stage, and it appears as though I may have gotten carried away and did some additional increases. The only way to know for sure is to finish it! Color Affection: Getting close! Meanwhile, the WestKnits Mystery Shawl rolls on. I finished Clue #2 last night, just in time for Clue #3 to hit my inbox today. I have a hard time imagining where we'll go from here, ...

Warning: there is a WestKnits Mystery KAL spoiler photo in this post!!  Startitis has hit me hard this summer. I know a lot of people quit knitting once the thermometer starts to rise, but I'm just the opposite: I grab a beer and some yarn so I can hide in the air conditioning til cooler temperatures prevail. My line of work is perennially enabling my yarn-buying, pattern-queueing, casting-on habit, and right now it seems to keep getting worse as the summer progresses...not that I'm complaining.  Far from it! Last month, I indulged in some retail therapy by purchasing enough Canopy Fingering to make a Color Affection shawl. I've been making regular (yet slow) progress, but am nearly done with the short row section: The short rows are getting longer! I'm using   Manatee ,   Conifer   and   Sarsparilla ...my three favorite colors! I can't wait for this shawl to be done - I'm already envisioning myself wrapping up in it all winter long. My WestKn...

Looking for a fast knit?  I finished this shawl in just over a week - I couldn't put it down!  Now that it's finished, I can't seem to stop wearing it, either - that Finito yarn is just too soft to be believed.  Since I've been posting so much this week, I'll let the photos do most of the talking - but here are the details: Pattern: Haven Shawlette by Mercedes Tarasovitch-Clark Yarn: Finito in Paloma, 1.5 skeins Size made:  Smaller version

Welcome to the selfish knitting edition of FO Friday, where at long last I have finished a pair of socks for myself.  It's true! Cookie A's Wedge Socks were indeed a fast knit - I probably could have made them in a matter of weeks if I hadn't been distracted by crocheting and other knitting projects.  But no matter, they are finished now...just in time for the ridiculous 80 degree weather we're having here in Chicago.  Guess they'll be the first ones out of the gate next fall! (I will confess, I have not yet blocked them - but you get the idea, no?) I've also been blazing full steam ahead on my first Finito project - after much deliberation, I decided to make Mercedes Tarasovitch-Clark's Haven Shawlette - a simple sideways garter triangle scarf with a pretty cabled edging.  It's interesting to make and perfectly shows off the subtle variation of the Paloma colorway.  And it knits up fast - I cast on last weekend and I'm nearly halfway done! ...