handmade by stefanie

Fun fact: my husband and I are almost exactly 6 months apart in age (my half birthday is the day before his actual birthday later this month). I thought it would be fun to celebrate both with a little sale on Ravelry and Etsy! Ravelry Pattern Sale Enter HALFBDAY at checkout to get 50% off all of my patterns on Ravelry - including the Conversation Socks ebook! - now through May 18. Click here to visit my Ravelry pattern store! Etsy Shop Sale On Etsy, you can choose your discount below, good towards any of my current listings for mini skeins, hand dyed yarns, and handspun yarns. Plus, all US orders (still) ship FREE! Spend $10, get 10% off when you enter SPEND10 at checkout. Spend $20, get 20% off when you enter SPEND20 at checkout. Spend $30, get 30% off when you enter SPEND30 at checkout. All offers expire at Midnight MDT on Friday, May 18. Click here to visit my Etsy Shop!

Need to get ready for fall crafting? Starting to make those holiday knitting plans? There are some killer heals over at the Craftsy Supply Sale this weekend. Below are just a few of my top picks, but they won't last long at these prices! Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sport, $8.60/sk  - Superwash yarn is always great for gift knitting! Louet Drop Spindle Course Kit - get everything you need to learn how to spin for under $20! Manos Silk Blend, $9.88/sk - ultra luxurious silk/merino DK yarn! Sketch Books, $3.92/each - great for gifting or keeping track of projects and designs! Sale is happening now through July 28th. Enjoy! You might like to know: I am a Craftsy Affiliate. Your purchases using my affiliate links helps support this blog, and I think you for it!

Last week, I wrote about one of my favorite online yarn stores , which is in the process of closing. Consequently there are some very lovely yarns that are on sale right now . My stash is rather enhanced at the moment with some pretties from Skein, Sincere Sheep and Abstract Fiber (to name a few)....then again, sock yarn doesn't count as stash, am I right?! I've always liked to take photos of random things I see when I'm out and about, which admittedly doesn't happen as much as it used to now that I work from home. But I do have a small collection of photos I've taken, both on instagram and from the days before instagram (if you can imagine that), which consists of interesting graffiti, a misplaced shoe, funny signs, squirrels eating pizza...that sort of thing.  At any rate, over the last few days I saw a couple of things that caught my eye: first, a really big art piece wheatpasted to a dumpster by the California blue line station; second, a bizarre a...

This isn't the kind of post I wanted to write first thing on a Monday morning. For regular readers of my blog, you know that there is nothing I love more than getting a good deal on something. But I also love luxury yarns and I'm willing to pay luxury prices if I think they're worth it. So the sale at Doodlebug Yarn that's happening right now would be the best thing ever except for one important detail: it's a store closing sale. I've read countless articles about how hard it is for the LYS to keep its doors open in the face of online competition, and I don't mean to belittle that because I know it IS hard - I'm part of the problem since I prefer to do 90% of my shopping online! However, it's also very hard for online-only shops to compete with both bricks-and-mortar shops AND the powerhouses that are Jimmy Beans Wool, Webs and the like. I shop both of those sites from time to time, plus Craftsy and Doodlebug when I purchase yarn online. I like ea...

I think I'm about halfway through the fingering weight scrap yarn scarf ! I try to work through a few rows each night at the very least, so there's a good chance this will be done by the end of this month if I can just keep my momentum going. Of course, it's a little tough to photograph, but I think you get the idea! My top-down Arroyo Cropped Cardigan is coming along well - I am just about ready to take off for the sleeves. The rest should be downhill from there, as they say. I've made a few minor changes to the pattern as written, mostly because I'm not joining in the round for a pullover. Last night I took off for the sleeves and tried it on - success! It fit! And it's even looking more sweater-like! After taking off the sleeves, I split the remaining skein in half by weight, figuring I could knit the body til I ran out of yarn, and then I would be able to use the other skein I wound off to finish the sleeves and collar. Mr. Monke y is nearing compl...

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...