• home
• about us
• colorways
• products
• retailers
• patterns
• blog
• contact us

So, I am not participating in the Ravelympics.  Because the idea of committing myself to one more deadline fills me with abject terror.  But, hypothetically, if I was doing Ravelympics, I would start Team Secret Knitting For Publication and we could all post vague descriptions without pictures of our projects.  All of this is to say that I’m at the very end of knitting (and writing) for Pints and Purls!

Everything else is progressing along nicely.  The tree has been removed from the backyard and everything is mostly cleaned up.  My brother is back and not as skinny as I had feared.  He brought beautiful photos of his safari trip which I will hopefully get to share at some point.  Grandfather is out of the skilled nursing center and staying with my mom.  I went up to Philly to get him last week.  He too is better than I feared, though my Mom and I are on a mission to feed him as much as possible while he’s staying with us.  Hopefully this also ends my round of last-minute, emergency(!) trips to Philadelphia.

Happy Monday everyone!

So, I have a lot to report. Things have been busy around NFC headquarters.

First, a tree fell on my new house.  Seriously.  There was a freak storm (some people are saying it was a tornado) that brought down a bunch of trees in my neighborhood.  Luckily, no one was hurt and there was no real damage.  Poor little Honey was home by herself and the tree hit the house right at the studio.  She was cowering in the corner when we got home.  Gratuitous tree pic below.  There are more on Flickr

Second, I have had this awesome yarn for weeks(!) and haven’t had a chance to blog it.  Priscilla, who took very good care of me while I was in Columbus, told the wonderful Mia that I wanted to get my hands on some Wollmeise.  Mia and I have similar tastes in colors, so she popped these pretties in the mail to me. Mia, you rock! Mmmm…Wollmeise.

Third, the Prince William Purlers.  Last Monday night I headed out to Manassas, VA for the monthly meeting of the Prince William Purlers.  This knitting guild gave me such a warm welcome and were so interested in the work of NFC and my inspiration.  I had lots of fun hanging out and I hope that everyone enjoys the yarn!  Thanks ladies!

Fourth, the Sock Club.  I went back and forth about it in my head and with a few knitters, and I’ve decided to do it.  This sock club is a bit different than the last one.  It’ll last for a whole year, but yarn packages will only come every other month.  Each package will include enough yarn for a pair of socks, a pattern, and goodies. The price for the club is $30/month ($180 for the full year) and each member will be billed at the beginning of each month that a package is shipped. If at any time someone is unhappy, that person can opt out of future shipments and not be charged for them.

The theme is a Walking Tour of DC.  Basically, the colors, yarns, and patterns will be inspired by people, places, and things I see while walking around DC.  One month might be inspired by a night at the monuments, and another by FilmFest DC.  I’m hoping the sock club will help me stay in touch with my DC roots.  The city is such a source of inspiration for me, and I don’t want to lose touch with that.  I have a very limited number of spots, so if you’re interested, head on over here and sign up!

And finally, a bit of a personal update.  My brother, William, has been in Nigeria since May and he’s finally coming home tomorrow!  We’re all very excited because while in Nigeria, he’s had malaria twice and lost more than 20 pounds.  So we want him back in the States where we can feed and coddle him until we’re all reassured.

Also, I’ve recently been travelling to Philadelphia to visit my grandfather in the hospital and skilled nursing facility where he’s been.  A couple of weeks ago, when we had a series of HOT days, he suffered a heat stroke and was taken to the emergency room.  While he was there, they discovered he had pneumonia too.  So, he’s been bounced back and forth from the hospital to a skilled nursing facility where he’s doing rehabilitation therapy (re-learning to do regular stuff like going up stairs).  We hope he’ll be released this week too and I’ll be going back to Philly to get him and bring him back to stay with my Mom.

So, if I haven’t been on Ravelry or checking emails as frequently as usual, I’m sure you all understand!

So, I’ve decided that I’m not living in the suburbs.  Instead, I’m going to call upon the full weight of my graduate work and refer to my living situation as “posturban.”  The term has been used to describe a scholastic attempt at rethinking urban space and so on and so forth.  For me, I’m applying the term to refer to the new trend of rich people moving into the city and poor people moving to the burbs.  So, I’m not exactly a starving artist, but I’m also not exactly an heiress.  And focusing on the business has necessitated some belt-tightening.  Simultaneously I need more space.  All of this is to say that a state-funded arts district (complete with tax breaks) just outside the city is perfect.  And I still feel urban.  But with more space.  And greenery (which I didn’t realize how much I missed).  Witness flowers growing in the backyard.

And random blackberry bush.  Also in the backyard.

And most importantly, the newest member of the family, Honey.

She is a 5 year old rat terrier rescue that I found on PetFinder.com.  And she’s a perfect studio companion who doesn’t want to eat the yarn (unlike the cats).  We have a nice yard for her to play in and neighborhood where I feel totally safe walking her at night.  Look for dog sweaters in the near future.  All in all, I’m happy.  Busy unpacking, but very happy.

So, in the past 4ish years, I have lived in 4 distinct neighborhoods in DC.  Only now that I’ve moved, yet again, did I realized that I’ve been on a steady eastern trajectory.  Seriously, check out this map, which includes my most recent move.

Now, you may have noticed something significant. Something serious. A BIG change. I’m no longer an official resident of the District of Columbia. I’m back in Maryland, Mount Rainier to be specific. Before you start hurling epithets my way, let me reassure you, I’m still committed to DC. The District of Craftiness. The District of Awesome. Taxation without Representation.

First, I’m still walking distance from the DC line. I can walk into DC.

Second, I’m teaching a few beginning knitting classes in the Logan Circle neighborhood through Knit-A-GoGo. The classes are being held at my favorite cocoa bar, ACKC. These are beginner classes for now, but if there’s interest, I’d like to add some more advanced stuff. Maybe color theory and a workshop on knitting with hand-dyed yarns?

Third, the next incarnation of the sock club will focus on DC locations. Places that I love that are important to me. The Tidal Basin at the height of the cherry blossoms. The Botanical Gardens. Rock Creek Park. These are just examples. I’m still working out the particulars, but more information will be available soon.

And finally, my new neighborhood is awesome! I’m barely outside of town and I get a backyard, an artsy cafe around the block, a food coop, and a BOOMING community of artists. It’s hippie-town and I fit right in.

You guys will forgive me, right?

Which is to say that the site is under construction.  As you can tell. NFC is getting a new look, but we’re trying to keep things somewhat functional as we go on.  The web designer (my DP, Erika) assures me that it’ll be up by the end of the weekend.

In the meantime, if you’re here by way of Ravelry, welcome!  I’d invite you to look around, but things are a bit messy.  If you don’t know yet, Studio Sock is the current “Featured Yarn” on Ravelry!

If you’re looking to buy some Studio Sock, there are a few options online.  Both The Loopy Ewe and Woolgirl are online vendors with Studio Stock in stock.  In the DC area, Knit Happens in Alexandria, VA has some and I’m delivering some to A Tangled Skein in Hyattsville, MD next week.

Now, back to dyeing!

me, Jess, tiny Bob, Libby, Jen, and Casey

Originally uploaded by Karida Collins

So I almost forgot to mention that on Thursday night, Libby and I attended the “Ravelry Unraveled” event through Knitter’s Connection. Jess, Casey, and Mary Heather gave an AWESOME powerpoint presentation on the past, present and future of Ravelry. Lots of cool stats, helpful hints, and cute pictures of Bob.

It was their first presentation like this, and they did a great job. Afterwords, we all went to the Surly Girl with Jen (pictured), Gerry, and Don for drinks, dinner, and hijinks! It was lots of fun and the three of them (Jess, Casey, and Mary Heather) are all great people to hang with and very humble about this crazy phenom they’ve created.

Yummy Ozark Handspun

Originally uploaded by Karida Collins

So today I’m FINALLY finished with all of the NFC promotional stuff in Ohio. In addition to TNNA, I stayed for Knitter’s Connection. Luckily Libby and hubby were okay with having me crash in their spare room for the week.

I sold a lot at KC, but I feel like maybe I bought just as much! The awesome yarn in the photo is some of the awesome Ozark Handspun that I scored. Um, I may have bought a LOT of Ozark Handspun. Seriously. A LOT. It’s just so yummy! I couldn’t resist. And David and Terri are adorable. David knows more about spinning than anyone I know and Terri keeps the business running Most adorable husband-wife team ever. Head over to my Flickr page to see more of my retail therapy.

Also, thanks to Priscilla for being sweet, bringing sweets, and helping me pick out gifts.

So, the big yarn industry trade show, TNNA, was this past weekend in Columbus, OH. I came out and am staying with my co-author, friend and general rockin’ chick, Libby. It ended on Monday, and I’m still recovering. It was a LONG weekend, but totally awesome. I met some great new people and reconnected with some old friends. I am still not coherent enough to post anything substantial, but for a more coherent summary, see Stef, Shannon, Hannah, and Cosy. All are authors of awesome books with the great publisher working with me and Libby.

I’m still in Columbus, hanging out and relaxing. I’m also getting ready for Knitter’s Connection this weekend. If you’re in the area, stop by the Columbus Convention Center!

Get it? Sheepish!
aka The Insanity That Is My Life

So, to answer all the questions about where the heck I’ve been for the last few months, I’ve created the following fake meme.

What have you been doing for the last 4 months
Well, things got a bit crazy for awhile. After my last post, I was gearing up for a LOT of yarn dyeing to fill orders at stores and also dye the yarn for the Winter in Washington Sock Club. In addition, I was slated to help teach a special 1-day retreat with Knit-A-GoGo (and provide the yarn). So, I was busy. Simultaneously, I unexpectedly had a death in the family. A cousin suffered a severe stroke and then died within a week. Lots of stress and grief. Then, my uncle, who had been battling cancer for 18 months, began to decline. Within a few weeks, he died. I won’t go into too much detail, but basically, it was really awful and my family is still kinda recovering. So, things were majorly overwhelming for awhile. I had too much to do juggling my office job, Neighborhood Fiber, and family stuff. And mostly, I wanted to lay around and be depressed. Not a good start to 2008 for me.

One good thing came out of the stress and misery. I reached my breaking point, and it illuminated for me that I can’t do everything. I realized that I would have to either fully focus on Neighborhood Fiber Co or close up shop and focus on work.

What’s going to happen to Neighborhood Fiber Co.?
Well, I decided to focus on Neighborhood Fiber Co. I QUIT MY JOB!!!

Now, my job is Neighborhood Fiber Co. I’ve been catching up and dyeing yarn frantically since my last day of work. So, if I owe you yarn, it’s coming. If I owe you email or phone call, it’s probably been lost to the void and you should send me another one. :)

Weren’t you writing a book too?
Yes, I am writing a book! In the middle of all of this craziness, I’ve been knitting frantically and working with awesome designers and my coauthor Libby (Wine Lips). We’re 95% done! The book, called Pints and Purls, will be out in 2009. Hopefully, I’ll have some teaser pictures from the publisher soon.

Will there be another sock club?
Though the last one was kind of a rollercoaster ride (for me and the members), I am planning another sock club. And actually, I have a couple of other club ideas. I’ll have to find something to do with all this “free” time.

What stores are you shipping to soon?
Well, let’s see. Lots of yarn headed to Loopy Ewe, Woolgirl, Yarn Expressions, Knit Happens, A Tangled Skein, Abundant Yarn and Dyeworks, and more!

And now for the part where I promise to blog more frequently and get the website in order. I have some help with it now and it should be up and running soon. Promise. Seriously.

I mean it this time.

I’m back from Long Beach, CA and the TNNA market (yarn industry trade show). It was LOTS of fun. I met loads of great new people, saw some great people I met back in June, and overall had a great time. I took lots of orders. More yarn will be headed to Threadbear, Loop, Yarn Expressions and Knit Happens. I’ll be sending product for the first time to Knitch, The Loopy Ewe, and Woolgirl.

I’m totally zonked, but it was totally worth it.

Lots of more coherent descriptions all around blogland including pictures on flickr in some cases. When I get it together, I’ll post a picture of my booth.

Anyway, many of you have noticed a few “quirks” with my website lately. And by “quirks,” I mean stuff that doesn’t work. So, with the exception of the front page, I’m taking everything down for awhile while we do a complete web overhaul. All the links up top are disabled. Look for a new and improved site on Sunday, Feb 3.

Also, the Sock Club is officially closed! The first package is shipping soon, but I’ll let everyone know when the Spring round is open.

Karen in Toledo!!!

Karen will win a free membership in the Tour of DC Sock Club - Winter in Washington.

If anyone else is interested, i still have a few spots left, but the form on my website is being wonky. So just send me an email if your interested, karida@neighborhoodfiberco.com

Congrats to Karen!

VOTE FOR AN HGTV MAKEOVER OF ANACOSTIA, DC: YOUR VOTE COUNTS!
HGTV is going to remake one neighborhood from neighborhoods across the country and Anacostia is on the list. Anacostia is competing against nine other neighborhoods across the country for the makeover. YOU have the opportunity to help make that dream a reality by voting on HGTV’s website for Anacostia ONCE A DAY between now and December 21st.

To encourage you loyal readers to vote, I’m going to GIVE AWAY 1 SOCK CLUB MEMBERSHIP.

So here’s how you can win. Since my forms are not cooperating with me, just go to this website to vote: Change Anacostia!

Then leave me a comment when you vote and I’ll add your name to the list.

On December 22, I’ll draw a name from the list, and that person will get a sock club subscription for free!

We’re working on the honor system here. You can be entered into the raffle every time you vote. So be honest.

Now for the fine print. You can only vote once a day for a maximum of 16 entries. Second, if you already signed up for the sock club, you are still eligible to win, but you’re also still on the hook for the membership you bought. So, basically, if you won, you’d have two memberships. Maybe there’s a certain someone you still need a gift for. Maybe you just like having LOTS of sock yarn. Your choice. Also, you are not required to vote for Anacostia (though I hope you do!).

Face it folks, you can’t knit everyone’s gift this holiday season. And you probably don’t want to. So, you’ll end up buying some gifts.

Now, if you’ve known me for awhile, you may have heard the story of the year my Mom and I decided to try and combat Christmas consumerism by not doing gifts. My only compromise was that I decided to make gifts for my close friends and family. We put the word out early on that we didn’t want to contribute to the rampant consumer machine, etc. We even told people to spend the money instead on donations to a local public radio station. Total failure. Awkwardness all around as we opened gifts we didn’t really want (except from Erika who bought me lovely gifts). Nobody got it because everyone likes presents! And I’ve accepted that I too love gifts.

So, now, as I contemplate how to fight the big-box-ification of Christmas, I figure the best thing to do is buy fair trade, buy local, and buy handmade.

A great opportunity for those of you in the DC area is coming up soon. The first ever Bloomingdale Holiday Art Market will be December 1 at Big Bear Cafe. Big Bear is an adorable coffee shop at First and R Street NW. I will not be vending because I have SO many other orders to fill, but I’ll definitely be there buying gifts, hanging out, and getting inspiration for new colors. It’s being organized in part by the wonderful and talented Raina of goshdarnknit, so check out her site for more info.

First the two big things.

The Sock Club. Wow. I have been overwhelmed by the positive response from everyone. By popular demand (emphasis on the demand!), I’m increasing the maximum number of participants to 50 people. And I’ve selected the designer for one of our exciting, exclusive patterns. The talented and wonderful Kelly of kelp!knits will be designing an exclusive pattern for the club! If you haven’t seen them, make sure you head over and check out her beautiful Ironwork Socks. The pattern she’s doing for the club will be just as gorgeous. Thanks Kelly!

And the second big thing. Together with my good friend and drinking buddy, Libby Bruce, I’m writing a knitting book! The book is tentatively titled Pints and Purls, and it focuses on portable projects that you can work on while you are…”distracted.” The idea came out of our knitting group which meets in a bar. Because sometimes you need projects that you can work on while you’re having a glass of wine or a beer with friends. And sometimes you need to know how to get the wine stain out of the sweater you knit. There will be a big social aspect to the book, and we’re really excited to be working on it. We’ve got some amazing designers lined up, but we’re still looking for more. So look for an announcement in the very near future that calls for pattern submissions.

Now to the 7 random things. Cici tagged me, so here goes.
1. I am mostly vegetarian, but not for any moral or health related reason. I just don’t like the taste of beef and pork. However, I would probably sell my soul for the perfect crabcake.
2. I am a continental knitter and it’s REALLY hard for me to knit “the other way.”
3. I find most alpaca yarns simultaneously soft and itchy. I know it makes no sense.
4. I think other people’s feet are the grossest thing ever. My own don’t bother me. But anyone else’s gross me out.
5. I love Joss Whedon. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Angel and Firefly. I love all things Joss. I read the X-Men comic book he authored because it was him. My love knows no bounds.
6. I am suspicious of people who don’t like animals.
7. I am also suspicious of people who don’t like the Simpsons.

By popular demand, I am launching a Neighborhood Fiber Co. Sock Club. I’m calling it A Tour of DC, and the first segment will be “Winter in Washington.” For 3 months, sock club members will get yummy yarn in exclusive colors, exclusive patterns, and goodies. The price is $90 including shipping in the US and I am willing to do international shipping for an additional fee.

I only have space for 40 people, and thanks to my listserv, 15 spots are already taken. So, I only have 25 spaces left! More details and sign up info are here. Hurry up and get your spot while it’s still there!