The Super-Coolest New Stuff from TNNA

05JulApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Soooo, did you catch my tweets from TNNA last week? I wanted to share with you guys all the fun of the National Needlearts Association’s annual summer tradeshow because it is absolutely the best knit-industry weekend of the year. The. Best. Weekend.

First, because we get to see all the new patterns, products, and trends that will shape the industry in the coming year. We were shopping for hand-made gifts for the Yarn Alliance and the SpaceMonster Club — and we found some amazing stuff! And second, because everybody that you’ve been wanting to connect with all year is there — every fabulous designer, every big name podcaster, every fantastic dyer — all in one place, hanging out and chatting and knitting in one place. Saturday night at the Hyatt’s bar is like the dream team of knit nights!

It’s always great to see friends like Laura Nelkin, Rebecca Velasquez, Andi Smith (whose new book, Big Foot Knits, has just been released by CoopPress), and the lovely Stacey Trock (do you know, she and I ended up staying up until 3am talking business and generating new ideas!). And so fabulous to finally meet up with long-time online friends like Ruth Garcia-Alcantud of Rock & Purl and Lindsey Stevens of Poetry in Yarn. We ran into the YarnOver Truck girls, who’d just won the TNNA Business Innovation award (and deservedly so!), Edie Eckman, Angela Tong, Meredith Tarasovich-Clark, and Caro Sheridan. We had a blast!

But listen, I want to show you some of the cool new stuff we saw! There were so many fantastic things to see that it was hard to choose, but here are two of my absolute favourites.

The Zoom Loom from Schacht

Oh my stars, this is soooooo addictive! Weaving on this little loom is quick and easy and I just can’t stop. Have you seen my Instagrams and tweets lately? I’ve been weaving Mini-Skeins into little woven squares non-stop ever since we got home!

Don’t you love them? I’m thinking of a scarf… a cowl… a blanket… or maybe an amazing jacket or cape. Wouldn’t it look incredible?

The Capsule from Go Knit

I’m so excited about these! Everyone loves their Go Knit pouches and now the same folks have hit it out the park again with two super-sleek sleeves to hold those littlest notions that are so easy to lose track of (darning needles, anyone?).

I love the crazy-bright colours,the faux crocodile fabric(!), and simple shape. And I’m not the only one — they’ve been getting press all over the place. Amy Singer of Knitty.com couldn’t resist tweeting them up right there from the show floor!

So you can see why I had such a great weekend, can’t you? There are still tons of stuff I haven’t shown you (keep your eyes open, club members!), and some really great collaborations with cool designers that I’m keeping mum about… but, hey, don’t you worry. You know all that good stuff will be heading your way soon!

An Update to Knitting Saves the Day! (And SpaceMonsters Closes This Weekend)

20JunApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

SQUEEEEEEE!!!!! In only a few hours from now, we’ll be leaving for TNNA, The National Needlearts Association’s summer tradeshow in Columbus Ohio, for some of the very best fun a fiber addict can possibly have!

There will be new yarns to sample, suppliers to talk to, designers to collaborate with. And the Very Best Knit Night Ever, as all the brightest stars of the knitting world meet up on Saturday night for drinks and knitting in the hotel bar. I cannot tell you how mind-blowing it is to sit in that room, knitting away happily, and to see every single industry icon you can think of knitting alongside you! Keep your eyes on my Twitter feed for live updates over the weekend.

But before I get back to my packing (what to wear?!? what to wear?!?), I wanted to give you a quick update on the Birdhouse that was Saved by Knitting. Do you remember that we had a lovely pair of birds who nested in a decorative birdhouse that really wasn’t up to the job? The body of the birdhouse started to come away from the roof, and I had horrible visions of it falling, nest and eggs and all, and smashing into the ground.

So I whipped out some size 19s and nylon cord and knit a quick safety net to hold the whole thing together. And I am thrilled to report that knitting really has saved the day: my spur-of-the-minute fix has held through thunderstorms and gusty winds, and I can hear (but haven’t yet seen) that there is a nestful of happy (and hungry!) babies inside that little birdhouse.

Want to hear them? I recorded this little snippet for you. First, you’ll hear my backdoor squeaking, then the babies calling, and then the very irritated mother chastising me for being too close to her nest.

(Can’t play it? Click here )

And for those of you who are good at identifying birds, I’d love to know what these guys are. Here’s a photo I was able to snap of the mother leaving the nest. Any ideas?

The SpaceMonster Club Closes This Weekend

And wow, time flies! The SpaceMonster Mega Yarn Club will be closing to new subscribers this weekend, so if you love bulkier yarns and fabulous SpaceCadet colours, make sure you sign up!

Want to know more? Click here for all the club details. Just make sure you do it quickly because, once subscriptions close, this club won’t re-open again for another six months — and it’s too good to miss!

Ready to join?

Click on one of the buttons below to grab your spot in the SpaceMonsters Mega Yarn Club

Very Important: if you are giving this as a gift, please remember to include the recipient’s postal and email addresses in the notes when you check out. We gotta have that to send the recipient their parcels!

Six month subscriptions include 3 parcels; twelve month subscriptions include 6 parcels. Parcels will be sent out on or near the first of February, April, June, August, October, and December. Shipping within the United States is included in the price; extra charges apply for shipping outside the US..
Normal subscription openings/renewals will be available in June and December of each year.
Any other questions? Ask us! info (at) spacecadetcreations (dot) com

SpaceMonster Mega Yarn Club: the Latest Parcel and Open for Subscriptions!

07JunApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

SPOILER ALERT: If you’re in the SpaceMonster Club and you don’t want to see the contents of the latest parcel, stop reading now!

Do you know how excited I get on club shipment day? Nope, I bet you don’t but let me tell you, seeing all those parcels bundled up and waiting for the postman… all of them filled with yummy yarny goodness… Oh, I love it! I think of all the excitement that those parcels will bring to our club members, how they’ll arrive on doorsteps and then burst open to reveal smooshiness and colour and gifts and joy. Mmmmm… I do love club shipment day.!

I am so excited to show you guys the SpaceMonster Mega-Yarn Club parcels that went out this week. First there was the yarn: it’s Cressida, a fantastic 4-ply worseted, in a colourway called “Chill”. I love this yarn, because it’s a really nice round and smooshy yarn that’s combined with a slightly tighter twist, so it’s a great for garments such as cardis or jumpers that might need a bit more durability — the best of both worlds!

And why is it called “Chill”? Because while I was dyeing it, it suddenly became unseasonably hot and all I could think about was finding someplace I could cooooool down. So I dyed the colours I was seeing in head: chilled blues, greens, and a touch of purple — all flowing into one another like a pool of cool water. I love the combination, don’t you?

And there’s an extra surprise in this parcel… Every third parcel in the SpaceMonster Mega-Yarn Club contains a special gift, and this parcel contained this fabulous project tote-bag! Made especially for us by Ana from Wren & Rita, it’s quilted and roomy, with nicely squared corners, an extra pocket inside, and big enough to carry a whole sweater-project. I am just over the moon to be able to share these with SpaceMonsters!

And here’s some more exciting news: The SpaceMonster Mega-Yarn club opens today for new subscriptions. If you love the smooshiness of big yarns and working up quick projects, this is the club for you — and we’d love to have you!

What to know more? Click here for all the details. But hurry, because subscriptions are available for two weeks only, from June 7 to June 22.

Ready to join now?

Click on one of the buttons below to grab your spot in the SpaceMonsters Mega Yarn Club

Saving Spring (and some news about the SpaceMonster Club)

30MayApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

After a winter that felt like it would never be defeated, it is such a joy to see the signs of spring at last. As soon as the first buds appeared on our maples, we welcomed the return of green by hanging a whole village of sweet little birdhouses in their branches. And even though I knew they are purely decorative and would never actually be used, their bright colours and cheerful presence brought a smile to my face everytime I spotted them out the window.

And we gathered up all the scrap yarn lying about the studio and the house, and stuffed it into a spare birdfeeder. It wasn’t long before chickdees and sparrows began tugging out colourful strands to build their nests with. Just like all of you, the birds in my garden have SpaceCadet WIPs too!

I think my favourite is the little church painted with the Union flag. How happy is that?

I can’t tell you how suprised I was when I discovered that a two little birds had adopted one of our decorative birdhouses, and were flying madly in and out as they built their nest. They’re little and sweet, with fat round bellies and dainty pointed beaks — I think they’re thrushes of some sort, but I don’t know for sure. Either way, I was delighted that they’d moved in right outside my kitchen window.

But as they flew in and out, adding sticks and twigs and lots of those yarn scraps, I realised to my horror that the birdhouse wasn’t up to the task. If you look carefully, you can see that roof was slowly beginning to separate from the house. You can see what I mean right there in the photo above. And at some point, I knew that the weight or the nest (…or the eggs …or the nestlings) would be too much, and the house would drop, nest and all, to the ground below.

What to do?!? I couldn’t let them keep building with sure disaster on the horizon. And yet I so wanted to them nest there outside my window! The solution suddenly came to me, and I wasted not a single moment as I grabbed some nylon twine and pair of size 19 needles.

Fifteen minutes later, impending doom had been averted. The house was now nestled safe and snug in a hand-knit net, secured through the birdhouse’s hook and right around the branch itself. The nest would not drop, and all was right in the world again.

Hey SpaceMonsters, get ready! Your yarn is all dyed and I am super-excited about this colourway. And your gifts were delivered yesterday and they are awesome! I can’t wait to get them in the post to you.

And for everyone else, if you’ve been thinking about joining the SpaceMonster Mega-Yarn Club, I’ve got exciting news! The club opens for new subscriptions on June 7, and this one is all about bulkier yarns — so quick to work with and just such fun! Want to know more more? Click here for all the details about the club. And don’t forget to mark June 7 on your calendar — we’d love to have you join us!

The Best Knitting is a Leap of Faith

10MayApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

I know this will sound crazy, but I rarely allow myself to use my own yarn — well, not the good stuff, anyway. When I’m feeling itchy to cast something on, I always make myself dig through the seconds (we call them “Poor Plutos”… why? because just like poor old Pluto, they almost made the grade). I don’t know why but, even though I am practically swimming in beautiful yarn all day long, I feel incredibly guilty keeping any for myself. Isn’t that ridiculous?!? Yeah, I know, and yet there it is — every time I go to keep some yarn for myself, I end up feeling all guilty and putting it back.

But once the madness of March and April began to really heat up (oh, and it got so crazy, I can hardly tell you!), I knew I needed to cast on something relaxing and grounding just to keep my sanity. You know what I mean. And this time, I really really wanted to knit with the good stuff.

So when a little dyepot-experimentation produced an incredible blue-gray that made me swoon as soon as I saw it (and it was on Lyra too, a sproingy cabled 8ply sport yarn that I loooove), I decided right then to keep five skeins for myself. Never mind that little nagging voice in the back of my head telling me I had to stick to the Plutos, I wanted it and I was going to have it! And so before I ever had the chance to change my mind, I immediately wound one skein into a cake and cast on. Deed done.

Ever since then, everyone has been asking me to dye more of that colourway. Every time I pull my project out, someone says they’d like that same colourway. And to be honest, I wasn’t sure I could reproduce it because… I hadn’t written down what I’d done.

But when Mel of SingleHanded Knits told me she was using Lyra for her new design called Old Man and the Sea, based on the Hemingway book and being knit in combined KAL/RAL (knit-along/read-along, of course!) starting May 15, I knew this colourway would be perfect for it. Grays and blues, sea and sky, deep waters and deeper storylines… Spot on. I went back to the dyepots and began experimenting… again.

Y’know, I’m absolutely besotted with Old Man and the Sea. A straight-forward garter-stitch cardi with interesting touches of openwork and cables… What’s not to love? And the design elements represent something from the book. To hear Mel’s inspiration for the pattern and the details about the KAL, check out this video she put together.

Mel knit her cardi in Burnt Clay and, as you can see, it looks fantastic. There’s also some gorgeous Honey in the shop, and Dark Skies and Sage being tied and tagged right now. But recreating that amazing blue-gray… could I do it?

I did! After a couple of false starts, I nailed it — and I named Fathoms Down and put the first batch in the shop before I’d even had a chance to photograph it. And do you want to hear something fantastic? Two intrepid knitters jumped in feet first and scooped those skeins up almost immediately — a sweater’s worth of yarn each — even though they’d never even seen the colourway.

How’s that for daring?!? I loved it, to see knitters who were just so adventurous! It is the absolute essence hand-dyed, to just dive in and explore where-ever the colour takes you. Heck, it’s the essence of knitting itself, isn’t it? Knitters, crocheters, fiber-artists of all stripes… we take the raw materials and just go where they lead us.

Who’s in on this KAL with me? The Old Man and the Sea KAL starts May 15, and the pattern is at a special marked down price until May 10th. There’s Honey and Burnt Clay available in the shop, with more colourways (including Fathom’s Down!) to go up in the next few days. Keep your eyes open!

This Weekend: HomeSpun Opens And Yarn Alliance Closes

22MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Before I say anything else, I just want to remind you that subscriptions to the InterStellar Yarn Alliance close in just TWO DAYS, and there are only a handful of spaces left. If you’ve been thinking of joining but haven’t grabbed your place yet, do it now before subscriptions close on Sunday night!

How to be a Super-Awesome Fangirl!

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Stacey Trock of Fresh Stitches asked me to write a guest blog post about how to be a great customer (and fan!) at yarn shows. So often, a show is such a conflicted situation: on the one hand, we’re dying to chat to customers that we’ve only been able to “meet” online but then, the booth is often just so crazy-busy that we hardly have the chance to really talk to anybody! What’s a dyer to do?!?

Well, like so many things in life, the best thing to do is start with a plan. And my guest post for Stacey goes through the basics of how to plan out a yarn show trip so that you get to spend some quality time with the vendors you’re dying to meet up with.

HomeSpun Yarn Party This Weekend!

And the timing couldn’t be more perfect, because this weekend we’re heading to Savage MD for HomeSpun Yarn Party, one of my most favouritest yarn shows of the whole year. The place is packed with indie makers selling all hand-made, home-made, and just gorgeous stuff!

We’ll be taking…

More of those coveted kits for Laura Nelkin’s Juego Mystery KAL. These are the yarn and beads that completely sold out in an absolutely frenzied 24 hours earlier this month, but we’ve held a few back for our spring shows. If you want one, get in there and grab it quick!

The Show Exclusive Colourway — a gorgeous yarn in deep, rich colours that I’ve designed that will be available only at the shows we’re doing this spring. You gotta be there to get it and, until the shows are over, I can’t even show you what it looks like! The skeins we took to Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet absolutely flew off the shelves, but — lucky you! — I kept a second a batch safely back in the studio to take to HomeSpun Yarn Party.

More kits for Melissa Jean’s Dublin Tee, and in some exciting brand-new colourways, including one called “Fizz” (any guesses what colour that might be?), one called “Fire”, and one — just one kit — that I may never be able to repeat again and looks like this…

Plus Sparkly Heels & Toes kits, Mini-Skein kits, and hundreds and hundreds of skeins of amazing, hand-dyed SpaceCadet yarn. …Oh! And SpaceCadet tatoos — make sure you ask for one!

HomeSpun Yarn Party

Sunday, March 24, 2013 from 12-5pm
Historic Savage Mill, 8600 Foundry Street, Savage, MD 20763
Want a map? I gotcha covered

So if you live anywhere in the DC-Baltimore area, you absolutely want to make sure you’re there! We can’t wait to see you guys!