handmade by stefanie

I spent most of last weekend nursing a cold and snuggling cats, but I couldn't resist crocheting a trio of Sweet Tweeters from the newest addition to my craft library, Modern Baby Crochet (you can read my book review here ). I made them with leftover skeins in my amigurumi stash, and they were fun and fast to make! Tweet tweet! From L-R: Manos Maxima in Nickel, Malabrigo Worsted in Butter, and Berroco Vintage in Aquae. Thanks for stopping by this week - for FO Friday inspiration, visit the  Tami's Amis blog . Have a crafty weekend! 

I managed to make some modest progress on my robot mittens even though I didn't work on them all weekend long due to (another) stupid cold. Most of the progress since last week was made on Monday night, when I took off for the thumb and really started blazing through the chart! On a related note, something kind of exciting happened last week - the designer of the Robots vs. Downtown pattern commented on my project ! In other news, Stacey Trock's new book Modern Baby Crochet arrived last Friday! I spent the weekend crocheting a few of the smaller projects, starting with the Sweet Tweeters (which I'll be sharing on Friday) and Zabby the Giggle Monster , which is currently just a collection of random crocheted shapes: I'd been saving this skein of Three Irish Girls Lindon Merino for the right project; the colorway just happens to share a name with one of my nephews (Rhys), so I couldn't resist starting a cute little monster with it! I made a wee bit mor...

I've been anxiously awaiting the release of Stacey Trock's latest book, Modern Baby Crochet , ever since she began sharing sneak peeks on the FreshStitches blog late last year. Having taken her Woodland Animals Craftsy class and made countless designs from her second book (Crocheted Softies) and Ravelry pattern store, I was excited to have a brand-new book of patterns in my gift-making arsenal for the latest batch of babies. In short, Modern Baby Crochet doesn't disappoint! There are 21 patterns total, and they are grouped by color family (bold and bright, pastels and neutrals), making it easy to crochet several items for a coordinated nursery if you so choose. With very few exceptions, the designs are unisex; they're not only perfect for nurseries, but would suit any modern home decor as well. There is a great assortment of afghans, decor and stuffed animals, plenty of which I plan on making for myself! Mondrian-inspired afghan Besides the well-written, eas...

Bonus: got to try out my new blocking wires! Happy Friday! I am relieved to be back at home base this week. Taking three separate trips in the span of a month is just too much for me, and I'm looking forward to staying put for a while. Besides being stressful, it's hard to keep up with chores, much less start a bigger fibery project. For instance, I haven't had time to spin in the last few weeks because I couldn't block out enough time to process a large amount of fiber in one sitting. You can bet I'll be dusting off the Ladybug this weekend, though! Small projects have been the name of the game, consequently. My primary project for the last trip to KC I took ended up being the Serpentinite Scarf by Carol Feller knit with a skein of Fiesta Yarns' La Luz . Since I was substituting in a yarn that had less yardage than what was specified, I knew I'd have to do some modifications going in. What ended up happening is that I only knit one half of the scarf...

Now that my holiday gift knitting is complete, I've started a few projects for myself. The first is something that has been in my queue for a while now: Robots vs. Downtown. I'm using a skein each of ShiBui Sock in Peacock and Wasabi - one of my favorite color combinations! I'd like to knit myself more colorwork mittens as a general rule (especially since I already have some really excellent books), and I had already picked out some yarn from my stash to make these mittens. I purchased the pattern back in November when it was on sale as part of the Indie Designer Gift-Along . Though I didn't end up participating, I really liked the concept and hope they do the event again this year so I can actually take part this time! My other WIP is a sweater I started over the weekend using Canopy Fingering from the Fibre Company. I'm using the 30-Day Sweater framework to design it as I go; I'm not sure if it will actually be done in 30 days, but I am looking f...

As I may have mentioned in an earlier post, my husband thoughtfully bought me a WEBS gift certificate for Christmas. After much internal debate, I placed a carefully-chosen order: 3 bundles of handpainted Targhee Top from Abstract Fiber in "The Gorge" colorway (the idea is to have enough finished handspun to make a large project of some sort!) 2 skeins of Terra from the Fibre Company in Blue Spruce (to make this cabled hat from Vintage Modern Knits) 2 skeins Valley Yarns Northampton Sport in Gray (this is for a top-secret  design project I'm currently working on!) After a small delay due to the insane weather this month, it arrived and I am dying to dive in! Alas, I find myself heading to Orlando today for business while Tyler holds down the fort. I'm pretty sure I'll be busting out the spinning wheel just as soon as I return home and get unpacked.  I also purchased a pound of Louet Dorper Top ; I'd spun some during Spinzilla last October a...

Happy Friday, I'm excited to share two projects with you today! The first is another adorable amigurumi snowman using the choose-your-own-adventure pattern from FreshStitches: I thought my first snowman could use a friend, especially since he will be spending the next 10 months in storage. I love this pattern and will probably crochet one or two more next holiday season! My second FO is the Arctic Circle Cowl , which I started right around the time the Polar Vortex hit Chicago. I finished it while I was in Kansas City for a wedding last weekend, and have been enjoying it ever since! I absolutely love yarns from The Fibre Company, and Tundra  is very soft and lovely to work with: it's a heavenly blend of baby alpaca, merino and silk. The tent stitch pattern was quite easy to memorize, and I love the way the cowl drapes when I wear it. Thanks for stopping by this week - for FO Friday inspiration, visit the  Tami's Amis blog . Have a crafty weekend!