handmade by stefanie

Though I still buy a lot of yarn, I do try to focus on shopping from my own stash before making a purchase, and it feels pretty good to finish a project that has put my stash yarn to good use. Of course, sometimes a stash-busting project necessitates the purchase of more  yarn in order to finish it, which pretty much negates the whole concept. Be that as it may, this is what happened with my Destash Dolman , which I started in January of this year, hibernated in February when I realized I was going to run out of yarn, and then picked back up to finish recently when I was able to locate some Anzula Squishy to finish the job.  I honestly thought that I'd have enough of the green and taupe colors - after all, I used a third contrast color for the ribbed edges, right? Such is my flawed logic, and I can't say I swatched for this sweater, either - it's got so much positive ease, it really didn't seem necessary at the time (logic flaw #2). I'm lucky this fits quite w...

I dedicated most of this weekend to working on my Destash Dolman , only to realize that I'd miscalculated the amount of yarn I needed when substituting. Oops! On the plus side, it fit very well when I tried it on, so I know I'll be pleased with it when it's completed...whenever that is! The problem is, the yarn I ran out of ( Anzula Squishy in Clay) is apparently not one that is sold in many shops. Also, it's $36; kind of a bummer to drop that kind of cash on a skein of yarn from which you'll only use about 100 yards! Usually in this type of situation, I can track down a skein in someone's Ravelry stash that they're willing to sell, but no such luck. Ah, well, these things happen. I'll put this project on hibernation for a bit and concentrate on other things....like swatching for my next sweater, the Rocky Coast Cardigan ! I thought I'd share a few photos from the barista throwdown at Metropolis that I mentioned last week. In this one, you ca...

Happy WIP Wednesday! First, a quick update on my Macbook Pro - last night, I worked up the courage to fire it up and it WORKED! We didn't lose any data, either, so I feel extremely lucky and relieved. Good to know - rice is your friend should liquids invade your electronics. I am still plodding along on my Destash Dolman , which has seen modest progress since last week; I am halfway through stripe #15: Over the weekend, I decided to do a little stash diving to find the perfect yarn to make a scarf or cowl to  complement my new winter coat, and came across 4 skeins of Wisdom Yarns Limerick in a bright emerald green with a few subtle turquoise hues mixed in. I snapped it up shortly after Thanksgiving via Craftsy Deals* with no real plan for it, I just wanted it because it was pretty. I thought this might be a good choice for the Calm Cowl , which is a free crochet pattern on Ravelry. I'm nearly through the first ball of yarn, too! The main project that I've been foc...