sunrise/sunset

here's another take on the neighborhood version of the dipped infinity scarf. this is the purples colorway and it is currently available for purchase online! it is a delicious blend of blushing berries knit in the yummiest superwash merino on the market.

you provide the needles and the knitting power, everything else is included in the kit. you'll get the pattern and eight small skeins of yarn with just enough yardage to finish up with few leftovers.

the sample above was hand-dyed and hand-knit by karida of neighborhood fiber co. what an overachiever! and a brilliantly talented one at that.

love is like falling...

...and falling is like this:

this is a sample for neighborhood fiber co using eight different colors of their very own studio sock, a 100% superwash merino fingering weight yarn. the pattern is dipped infinity scarf, by cosmicpluto knits. and you can buy the yarn and the pattern as part of a pre-made kit from nfc's big cartel site.

there are three colorways to choose from, previously blogged about here.

the color change kept this knit fun and interesting. it was exciting to start a new section and to see how it finally turned out. the finished product reminded me of fall, which seems so far away amid these sultry summer days.

desafinado

love is like a never-ending melody
poets have compared it to a symphony
a symphony conducted by the lighting of the moon
but our song of love is slightly out of tune

- from desafinado, by antonio carlos jobim

in the world of this chickadee, music and knitting are very often linked together. patterns will bring songs to mind and those songs are sung or hummed or played or thought of in time to the rhythm of the needles. sometimes musical moods contribute to color combination. in this case, they helped select the name of the next pair of socks.

skew, a sock pattern by lana holden, immediately had me singing desafinado. the song's title means "slightly out of tune" in portuguese. and these socks are slightly off center too. starting at the toe and working their way up on a slant, their construction is a total surprise. every aspect of this sock was something new...from the cast-on, to the kitchenered heel, to the short row spiral of the stocking.

the yarn lent itself rather well to the climbing corkscrew. it was something from the stash, cherrytree hill supersock select, a low micron merino which means that it is softer than the usual sock yarn but still superwash.

if you were around when these were on the needles, apologies for my own more than slightly out of tune rendition of the classic bossa nova. here's a marvelous rendition, by the brazilian master joão gilberto:

jaywalking

the jaywalker sock pattern by grumperina deserves all the credit for inspiring this chickadee to knit socks. they never looked all that interesting or fun, until this pattern popped up on ravelry. now with a couple of completed pairs under my soles, i've learned that socks are extremely addictive and enjoyable to knit.

a stashed yarn, dream in color smooshy (in ruby river), met up with a stashed pattern with great results! the two go quite well together, don't you think? the smooshy is a super superwash wool which means that it can meet up with the machine when it is time for a touch-up.

can't wait to walk down the street (responsibly, lawfully, obeying all rules and crossing only with the light in crosswalks...of course) in these!

apple peaches pumpkin pie

before:

originally this lovely skein of dragonfly fibers djinni sock was set aside to become a shawl. but the beauty of the yarn was being lost somewhere in the knit/purl sequence. so this chickadee did what any self respecting knitter would do and ripped out rows upon rows of stitching that represented hours and hours of work. and then went on the pattern offensive to find something that would showcase this spectacular yarn.

the charade sock pattern by sandra park was just the thing! the simple stitch pattern was perfect for the yarn and for the newish sock knitter. there was just enough going on to make it interesting but not so much that it was overwhelming...and that combination let the beautiful bouquet of reds and oranges shine.

chalk up another sock! a hand-dyed, hand-knit hug for the feet.

after:

fire on the mountain

until the eternal question of "how many handknit shawls is too many?" is answered, this chickadee will continue to cast them on. they are perfect projects...challenging lace sections, lazy stockinette, comfortable yardage requirements...what's not to love?

recently, this chickadee's wandering needles happened upon a particularly striking skein of yarn. this single ply manos del uruguay maxima REALLY stood out on the shelves of purl soho. the colorway, speeding ticket, is probably a bit too much to wear in a sweater. but in a shawl it could be stunning.

the pattern needed to be plain enough to let the color do the talking, but interesting enough to maintain the interest of the knitter. kouyou by angela tong (ravelry link only) is just the right combination. there is a swatch of stockinette that lets the color really shine and the prettiest of lace edgings that is a total treat to knit.

this might be the official rainy day shawl. there isn't a black cloud above that it couldn't brighten up.

to infinity!

the dipped infinity cowl by laura chao of cosmicpluto knits! is a hit in knitting circles worldwide. she describes it as the perfect way to use up leftover bits of sock yarn and that is completely true. but what if you aren't a sock knitter? what if your stash isn't stocked with scraps of the right spectrum?

fear not! neighborhood fiber co. is coming to your rescue with cute little kits all containing just the right amount of yarn to whip up this nifty knit. check out the photo above to see a sample knit with nfc's studio sock yarn.

there are three kits: warms, cools and purples. the kits contain the yarn and the cowl pattern and they are available for purchase through the neighborhood online shop. check out the color combos below and get your kit-knit on:

going to extremes

this chickadee has declared the knitting year of 2011 to be the year of the extremities. time to tackle those toes, handle the hands and bring flair to all sorts of phalanges. that means that mittens and socks are on the menu. and to spice things up a bit, why not throw in a new technique or two?

so here are two chickadee firsts in two chickadee projects...first pair of mittens and first stranded colorwork. followed quickly by the second pair of mittens and second attempt at stranded colorwork.

many more attempts/failures/successes/otherwise to follow!

fraternal mittwins


pattern: herringbone mittens with poms (elliphantom knits)
yarn: cascade 220




canary in a coal mine



pattern: birdcage mittens (also from elliphantom knits)
yarn: fiberphile hand-dyed super squish worsted (love!)

neon pom-pon

after working on projects that take quite a long time to complete, it is a treat to be able to turn one around in two days. and also a treat to adorn one's head on drab, dreary winter days with such a delightful, brightful topper. plus, everyone should own at least one hat with a pom-pon.

make your own! go to erica knits blog. there you will find a sweet celebration of simple pleasures, like knitting and reading and eating things yummy. plus, she shares some knitting patterns for free! one of which is this hat, you'll see it in the sidebar. it is the piksi hat. it is made of fun.

a few of my favourite things

1. spelling the word favorite "favourite".

2. knitting.

3. knitting shawls.

4. pink, purple and gray. preferably in combination with each other.

5. this:

more specifically, this is the chickadee version of kirsten kapur's pattern, snow drops and snap peas (pattern available via ravelry). and it is made even more chickadee thanks to the pretty and perfectly named chickadee yarn from quince and co.

it isn't just the name of the yarn that is lovable, the yarn itself is some of the most delightful stuff to work with. it is springy, squishy and soft...everything a yarn should be! and it comes in quite a generous palette. these three were the ones that chirped the loudest to me.

smile for the birdie

say cheese! here's another custom camera case from the chickadee central workshop. it is both sturdy and soft thanks to the combination of batting and fusible fleece. a velcro closure keeps the camera contained. there's a single slip pocket around the back for low profile photo excursions. and even a wrist strap that, when not in use, can tuck away into the a fore mentioned pocket.

this case was a special treat to make because of who it went to. more on that soon!

i heard it through the grapevine

the hawthorne pattern was added immediately to the knitting queue as soon as it was released in the fall 2010 twist collective issue. in the photos, it looked totally scrumptious and seemed like something new and different to knit.

hawthorne is a scharf...somewhere in between a scarf and a shawl. the construction is interesting too. it is worked from the bottom up (which calls for casting on a couple hundred stitches) and the garter section employs short rows.

the perfect yarn happened to be just steps away in the stash. manos del uruguay rittenhouse merino sold me upon first squeeze. it is a super fine, kettle dyed merino. it was gorgeous in the skein and worked up dreamily too. two skeins turned out to be more than enough to finish the project.

gimme shelter

knitwear designer jared flood of brooklyn tweed fame recently took the sheep by the shears and released his very own yarn, shelter. it certainly speaks to the rustic, traditional stitching that so define his patterns. and the palette is a perfect complement, he's circled the spectrum and selected colors with richness and depth as well as much needed neutrals.

you are talking to a very lucky little chickadee who actually works at one of the few flagship stores that sell skeins of the lovely stuff. that's right, fibre space has it! and it has been a real hit.

to celebrate our celebrity yarn status, we were privy to previews of his new patterns and yarn. and yours truly got to stitch up a sample...the terra shawl in the sap colorway. here she is, big and beautiful!

if you are in the dc area, stop by space to see this and other samples that staff members knit out of shelter. it is delightfully sheepy and oh so very squishy. and warm, is it ever warm! the chill is coming. get yourself some shelter. even sir mick sang of needing some.

hot to trot

the traveling woman by liz abinante has graced this here blog a few times in the past. it is a testament to the greatness of the pattern that it keeps getting made to be gifted. this lady really is a special shawl, somewhere in between a scarf and a wrap. giving them away has been joyful, but also a bit sad as they always sit so nicely on the shoulders or cozy up to the neck and seem to want to stay right here.

in a knitting slump and struggling to manage an unruly stash, i decided to travel by staying close to home and pulled out the pattern yet again. paired with some mystery yarn that had been left here by a friend on her way out of town chasing down new adventures, and the circle was unbroken. the yarn is probably alchemy silk purse...but that is a best guess. it was unlabeled and already wound when it got here, as if it had started down one road and then decided to to turn back. it is bright as the day!


the three little balls did their best to manage the pattern with an additional repeat of the first chart, but they ran out of steam just stitches away from the end of a row. luckily no yarn is ever squandered in these parts, and there were still remnants remaining from the first ever chickadee traveling woman. the leftover malabrigo silky merino lent itself lovingly to the edge of another far wandering femme.

never felt better

new ipouches! now lined with scratch-proof and sturdy felt! come check them out on sunday in silver spring at the handmade mart.

pocket poppet

fun with leftovers! this fabric was way too cute to let any of it go to waste. so here's a matching portable pocket with some special stitches.

these little ladies seemed to need some more attention. to make them stand out, the outside fabric was backed with quilt batting and then the dolls were outlined with straight stitches. the pouch may be soft but it is no pushover. a layer of interfacing was fused to the lining to give it strength and shape.

snow business

the mid-atlantic region has been blanketed in a snowy shroud. looks like the fluffy stuff has finally stopped falling from the sky. outside all seems quiet and still. inside, there's been a flurry of activity (pardon the pun). the little shop of chickadee finally got the update that was promised last month. these portable iphone pockets are a perfect way to keep your precious safe and warm.

brightly colored cottons are given added stability with a layer of interfacing. and a plush flannel lining ensures freedom from scratches while also providing a bit of cushion. there's a slip pocket in front for cards and cash, and a removable ring on the side to hold keys or swing from a belt loop. snap it shut and you are ready to go. measuring approximately 3 1/2" x 5", they'll fit a phone with or without a standard-sized hard shell case.

visit the shop to see more!

gift giving

great big thanks to friend and fantastic crafter katie of moonlight bindery. she's included chickadee wanderlust wallets in her last minute shopping guide!

there they are, alongside some other awesome products from herban lifestyle and see katie sew (a different katie).

you can find the wanderlust wallets in the little shop of chickadee and at the holiday booty market this weekend. katie and her magnificent handbound notebooks, journals and photo albums will be there too! if the weather outside is too frightful, you can also shop moonlight bindery online. here's a peek at some of the creative and impeccably crafted pieces you'll find there:

wonderful wanderful wallets!

christmas is coming a little early for your id, metro pass and credit cards! the little shop of chickadee is stocked to the tip of our tall elf hat with wanderlust wallets in super cute retro prints. there's a wide array of colors to choose from, each with the same super triple slip pockets, snap tight closure and removable clip ring. a chickadee workshop original cobbled together with love and ready to stuff holiday stockings.

p.s.: they are great for giving gift cards!!