handmade by stefanie

Happy WIP Wednesday! I have a few knitting projects to share this week, plus a progress report on my latest Spin-O-Lution efforts. First, my Elfe sweater is coming along nicely! Over the weekend I tried it on and decided to do a few more increases for the sleeves before binding off those stitches. Now that I have a bit of length from the armholes, I may have to try it on again just to make sure I made the right call. I finally started working on my second Fleece Artist sock - I'm not too far along, since I keep getting distracted by gift knitting/crocheting and my Elfe-in-progress, but hopefully I can get this second sock finished by the end of May so that the new pattern can come out mid-summer. That is the new goal, anyway! So what do I do when I have a self-imposed deadline? Cast on for a new hat , of course! My husband bought me some Knitter's Pride Karbonz needles for Christmas and I have been dying to knit with them. I have no idea why it took me five mont...

I made significant progress on my Rocky Coast Cardigan over the weekend - by Sunday night, I was nearly done with the sleeves (I decided to knit them two-at-a-time on magic loop). Alas, I decided that I needed a little more room for my arms in order to be happy with my cardi, so I ended up frogging an entire weekend's worth of work on Monday night. I'm happy to say that it will be worth the pain, since these sleeves fit me much better the second time around. Plus, I'm still optimistic that I can be finished by the end of next weekend! Since I can't start any of my Malabrigo March projects til Friday, I found myself without a portable project to stash in my messenger bag. As a solution, I decided to crochet a few Owl Hats in the interim with yarn from my stash. I'm using the same pattern as before with the same modifications as well; the yarns used are Malabrigo Worsted in Pigeon and Knit Picks Andean Silk (which is apparently discontinued) in Imperial (fore...

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...

I've been a non-participating member of the Spin Your Stash group on Ravelry for many years, but I think the time has come to quit lurking and be a joiner! My spin-o-lution this year is simple - to spin through my stash. Last week, I took stock: 1. Multicolor Merino Roving , 6.6 oz - purchased at the Yarn Barn of Kansas 2. Natural Black Alpaca Roving , 4 oz. - purchased from New Era Fiber at Stitches Midwest 3. Charcoal 70/30 Alpaca/Silk Blend Top , 4 oz. - purchased from Spunky Eclectic 4. Natural Cream Finn Top , 5 oz. - purchased from Spunky Eclectic 5. Dyed Falkland Top (Cloudy Night colorway) , 4 oz - purchased from Pumpkinhaus booth at YarnCon 6. Natural Merino/Silk Fiber , 4.75 oz - can't remember where this came from! 7. Red Alpaca Top , 6 oz - originally purchased from Spunky Eclectic in a natural cream, dyed by me back when I still worked at Lorna's Laces. 8. Light Brown Romney Top , 4 oz - gifted by a friend 9. Dark Brown BFL Top , 6 oz - purchased ...