handmade by stefanie

Last weekend, I finished the first sock with my Waterlilies yarn , and just for yuks, I tried it on even though it was basically just a tube sock. Much to my surprise, it fit really well, even without a heel. Who knew? So, that got me thinking: what if I just didn't add the heels?  I never thought a tube sock would actually fit nicely, but I genuinely like the fit, so...why spend time to add the heels? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Let's say I decide not to add heels once the second sock is done - there will still be placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels, as you can see above, so should I leave it in and just weave in the ends? Or should I remove it, put the live stitches back on needles and at least graft them together using more of the Waterlilies yarn? I plan on mulling all of this over as I knit the second sock, and I'd love to hear your opinions of what you think would look best (or if you think this whole "n...

I finally finished a pair of socks ! The yarn is a custom blend of 100% BFL from Succulent Fibers that I got in a sock yarn club earlier this year - I call the color light saber green. The pattern is something I made up and should probably turn into a pattern at some point, but for now, I'm just going to enjoy having an actual pair of socks fresh off the needles.

The big news is that my cozy memories blanket is off the needles - it just need to have a few ends woven in and then get a nice blocking before I can officially call it done. Whew! It's a weight off my shoulder, that's for sure, and I'm pretty relieved to start July off with this project nearly crossed off my list. Now that I don't have to think about it, I can focus on chipping away at the many sock projects I have on the needles, as much as my hand/arm issues will allow. If I knit slowly enough and in short enough sessions, I can make a tiny bit of progress to inch towards my goal. For instance, over the holiday weekend, I reached HO status for the bright green BFL socks : I'm still plugging away on the Baa Ram Ewe cowl , which is just past the halfway point: Of course, for most of this month I will also be focusing some of my free time to spinning - last Saturday, the Tour de Fleece kicked off, and I decided to start off with some Targhee from Yarn Geek Fib...

Last weekend, I finished the self-striping OMG Heel socks which I started near the end of March. They would have been done much quicker if I hadn't gotten distracted by gnomes and lots of other projects, of course, but that's just how things go around here! I love how they turned out, and as luck would have it, the self-striping pattern even matches up pretty well. The yarn is hand-dyed by me on the Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock base, which is a superwash merino/nylon sock yarn. I made it many years ago when I still worked there, as evinced by the 225-yard skeins (they've since changed the put-up to be around 440 yards per skein, I believe). I made the smallest size of the OMG heel socks, which means that some lucky kiddo in my life will be getting a new pair of socks at some point! I had plenty of yarn left over, too - I didn't even touch the second skein! If you follow me on Instagram, you might want to check your feed, because I plan on giving the left...

Welcome back! Today is my third and final post sharing the handmade gifts I made this holiday season. As you might have guessed, as Christmas drew nearer, I started to run out of steam! I managed to make a fun little crocodile for my nephew Ethan: Unfortunately, I only managed to complete one stripey sock for Tyler in time for the holiday (insert HO joke here?), and he was the lucky recipient of said single sock and an IOU on Christmas morning. The good news is, I managed to finish the second sock the end of the following day since I was able to knit in front of him! I used the directions for the Chittery Chattery socks and worked a striped stockinette stitch pattern instead of the knitting the pattern as written with three colors of Louet GEMS Sport . Tyler loves them! That pretty much wraps up the tour of my holiday knitting. I had high hopes for also whipping up some cute ornaments to use as stocking stuffers, but unfortunately, that never happened. Perhaps in 2015 I wil...

Today, I'm bursting at the seams because I finally get to reveal a project I've been working on since January of this year: an eBook comprised of five unisex sock designs called Conversation Socks ! I dreamed up this project because I find myself with less and less time to devote to holiday gift knitting, but I know that my family members love and cherish the gifts I make them, especially socks! By choosing sport weight yarn and US #3 needles, each sock knits up quickly and produces a mid-weight fabric that is nice and toasty without being bulky. Each pattern was created with the express purpose of being simple enough for knitting on-the-go, but interesting enough to keep you engaged. These patterns are perfect for your morning commute, knit night, or a trip out of town! They don't require huge, hard-to-follow charts or incredibly complicated techniques. Instead, they take the basic building blocks that the average knitter has at their disposal to create five designs ...

I sure hope you are all sitting down, because the chevron socks of doom are officially DONE! On Wednesday night, I finished the toes, wove in the ends, and blocked them: Despite enjoying very little of the knitting process (a rarity for me in the realm of sock-knitting), I absolutely love the finished pair of socks. Because they were such a labor of love, I'm sure I will treasure them all the more. However, let it be decreed on this day that I shall never, under any circumstances, knit socks sideways ever again. Seriously. It's just not for me....though I tip my hat to those who dig it. #SockSelfie The pattern is perfect for the variegated colorway, which is Tristan from Bijou Basin Ranch in the Tibetan Dream base. It's a yak/nylon blend yarn that is so incredibly soft and warm. The pattern is The Hub of Fashion by Stephanie van der Linden, which appears in her book Around the World in Knitted Socks . As you can see, they fit quite well (way better than you'd ...

The chevron socks of DOOM are finally getting closer to being done, thanks to an 18-hour roadtrip earlier this month. Basically, I forced myself to work on this project as much as I could while en route to Kansas City, where we visited family and celebrated our 9-year (!) wedding anniversary. We ended up bringing home some beertastic souvenirs, of course! Over the weekend, I finally grafted the second sock together and began the arduous task of knitting the cuffs and toes. I apologize for the all caps, but.....I AM NOW TWO TOES AWAY FROM HAVING THIS PROJECT OFF THE NEEDLES!  Needless to say, I am really looking forward to this project being done. I know I will love the socks once they're done - the yarn is incredible and they will be super-duper warm, too. However, knitting socks sideways is definitely not for me. I can't stress this enough. I have been working on them since the beginning of May, so it will be a huge relief to go into August with a clean slate.  ...

It seems like I'm not the only one suffering from Startitis this month! I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I suppose it's nice to be in good company. Over the weekend, I started a new spinning project which has been on my mental to-do list for a little while now: After first hearing about opposing-ply yarns on the We Are Yarn podcast, I've been wanting to try this technique to spin a sport-weight(ish) yarn to knit myself a pair of socks. A few months ago, I ordered 8 oz. of Superwash BFL from Nerd Girl Yarns in the #hashtag colorway , and I knew immediately that this was the fiber I should use for this project! Last night, I finished the third single, and tonight I hope to ply all 3 together...and I am already planning my next  spinning project, too! I also started a baby sweater from 60 Quick Baby Knits in some superwash yarn I'd custom dyed back when I worked at Lorna's Laces. It's not super-exciting to look at just yet, but ...

Alert the media: my chevron yak socks finally resemble something you could put a foot into! I grafted everything together on Monday, and it's a nice, snug fit. Now I just need to knit the cuff and toe, although I think I will make the second sock first. I also made some major progress on my Craftsy class project , the Faux Fair Isle mittens - look, I'm on constrast color #3!: What helped is blowing up the colorwork chart about 200%, since I always have a problem with how small most colorwork charts are. It's amazing to me how much faster I can work when I'm not squinting at impossibly tiny squares. Click here for 50% off the Mittens and Gloves Galore class on Craftsy! I also have a new project, which is this month's FreshStitches kit club ! Hopefully this doesn't spoil the surprise if your kit hasn't arrived yet...especially since I just found out that this month's kit is a pattern exclusive! Last but not least, I replenished my miniskein gr...

Though I no longer have a daily commute, I still like to have one relatively simple project on the needles which can be worked on while riding the train or bus. Socks are one of my favorite on-the-go projects since they don't take up a lot of space, and I prefer patterns that are easy to memorize so that I don't have to keep pulling out a chart as I knit on-the-go. I designed these socks to be the ultimate travel knitting project - easy without being boring, all the while resulting in a pair of socks you'll love to wear. The colorwork lice and stripe pattern at the top of the cuff can be easily memorized (and you can just use your first sock as a reference when knitting sock #2); the striped toe allows you to easily work your toe shaping - all you have to do is remember which color is worked for the decrease round! As an added bonus, they are a great way to use leftover sock yarn, as you only need a small amount for the contrast color. Each pair can be knit up quick...

I finished my Emmanuelle Sweater a few weeks ago, and it's been in heavy rotation ever since. It's hard to believe that this is the first chance I've gotten to take proper photographs, but that's just how things have been lately. This is the second sweater pattern I've knit by the designer, Mercedes Tarasovitch-Clark , and I really like the way it fits. I'm not super-great at intarsia, so I do find myself wishing that my chevrons were a little neater; if I were doing it all over again, I think I would knit the front and back pieces and then add in the chevrons with duplicate stitch afterwards just because I hate intarsia so much. I realize that is a totally insane notion to even entertain, but that should only speak to my true feelings where intarsia is concerned. Maybe someday I'll make friends with this technique, but it's not likely to happen any time soon. At any rate, the instructions were easy to follow and I had no issues with my yarn subst...

I've made some pretty good progress on my Spooktacular Socks from Rohn Strong's Holiday Crochet Sock Club : Since these are my first-ever crocheted socks, I have no idea what to expect. I'm a little nervous about the fit (I admit, I didn't gauge beforehand - I like to live dangerously), but I'm learning a lot of new crocheting skills along the way, which makes it all worthwhile. The second clue for the Blissful Cowl Mystery KAL comes out today, so here is a spoiler photo of Clue 1. I was able to knit through the entire first clue in one evening, so you could definitely join in at this late date and get caught up fairly quickly!  Finally, I am making lots of little amigurumi bits and bobs as I kick my holiday gift-making into high gear this month. I probably won't be sharing the specifics till the end of December, but here is what my WIP basket looks like this week: Thanks for joining me this week! For more WIP Wednesday inspiration, visit the  ...

After a month of project monogamy during October, I was pretty excited to start some new projects! I started with a pair of colorwork socks, which are a new design that I'm hoping will be out before the end of this year. Therefore, I can't show you too much of it, but here is a little sneak peek - it's being knit in Baah La Jolla Tequila Lime (my favorite!) and Night Sky. Today I am casting on for a Mystery KAL that's happening in the Bijou Basin Ranch group . Though MKALs aren't really my thing these days, I am excited about this one because it's going to have lots of options so you can customize your cowl throughout the KAL. Another bonus it that's short and sweet - there are only three weeks of clues, so it should be fairly easy to be finished before Thanksgiving! I'll be knitting mine with a skein of Bijou Bliss in Steel. Last night I finally started my first-ever crocheted socks, Spooktacular from the Rohn Strong Holiday Sock Club. It took...