A Club Bonus — The Sanctuary Shrug

27MayMay 28, 2015 By Stephanie

I passionately believe that knitting and crocheting make people happier — that kind of deep-down happiness that comes from being settled and content. Even in times when nothing seems to be going right, working with yarn and needles can create a small sanctuary of much-needed peace.

And I also believe that knitting and crochet can help us to become friendlier, kinder, more generous. I’ve seen it time and again: when I step out of my comfort zone to ask a stranger what she’s crocheting, when folks at knit night make a new member feel completely at home, and even when one of our customers was so generous as to pay for an entire year in the SpaceMonster Mega Yarn Club for us to give away (that one blew me away!). I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised when these random acts of kindness and spontaneous generosity happen, but they are always heartwarming.

The designer Mel Ski is a member of our fingering-weight yarn club, the InterStellar Yarn Alliance, and she used her March skein of Aurora to knit the Sanctuary Shrug, a sweet little thing to go round your shoulders on summer evenings when the air starts to cool. Originally designed for her Outlandish Clan Kit, which used SpaceCadet Lucina and Oriana yarn (as you’ll see in the photos of the blue and brown version), it’s a pattern that would work with almost any Yarn Alliance colourway or SpaceCadet fingering weight yarn. I love the delicate lacework — so like the summer vines climbing up our porch railings. It’s the kind of practical and beautiful knit that I just adore: lovely to wear but also quick to work up… so you can get to the wearing all the sooner.

The pattern is available on Ravelry here, but here’s the best bit… because Mel is a member of the Yarn Alliance and loved knitting this pattern in a club yarn, she has decided to share it with all the current members of the club as a free bonus club treat. Isn’t that wonderful?!? I really do love the way knitters and crocheters can be so generous about sharing their passion — and I am delighted that Mel has included her fellow club members this way!

If you’re a member of the Yarn Alliance, look for an email later this morning with a download code so you can get the Sanctuary Shrug on your needles straightaway. And if you’re not a member, click here to read more about the Yarn Alliance and — most importantly — get on the club mailing list. We won’t bombard your with messages, but you will get advance notice and early-bird sign-up when the subscriptions open up again in September!

Speaking of clubs opening up, I can’t believe it’s almost June (whaaattt?!?) and nearly time to open subscriptions to the SpaceMonster Mega Yarn Club, our bulky-and-worsted weight club. We are dyeing yarn now (it’s so gorgeous!!!!) and prepping the gifts for the last shipment for current members before subscriptions open on June 5. If you’re not in the club but you love smooshy big yarns, click here to read all about the SpaceMonster Club and get on the mailing list!

Picking Perfect Patterns for Your Mini-Skeins

22MayOctober 10, 2023 By Stephanie

I love seeing what our Mini-Skein Club members make with each month’s parcel — there have been some amazing projects (have you seen this?!?). But I suspect there are a few members who love those adorable little skeins but then are at a bit of a loss as to what to make with them (is that you?).

We have a wonderful Mini-Skein Ideas board on Pinterest, of course, and it’s chock full of inspiration. Each one illustrates a really cool way of incorporating Mini-Skeins into a project but, as intoxicating as all those pictures are, you might not spot exactly what jumped out at us about that picture. So, here, let’s go step by step through the ideas (plus pattern suggestions!) that we love most for using SpaceCadet Mini-Skeins.

Mini-Skein Idea #1: Ombre or Gradient Fade

Ok, I know, this one’s obvious and it’s the one that everyone ‘s mind jumps to first, but for that very reason, we have to include it — it is the quintessential Mini-Skein technique. Take your Mini-Skeins and arrange them in order by either colour intensity or rainbow order (or whatever makes visual sense to you) and then just work them into your project in that order. You can choose a pattern specifically designed for multiple colours, or you can take a plain vanilla pattern and simply change colour at regular intervals. Or, you can take a pattern that was designed for a single-skein gradient and work it in Minis! The advantage? With Mini-Skeins, you are totally in control of when the colour changes happen!

How about some pattern ideas?

A Straight-up Ombre Fade: Hawaiian Snowflakes by Mel Ski is a simple mitt design created for in SpaceCadet Lucina Mini-Skeins. Quick and satisfying, they perfectly show off a beautiful ombre fade.

Combining a Gradient with a Solid: The Balinese Cardi by Elizabeth Green Musselman was created with a self striping gradient yarn cleverly combined with a semi-solid colourway for the main body, but you can create the same effect with two bundles of our Ombre & Gradient Mix Mini-Skeins.

Adapting a Solid-Colour Pattern: So here we have an example of a pattern that was designed for a solid colourway, but looks stunning in a gradient fade using SpaceCadet Mini-Skeins: Eyeblink by Heidi Alander. My assistant Jade knit this with one bundle of our Ombre & Gradient Mix Mini-Skeins combined with a coordinating semi-solid skein for a breathtaking summer shawl, showing just how stunning Mini-Skeins can be even in a pattern that wasn’t originally designed for them.

Mini-Skein Idea #2: Stripes Combined with Solids

This one is lovely, because there are so many options and so many ways to customise it. Anytime you see a striped pattern on Ravelry or on our Pinterest boards — especially a two-colour striping pattern — imagine it instead done in a series of ever-changing Mini-Skeins contrasted against alternating stripes in a solid yarn. And it can work beautifully whether the stripes are wide or skinny, and whether you chose to work it in crazy, contrasting shades or work gently through a gradient fade.

Stripes are such a treasure trove of possibilities that I could hardly narrow down the choices! Check out alllll these great pattern ideas…

Using Simple, Straight-Forward Stripes: I love Justyna Lorkowska’s Carly, because it’s the perfect laid-back sweater. But look at this pattern with fresh eyes and, instead of two colours, imagine the smaller stripes in alternating Mini-Skeins in a riot of different shades. Personally, I don’t think I’d even I’d worry about coordinating them — I’d just dive into my stash and go with whatever gorgeous colours I grabbed first!

Going for Bold Stripes: Take a simple shape and use eye-catching, chunky stripes to make a bold statement — and Kate Jackson does it perfectly with her Madeline Shawl. The knitting is easy but the impact is huge.

Stripes that Shake It Up: You don’t have to be straight-laced! Pick a pattern that keeps things interesting with a cheeky wiggle. Nikki Jones’s Cuba Street hat is a perfect choice, whether you keep it all in one colour family or pull in the whole rainbow!

Versatile Stripes for More Choice: When I look at Anna Stasiak’s Simply Stripes shawl, I see a plethora of possibilities. Knit it in two main colours as Anna has, and you can use a Mini-Skein to make that central stripe really pop. Or use a set of gradient Mini-Skeins to gently move the one colour from dark to light (or vice versa) and watch how that contrast changes the intensity of the second solid skein. Or just go wild and contrast a solid skein against a different Mini-Skein for every new stripe — a riot of colour!

Try Stripes that Aren’t Stripes: Justyna Lorkowska’s Masgot shawl creates a sublime background in alternating 2-row stripes of garter stitch and then uses short rows to add in pools of colour — innovative stripes that aren’t stripes but which give you no end of ways to incorporate a rainbow of your Mini-Skein colours. Go for soft or go for bold — Masgot will be stunning either way.

Ok, so there are two great ways to use your Mini-Skein stash, and I hope it helps you to look at the patterns on Ravelry and our Pinterest board with fresh eyes. But there are lots more ways to work with Minis, so keep your eyes open for Part 2!

The Hardest Part of Creating a Colourway

15MayMay 15, 2015 By Stephanie

If I asked you to guess what the hardest part of creating a new colourway is, what would you guess? You might think it’s choosing the colours, but colour is everywhere and I can’t dye it all fast enough. If you think it’s formulating the recipe… well, that’s gets easier with time and now it feels almost like second nature. Nope, the hardest part might really surprise you (it does for me almost every time…)

The Hardest Part is Coming Up with the Names!

Seriously, it’s crazy-hard. You wouldn’t think it is, but I find myself turning the yarn over in my hands and struggling and struggling (and it makes me feel better to know that whenever I ask someone to help me, they have just as much trouble… phew!)

But latest colourways that we’ve chosen for full-size versions of Mini-Skein colourways were an exception. They were easy. It started with the sweater kit of the Ombre & Gradient Mix — this month, Jade and I decided to explore neutrals (something we haven’t done nearly enough. We went to the dyepots and started with a gentle progression through shades of stone, from the lightest silver to deep gray, and then highlighted each skein with washes of taupe and steel blue. Our goal was to create colourways that will blend and morph across your stitches to create something subtle yet truly stunning.

Full Skeins and Sweater Kits of SpaceCadet^®‘s April Mini-Skein Colourways!

So the logical colourway name was MoonRock, right? But, y’know, that felt just not quite right, so I began thinking a little differently. I’ve always loved the name given to the dark patches on the Moon, the Lunar Maria… perfect!

The lunar maria are dark plains on the Moon, formed by ancient volcanic eruptions. Early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas and so called them maria, the Latin for “seas”.

Like an exploration of the moon’s surface, the Lunar Maria sweater kit works through shades of Stone from the lightest silver to deep gray, and each skein is highlighted with washes of taupe and steel blue. Blended together in stitches, these shades morph to create a beautiful study in neutrals.

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

Finding that Perfect Name

But what about names for the other colourways on offer this month? Well, Lunar Maria led me to the Wikipedia list of the features of the Moon and there I discovered an absolute treasure trove of fantastic names! How about “Sea of Cleverness” (Mare Ingenii)? Or “Sea of Crisis” (Mare Crisium)? Or even the fabulous “Sea That Has Become Known” (Mare Cognitum)?!?

Aren’t they awesome?!?

So, ok, I’ll have to use those sometime in the future (how could I resist?!?) but, in the meantime, here’s what I’ve chosen for the other Mini-Skein colourways. You can see how perfect each one is for its corresponding colourway. And for possibly the first time ever, choosing colourway names was so much fun!

Early astronomers who mistook the dark plains on the Moon for actual seas and so called them lunar maria, the Latin for “seas”. The lunar Mare Undarum means “Sea of Waves”.

Moving from glowing blues to stunning violets, and from vibrant pinks to deep greens, the shades of Mare Undarum is an adventure from one stitch to the next!

Lunar Mare 3 is the third colourway from the Lunar Maria Sweater Kit, named for the dark plains on the Moon. Early astronomers who mistook them for actual seas and so called them maria, the Latin for “seas”.

Like an exploration of the moon’s surface, Lunar Mare 3 is a stunning mid-gray stone, highlighted with washes of taupe brown and steel blue. Blended together in stitches, these shades morph to create a beautiful study in neutrals.

Early astronomers who mistook the dark plains on the Moon for actual seas and so called them lunar maria, the Latin for “seas”. The lunar Mare Anguis means “Serpent Sea”.

A stunning combination of murky yellow-greens and soft cool grays that deepen into a rich charcoal, this colourway perfectly embodies the shades of a Serpent Sea, don’t you agree?

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

A City Interpreted… In Yarn! The Colors of Cleveland Project

05MayMay 5, 2015 By Stephanie

Listen, I’m going to tell you a story that appears to be about Cleveland (also, about yarn but still, a lot about Cleveland) and you may be thinking to yourself, “Oh Stephanie, I’m not from Cleveland… I don’t care about this.” But stick with me because there’s something at the end that is for you too (or, if you really don’t want to read through this, you can skip on ahead to the bottom — I’m cool with that. Just check out the delicious yarn on your way down).

Last summer, sometime around July, I got a call from Erika, the owner of River Colors Studio in Lakewood Ohio (a suburb of Cleveland). I’d done a trunk show there a few years earlier and it had been a ton of fun — the shop is really beautiful and I’d met a lot of great knitters and crocheters that day.

Erika was calling with an interesting proposition — she wanted to create a yarn club for her customers, with monthly colourways each inspired by a different area in Cleveland. I knew it was a great idea immediately — Cleveland is made up of a patchwork of really distinctive neighbourhoods, and it’s the kind of city that sparks incredible loyalty in the folks who love it. This would be the perfect club for knitters and crocheters who live in one of those neighbourhoods, for Cleveland-natives who’ve had to move away, for newcomers just getting to know the city, for high-school grads leaving their hometown for college… for anyone who loves (or misses) the city they grew up in or have come to consider home. What a fantastic project!

And then Erika asked, would I like to be part of it? Would I be interested in being the dyer for the Colors of Cleveland club? Heck yes!

Now there’s a lot to love about this club (beautiful colours, delicious SpaceCadet yarns, detailed colourway notes) but, for me as the dyer, the best part is the collaboration. Instead of coming up with the colourways myself (as I do for all my other dyeing), River Colors Studio employee and long-time Clevelander, Rachel Metz, visits each featured neighbourhood and uses watercolours to interpret its vibe into a distinctive colour palette. Once that’s done, she sends it to me and I carefully study it to determine how to recreate it using our yarn dyes in primary colours.

And that’s actually a lot harder than it sounds because the nature of dyeing is different from painting. It’s one thing to dye a yarn freehand and simply see how it comes out, but it’s an entirely different thing to have a certain colour that you’re aiming for. Dyeing results are impacted by so many things — the fiber content and yarn construction, the hardness of the water, the speed with which it heats up, and on and on — and it can be incredibly difficult to get all those things to come together precisely enough to hit one specific hue exactly. So I warned Erika and Rachel: when you’re transferring a colour palette from one medium and technique (paint on paper) to a completely different medium and technique (dye on yarn), the results can be difficult to predict and hard to control, and that they should be thinking of this as more an interpretation of Rachel’s colour palettes than a literal translation.

They were completely on board with that — and the result has been an enormous amount of fun for me as a dyer, for them, and for everyone in the Colors of Cleveland club. Sometimes we’ve hit the colours exactly and other times the transition has been a little looser but always — always — the yarns are deliciously beautiful. I’m so glad Erika has asked me to be a part of the creation of the club and I can’t wait to see what the upcoming months bring!

Do You Love Cleveland? Or Know Someone Who Does?

Then click here to check out the club and start knitting or crocheting your city! There are options to pick up your yarn in person if you live nearby or to have it delivered to your door if you’re far away. And the club set up is just like our Mini-Skein Club: join whenever you like and leave when you have enough yarn (when you what?!?). It’s the perfect way to dip your toes in and see how you like it!

So You’re Not from Cleveland? You Don’t Care About It at All?

Ok, I hear you, and so I have a little favour to ask you. We have so enjoyed being part of the Colors of Cleveland project that we’ve already got something similar in the works for Pittsburgh. We’re changing it up so it’s a little different but we’re developing colourways and working on ideas now — look for more news in the autumn.

But what about your city? Do you live someplace with an interesting history, distinctive landmarks, and residents who just love the place they call home? Dyeing for this project has been so much fun that we’d love to explore other cities this way as well. If you think your hometown is a good candidate and you have a great, visonary LYS for us to partner with, then let us know! Email info(at)spacecadetcreations(dot)com with details of what makes your city special and who to contact at your LYS. You never know, you may just see your town re-interpreted in beautiful, smooshy SpaceCadet yarn!

Our Spring SpaceCadet One-of-a-Kind Special Event!

26AprApril 27, 2015 By Stephanie

A few weeks ago, just after I’d mentioned on the blog that we were taking a wonderful collection of One-of-a-Kind SpaceCadet yarns to our spring shows, a customer emailed to ask if we could offer them on line for the folks who live too far away to come to our shows. We do a great deal of experimentation in the studio, which creates a ton of incredibly beautiful one-of-a-kind colourways, with layer upon layer of colour, but we rarely offer them for sale online simply because it takes so long to photograph and get them all up on the website. But that email got me thinking… I realised she was right, it would be great to occasionally offer our experimental colourways to all our customers, so I decided that once the shows were over, we’d do a something special.

Our Spring SpaceCadet One-of-a-Kind Colourways Special Event

So here it is — your chance to get your hands on all those lovely yarns that you don’t normally see in our shop! There are 65 skeins of Celeste fingering…

*sound of a record scratching*

Ok, wait, an amazing thing happened yesterday, but it kind of changes everything. So before I go any further, let me quickly explain. I had planned to open the One-of-a-Kind Special Event to the public this morning, but also decided to reward the folks who’ve joined our mailing list by giving them a one day’s advanced notice. Sundays are quiet in the online world, most people are busy and don’t check their email. I thought, it would be a nice, gentle way to ease into the Special Event…

Well… I was wrong! The folks on our mailing list went nuts for the One-of-a-Kind colourways and jumped straight in with both feet. It was amazing to watch the orders come flying in, knowing that each one represented a SpaceCadet customer who’d found a yarn they just LOVED! I have to tell you, I think getting to be that kind of a match-maker has to be one of the best parts of my job, but it does mean that a lot of the One-of-a-Kind skeins are gone. Now, there are some wonderful colourways left (including my personal favourite — any guesses which one it is?), but it turns out, you’ve got to be superfast to grab the ones that are calling out to you before they disappear!

Ok, so now that I’ve explained, let’s get back to our regularly scheduled programme…

There’s the summer-friendly Celeste fingering, our wildly popular Lyra sport, beautiful Elara bulky, and three kinds of laceweight — so you’re sure to find something that you love! But they’re available for only 10 days, so be quick.

Perfect for Mother’s Day!

Oh, and if you’re stumped for what to get your mother for Mother’s Day, pick a colourway for her and leave your gift message in the notes section when you place your order. Or you suspect your family might be planning to get you something… erm… disappointing for Mother’s Day, then share this post and drop some heavy hints — chances are, they’ll be grateful for the help!

Ready to get started?

It’s easy — just scroll down and click on one of the images below — fingering, sport, bulky, or lace — to see all the other colourways available. They’re all dyed and ready to go, so we’ll get your order packed and out to you quickly. Can’t wait to see what you pick!

So there you have it — the last 24 hours have been amazing and I’ve learned how much folks really love our One-of-a-Kind colourways. We never stop playing with colour and producing amazing yarns, so I think we might make this a semi-annual event to share our beautiful experimentations with you.

But the real moral of this story? It’s TOTALLY worth being on our mailing list! If you’re not already on it, click here and let’s get that fixed right now.

The SpaceCadet’s Pattern Picks: 3 Fab Patterns from Dark Matter Knits

20AprApril 20, 2015 By Stephanie

Finding our Pattern Picks is one of the most awesome parts of my job — I scroll through Ravelry, browsing gorgeous pattern after gorgeous pattern, and still get to call it “work”. But this time, the scrolling was over pretty quickly. Because I ended up on Elizabeth Green Musselman’s Ravelry page (you know her as Dark Matter Knits and from the Dark Matter Knits podcast) — and BOOM — I found three patterns that I just fell head over heels for. And I think you will too — check them out…

Bettina Cowl and Mitts

Now if I’m honest, I don’t usually recommend variegated yarns for lace patterns — most of the time, the colours hide the complicated stitchwork and the result is often not everything it could have been. But I have to admit, every time I look at the Bettina Cowl and Mitts, I just see it in the grey-blue-blacks of Blueshift, one this month’s limited edition colourways. Even though it’s variegated, I think here the stitch pattern would work with the colours, shifting them around to create an almost heathered effect. I love the little details: the buttons, the lovely leaf motif, and the way you wear the cowl three different ways. And if a variegated yarn doesn’t work for you, I think the stitchwork would look stunning in Lyra in a semi-solid like Feather or Dark Skies. Don’t you agree?

Frankenfingers

How could I not share these with you?!? They’re so adorable! Designed originally for self-striping yarn, Frankenfingers would work perfectly with SpaceCadet Mini-Skeins. And what’s more, using minis lets you choose your own colour sequence! Use our Gradient Mix to morph from colour to colour or to create an ombre fade. Or pick our Multicolour Mix and go for something eclectic and fun! They’ll work in almost any of SpaceCadet’s fingering weight yarns, but choose Celeste or Ester for light and easy knitting.

Balinese Cardi

Now, this is just breathtaking! Created with a self striping gradient yarn cleverly combined with a semi-solid colourway for the main body, you can create the same effect with our Ombre & Gradient Mix Mini-Skeins — March’s minis would look stunning paired with coordinating semi-solids in Drizzle. Or, if you’re really adventurous, go completely off-trail and knit this in a SpaceCadet Gradient Sweater Kit. I’d love to see it in our favourite gradient colourway: Fervent!

But you know what? Even though the first thing you notice about the Balinese Cardi is the amazing colour, it’s a really beautiful design in its own right. The stitch detail down the sleeve and front placket is just delightful, and the shaping is flattering. If bright colour isn’t your thing, knit it in a semi-solid Sweater Kit and let those design details shine!

Limited Editions Close on Saturday

Don’t forget that the Limited Editions of our March Mini-Skein colourways close on Saturday. And it’s so exciting because this month’s selections are stunningly beautiful!if you’re in the Mini-Skein Club, you have access to all of our colourway picks but, even if you’re not, we’ve got a few for you too. Click here to see the colourways and grab a few skeins for yourself!