When you start your week with something as exciting as the moon blocking out the sun on the very first day (related: did you see this?), it’s kind of hard for the rest of the week to measure up. And I think maybe Wednesday has to be the hardest… the eclipse is over but we’re still two who days away from the weekend.
Well don’t you worry — there’s nothing like a little fibery goodness to get rid of the mid-week blahs. And I’ve got a dose of it! So grab a cup of tea, get settled in your favourite spot, and let’s dive in!
Practically everyone I know knits or crochets, from the age of 7 to 77, and I’m always struck by what a wonderful activity it is for kids. As we head into back-to-school time, I was reminded of the Yarn Craft Council’s resource page for Incorporating Math into Classes. And it made me wonder why schools don’t embrace knitting and crochet more — for manual dexterity, creativity, spacial awareness, math skills and, well, just to keep those hands busy. If you work in education, I’d really love to hear your thoughts — on how you’ve incorporated knitting and crochet …or why you haven’t. Seriously, I’m interested — please get in touch and let me know.
Speaking of classes, I recently took this free mini-class on short rows, taught by Carol Feller on Craftsy, and loved it — especially the Japanese short-row method, which I’d never tried before but found much more to my liking than the regular w&t method I usually use. Good stuff!
I have a friend who recently learned to crochet (see? even the people I know who don’t knit or crochet come around eventually! *chuckles menacingly*) and I thought of her when I spotted this article called 5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me When I First Started Crocheting.
So, ok, this is isn’t knitting and crochet related but I thought it was interesting. Every property show I’ve seen on television in the last ten years has been allllll about open concept floorplans and, yet, they’ve never really knocked me out. I like being able to find a quiet corner where I can curl up with my knitting, my tea, a nice view out the window, and… close the door on the rest of the world. And I’ve seen enough photos of fellow Ravelers’ crafting corners to know I’m not alone. So I had to smile when I saw this article in the Wall Street Journal. The bulk of the story is behind their paywall but the title sums it up pretty nicely: The Open-Floor-Plan Backlash: How Family Members Are Escaping Each Other. Yep, there are times when that’s exactly what my knitting corner is about!
Gradient Explorers: 14 Spaces Opening Friday
When we opened the Gradient Explorers last month, it sold out so fast it nearly made my head spin (every single spot was gone literally before I finished making my cup of tea!). So for everyone who tried but couldn’t get in, I have good news: we have 14 spaces available this month. They’ll be opening on Friday so click here to read all the details and then, if you want one of those spots, set a reminder on your phone for Friday at 10am!
For the Gradient Explorers, we create a Never Ending gradient, just as we do for our Mini-Skeins, but for full-sized skeins so they build up into sweater sets! How cool is that? Just like the Gradient Mini-Skeins, each month’s colours will flow into the next but in larger skeins to create bigger colour blocks and more gradual shifts that are perfect for sweaters. You choose the yarn you want to receive each month, and then we start dyeing, all in colours that coordinate together and with our regular colourways too (so they’ll work with your stash), plus we’ll add some exciting club-exclusive variegateds too!
(And for our current members: we just finished the second layering of colour on your skeins and they look awesome. We’ll be packing them as soon as they’re dry. I can’t wait for you to see them!)
Lavena by Christiane Burkhard
Sometimes a design just really jumps out at you and the unusual way the mosaic motif repeats on the left side of this beautiful shawl is so innovative that I was drawn to it immediately. Knit from the bottom up with no short rows, the result looks more complicated than it is. Plus, mosaic is so hot right now, how could this not be a winner?
Goodnight Moon Shawl by Heather Anderson
I’m always looking for great stash-busting ideas and, if you love our Gradient Mini-Skeins, this pattern is a beautiful choice! With lots of changing texture to keep your interest (and to do fun things with your yarn’s colours), the pattern can be easily enlarged to make the most of your Minis.
Blue Mountain Valley Shawl by Reddcaboose .
Shoud you cast on a triangle shawl or a rectangle? Hmmm… how about a triangle within a rectangle? I really love this because, with the cooler weather on its way, sometimes there is nothing so lovely as a big, generous rectangle to wrap around you. And this one has the extra interest of an intriguing diagonal gradient fade, perfect for Mini-Skeins. Bonus: the pattern is free!
MommyDoc’s Gorgeous Socks!
When Clara shared these socks with me on Instagram, I knew I had to show you. These two colourways are from a Yarn Alliance Club parcel from earlier in the year: Grounded, which is a green-brown-gold combination, and the coordinating colourway Percolate, the deep berry colour. We designed them to work together and, in my mind, I was seeing them as thicker stripes or even large colourblocks but I am crazy about the way they’ve combined in these thinner stripes. Aren’t they stunning?!? Click the image and send her some love!
(…and the stitchmarker is another Yarn Alliance goody. It’s such a fun club!)
You know, we send these beautiful skeins out and I always wonder what they’ll be when they grow up. So I’d love to see your projects too! Share on our Ravelry group or please tag me (@spacecadetyarn) on Instagram — it always makes my day!
Speaking of my day, I guess it’s about time I got started on it. Today I’m finishing the photography for some awesome new stuff we’ve got planned for our LYSs (does yours carry SpaceCadet? Ask them to!), developing a couple of new colourways (best part of the day!), and then I have a whole bunch of parcels to take to the post office. I hope your day is filled with good stuff too! Until next time, all my best.