springing eternal

more bags!

full spectrum

get a load of these gorgeous yarns! this is neighborhood fiber co luxury worsted, an incredible merino/cashmere/nylon blend. super soft and ultra vibrant and available for sale online. there's no limit to the lovely things that you can make with this yarn...just one skein could make an awesome accessory, a choose a couple for a scarf or shawl or indulge in a sweater quantity. this chickadee is dreaming of snuggling under a dc neighborhood hued luxury worsted blanket.

bring the noise

a few posts back you saw this chickadee's first forays into the world of two-handed knitting, something that seemed so strange at the beginning of the year but is slowly making sense. the stranded colorwork bug is easy to catch if not a wee bit challenging to master. practice makes (closer to) perfect! so it is best to keep casting on with a couple of colors.

here's a hat project that incorporated that technique, along with a new one for turning a crisp brim.

pattern: noise by tracy rolling
yarn: the sanguine gryphon's QED

sorry for the stagnant shot. models are hard to come by!

up, up and away

the new neighborhood fiber co website is live. no fooling!

karida's amazing colorways are now just one click away. leading off is the lovely maisonette dk, a 50% tussah silk 50% merino combination. this is the yarn that was used to knit ysolda's scroll lace scarf in the previous post. it is a total treat to work with!

stay tuned for more, as we stock the shelves with soft yarn that is super saturated and sublime!

opening tomorrow

hi neighbor!

this week i'll be helping friend and fabulously talented craftswoman karida of neighborhood fiber co. get her webstore off the ground. she's an independent dyer of all yarns bright and beautiful. and she names her super saturated colorways after communities in towns that she's lived in.

nfc is some of my favorite wool to work with...and it pops up in all sorts of chickadee projects. here are a couple of recently stitched pieces made with this sublime stuff:

pattern: kerrera (by gudrun johnston)

yarn: neighborhood fiber co. studio worsted (shaw)

pattern: scroll lace scarf (by ysolda teague)

yarn: neighborhood fiber co. maisonette DK (hampden)

pretty soon you'll be able to snap this stuff up from the comfort of your own couch. stay tuned for webstore updates from the neighborhood. in the meantime, you can see it for yourself on the shelves of fibre space in alexandria.

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!)

spring thing

all quiet

this chickadee will be participating in a blogger's day of silence tomorrow to honor the people of japan. no posts, but lots of loving thoughts and well wishes for recovery.

if you are a blogger and want to get involved, go here to find out how.

if you are looking for a way to help, you can follow this link to donate to shelter box. they are a UK based non-profit that delivers containers packed with much needed items like tents, blankets and cooking equipment to people who have lost homes, clothing and means of feeding themselves and their families.

dear japan,

this chickadee loves you.
hope that you are better soon.

xoxoxo