handmade by stefanie

Last month, I shared a new-to-me yarn which I'm using for an design appearing in an upcoming Holla Knits collection. Today, I want to share a not-so-new-to-me yarn which has long been on my list of favorites, Himalayan Trail . I first used this yarn in 2012, when I knit a scarf which I gave to a friend for Christmas that year. I immediately fell in love with the fluffy softness! At the time, this yarn was only available in two color options, Natural Brown and Natural Cream. Dun Bonnet, just one of 24 color options from the Outlandish collection. A little over a year ago, Bijou Basin Ranch introduced the Outlandish series of colorways which are inspired by the Outlander series. I admit, I haven't read the books, nor have I watched the TV show (which is just about to make its return to Starz) - but I am most definitely a sucker for beautiful semi-solid hand-dyed yarn! Last fall, I designed a hat and fingerless mitt pattern using  Himalayan Trail , and I am just finis...

Today I have a special treat to share: an exciting new yarn from Spud & Chloë called Stripey Fine ! It's a fingering weight blend of 80% superwash wool and 20% silk, which is a blend I don't think I've ever come across in a sock yarn (with the exception being Fine, the solid-colored predecessor to Stripey Fine). This gives it a bit of a sheen to the yarn itself, and I'm willing to be that the addition of silk gives it added strength while reducing the likelihood of pills. The yarn feels very similar to a sweater I made several years ago which was also a similar blend of wool and silk (which is now discontinued); that sweater has yet to pill or show signs of wear. Stripey Fine comes in seven variegated colorways, shown above clockwise, beginning at the top: Blueberry Cheesecake #7863, Tootie Fruitie #7860, Grape Freeze #7864, Cherry Sundae #7866, Neopolitan #7862, Orange Cream #7865, and Mint Chip #7861 in the center. Each colorway knits up in what I would des...

Ever since Alegria was introduced from Manos del Uruguay, it's been on my must-knit list. It wasn't until just this month that the perfect opportunity presented itself: I'm working on a new design for an upcoming Holla Knits collection! I've enjoyed working with the other Manos yarns I've tried, and the fun colorways combined with a lovely base of superwash merino & polyamide made requesting Alegria for my design absolutely irresistible. Each yarn comes from a co-op in Uruguay and is certified Fair Trade, which means that your yarn purchase supports the livelihood of rural women, providing them with fair pay, good working conditions, health insurance, and more (you can read more here on the Fairmount Fibers blog ). Each yarn is signed by the artisan, telling you the name of the person who made your yarn and which co-op it came from: I can't wait to share my design with you when it comes out later this year. In the mean time, make sure that  Aleg...

Last weekend, I finished my handspun Terra Shawl ! It took pretty much both weekend days of working faithfully on the border stitch pattern, but I was so excited to finish that I didn't even think about working on anything else! As you can see, it's quite large, and it's soft and squishy, too! I've been wrapping myself up in it all week since it's still quite chilly here in Chicago. You may recall that I purchased the fiber from WEBS at the beginning of the year - 12 oz. total of Abstract Fibers' Targhee Top in the Gorge colorway. I started spinning it near the end of January and continued to work on it ever-so-slowly throughout February and into the beginning of March ! Thankfully, knitting the shawl was much faster than spinning the fiber into a usable yarn; the entire shawl  was completed in just 13 days! I used Jared Flood's Terra  shawl pattern from Brooklyn Tweed, which was super-easy to follow, and US 9 Nova Cubics needles from Knitter's...