handmade by stefanie

Last weekend, I made the journey out to Schaumburg to spend one day at Stitches Midwest. It's been five years since I last went, and it was interesting to note how much it had and hadn't changed in that time. Most noticeable to me was the amount of signage stating their policy regarding a safe, inclusive environment for all, no doubt a response to the incident that happened earlier this year at Stitches West. I saw signs on display throughout the venue (not just on the show floor), and there were prominent mentions in the show book and website as well. I really wanted to go to the Diversity Panel with Creative Ceci, Louis Boria of Brooklyn Boy Knits, Michele Costa and Phyllis Bell Miller, but it was during the middle of the day on Friday and I had already committed to working on Saturday afternoon (more on why I can only do 1 day of Stitches in a bit). I'm really glad that they have taken steps to address these issues; I'm sure there is more to be done, but it's ...

Stitches booty! The fall yarn & fiber festival season kicked off (for me, anyway) at Stitches Midwest in Schaumburg this past weekend! I only attended the marketplace on Friday this time around; usually I go out for one or both weekend days, but to be honest, one day was totally enough since I wasn't signed up for any classes or events. I know I complain about this every year, but the drive to Schaumburg from the city is NOT fun, and since I don't have a car, I have to rely on the kindness of my knitting friends to get me out there since I'm not keen to repeat last year's Metra/shuttle experience . The marketplace seemed smaller this year, but a good mix overall (if you can excuse the three aloe/lotion vendors which were all in the same row, which seemed like an major oversight for whomever planned the vendor layout - maybe I'm the only person who notices or cares about such things?!) Anyway, there were a lot of the vendors I expected to see, and severa...

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...

After skipping Stitches Midwest last year, I wanted to be sure to make it out for at least one day this year. Living in the city and not having a car, however, can make getting to Stitches quite a feat. While I knew a few knitters with cars who offered me a ride, I decided to give the much-hyped Stitches Shuttle a try to see if it was an acceptable solution to the problem faced by yarn-loving but car-less Chicagoans. I am fortunate to live near the Metra line which connected to the Stitches Shuttle, so for me, my journey should have been rather simple: catch the Metra train, ride it for about 30 minutes, and then hop on the Stitches Shuttle for another 15 or so. I could be there in about an hour...in theory! I carefully timed my trip so that I had enough time to catch the 9:30 am shuttle bus on Saturday. Imagine my surprise when I got off the Metra Train at Arlington Heights at 9:22 and....nothing was there. I looked high and low for anything that resembled a bus or a shuttle ...

The Chicago Yarn Crawl kicked off on Friday night, and since this is the first year I've ever grabbed myself a passport and (sorta) participated, I decided to drop by Knit 1 on Friday night for their kick-off party and The Wool Dispensary trunk show. There are three exclusive colors that Sam created for the event, and I couldn't resist bringing home a skein of one of those colors, Vortex: I have to admit that I'm not planning on getting a lot of stamps on my passport; there are 30 shops participating this year, many of which are in the suburbs and outlying areas. If you don't have a car (like me), it's not impossible to visit these shops, but it is definitely time-consuming once mass transit comes into play. For those of you who are more than ambitious than me, The Fiber Friend posted a handy guide to doing the Chicago Yarn Crawl without a car . Stitches Midwest is happening next weekend, and I've decided not to go this year. The drive to Schaumburg j...

Chicago is fortunate to play host to two big crafting events this year: Stitches Midwest and Vogue Knitting Live! As always, Stitches Midwest takes place in August to kick off the knitting season.  It's an event I always look forward to, though there have been instances in my 7 years of living in Chicago that I have been unable to make the trek - and it is a journey for us city mice - to Schaumburg.  It's always worth it, of course, but us urban knitters who rely on mass transit are pretty much SOL if they can't justify the car rental expense or find a friend with a car...hence I am looking forward to VK Live! this October, which will be conveniently located in the downtown loop at the beautiful Palmer House Hilton. I ended up helping a client set up their booth on Thursday, and then went to the market on Friday to shop and schmooze. I was surprised at how busy it was on a Friday afternoon - the parking lot was COMPLETELY full! I'm guessing it was a very success...

I made it out to Schaumburg for Stitches this weekend with my buddies Lauren and Sam and my new friend Kim.  None of us could say we were in need of more yarn, but that's never stopped us before!  I was also excited to meet some of my clients in person for the first time.  I'm not sure if I mentioned this before (I try not to blog too much about work as a general rule), but I've been working with The Wool Wide Web as a yarn- & fiber-specific marketing consultant.  Obviously, being the crazy yarn lady that I am, there will be a little overlap here and there, but my plan is still to write about the things I like because I like them while I'm 'off the clock' and leave the blogging for dollars for another time/place/blogger. Around this time last year, I was still working as an LMT in a local salon/spa, and therefore didn't have much flexibility when it came to attending weekend events - hence, I didn't get to go to Stitches last fall.  I'm not ...