Variegated Yarns: Fabulous Resources for Pattern Ideas

12SepMay 17, 2015 By Stephanie

This weekend, I’ll be doing a trunk show at KNOTS in Chardon Ohio and, along with a huge pile of yarn, Mini-Skeins, and Ombre Kits, I’ll also be taking a stash of some really amazing one-of-a-kind colourways. They are the result of several weeks of pure colour-play, experimenting with the dyes and seeing what happens when I just follow where the colour takes me. Some are moody, some are intense, some are wild — all of them are stunning.

But when I take yarns like this to shows — yarns that resulted organically rather than by careful design — I always find a few customers who pick them up and are completely stumped. They turn the yarn over in their hands and, especially if it’s highly variegated, look at it in frustration and say, “But what would I make with it?”

The key to using a wildly multicoloured skein is to find a pattern that manipulates the yarn to use those colour shifts to their best advantage. Sometimes a colourway is so beautiful that straight stockinette can do that, but more often, a pattern that uses slipped stitches, dropped stitches, or other techniques that move the colour vertically as well as horizontally will create amazing results. And multicolour yarns also really shine paired with a semi-solid yarn in a pattern that alternates between the two.

We are such a fans of variegated yarns here at SpaceCadet, and of all the possibilities they hold (so many awesome possibilities!), that we decided to create two wonderful resources for our customers who need inspiration for those amazing multicoloured yarns they’ve just fallen in love with.

The SpaceCadet Variegated Yarn Project Ideas Board on Pinterest

We’ve curated a wonderful collection of variegate pattern ideas to wander through. The idea here is not so much to choose a pattern (although you might find the perfect one — just click on the pattern’s image to find it on Ravelry) as to immerse yourself in possibilities. Scroll through interesting stitch patterns, new techniques, and innovative ideas that you can try with that beautiful new colourway you’ve bought. Here, why not grab a nice cup of tea and click here to wander through it yourself?

The Variegated Yarn Pattern Suggestions Thread on Ravelry

What’s better than a Pinterest board full of stunning project images? A collection of pattern ideas that YOU can help create! Our Variegated Yarn Pattern Suggestions thread on Ravelry is put together by our fans and customers — people who love SpaceCadet yarn and know what works beautifully with it.

The ideas our group shares are fantastic and the rules are simple: (1) every pattern suggestion has to include an image and (2) chatting is encouraged but when you post a reply to the thread, you have to include a new pattern and image as well. The result? A fun, interactive lookbook of variegated project ideas. Click here and come join in!

Last Few Days to Order a Mauna Kea Kit!

Don’t forget this weekend is your last chance to order a Mauna Kea Kit and get in on the KnitTogether fun! Worked in either stripes or a gradient fade, Mauna Kea features raglan shaping, 3/4 sleeves, and incredibly flattering rib detailing down each side.

The KnitTogether starts Oct 31st, and orders close on Monday Sept 15. Click here to grab your kit!

Come Join the Yarn Alliance!

08SepSeptember 4, 2015 By Stephanie

Woot! It’s that time! We are super excited to announce…

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is Open for Subscriptions!

If you like SpaceCadet^®yarns, then
you’ll love being in the Yarn Alliance!

The Yarn Alliance is the SpaceCadet’s premiere yarn club.

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

New for this year: Extra Skeins!

One gorgeous skein just isn’t enough? Now you’ll 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? We’d love to have you on board!

Click below to choose your subscription:

12 Month Subscription

6 Month Subscription

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.

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 for two weeks only during March and September of each year.

Got questions? We’re happy to help! info(at)spacecadetcreations(dot)com

The Reason You Won’t See Me on Facebook

04SepJanuary 31, 2016 By Stephanie

Facebook is an amazing resource — a way for everyone to keep up with their friends’ news, family photos, hear about upcoming events… and maybe even look up an old boyfriend or two.

And it’s a great way for me to keep in contact with you. Not only can I share with you what we’re up to at the SpaceCadet studio (or just what I’m up to on a Saturday morning) but, unlike many other channels, Facebook gives you and me a wonderful opportunity to interact — to ask and answer questions, to have a conversation, for everyone to share thoughts as a community.

Where has SpaceCadet gone?

But maybe you haven’t seen so much of SpaceCadet in your Facebook stream lately? Maybe you think I’ve gone quiet? Maybe we’re not up to much lately?

Nope, the real reason you don’t see much of SpaceCadet any more is that Facebook recently changed its policies for business pages like ours. Whereas in the past, our posts used to show up in the news feed of everyone who liked our page, Facebook now shows our posts to only a tiny fraction of the folks who follow us.

Let me show you what I mean. The SpaceCadet page has over 1200 followers, but look at the number who got to see these recent posts:

200? 100?!? Sometimes it’s been as low as only 50! That’s hardly any of our followers, and it’s really disappointing when I want to share stuff with you guys but I know that only a few people are going to get to see it.

Now, the reason Facebook is doing this is that they want me to pay to “boost” my posts and to be honest, as a business person, I’m ok with Facebook wanting to make money. SpaceCadet has an advertising budget and I’m happy to spend it, but paying Facebook to “boost” every single thing I post is not really the best use of that budget, so I don’t do it very often.

Besides, if Facebook is a community, it feels a bit creepy to turn every comment I make into some kind of a paid advertisement. A lot of times, I’m just sharing cool stuff with you guys.

There’s an Easy (and Free) Solution!

BUT there is an better way for you to receive SpaceCadet posts again. I can’t increase the number of posts you see without paying for “boosting”, but YOU can pull our posts back into your news feed easily — and for free! All you have to do is start clicking “like” on our Facebook posts (or, even better, leave a comment or share the post). The more you interact with our posts, the more of our posts Facebook will share with you. That’s all you have to do — just start clicking “like”.

And it’s not just your timeline you’ll be affecting. When you click “like” and “share” or comment on a SpaceCadet post, everyone else gets to see more of what we’re up to as well. Want to see how powerful it is? Check this out…

When you click “like” or share and comment on my posts, you’ll begin getting all the latest SpaceCadet news in your timeline again (along with behind-the-scenes pictures from the studio and some random shots of my lunch or my WIPs…). And, y’know, I’ll be so excited to see you again! I love sharing all the cool stuff we’re working on each day — and I love it even more when I get to hear back from you about what I’ve posted.

So here, hop over to our Facebook page right now and just click “like” on a bunch of posts (or please, leave us a comment or share a couple of posts). And before you know it, SpaceCadet will be back on your Facebook radar again!

PS –I really do love the interaction that happens on Facebook, and so I’d love for SpaceCadet to have more followers. If you think something I’ve posted would interest your knit-friends on FB, I’d be really grateful if you’d share it with them by clicking “share” as well as “like”. Thank you for spreading the SpaceCadet love!

Mauna Kea: Pattern, Kits, & Knit-Together

28AugApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Sometimes I find it hard to wait. When I think of an exciting new idea, I want to dive into it right NOW (hence my stash of 15 million started-but-never-finished knitting projects). When my friend Mel (of the With Mel podcast, formerly Singlehanded Knits) showed me her design ideas for the gorgeous Mauna Kea, I was dying to share it with you guys, but the timing wasn’t right. Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep quiet about such a stunning pattern?!? It was SO hard!

But some things are worth waiting for. Take a look at this…

Knit top down with raglan shaping, Mauna Kea features laid-back styling and ribbed 3/4 sleeves. But my favourite thing is the shape, created by some incredibly flattering rib detailing down each side.

Choose to make it in stripes using a SpaceCadet Ombre Kit (as shown here) for a sublime monochrome effect. Or pick a Gradient Kit for eye-catching stripes with real impact! And if stripes aren’t your thing? Skip them, and use any of the Ombre & Gradient Kits in order to create a sweater with colours that gently morph from top to bottom.

The Mauna Kea Knit-Together!

What’s even better than a fabulous new pattern? A Mauna Kea Knit-Together! Join Mel for a lively and fun knit-together from Oct 31 to Dec 5. There will be a support forum on Ravelry, video help for knitters, and lots of great camaraderie!

Important: The Mauna Kea Kits listed here are available for pre-order and will be dyed once the orders close on Sept 15. Delivery will be in mid-October, in plenty of time for the Knit-Together cast on day.

You can see why I was struggling to keep it a secret, right? It’s one of those designs that make you just itch to get started!

Kits are available until Sept 15th only — click here to order yours!

All the Important Details

The Yarn

Lyra is a beautifully spoingy yarn that’s a joy to use, with a cabled 8-ply construction gives it strength and durability.

Fiber Content:100% Superwash Merino; 8-ply
Weight: Each skein is approximately 3.5oz/100g, and the yarn contains approximately 270 yards per 100g

The Kits

Each kit includes five skeins of Lyra and a download code for a FREE copy of the Mauna Kea pattern (the code arrives in the parcel with your yarn).

A lively knit together begins on Halloween for Mauna Kea, with a support forum and video helps for knitters!

The Colourways

There are five colourways available:

Dark Skies Ombre — grays to create the perfect monochrome effect
South China Seas Ombre — sublime blues for the ultimate in laid-back casual
Gobsmack Ombre — from deep purple to the softest lilac
Fervent Start-Anywhere Gradient — this gradient morphs from deep gray > rich eggplant > stunning fuscia > bright orange > brick red > back to gray. Designed so you can Start Anywhere, it works perfectly as either a gradient or for stripes.
Zing Gradient Ombre — this gradient morphs from dark gray > vibrant purple > cobalt blue > zesty lime > back to gray. Designed so you can Start Anywhere, it works perfectly as either a gradient or for stripes.

Sizing

For striping sweaters:

For sizes S/M/L: use 1 kit
For sizes XL/XXL: use 2 kits (due to the way the stripes use the colours)

For ombre/gradient fading sweaters:

For all sizes: use 1 kit

Delivery

Kits will be dyed after the ordering period closes on Sept 15 and parcels will be sent out mid-October, in plenty of time for the Knit-Together cast on date of Oct 31.

Ready to join in? Click here to get your Mauna Kea kit!

Introducing Maia, the Stunning New SpaceCadet Yarn

15AugApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Are you ready to squeeee with me? I’m over the moon to introduce you to the SpaceCadet’s newest yarn… You are in for a treat!

Introducing Maia, with Shine and Drape to Die For!

Named after the fourth brightest star in the Pleiades, Maia is a very special yarn. Spun with 80% bamboo, it has a simply amazing sheen that takes on colour with an incredible icy luster. That shine you see in the pictures? It’s no trick of the camera — Maia really is that luminescent!

And the way Maia drapes? It’s just stunning. This yarn is wonderfully soft* and light to the touch but, do you know, it hangs as though it were almost heavy. The effect is just beautiful.

Perfect for light late-summer knits, its lustrous sheen and icy colours carry through to elegant shawls for winter festivities. Maia is the yarn to choose for your most stunning and eye-catching creations.

The Details: Maia

Fiber Content: 80% Bamboo, 20% Superwash Merino; 4-ply

Weight: Fingering; Each skein is approximately 3.5oz/100g, and the yarn contains approximately 400 yards per 100g

How does this yarn take colour? Because bamboo does not take on the colour from acid dyes, colourways in Maia are much, much softer than our other fingering yarns, and the sheen gives them a wonderful “iced” look that adds to its unique look.

Currently in stock in Breathless, Cove, Crush, Dark Skies, Feather, Headstrong, Honey, Mars, Oxblood, Sage, and Tickled. It is also available to order for custom dyeing in any of our other SpaceCadet Colourways.

Click here to see Maia in the SpaceCadet shop!

The Fascia Shawl, designed for Maia

When I sent two skeins of Maia to designer Amy Maceyko, she shot back, “OMG the drape!” And I knew immediately that she was going to use it to design something wonderfully flowing and elegant.

And didn’t she just? This is the Fascia Shawl — a design created to show off the beauty of Maia, but with little details that are simply delicious. Oh do you see that lovely edging? So beautiful!

*with a yarn as lustrous as Maia, you might think it wouldn’t be very nice to handle, but look at that last image just above — do you see the fuzzy halo on the edge of the shawl? For all its icy sheen, Maia really is deliciously soft!

Click here to see Maia in the SpaceCadet shop.

Join In on Our Idea Bank!

12AugApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

We are all busy this week prepping the August Mini-Skein Club bundles (and I think they’re going to be a real treat this month, whether you’ve picked the Ombre&Gradient Mix or the Multicolour Mix — really fun colours coming your way!).

But I wanted to quickly share with you something wonderful that’s been happening in the SpaceCadet group on Ravelry! Now, we love collecting Mini-Skein project ideas for our club members on our Mini-Skein Ideas board on Pinterest — there are just so many fabulous and creative ways to add colour to your projects and scrolling through our Pinterest board is downright delicious.

But then I had a brainwave! As well as our collection on Pinterest, why not make this collaborative, and have all of you guys add your ideas too? So I started a thread on Ravelry — a place to share Mini-Skein project ideas and create a gorgeous look-book of patterns, an idea bank that we all contribute to. And it has become absolutely magic!

There are just two rules, and they are simple (and pretty fun too!):

Every suggestion has to include an image. Whether it’s a pattern on Ravelry or your own project, the idea is to create a visual idea book — and to be visual, it’s gotta have images! (and links are great too)
Chatting is welcome BUT you MUST also include an image and pattern idea in that same post. So, you can post a comment or reply to someone else’s post, but then you also have add in a pattern suggestion (and image) of your own in that post.

Want to join in the fun? Click here to check out the thread. And, hey, why not share your best Mini-Skein idea while you’re there?

Coming Soon

I’m crazy excited but I can’t say much, except to share this sneak peek…

…and these two key words: gorgeous new pattern and fabulous new kits! Mark your calendars for August 29th, and make sure you’re on the mailing list to be the first to hear about it!

Closing Soon

There’s less than one week left to order your fantastic SpaceCadet yarn bowl and mug from Pawley Studios. The orders are flying and it’s been so much fun! Don’t miss the chance to grab yours before they close on Aug 18! Click here to order or learn more.