This is such a funny time of year.  This morning, it’s nearly 70F already and I get to sit on my front porch, gazing over rolling hills covered in trees that are still green, and enjoying the weather as if it’s mid-summer.   But tomorrow, the temperature is going to drop twenty degrees and it will feel like autumn (literally) overnight.

And as sad as I am to see the warm weather disappear, I doubt there’s a knitter or crocheter on the planet who doesn’t secretly thrill at those first cool mornings.  With tomorrow’s temperatures, it will be time for hats and mitts and cowls and all the lovely knits that colder weather brings.  And I’ll be watching to see if the trees change right on cue too.  Welcome sweater weather!

But for now, here I am, dressed in summer clothes and drinking my coffee in perfect comfort.  And I’ve got a ton of fun fibery stuff to share with you so why don’t you go grab something to drink and find a spot to curl up…  and here we go!

image © Becka Rahn, used with permission

I came across Becka Rahn’s hilariously witty knitting and crochet themed pins this week and, oh my stars, they are perfect.  There is not. one. pin that didn’t make me chuckle and I keep trying to figure out which is my favourite but, really, I just want them alllllllll.  Becka tells me that the “High in Fiber” sheep was the first one she ever designed and folks are still buying it twelve years later!  If they make you laugh as well, you can find them in her shop here.
(Serious question: which one is your favourite?  I honestly can’t decide)

If you were planning to crochet a Halloween costume for a child in your life, please do not make this one. Just don’t. Ok?

F+W (the company that now runs Interweave) is closing down four of their magazine titles, including the fashion-forward Knit.Wear.  There’s an excellent analysis here of the company’s changing direction over the past few years (including the shuttering of Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet magazines).

Remember that last week I shared that video of a sheep stuck in a tire swing?  This week, the SpaceCadet crew has been laughing at fainting goats (and maybe we shouldn’t laugh at them, but we have).   And if your 1980s featured the drum fill from Phil Collin’s “In The Air Tonight”, you need to see this video.  I have watched it at least 20 times over and am in tears every time.

Our Upcoming Shows & Events

• Fri, Oct 19 — Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show, Saugerties, NY (Will you be there? Let me know!)
• Sun, Nov 11 — Indie Knit & Spin, Pittsburgh PA
• Coming in November — a super exciting holiday special with designer Lisa Ross

Coming Soon — a Special Holiday Offer with Designer Lisa Ross!

This is all still super-secret so I can’t say much about it yet but we’ve got something wonderful cooking up with one of my favourite designers, Lisa Ross of Paper Daisy Designs.  She does amazing colourwork (see what I mean here) and we’ve poured our hearts — and our dyes! — into some very special kits (see the sneak peeks below), so be sure to keep your eyes on future newsletters for all the details.

 

Are You Coming to the Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show?

We are doing last minute dyeing and prepping the booth set up…  and getting super excited!  The trunk show is a fabulous collection of 31 indie fiber-arts vendors all gathering on Friday Oct 19 at the Saugerties Performing Arts Factory (169 Ulster Ave., Saugerties, NY  Click here to get driving directions).  Tickets have been sold out for months but if you’ve got one, we are so looking forward to seeing you! We’ll be booth 18 — make sure you say hi!

Damejakka Loppa / Flea – A Lady’s Cardigan pattern by Pinneguri

Last week I shared a sweater with a super-modern colourwork yoke and, this week, I found myself drawn to this beautifully traditional version.  I love how the tiniest, most delicate stitch motifs are juxtaposed against such bold colour combinations.  And, because it’s designed in fingering, the pattern is a perfect way to show off the colours of your Mini-Skein collection — just make sure you go BOLD with your colour choices!

Akame pattern by Angela Tong

Sometimes you just want to let texture take center stage and I absolutely love the way this beautiful shawl does exactly that.  Starting with a garter stitch body with a beautiful lace edging, it is worked sideways from one end to the other until the lace edging is expanded across the bottom of the shawl.  Try it in Celeste in Faded Dreams, Faded Promises, Troublemaker, or Headstrong.

Winter is Coming by Kathryn Senior

If winter is coming, this colourful crocheted shawl may just be one of the happiest ways to welcome it.   Using a simple but uncommon crochet stitch, the edc (esc), it creates a squishy shawl that can be customised by changing the number of stripes, widening the stripes, or just doing five colour blocks.  I’d love to see it in Lyra in Feather, Frigia, Crisp, Wilt, and Honey (such a pretty combo, right?).  And bonus: the pattern is 50% off through the end of today!

images © the respective designers, used with permission

Ok, there’s still so much to be done(!) to get ready for our upcoming shows, so I’d better finish my coffee and get down to the studio.  Today we’ll be dyeing sweater sets and maybe even creating a show exclusive colourway — it’s going to be fun!  I hope this email has got your day off to a colourful start and, until next time, all my best!

This past weekend, we vended at the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival (SVFF) in Berryville VA and it was awesome!!!  What a wonderful festival!  I’m being perfectly honest when I say that I have never worked a show with such a lovely atmosphere, such friendly and happy customers, and so many absolutely lovely fellow vendors.  The trees were shady, the weather was perfect, and the whole weekend was an absolute delight.  Thank you to everyone who told me to apply for SVFF — you were so right!

What made it especially fun was the number of customers and newsletter readers who came out to see us.  I loved chatting with you all and seeing your projects!  And I especially want to share this project: Jaimie brought her WIP to show off how she’s combined four past Yarn Alliance colourways to create this beautiful So Faded.  I think she did an amazing job!  And the coolest thing about it?  The four skeins she used in it are not only all completely unrelated (that is, they’re from different years and months and weren’t purposed designed to fade) but they’re also four different SpaceCadet yarn bases — and yet they work together perfectly!  From top to bottom, they’re Winter Fade Spring Rise (Aurora, Mar 2015), Sugar Plums (Oriana, Nov 2017), Skyfall (Celeste, Mar 2018) and Burst (Ester, May 2017).

Proof positive you should never ever be afraid to mix your yarns.  Something magical could happen!

As much as I love colourwork, I rarely talk about intarsia because it just doesn’t seem so popular these days (unlike the 80s, right?).  And I think that’s because, these days, folks don’t like the idea of working with a bunch of balls or bobbins attached to their work (for the record, my first attempt at intarsia was a baby sweater in a geometric stitch pattern I designed myself and which had no fewer than eighteen bobbins at once!).  But Heidi at Hands Occupied makes the case for not managing your intarsia ends at all and, instead, letting them hang free.  Scroll to the second video here to see what she means, though I’m not sure her “pull through” method would have worked so well with a tangle of eighteen ends!

If you’re ready to start thinking about Halloween (and every store I’ve been in for the last three weeks thinks we should be!), you might get a kick out of this spider web poncho.  It’s kind of awesome.  (And, with a bit of tulle underneath, I think it’d make a seriously cool circle skirt, don’t you?)

I’ve been a big fan of Woolly Wormhead’s designs for a long time and was lucky enough to chat with her at TNNA a few years back, so I was excited to read that she is coming to Rhinebeck this year and will be stopping in at Indie Untangled, where we will be vending.  If you’re also a fan and will be at Rhinebeck, she’s arranging a meet up that you won’t want to miss.  Click here for the details (and check out the new hat she’s designing for the weekend too!)

In the category of Things I Shouldn’t Laugh At (but ohhhh I did!): a sheep got itself stuck in a tire swing and the result is exactly as hysterical as you’d expect.

Our Upcoming Shows & Events

• Fri, Oct 19 — Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show, Saugerties, NY (Will you be there? Let me know!)
• Sun, Nov 11 — Indie Knit & Spin, Pittsburgh PA

Additional Indie Untangled Tickets Available!

The Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show is open to ticket holders only and I can’t tell you how many people have mentioned that they couldn’t get their hands on one before they sold out.  Well, I have exciting news: a very small number of tickets have become available for the 3-5pm, 5-7pm, and 7-8pm shopping sessions. They go on sale Sunday, October 7 at 1pm (eastern) and they’re sure to go fast, so if you’d like to join us at the Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show, set a reminder on your phone now and then click this link on Sunday to get your tickets!

Umi Nami by Angela Tong

Proving that lace shawls don’t have to be fussy, this eye-catching design from Angela Tong incorporates just enough lacework to look delicate while its stockinette ridge body adds simple colour contrast.  And I love how the picot edge on one side plays against the feather-and-fan on the other!  Designed in fingering, I’d love it in Oriana in Sliver and Dark Skies, Longing and Wilt, or Feather and Frigia

Imagine – Utopia Project 1st Edition pattern by Luisa M

Yoked sweaters with amazing colourwork are all the rage at the moment but the angular, graphic nature of Luisa’s design really sets this sweater out from the rest!  And I love how the motif repeats slightly differently on each wrist — click through to see what I mean.  Worked in fingering weight yarn, it’s not too bulky and perfect for those chilly-but-not-really-cold days to come.

Harvested Tee pattern by Rebecca Velasquez

We may be gearing up for cooler temperatures here in Pittsburgh but if you live someplace warmer (or just head there in the winter), check out this gorgeous crocheted tee by the lovely Rebecca Velasquez.  I love that it almost looks like tracery around a stained glass window or the detail in an ornate medieval ceiling.  But in reality, it’s a light and airy top that creates serious impact!

images © the respective designers, used with permission

Ok, there’s still lots to be done to get ready for our upcoming shows so I’d better get down to the studio and start dyeing!  (It’s a hard life, I tell ya…)  I hope you have a great day ahead you  too so, until next time, all my best!

 

 

 

This week, we packed up the last parcel in the current season of the Yarn Alliance and, to be honest, it was bittersweet.  Why?  Well, maybe because this season is coming to an end or…  maaaaaybe because we all love the colourway so much. So much.  It’s beautiful and, without giving anything away, it’s exactly the favourite colours of a couple of members of the SpaceCadet crew…  who just may have threatened to sabotage packing day so that the parcels couldn’t go out and they could keep all the skeins to themselves.  I’m not kidding.

(Don’t worry — they got themselves under control and didn’t sabotage it and all the parcels went out in the end.  Though it was close there for a minute!  And I can’t wait for our current members to open their boxes and see this colourway because it is rich and layered and nuanced and gorgeous!!!)

Now, I can’t share a photo of it here because it would spoil the surprise (but look for it on my Instagram feed over the weekend) so I’ll share a few from our previous parcels instead.  And really, they’re pretty darned nice too, don’t you think?

The Yarn Alliance is open for subscriptions through this weekend only, so if you’ve been thinking about joining, this weekend is your last chance!  Click here or scroll down to the SpaceCadet News section for all the details.

Today looks like it’s going to be a beautiful day and I’m not sure how many of these lovely mornings we’ll have before the weather turns, so I’m heading out to the porch with my coffee to watch the world wake up.  In the meantime, I’ve got a bunch of fun fiber news to share with you so grab yourself a cuppa too and let’s start this day right!

This just blew me away: fiber artist Andrea Hunter creates felt artwork out of wool that is simply breathtaking and I’m amazed by the effects.  Some of her pieces look like oil paintings, some like watercolours, some like chalks.  Check them out here.

Photo by Mikaela Shannon

You’ve heard the battle cry for pocket-equality, right?  Clothing manufacturers have long refused to include pockets in women’s clothing designs or, where they have added them, made them so small as to be nearly useless.  This (visually fascinating) article illustrates the problem perfectly and lends impartial evidence to something we all know to be infuriatingly true.  (Bonus: here’s a cute “coatigan” pattern that features integrated pockets!)

I think knitters and crocheters can all relate to the need to keep our hands busy, right? When security stopped a woman  from bringing her knitting needles into the court room of the Paul Manafort trial, she turned to finger knitting instead.  “My hands always have to be busy. I hate to waste time, I have to be productive,” she said.  I can relate! (But I have to admit, the way the article uses the terms “knitting”, “crochet”, and “sewing” interchangeably made the story a wee bit confusing for me)

After I linked to an article about yarn bombing, a reader named Lisa emailed to share her thoughts on the impact of yarn bombing on the natural environment and wildlife, and particularly on the impact of acrylic and synthetic yarn.  I found her points persuasive.  “How do I feel about yarn bombing? Although it is pretty to look at, I now view it as litter and a form of vandalism. Wildlife can easily become entangled… Acrylic yarns are much worse than natural fibers, but even wool with a high twist is dangerous.”  And, she asked, what becomes of old yarn bombings? Who is responsible for maintaining them or  removing them when they become shabby?  Interesting questions — if you have thoughts on it too, I’d love to hear them!

Also interesting is the whole concept of synthetic fibers: acrylic, polyester, nylon, and the like.  Even though they are everywhere and we rarely give them a second thought, Lisa points out, “Polyester is plastic…   how long does [it] take to break down?”   Looking at the alternatives, I was fascinated by this article about new “biodegradable textiles grown from living organisms” such as bacteria, algae, yeast, and fungi.  And while these exciting new possibilities solve some practical problems, I have to admit I’m partial to one of the original (and best!) biodegradable textiles from a living organism: wool!

Our Upcoming Shows & Events

• Now through Sunday — The Yarn Alliance is open to new members! (Woot!)
• Next weekend, Sat & Sun, Sept 29-30 — Shanendoah Valley Fiber Festival, Berryville VA (we’re in the Lion’s Pavillion, booth 9 — if you’re coming, do get in touch and let us know, and then be sure to stop by and say hi!)
• Fri, Oct 19 — Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show, Saugerties, NY
• Sun, Nov 11 — Indie Knit & Spin, Pittsburgh PA

The Yarn Alliance Open Only Through Sunday!

Being part of the Yarn Alliance club is all about coming on a colour exploration — in gorgeous yarns dyed in exclusive colourways and shared with a wonderful community of fellow club members who are all part of the adventure too.  Plus we create beautiful coordinating skeins to double the fun.  And each parcel contains a wonderful club gifts created exclusively for the club by our community of amazing handmakers.  Oh, and a nifty 15% coupon!

So if you want to join our Yarn Alliance community, click here to get your spot.  I can’t wait for you to come aboard!

Syncope Shawl by Veera Välimäki

I don’t know what it is about this shawl but I am just crazy about it!  It’s so simple — just two colours — and yet so high impact.  Garter stitch blended with syncopated brioche creates and amazing contrast that is downright mesmerising.  I’d go for Gobsmack with Sliver, Frigia with Dark Skies, or for a really bold option, Fizz and Look Up!

Mindfulness by Elena Fedotova

There are several key elements that can make a design instantly compelling and this one has two of the best: great texture and the chance to combine colours beautifully.  Designed in fingering weight, its thick stripes give plenty of space for the stitchwork to shine without being lost in the colour changes.    Here its shown with a strong colour contrast but I think I’d be inclined to try it in colours more closely related, such as Headstrong with Blood Moon, Breathless and Frigia, or Wilt and Thrive.

Dragonfly Bandana Cowl by Maria Bittner

Every day this summer, I’ve watched dragonflies dancing in the sun spot right in front of my porch, as many as ten at a time, and so I couldn’t resist the sweet dragonfly motif on this lovely crocheted cowl.  Designed in these bright and happy stripes, it looks just as adorable (maybe more so?) in a semi-solid.   I’d try it in Stroppy, Feather, or Thrive.

all images © the respective designers, used with permission

Alright, today I’m headed down to the studio to check out the yarn we’ve been dyeing for SVFF and our other upcoming shows, so I’d better finish up and get going.  I hope you’ve enjoyed starting your day with me and, until next time, all my best!

Most people hide the things that make them nervous — they try to look calm, cool, and collected, even when they’re feeling fluttery and anxious.  I’m no exception but I don’t mind telling that the the time that gets me the most nervous is when we open a club for new subscribers.  Well, I’m also excited — really excited — but I can’t help but wonder, will anyone turn up?  Will they want to join… or renew?  As as the opening date gets closer, I get more and more nervous.

Last Friday, the Yarn Alliance opened and I had that same feeling of nervous-excited energy in my belly when 9am rolled around.  I opened the subscriptions and suddenly saw the new joiners and renewing members come in.  It was such a good feeling!

But even better than that?  I realised that so many of the notifications coming through were for existing club members renewing their subscriptions.  And so many of those renewals were for a full year instead of just six months.  And that means the world to me, because it says that we are doing things right — so much so that our members want to stay a part of the club for as long as possible!

We’ve had an existing member get a gift subscription for her daughter (what a great gift!).  Another member jump in and renew before she was sure her current membership was due, just to make sure she didn’t miss her spot (it was and she didn’t!).  And lots of other returning members whose names and faces I’m so glad to have back for the next season.

So first, thank you all so much for joining and renewing.  I’m absolutely delighted and so looking forward to the fun we have to come!  And if you haven’t joined but are thinking about it, subscriptions are open only until next weekend, so click here or scroll down to the SpaceCadet News section for all the details.

Now, I’ve got a nice cup of coffee  and a ton of fun fiber news to share with you so find yourself a comfy spot to curl up in and let’s dive in!

Here’s something that just warmed my heart: staff at this doctor’s office in New Zealand put knitting needles and yarn in the waiting area, and patients have been collectively knitting baby blankets for the local hospital’s neonatal unit while they wait for their appointment.  Seriously, can there be any better proof that fiber arts make the world a better place?

I want one of these rings sooooo much!  (Not because I knit a hat the other week and wrote “size 6s” in all my notes and then, after doing all my calculations, discovered they were actually size 5s…  nope, not because of that at all).   So, erm… if anyone finds a spare $160 hiding their couch cushions…  help a knitter out?

Did you know that there is a Color Of The Year?  There is!  Pantone (the colour experts) make their annual announcement and so do Sherwin Williams (no colour slouches themselves).   For 2018, Pantone went for a purple (and I can see why it was their choice) and Sherwin Williams chose a stunning teal.  But for 2019, Sherwin Williams’s choice has me rather perplexed: they’ve chosen Cavern Clay, a kind of terracotta-ish brown that is inspired by “a renaissance of the 1970s”.  Honestly, I don’t know if the 70s deserve a renaissance or if this is a colour I’d want on either my walls (or my yarn!), but maybe they know something I don’t…?  What do you think?  Is Cavern Clay your colour of the year?

If you are a Doctor Who fan (and if you’re not, I think you should be!), check out this archived BBC record of the pattern for the original Doctor Who scarf.

Our Upcoming Shows & Events

• Right now — The Yarn Alliance is open to new members! (Woot!)
• Sat & Sun, Sept 29-30 — Shanendoah Valley Fiber Festival, Berryville VA
• Fri, Oct 19 — Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show, Saugerties, NY
• Sun, Nov 11 — Indie Knit & Spin, Pittsburgh PA

The Yarn Alliance is Open for New Subscriptions!

Being part of the Yarn Alliance club is all about coming on a colour exploration — in gorgeous yarns dyed in exclusive colourways and shared with a wonderful community of fellow club members who are all part of the adventure too.  Plus we create beautiful coordinating skeins to double the fun.  And each parcel contains a wonderful club gifts created exclusively for the club by our community of amazing handmakers.  Oh, and a 15% coupon!

So if you want to join our Yarn Alliance community, click here to get your spot.  I can’t wait for you to come aboard!

sequences by Lori Versaci

Sometimes the most stunning designs are so simple.  This gorgeous shawl uses sequence knitting in a monochrome palette to create a stunning effect that is completely mesmerizing!  But as beautiful as it is in this photo, I just love the way it looks when knit with colour — click through to see what I mean and then start diving into that stash!

Hyalite Falls by Simone Kereit

I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of a sucker for a really gorgeous cowl.  Not just because it’s such a practical way to stay warm when the weather turns and not just because they always work up so quickly, but also because a cowl adds just a touch of colour right by your face, exactly where you want it.  And I love this beautiful example and the way it combines a semi-solid with a gradient flow for maximum effect.

Regenbogenschwester by Silke Terhorst

Sometimes simple is the best way to get to stunning, as this beautiful geometric shawl shows.  Crocheted with a lovely window-like motif that repeats from top to bottom, the result is light, airy, and focused on the beauty of the yarn and stitches.  Designed in fingering, it’s a perfect candidate for that stash of SpaceCadet Mini-Skeins — start with one month of the Ombre&Gradient Mix and see how far you want the colour shift to go!

all images © the respective designers, used with permission

Ok, I’ve got a super-busy day planned and I’m excited to get started!  First, a little computer work — emails and whatnot — and then down to the studio to dye yarn for our upcoming shows.  Oh, and colourways for some awesome designer collaborations we’ve got coming up (can’t wait to share them with you!).  So I’d better get going.  I hope you’ve got an exciting day planned as well and, until next time, all my best!

Last week, I included what I called a Non-Podcast in my newsletter, and the response put a grin on my face that lasted all week.  Even though it was just a few minutes of me sharing the quiet of my morning, so many folks got in touch and shared their own morning thoughts, and they were lovely to read.  Thank you so much!

And lots folks thanked me for sharing the recording through the newsletter rather than through social media (as I’d first intended), because they don’t use it.  And you know what?  I hear you.  I’m a fan of some social media and certainly not others.  Twitter just feels like lots of people shouting these days and Facebook drives me nuts the way it seems so cluttered and slow to load.

But I have to tell you, I do love Instagram: it’s simple and clean and makes it so easy to share stuff that I use it to post a lot of little day-to-day moments on it.  If you’re not familiar with it but still want to catch those quick glimpses of this dyer’s world, just click here.  Then you can scroll down to see my posts or, if there’s a pink-purple circle around my profile picture (as above), click on it and you’ll get to see images from my day that will appear for only the next twenty-four hours.  It really is a great way to share!

Speaking of sharing, I’ve got a ton of fun fiber news to share this morning.  So find your quiet morning spot, curl up with a cup of tea, and let’s take a look!

Pom-poms have been having a moment recently (I can’t decide whether to add one to either of my two new hats) but have you ever considered a rug made of pom-poms?  This 30 second tutorial shows you how to make one and the end result looks truly decadent.  What a great way to use up all those bits of yarn leftover from your other projects!

(And if pom-poms are your thing, this site teaches you how to turn them up to 11.  I mean, seriously, a rabbit pom-pom?!? Too cute!)

This is interesting: we’ve seen yarn shows combine with quilting and sewing, and knitting trips held on cruise ships… Now Vogue Knitting is pairing knitting and cooking for its “Cook & Create” event, featuring Jo Packham, the creator/Editor-in-Chief of WHERE WOMEN CREATE magazine, and Chef Steve Ballard of Sonora Grill and Thai Curry Kitchen in Ogden, Utah, for a weekend of knitting and cooking classes.  What do you think?  Is this the future of creative retreats?

A member of our SpaceCadet community (hi Michelle!) emailed this cartoon and it just cracked me up.  You know you’ve thought about it!

Something I just have to share with you: SpaceCadet yarn made the cover of 1-2-3 Crochet!  Many months ago, we dyed several skeins of Celeste in Molten Cool for designer Karen McKenna to create a shawl with and, like all collaborations with designers, I sent the yarn off knowing it would be a long while before we saw the result.  Imagine my delight when she got in touch to let us know that her shawl — and our yarn — had been chosen for the cover of this special issue from Crochet! magazine.  The pattern is profiled in my pattern picks below and the magazine hit newsstands last week, so I just had to take a moment to share my excitement with you!

Our Upcoming Shows & Events

• Fri, Sept 7 — The Yarn Alliance opens to new members! (first dibs to folks on the mailing list)
• Sat & Sun, Sept 29-30 — Shanendoah Valley Fiber Festival, Berryville VA
• Fri, Oct 19 — Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show, Saugerties, NY
• Sun, Nov 11 — Indie Knit & Spin, Pittsburgh PA

The Yarn Alliance Opens on Friday!

Oooh!  It’s getting exciting!  The InterStellar Yarn Alliance opens for new members on Friday, and I sent an email last night with first-dibs access to our renewing members and the folks on our waiting list (if that’s you, check your inbox!).  And it’s been so much fun watching our members renew their subscriptions and seeing who is going to join us for the upcoming season.  Welcome  — I’m so excited to have you aboard!

Being part of the Yarn Alliance club is all about coming on a colour exploration — in gorgeous yarns dyed in exclusive colourways and shared with a wonderful community of fellow club members who are all part of the adventure too.  Plus we create beautiful coordinating skeins to double the fun.  And each parcel contains a wonderful club gifts created exclusively for the club by our community of amazing handmakers.  Oh, and a 15% coupon!

So if you want to join us, set a reminder on your phone on Friday morning at 9am (eastern)!  Then click here to get your spot.  I can’t wait for you to join us!

Summer Dreamer pattern by Kalurah Hudson

image © Kalurah Hudson, used with permission

It may be September but summer is holding  tight (the heat and humidity have been brutal this week!) so it feels entirely appropriate to feature this gorgeous design which evokes every good thing late summer has to offer.  I love the texture (its rare to see cables and lace work so well together!), the clean colour shift, and that delicate picot edging.  Written in two sizes, it’s worth casting on to hold onto every last drop of summer.

Tracery by handmade by SMINÉ

image © handmade by SMINÉ, used with permission

As much as I just waxed lyrical about summer, winter is coming and I can’t imagine a better pattern to welcome in that new season than this stunning hat.  Inspired by the open stonework of medieval buildings, its intricate cables recreate their delicate beauty and keep the knitting interesting with every round.  Oh, and that pom-pom!  Didn’t I tell you they are having a moment?!?

Napa Valley Shawl by Karen McKenna

image © Annie’s Publishing, used with permission

And I know I mentioned it above but I just have to feature this lovely shawl as one of my pattern picks for this week.  Not only because it put SpaceCadet yarn on the cover(!), but because it’s a beautiful design.  Deceptively simple, it keeps most of the work relaxing and straightforward and saves all the detailed stitchery for that gorgeous edging.  Plus, it’s beaded for a little extra bling!  Designed in Celeste in Molten Cool, its colour changes will keep you fascinated with every stitch.

 

Well, I’ve got a busy day ahead — the SpaceCadet Crew is meeting up to sort through some amazing yarns for a special Holiday collaboration we’ve got planned with designer Lisa Ross (she of the gorgeous colourwork) — so I’d better get moving.  I hope your day is filled with exciting events too and, until next time, all my best!

 

 

 

I have a friend who lives many time zones away and, because our schedules don’t often mesh, we’ve gotten in the habit of staying in touch through voice memos, which we record on our phones and then text to one another.  It means that it doesn’t matter if one of us wants to talk when the other is still asleep,  and we get to hear the sound of each other’s voices and all those background noises that make us feel like we are really in each other’s company.  It’s an odd but delightful way to stay in touch.

The outside of my new hat.  I love it!

The other morning, I was sitting on the porch, drinking my coffee and recording a voice memo to my friend, when I realised that what I was sharing with her, I also wanted to share with you.  I had been telling her about a new hat I had knit — one I had figured out right there on the needles — and how surprised and delighted I had been to discover I actually like the inside of the hat almost more than the outside.  So after I had sent my message off to her, I rerecorded it and saved it on my phone, with the intention of later finding a way to share it through social media.

I guess what I was doing was a little bit like a podcast (even though I really don’t want to do an actual podcast).  Call it a Mini Non-Podcast…  super short, totally spontaneous, and possibly never to be repeated.  My first thought was to share it on Instagram, but then I realised that wouldn’t work, because my message was about six minutes long and Instagram’s time limits for posts and stories are much shorter than that.  But what about Instagram Live?  That might work!

The inside of my new hat.  I’m not sure but I think I might like it even better!

Now, there’s a problem with that and the clue is in the name: Instagram Live is supposed to be live, and my mini non-podcast was recorded.  I thought about trying to just re-say it live, but I knew that wouldn’t go well.  When I’d originally recorded it, I was in the moment and it was authentic; if I then tried to re-do it, I’d trip over my words and lose all the realness of it.  But I had a grand idea: what if I played the recording over Instagram Live?  Maybe to a background of my hands knitting?

So many times in our lives we do things that seemed like a great idea in the moment that, with hindsight, really really weren’t.   I pressed the “live” button and began to knit as the recording played and, at that odd mid-morning timeslot, twelve people tuned in live (Hello, you twelve! Did you wonder what on earth I was doing?).  When the recording finished, I stopped the live stream and then went back to check how the recording-of-my-recording worked and…  it was Not Good.  My voice sounded like it was coming out of tinny phone speakers (as, of course, it was).  The cars that drove past during the original recording competed with the cars that went by on the re-recording, making it sound like I was calmly knitting on the median of a major highway.  And the sounds of nature created a similar double-bird effect that was downright bizarre!  It was a complete Non-Postcasting fail! I deleted it.

The thing is, though, that I had really enjoyed being able to share my thoughts and knitting with you when I made the original recording.  The day was fresh, the coffee was tasty, and it just felt good to chat.  I might do it again sometime, if I can find a good way to put it up on social media.  In the meantime, I’ll post my recording here.  The whole point of this newsletter is to spend a little early morning time sharing fiber arts goodness together so, really, it kind of fits right in, doesn’t it?

(If you don’t see the recording right there above, click here to listen to it.  And if you have any suggestions of good ways to share any future recordings on social media, please do let me know!)

Ok, and now, let’s get on with our regularly scheduled newsletter.  I’ve got a lot of fun stuff to share…

Corrine Walcher has started her countdown to Rhinebeck with a gift for everyone who is keen to start their Rhinebeck sweater too: between now and August 31, all of her sweater and top patterns are 15% off, no code needed.  You can see all of her designs here, but this one is my favourite: Dot Matrix, which she designed in one of our Sweater Sets (in the colourway Perilous).  Want to see how it knits up in a more neutral colourway?  I love TipsyTarsier’s version knit in the grey ombre of Downpour!

In the category of Crazy Things that Make Me Smile Every Time I See Them is ChiliPhilly, who crochets the most amazing hats and costumes(…?) and then dances(…?) in them on his Instagram feed.  Hard to describe but hilarious and weirdly hypnotic.

Just recently, I have seen more talk online about possible ways the new trade tariffs will impact the crafting industry and I’ll admit I don’t know enough about them to have any answers.  But JoAnn Fabrics recently termed the tariffs a “Made In America Tax” and created an online petition calling on lawmakers to exempt craft tools.  It’s an interesting approach (framed in terms of the impact on small, independent makers and charities) to come from a big box store and the reaction has been swift and vocal.

So many people in this world don’t seem able to so much as walk and chew gum at the same time, but YOU and I can do better than that — we can walk and knit or crochet at the same time, right?  I chuckled to myself when I came across this Knit and Walk event at the Nordic Knitting Symposium (watch the lady at the very end trying and nearly failing to stay in her lane).  If the Olympics can include a skiing-and-shooting combination, surely this must be a contender for future Games?  (with bonus points if your project is lace or intarsia!)

Our Upcoming Shows & Events

• Fri, Sept 7 — The Yarn Alliance opens to new members! (first dibs to folks on the mailing list)
• Sat & Sun, Sept 29-30 — Shanendoah Valley Fiber Festival, Berryville VA
• Fri, Oct 19 — Indie Untangled Rhinebeck Trunk Show, Saugerties, NY
• Sun, Nov 11 — Indie Knit & Spin, Pittsburgh PA

The Yarn Alliance Opens on Sept 7!

Being part of the Yarn Alliance club is all about coming on a colour exploration — in gorgeous yarns dyed in exclusive colourways and shared with a wonderful community of fellow club members who are all part of the adventure too.  Plus we create beautiful coordinating skeins to double the fun.  And each parcel contains a wonderful club gifts created exclusively for the club by our community of amazing handmakers.  Oh, and a 15% coupon!The Yarn Alliance is available for subscriptions only twice a year, and we always give early access to folks on our waiting list. There’s not much time, so click here and make sure you’re on it.  You’ll get an email a few days before subscriptions go live so you can join us!

Triptych by Audrey Borrego

I have often encouraged my readers to fearlessly mix yarns of different fiber contents (such as our Mini-Skeins or the wonderful pairing of Maia & Celeste) but this gorgeous shawl takes that one step further by mixing yarns of different weights — and to beautiful effect!  Look closely and you’ll see the change in texture as it flows from lace to fingering to DK.  And in some bold cable work and a lovely crescent shape and the result is simply compelling!

(Also, if you download this pattern, do read Audrey’s very interesting and thought-provoking notes on gauge.  I agree with everything she said!)

image © Audrey Borrego, used with permission

Fade Me, Seymour pattern by Ann Konzen

I love mosaic knitting because it looks soooo complex but is deceptively straightforward and, with this lovely cowl, you’ve got a beautiful opportunity to try it.   Creating a graphic, almost pop-art effect with its stitchwork, the pattern is designed for the pairing of a semi-solid yarn with a variegated.  Be sure to choose two colourways with a clear contrast and cast on a little mosaic magic!

image © Ann Konzen, used with permission

Caitriona Shawl pattern by Margo Bauman

Incorporating both vertical and horizontal elements (the eyelets and colour changes), this lovely triangular crocheted shawl is designed to invoke the plaids and kilts of Outlander.  And though that inspiration suits the beautiful neutral palette in the sample, I think it would look equally amazing worked up in bright berry or hot spice jewel tones.  Mini-Skein Club members, get ready to go raid your stash!

image © Edsger Studio (edsger-studio.com), used with permission

Ok, it’s starting to heat up (today is going to be in the mid-80s!) but would you believe I am heading down to the studio to work on some beautiful new Autumn and Holiday colourways we’re dyeing?  It feels kind of crazy, but it’s true!  So I’d better get moving.  I hope you’ve got something equally fun to look forward to today and, until next time, all my best!