handmade by stefanie

After losing Tilly and Robin within a year of each other, I sure didn't think I'd be finding cat hair in my knitting any time soon. But the universe had other ideas. Over the winter, a white feral cat adopted us. I'd noticed her when we moved into our apartment last summer - I would see her hiding in the bushes or sunning herself in the grass when she thought no one was looking. I assumed she was someone's cat until I realized how skittish she was around humans, plus she had a tipped ear, which is a universal sign that a feral/stray cat has been spayed. Neighbors confirmed that she was a feral kitty (descended from several generations of feral cats, in fact), and that she has survived on her wits and whatever food various residents put out for her.  We had some bitterly cold days over the winter, and I just felt so sorry for this poor kitty! I started offering her treats and slowly gained her trust. She didn't even want to come inside our apartment at first, much le...

This might be the first time I have ever knit a sweater for myself twice, but I wear the first So Faded Sweater that I made so much, I decided to knit another one! This time, instead of destashing a hodgepodge of fingering weight yarns, I purchased a set of skeins specifically for this purpose from an indie dyer I discovered at last year's YarnCon, Black Cat Fibers . My color palette is Vamp, Dirt Nap, Alchemy and Quarry, dyed on the Nomad Sock base, which is a 4-ply fingering superwash merino/nylon blend (75/25). Each skein has a generous 463 yards, so I have a nice bit of yarn left over in each color, and as you can see, this sweater ended up being tunic length!  Hooray for handknit sweaters!! Just like the first one, it fits great and I love wearing it (can you tell?!). The yarn feels nice and soft against my skin, but I think it will wear well over time. I can't believe it took me eight months to knit this thing....even for me, that's slow! However...

My favorite yarn/fiber event took place here in Chicago last weekend - YarnCon ! I went with a friend to shop the marketplace for a few hours on Saturday afternoon and managed to make only 1 purchase: 4 skeins of gorgeous hand-dyed yarn from Black Cat Fibers , which I plan to use for another So Faded Sweater : R-L: Vamp, Alchemy, Dirt Nap and Quarry I don't think I've ever knit a sweater twice, but I really like how my first one turned out, and it fits me perfectly (especially now that I put a collar on it - no more Flash Dance sweater!). I still have the pattern with the numbers for my size circled, so I doubt it'll be long til I cast on....never mind that I am also currently working on a Comfort Fade cardi in some OOAK hand-dyed colors of Lhasa Wilderness . 2018 is the Year of the Sweater after all, right?! As you can see, the YarnCon marketplace was full of temptation - it took quite a bit of willpower not to bring everything home with me. Thankfully, my r...

I haven't made many (or any) resolutions for 2018, but there is something I want to do more of: sweater knitting....for ME! Last year, I was a lot choosier with my knitting projects due to a busier work schedule and the addition of several new crafts which reduced my amount of knitting time. Additionally, there are some projects that I simply can't knit (or have to knit slooooowly) thanks to ongoing issues with my hands and arms. I have a ton of hats and cowls and unfortunately socks are on "knit sparingly" list, it finally dawned on me that I should focus on making myself a wardrobe of sweaters that match my existing wardrobe of mostly black and grey clothes AND actually fit me. The two sweaters I knit last year, the Rockling Cardigan and the So Faded Sweater (which I'll be sharing on a later post), made my realize how much I like to knit and wear the sweaters I make provided they actually fit me . And that is the hard part, because I have to do something a lot...

At the end of last year, my friend and colleague Mari asked if I would be willing to knit a sample of a new design of hers that would be coming out in Knitty in 2017 . The idea is that my project would combine commercially-spun yarn with a handspun (by me, of course!) accent. I'd get the yarn and fiber to spin and knit with, and could keep the resulting garment. Of course I said yes! We both picked out our yarn colors in the Fairmount Fibers/Manos del Uruguay booth at the January TNNA Trade show, and a few weeks later, a lovely box of yarn and fiber arrived on my doorstep. Originally, I think this sweater was supposed to be in worsted weight, but at some point it became a sport weight sweater, so I admit that I was a little nervous about finishing in time for our  photo shoot in early April - historically, I am a pretty slow sweater knitter ( see: chunky weight cardigan that's been on the needles since last August ). By some small miracle, I finished in time for our sch...

Last weekend, I discovered a pretty major mistake in my Dillinger Hat and put it in time out until I am ready to frog back and fix it. Can you spot where I went wrong? I don't always mind frogging, especially when I know it'll be worth it in the end (and it always is), but I'm having a hard time with this one because I was so excited to finish this hat over the weekend. I still managed to finish the baby sweater my sister requested, which meant that it was time to face my second sleeve syndrome head-on and pick the Rockling Cardigan back up. I'm not very far along, but that's only because Tilly keeps using it as a pillow every time I set it down for just a moment! I never have the heart to disturb her when she looks so blissful. So, I started a baby hat to match the afore-mentioned  sweater I just finished. It won't be long til I see my sister in Kansas City, and I would like to hand deliver them if I can! With TNNA just around the corne...

I'm coming down the home stretch on several projects, which means I can start something new, right? Of course! Late last week, I cast on for a simple pillow using my May Legacy Club Yarn Club shipment and a free pattern I found on Ravelry, the  Basketweave Pillow . It's my new on-the-go project, so it'll probably be on the needles for a while, but hopefully I will finish before the end of the Knitter's Pride Spring KAL . Second sleeve syndrome has set in with my Rockling Cardigan , as I feared it would. Two-at-a-time sleeves are where it's at, but obviously that ship has sailed and I need to make the best of it! I will say that I 'm loving the Sirka Row Counter for keeping track of the various "at the same time" instructions, though. It rocks! The baby sweater is looking oh-so-sweater-y and I should have it off the needles by the end of this week, hooray! I finally started this super-cute Dillinger Hat that I got from last year...

This week is all about knitting sleeves! I finished the body of my Rockling Cardigan and started on the sleeves; usually I prefer two-at-a-time, but I just couldn't fathom doing that while managing several giant balls of the bulky yarn I'm knitting with. So, against my better judgement, I am knitting the sleeves one at a time on DPNs - but on the plus side, I finally get to give my Sirka Row Counter a proper test drive! I'll share more about the Sirka on a later post once I've used it more, but so far I am totally digging it. Last weekend, I started a baby sweater for one of the few people I will accept commission work from at this point (hint: they are all very closely related to me by blood). I'm knitting a pattern I've used before ( Seed Stitch Yoke Cardi ) from one of my favorite baby knitting books, 60 Quick Baby Knits . Since a few of my friends are also expecting later this spring/summer, I am hoping this motivates me to knit some more baby stuff ...

I've been focusing on the Rockling Cardigan since it's my oldest WIP currently on the needles. I am almost finished with the body of the sweater - last night, I started the final section of ribbing before bind off! I'm also working on the second destash sideways mitt with my leftover Fade yarn. Currently, it looks like a mess of spaghetti, especially since the first mitt is still on the needles while I figure out a way to graft the ends together and leave a spot for the thumb...a detail I'd neglected to think about when I decided to sub in a provisional cast on. Oops! One new WIP is joining the mix this week: I started a cowl project with some chunky handspun yarn using the Aspen Cowl pattern by Andi Javori, which you can find  here  in the Interweave store. (note: affiliate link). I still have the same project on the loom as last week and I've only added about 10 inches, so there's not much to report on the weaving front. Here's hoping ...

First up, thanks to everyone who entered this month's giveaway and all of our wonderful sponsors -  Gleener, Love + Leche, Allure Fiber Wash, and Knitter's Pride!  The Random Number Generator has selected our lucky winners:  Prize Pack 1 -  Gleener Dapper Dog Tote, Knitter's Pride Nova Platina fixed circular needles, and Love + Leche lemongrass mini lotion bar. Congratulations SaturnLu1! Prize Pack 2 -  Gleener Rockin' Owl Tote, Knitter's Pride Nova Platina fixed circular needles, and Love + Leche cedarwood mini lotion bar. Congratulations Laura M! Prize Pack 3 -  Gleener Ultimate Fuzz Remover in Punch Buggy Pink and Unscented Allure Fiber Wash. Congratulations  @nanoadri! Prize Pack 4 -  Gleener On the Go Travel Fuzz Remover and Woodland Mist Allure Fiber Wash. Congratulations spiralstrings108! I'll get in touch with you to arrange for the delivery of your prizes!  In other news, yesterday was the last day for...

What perfect timing - last weekend, we had our first snowfall, and I finished my Pennant Cardigan from the 10th anniversary issue of Knitscene! It's designed by my pal, Mari Chiba , who is profiled in the issue by none other than....me. I'm super excited to finally have this project off the needles, just in time to wear for the holidays. A rainy Thanksgiving meant our photo shoot had to be held indoors. I started this project in August using 100% yak sport weight yarn from Bijou Basin Ranch; at the time, I knew I wanted to use handspun for the colorwork yoke, but I hadn't even purchased the fiber I'd be using for it! Luckily, a mostly stockinette sport weight sweater takes a long time for me to knit, especially when I have all kind of other projects and KALs to distract me. That allowed me to find the PERFECT gradient roving at the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival - a merino/silk braid from Fiber Optic Yarns in the Raven colorway.  On Monday, I share...

It's been about 5 weeks since the Broad Shoulders Midwestern Knits KAL started, and I am nowhere near where I thought I'd be! My proposed "schedule" which I drafted at the start of the KAL was this: September Goal: Work body up to Central Chicago section (that’s four stitch pattern sections spread over 2.5 weeks - I think we can probably get further than that with any luck!)  October Goal: Finish body and work sleeve 1.  November Goal: Work sleeve 2 & buttonband. Since the KAL actually ends on December 14, that allows two weeks for catching up...and I am clearly going to need it! By the end of September, I'd barely gotten through the first two stitch patterns. September turned out to be the busiest month ever - both in terms of work and general life stuff. By the time I had a chance to sit down and knit at the end of the day, my brain was fried, and I had a hard time handling anything other than stockinette stitch. In fact, when I did attempt to kni...

I'm over the moon with this week's FO: my Block Island Pullover by Allyson Dykhuizen, which I started in January of this year! The pattern is from the Fall 2014 issue of Knitscene, and when my knitting group was placing an order with Peace Fleece (hot tip: they'll give anyone wholesale pricing so long as the order is a minimum of $150), I knew this was a great opportunity to snag a sweater's worth of yarn. I chose two colors of Peace Fleece Worsted , Patience Blue (the darker color) and Indigo Smoke. The yarn has a little bit of mohair in it, but you really wouldn't know it from coming across it randomly (unless you have an allergy of course) - it's not at all like the mohair you remember from the 80's...and that's a good thing! I didn't totally enjoy knitting with this yarn for a couple of reasons: first, it was kind of tough to work with because it's so sturdy and strong. The benefit to that, however, is I'm sure this sweater will l...