The Third Fiber Sneaky Peek

Hello everyone - this is the third (and most likely) final fiber sneaky peek before design previews commence (and I am pretty excited about the design previews, let me tell you).

I have, as I announced in Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace's initial blog post, utilized some excellent fiber from both independent dyers/producers as well as large fiber manufacturers. Both have a place in the world of knit, crochet and DIY. I have chosen to focus on the indie fiber producer side of things because small business owners need all the exposure they can get. It's more and more difficult to make one's fiber voice heard through the social media din; anything I can do (big or small) to get out the word on these beautiful fibers, I do so gladly. 

So with that, I turn my wee design spotlight on Neighborhood Fiber Co. Each of Karida Collins' amazing colorways are named for neighborhoods in either Washington, D.C. or Baltimore, MD (where her dye studio is located). I've used her Shaw colorway (on her Capital Luxury Lace base) for my Forged Joy Shawl in last fall's Romantique collection; I've also had the pleasure of using Karida's yarn for a design in Craft it Now published earlier this spring by F+W Media. Neighborhood Fiber Co.'s beautiful colorways can be seen pretty much across the knit and crochet design field and I am so pleased to have not one, but two different designs included in this book worked up in her fibers.

The first project (at least in terms of concept) was made with Studio Worsted in the Shaw colorway. These are big, squoishy skeins of worsted weight awesomeness. That tonal color variation plus the excellent stitch definition made this cardigan project jump to life. I cannot tell you what a pleasure it was to work with this yarn, and I firmly believe that pleasure is reflected in the finished design (which was a model favorite at the photo shoot).

The second project (and it's a knit beauty, folks!) is worked up in Studio Sport in the Lauraville colorway. Different yarn weight than the above, but same great stitch definition and gorgeous tonal color. I picked out the yarn earlier this spring when Karida was vending at Vogue Knitting Live. It's blue, but not quite, lavender, but also not quite - and that's this colorway's charm. I will tell you the design using this yarn made the book's cover.

U.S. Thanksgiving is just a week away. I wish each of you a happy, healthy turkey day filled with all of your favorite foods eaten in the thankful spirit of the season. 

I'm taking a deep breath, because the design previews start in just a little bit. Ready or not, here comes Leather, Lace, Grit & Grace.