Arc Over Spiral — a Difficult Colourway

10SepOctober 9, 2015 By Stephanie

The latest Yarn Alliance parcels went out this week to our existing club members and I’m so excited to show you the contents, I just can’t wait! In all honesty, I struggled with this colourway but, once it finally came to me, it was tons of fun to dye. Ready to see it? Here we go…

(Spoiler warning! If you’re in the Yarn Alliance and you haven’t received your parcel yet, stop here and don’t scroll down!)

Arc Over Spiral (…what over what?!?)

The creative process can be like an arc spanning across a series of points or more like a spiral working round and round to the center as you explore the depths of a single idea.

When I began dyeing this colourway, I chose the hues that spoke to me most at that moment – until I realised I was more or less repeating the colourway we dyed for the Yarn Alliance in May. So I change my formulations a bit and dyed another set of skeins – and then realised they were similar to the July colorway. Now I knew I was in a spiral …which is all good fun, but won’t do for a club. Try as I might, though, I couldn’t pull my head out of that space – the same shades kept coming back to me — and so I put down the dyes and went home.

That night, as I was falling asleep, the whole colourway suddenly came to me. I knew exactly what I wanted to dye, and it was nothing like what I’d been trying before – a new mood, a new direction. No longer a spiral, this colourway was suddenly back on that beautiful arc.

The Yarn

Maia is an amazing yarn — light, smooth, so very soft — and perfect for these late summer days. Its drape is incredible and adds a wonderful swing to whatever you make out of it. But better than all of that is what it does with light — it captures it, rolls it around and then reflects it out again in a way that is just stunning!

The Gift — a Perfect Place to Stash Tiny Things

I found HipStrings’ fiber arts tools at a local Pittsburgh show and fell in love with their cool, modern aesthetic. Exclusively for the members of the Yarn Alliance, they’ve created these sweet little bowls featuring the SpaceCadet zooming across in his flying saucer, to hold stitchmarkers and safety pins and all the other little things that want to get lost. Aren’t they fabulous?!?

The Yarn Alliance is Open for Only One More Week!

Our premiere yarn club, the InterStellar Yarn Alliance is open for subscriptions from now until Sept 20. It opens only twice a year, so don’t miss your chance to get our best dyeing delivered directly to your door all year long!

Members of the Yarn Alliance receive gorgeous yarns in exclusive club-only colourways, fabulous gifts, the chance to order extra skeins, 15% off a future SpaceCadet order and so much more! Click here to see our gallery of colourways and to join this fab club.

Why It Matters that We Dye from Primaries

08SepFebruary 11, 2018 By Stephanie

At TNNA a few months ago, I discovered something I hadn’t realised before. Talking to several of my fellow dyers, I became aware that many of them have large collections of different dye colours that they work from. In some cases, dozens of different shades of powder that they use to dye their yarn.

Why It Matters that We Dye from Primaries 580

That took me by surprise, because we don’t use anything like that many dyes. In fact, we use only 5 colours of dye: cyan, magenta, yellow, red, and black — the primary colours in the CMYK and RYB color models. And we then use these primary colours to hand-mix all the hundreds of other hues that we use on our yarns. When you look at a SpaceCadet colourway, no matter what shades you are seeing, they are all created from those five colours of dye.

And that’s when I realised that perhaps what we do at SpaceCadet is a little unusual. Instead of buying premixed colours from the dye manufacturers, we use only the primary colours — and mix all our hues by hand here in the studio. Every day, when we start to work, we start with only those five colours, but by the time we leave, there are dozens of stunning shades on our yarns. To achieve them, we constantly experiment — pouring in a base of this colour, then add a little of that colour, and maybe a splash of another, until we think we’ve hit the right mix. Then we submerge the yarn and see…

Why It Matters that We Dye from Primaries 3 580

I started out this way for one simple reason: when I first began dyeing, I just couldn’t afford to invest in that many colours of dye. I sat down with my notebook and wrote the names of all they dyes I wanted to try — Pumpkin, Chartreuse, Salmon, Periwinkle… The list went on and on but, when I tallied up the price, I realised how quickly all those lovely-sounding colours added up. Disappointed, I told myself I’d have to make do for the time being with only the primary colours and I placed my smaller (but much more affordable) order with the dye manufacturer.

I always planned to widen my colour selection when finances allowed, but then an odd thing happened: I found I could make every colour I wanted myself! Good old colour theory and the primary colours didn’t let me down — by mixing those five colours in different configurations, I could achieve everything I’d hoped to buy …and more. By the time I could afford a whole palette of pre-mixed dyes, I realised I didn’t want them. The joy of dyeing for me was not about applying someone else’s colour to my yarn — it had become about making my own colours, creating them completely from scratch, and controlling the tiniest changes from one hue to another.

I guess, really, it was no longer just about the dyeing. It was thrill of hunt when I spotted a colour I wanted to recreate — maybe the searing blue of the sky on a clear day, the rust on an old Pittsburgh bridge, the grey of a tire left out too long in the sun — and I’d spend a little time really looking at the the object to reverse engineer the colour… then rush to the studio to try to capture it before the memory was gone. I’d mix a bit of magenta with a glug of yellow, throw in a splash of black, and… let the yarn soak it up and find out if I’ve hit it. No, if dyeing is about putting colour on yarn, this was so much more — this was about about the hands-on creation of every single shade I produced. And for me, that’s where I find real artistry when I’m dyeing.

Why It Matters that We Dye from Primaries 4 580

Five years later, SpaceCadet could afford to buy all the colours I so longed for in the beginning, but we still mix from just five colours of dye I started out with. And it wasn’t until that weekend at TNNA that I realised that might be a little unusual. When you buy a skein of yarn from SpaceCadet, you’re getting the real artistry of our hands, our own colours that we’ve mixed just for you. In all honesty, I think that’s what our customers really value when they’re working with hand-dyed yarn — a real connection from one maker to another. And I have to admit, I’m pretty proud of how we make what we make!

Want to experience our dyeing all year long?

Let’s Chat In Person!

I’ve fallen in love with Periscope — tune in and catch me live to chat about dyeing from primaries and ask questions about the Yarn Alliance! If you’re not on Periscope, you’ll need to download the app (click here for iOS or here for Andriod), then follow me by searching for SpaceCadetYarn. You’ll get a notification when I start broadcasting — when you do, hop on and start chatting with me live, right there and then. I’ll see you there!

Squeeee! Today is the Day!

03SepSeptember 4, 2015 By Stephanie

I’ve been waiting for today for weeks now — it’s one of my favourite days of the year! Because today the SpaceCadet’s InterStellar Yarn Alliance opens for new subscriptions! Squeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

Ok, let’s get to all the details — there’s so much fun to tell you about!…

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is the
SpaceCadet’s Premiere Yarn Club

Join us to explore a universe of colour!

Open for subscriptions from September 4-20 ONLY
And spaces go fast!

So, what do you get when you join?

…beautiful yarns, colourways you might never have dared try but suddenly realise you love, and some seriously fabulous gifts!

Members of the InterStellar Yarn Alliance receive fabulous parcels delivered to their door every other month, containing:

SpaceCadet^® yarn (light to medium weight) in an exclusive Yarn Alliance colourway (guaranteed not to be offered on the SpaceCadet^® website for at least 6 months)
A great Yarn Alliance gift tucked into every parcel!
The SpaceCadet’s Log exploring the inspiration for each colourway.
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance newsletter with periodic special offers exclusively for members.
A 15% off coupon every six months

Plus, Sweater Quantities!

One gorgeous skein just isn’t enough? You also have an exclusive opportunity to order more skeins custom-dyed in the latest club colourway. You’ll receive an email with all the details about a week after your parcel goes out — and then all you have to do is pick your project!

A 6 month subscription (3 parcels) is $135
and a 12 month subscription (6 parcels) is $249

Ready to join the fun? Spaces go fast so don’t wait!

Check Out our Gorgeous Colourways from Previous Parcels…

Ready to join us? C’mon — let’s do this!

Clubs are always more fun with your friends, right? Definitely! So please share it!

On Twitter: Squee! The Yarn Alliance Club from SpaceCadet is open for subscriptions – check it out! http://bit.ly/GGzcsn #spacecadetyarn @spacecadetyarn
On Facebook: Squee! The Yarn Alliance Club from SpaceCadet is open for subscriptions – check it out! http://bit.ly/GGzcsn #spacecadetyarn
On Ravelry: Squee! The Yarn Alliance Club from SpaceCadet is open for subscriptions – check it out! http://bit.ly/GGzcsn

Important Details and Policies: Six month subscriptions include 3 parcels; twelve month subscriptions include 6 parcels. Parcels will be sent out in early January, March, May, July, September, and November. Subscription openings will be available in March and September. Shipping within the United States is included in the price; extra charges apply for shipping outside the US. Normal subscription openings for the InterStellar Yarn Alliance are two weeks only in March and September of each year. Cancellation policy: Because we purchase supplies for all the parcels immediately after the subscription period ends, refunds are generally not available. However, if there are extenuating circumstances, please contact us as soon as possible and we will do what we can. By purchasing a subscription, you acknowledge and agree to these policies.

Any questions? We’re happy to help: missioncontrol(at)spacecadetyarn(dot)com

Limited Edition Colourways: Night Skies

28AugAugust 28, 2015 By Stephanie

I love approaching knitting and crocheting with a sense of adventure — sometimes I follow the pattern, sometimes I don’t… (and I firmly believe that if you make the same mistake three times, it becomes a pattern, not a goof). So I approach combining different yarns in one project with the same sense of adventure. And that’s helped me to discover that Maia, our 80% bamboo fingering yarn, plays really well with our more merino-based yarns, even though the texture is incredibly different.

But I realise that not all of our Mini-Skein Club member might feel that same freedom so, when we moved onto Maia in our August bundle, we did something a little different from previous years — we specifically designed the colours so that this bundle can be skipped in the continuum of the Never Ending Gradient. In other words, July flows into August (Maia) and August flows into September… BUT July can also flow directly into September — allowing you to stick with our merino-based yarn for your larger project and use August’s Maia in a smaller side project. Total flexibility for you! Cool, huh?

Full Skeins and Sweater Kits of SpaceCadet^{® ‘}s July and August Mini-Skein Colourways!

Let’s start with the Sweater Kit from July’s Ombre & Gradient bundle. I am definitely a blues and purples kind of girl, and just love this colourway so much, I decided to do something a little different and offer this Sweater Kit to everyone. You can see why, right?

Celestial Blues explores the colours of the night sky, and takes us on a journey from the light at the edge of sunset through to the twilight depths as the stars come out to play.

Watch as the colours change in your hands, flowing from soft sky blues through to deeper dusk teals and turquoises and finally into the rich purples that form just before the sky goes inky black. And then — because this is a SpaceCadet Start Anywhere Kit — the colours of the last skein flow back again into the first!

Available until September 12 only

But what if cool colours aren’t your style? If you’re in the July or August Mini-Skein Club, I’ve got something hot for you…

Fire-hot reds and pinks that flow and blend into one another are ready to spark — and Ignite your needles!

(Where’s the order button? This kit is exclusive to July and August Mini-Skein Club members. If that’s you, look for an email arriving shortly with your members-only link!)

Or there’s this lovely warm skein…

Sky Fire is the colours of the hottest sunset, when the sky explodes into vibrant peaches, oranges, and pinks. When knit or crocheted, the colours will gently morph from one to another to form a overall mosaic effect.

Available until September 12 only

Ready to see August’s Ombre & Gradient colourway? It’s stunning…

Celestial Shine captures the shades of night, and moves them from the reality of darkness into stunning hues of fantasy.

Watch as the colours change in your hands, flowing from blues and inky grays into magentas and soft purples. And then — because this is a SpaceCadet Start Anywhere Kit — the colours of the last skein flow back again into the first!

Wait! Why does it say “Imagine this a Sweater Kit”?!? Well, we were so in love with it that we goofed — and caked up our only photography sample to cast on straight away. So we’ve photographed the Mini-Skein bundle instead. But don’t worry — your Sweater Kit will be beautiful full-sized skeins!

(Where’s the order button? This kit is exclusive to July & August Mini-Skein Club members. If that’s you, look for an email arriving shortly with your members-only link!)

Blue-purples fading into pink-purples and back again, Night Gleam is dyed onto Maia so the 80% bamboo can catch the light for a stunning sheen..

Available until September 12 only

The blues and purples of the deepening night sky is the perfect place for the stars to Twinkle.

(Where’s the order button? This kit is exclusive to July & August Mini-Skein Club members. If that’s you, look for an email arriving shortly with your members-only link!)

Want Alllll These Colourways?

Our Mini-Skein Club Members get access to all these colourways so, if you’re not in the club, you’re missing out! And not just on the full-skeins here but on all the wonderful bundles of yarny goodness we deliver to your door every month. The Mini-Skein Club is where we really explore colour, letting our imaginations run wild to create ten new colourways each and every month — and our club members get to join in on all that fun, diving right into the colours and trying all of SpaceCadet’s fingering yarns along the way. Click here to join us!

SpaceCadet® Knerd Bags Closing Soon!

Don’t forget, there are only a few days left to grab your SpaceCadet Knerd bag before orders close. If you love these bags and have been meaning to order one, click here right now before you forget!

Limited Edition Colourways

Catch a Peek at the SpaceMonster’s August Colourway!

25Aug By Stephanie

As the season fades into autumn, it’s all about the turning of the leaves, naturally, but I am still holding onto summer — and I think one of the best things about this time of year is the clear skies. I simply love sitting outside as the sunlight disappears and watching the stars appear overhead. Can you see that inspiration in the latest SpaceMonsters’ colourway?

Summer Nights — a Colourway Inspired by the Heavens

From the SpaceCadet’s log:

I am not one for hot summer days — the sun is no friend to my skin and the heat makes me wilt. But I love warm summer evenings, when the sun has finally gone to bed and the world is beginning to cool off. I sit on my porch with my knitting and a cup of tea, leaning back to watch the stars come out.

They reveal themselves slowly, as the day’s light thins and fades away. First, the planets — Venus and Jupiter have aligned for most of the summer, shining as a bright pair on the western horizon. And then the brightest stars — Vega and Altair — begin to show themselves in the east, before the sky finally falls into darkness revealing the whole host of stars in the heavens. Some look white, some blue, a few pinkish-purple and some even green. And the sky may be streaked with clouds or clear as crystal. Either way, it is truly a magical time, sitting out in the warmth and watching the Summer Night sky come out in all its glory.

For this colourway, I chose Capella, a wonderfully smooshy single-ply worsted that brings a softness to any colour I introduce it to. I wanted it to really capture the movement of the clouds, the eternalness of the stars. And I think it’s done that perfectly!

The response to Summer Nights has been overwhelming — so many emails, tweets, and Ravelry posts from club members who just love this colourway, and I can’t say how much that means! So I was delighted to send out the email yesterday to our club members with the link to order extra skeins. I can’t wait to see the amazing projects they create with this colourway!

Want to Join the Club?

The SpaceMonster Club won’t open again until December but — fear not! — the SpaceCadet’s fingering weight club, the InterStellar Yarn Alliance opens on Sept 4th. We give first dibs to the folks on the club mailing list, so click here and be the first to grab your space!

Click to get first dibs on the Yarn Alliance!

Announcing our Exclusive SpaceCadet Project Bags by Knerd!

16AugAugust 16, 2015 By Stephanie

You know how it feels when you hit something right out of the park? A little over a year ago, we discovered Knerd and fell in love with the distressed, industrial style of Renee Magee’s super-cool project bags… and when she agreed to create a custom bag for our SpaceMonster Club, complete with the SpaceMonster himself in — wait for it — glow-in-the-dark ink, we were over the moon!

The bags were huge hit with our club members and when I started getting emails and tweets about how everyone loved them… well, that’s when I knew we’d hit it out of the park. And that’s also when I decided I wanted to work with Renee again some time in the future. So a couple of months ago, I asked Renee if she’d adapt the original design to do a SpaceCadet bag for us and, to my delight, she said yes immediately!

Announcing the Exclusive SpaceCadet Knerd Bag

The perfect way to show your SpaceCadet savvy, this bag is fantastic for knitting and crochet projects — large or small — but I think you’ll find a million other uses for it too. It makes a super-cool book bag, a pretty awesome gym bag, even a fabulously roomy handbag (in fact, I’ve been using mine as a handbag all summer long, along with my assistant Jade and even my mum — great minds think alike, eh?). And even though it’s hotter than blue blazes at the moment, dare I say it’d make a fabulous Christmas present?

Ok, here are all the details:

Offered in three colours: purple with dark purple ink, pink with black ink, and the original black with that awesome glow-in-the-dark ink.
Available for two weeks only, we’ll close orders on Aug 31 (at 12.01am EST if you’re into cutting things close). We will be putting these in the new swag shop when it eventually opens but, if you want to be sure to get one, it’s best to order now.
Each bag will be made to order and Renee will get to work on them as soon as the order period has closed, so please allow 4-6 weeks for delivery.

Click here to grab your Exclusive SpaceCadet Knerd Bag!

I can’t tell you how excited I am to offer you these fabulous SpaceCadet Knerd bags and I hope you’re squeeing along with me! And, hey, if you love these bags as much as we do, please tweet it out for us, share it on Facebook, or post it on Ravelry? I’d be so grateful!

Full Skeins and Sweater Kits of SpaceCadet® ‘s July and August Mini-Skein Colourways!

Want Alllll These Colourways?

SpaceCadet® Knerd Bags Closing Soon!

Full Skeins and Sweater Kits of SpaceCadet^{® ‘}s July and August Mini-Skein Colourways!