Win a Bundle of SpaceCadet Mini-Skeins!

20MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

All day today, I’ve been making Mini-Skein bundles in preparation for HomeSpun Yarn Party this weekend (hey, are you coming?). I love putting them together — picking the colours, arranging the skeins and tying them all together. Mini-Skeins are just so cute and, oh, so much fun!

We took Mini-Skeins to Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet to introduce the idea to customers who hadn’t seen them before and… they sold like hotcakes! I mean, it’s one thing to see them online, but I think it’s completely different when you meet them in person. I loved seeing the customers pouring over each and every bundle, trying to decide which one (or two …or three!) that had the colourways they loved the most.

And the very best part? So many of those customers have came back in the weeks after the festival to join the SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club. Seriously, I don’t think there’s any better compliment than that!

So, the Mini-Skeins are coming with us to HomeSpun Yarn Party this weekend. And if you’re going to be there, do be sure to come by the booth early before they disappear!

Or Win a Mini-Skein Bundle

So, what if you’re not going to HomeSpun? (or if you just can’t wait…) Well, don’t you worry because the lovely folks at the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet festival are giving away a SpaceCadet Mini-Skein bundle in their latest newsletter, along with a copy of Sarah Core’s Mini-Mania Scarf pattern. Just click on this link before March 30, and scroll down to the bottom for all the details on how to enter.

And then you can sit back, cross your fingers, and wait for your own little bundle of Mini-Skein goodness to arrive in your mailbox. Hooray!

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is Open for Subscriptions

16MarSeptember 4, 2015 By Stephanie

Squeeeee! I am so excited I can hardly tell you! I’ve been counting down to today and it’s finally here — the InterStellar Yarn Alliance is open for subscriptions at last!

The Yarn Alliance is the SpaceCadet’s supercool yarn club. And it’s one of the most fun things I get to do in my job! Seriously. While I’m in the studio creating the colourways, or while I’m writing the dyer’s notes, or coming up with all the fab goodies, I’m always hoping the members will love the results as much I do. And do they? Well, check it out…

And, y’know, while I was putting together the new Yarn Alliance images for the website, I realised I was taking a trip down yarn club memory lane. So much luscious yarn, so many colourways I love!

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

SpaceCadet^® Creations 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.
An InterStellar Yarn Alliance group on Ravelry where you can discuss WIPs, ask questions, and share FOs with fellow members.
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance newsletter with periodic special offers exclusively for members.
A 15% off coupon every six months

Subscriptions are for either 6 months (3 parcels) for $125, or for 12 months (6 parcels) for $235.

Want to join the fun? C’mon! We’d love to have you!

HomeSpun Yarn Party March 25 …and a Shop Update

14MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Exciting news! We’ve been accepted to HomeSpun Yarn Party again!

HomeSpun Yarn Party — March 25, Savage MD

HomeSpun is a fantastic event that showcases indy spinners, dyers, and other makers. It’s not the biggest show you’ll ever go to but the quality of fibery goodness is simply off the scale!

And it is an incredibly fun show to do — the atmosphere is electric! Because the people who come to HomeSpun truly love hand-dyed and it is so exciting to get to meet them, see their projects, talk about the yarn and the colours they love. I can’t wait!

So, if you’re in the DC-Baltimore area on March 25, come to Savage Mill in Savage MD, and fall headlong into hand-dyed nirvana. We’d love to see you!

Shop Update

And in case you can’t make it (…or in case you just can’t wait!), I’ve done a shop update. There’s some incredibly gorgeous laceweights in semi-solid colours, and Estelle and Stella in variegated colourways that will take your breath away.

So grab a big gulp of air and… dive in!

It’s the Little Things that Make All the Difference

09MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

First there’s the tying, then the soaking, and the dyeing. After that, the drying, the re-tying, the labeling, the twisting and listing. And then the very last step: parceling it up and sending it out.

I don’t know why, but I love that moment when the parcel is all sealed up and sitting by the door. Another skein of SpaceCadet yarn about to go on its journey to a new home, a new purpose — and I get such a thrill out of that.

I’ve sent quite a few parcels out this week, and I’ll be sending out a whole bunch more when the SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club parcels go out in a few days. And, as I was parceling one of them up, I suddenly thought I’d share it with you…

I think it’s really important that your yarn arrives in perfect condition, no matter where your parcel is left (on the doorstep?) or what the weather is (pouring down rain?) so first, I wrap it in a nice little cellophane bag to keep it safe and dry.

And, if you’re lucky, I may pop in a little extra treat for you…

And there’s a note too. Sometimes I ask you to share your project with me when it’s done and I really mean that — I love seeing how each skein works up in its project.

And I try to pack each parcel so it looks special when you open it…

Each domestic parcel is delivered by Priority Mail and Delivery Confirmation — if you need to know where your parcel is, get in touch and we can give you the tracking number. And I’m always surprised by how quick delivery is!

The way a parcel is packed may not seem that important. But when I’ve taken so much time and effort to create the most beautiful yarn I can, and then you’ve chosen it so carefully and are eagerly waiting for its arrival at your door… well, then I think taking a little extra time to ensure it arrives safe and dry — and beautiful — is one little detail that probably makes all the difference in the world.

A Sneak Peek into the Yarn Alliance’s Latest Parcel

07MarSeptember 4, 2015 By Stephanie

I’ve been dying to share with you the inspiration for the latest InterStellar Yarn Alliance parcel and, as I sent them out a week ago today, I think it’s safe to show you. But if you’re a member and for some reason you haven’t opened your parcel, close this page now — I don’t want to ruin the surprise!

…

…Ok?

Ok, I think we’re safe. shhhh… Let’s have a look at the parcel. But first, I want to show you the picture that inspired the colourway. The thing is, just lately I have become obsessed with Spring. I am soooo ready to shed the grey, dull end of winter and welcome the sweet arrival of fresh green grass, new blooms, and warm warm days. So when I saw this picture on Pinterest, it just sang out to me.

It was taken by Mattie of Still Pond Photography and I just love it. Love it. For days, the mood of this photo stayed in my head, and I found myself returning again and again to just gaze at the colours of those eggs.

So when it came time to dye the Yarn Alliance colourway, there was no doubt what it would have to be.

I’ve been dyeing Spring greens and blues for the shop but, when I started designing this colourway, I wanted to take those colours to another level. Just like the eight eggs, I wanted to have myriad shades of blues and greens, so that the yarn would seem to change every constantly — from row to row, stitch to stitch. I began with one blue and one green, and then layered on another shade, and another shade, and another until I had depth and tone I was looking for. I called the colourway “EggShells”.

Doesn’t it sing Spring to you?

And as excited as I am about EggShells — and I am! — I think that I might be just wee bit more excited about the goody. It was a long time in the making, but the effort was sooooo worth it. Check it out — every member got a fabulous custom SpaceCadet project bag!!!

I’ve had such a blast doing the InterStellar Yarn Alliance this past year — so much fun. And I can’t wait to get started on next year’s yarns and goodies!

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance will open for subscriptions March 16 to 31 ONLY

You can join for either 6 months or 12 months. Every other month, members of the InterStellar Yarn Alliance receive fabulous parcels delivered to their door containing:

SpaceCadet^® Creations 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.
An InterStellar Yarn Alliance group on Ravelry where you can discuss WIPs, ask questions, and share FOs with fellow members.
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance newsletter with periodic special offers exclusively for members.
A 15% off coupon every six months

If you’d like to join, remember to mark your calendar: the Yarn Alliance will open for subscriptions from March 16 to 31 only. And when it does, get yourself over to this page to grab your spot!

This Yarn into That Project: Rebecca’s Submerge Socks

02MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

If you’ve bought a skein of SpaceCadet yarn from the shop, you may have received a note from me, asking you to please come to the SpaceCadet group and show me what you made with it. Or, if you bought from us at a yarn show, I probably grabbed you before you left the booth and told you how much I’d love to see your project. Sometimes I wonder if people think I really mean it.

Oh, but I do! I honestly love seeing what my customers make with my yarn. Because here’s the thing: when I create a colourway, I have an idea in my head of how it will knit up but, more than any other kind of yarn, every skein of hand-dyed is something really special. The same colourway will work up completely differently from one pattern to the next — each project a wonderful adventure. And so often, entirely different from what I’d imagined when I dyed the yarn!

Here, check out this colourway. It’s called Submerge and I love it. Loved it from the very moment I pulled it out of the dyepot. It’s vibrant, exciting, and fabulously wildly variegated.

And there are just so many ways this colourway could work up in a project! The possibilities are almost endless, so I was dying for someone to send me photos of their finished object.

So I was delighted when Rebecca posted photos of her Submerge socks in the Ravelry group. Especially because she chose a pattern I never would have had the guts to use for this colourway: a pair of stockinette socks. Don’t get me wrong, I love simple patterns that let the yarn shine through, but I think I would have worried that this colourway would just be too bold for such a simple stitchpattern.

I would have been completely wrong! The stockinette was a bold choice, but it totally worked. The colours formed mini-stripes that played against one another beautifully and, where they came together, really made each other really pop. Here, see if this doesn’t get your fiber-lovin’ juices flowing…

One of the reasons I would have shied away from stockinette is that, with such a highly variegated yarn, there’s a potential for pooling or flashing. Now, there are always ways to avoid it if it starts (don’t know how? Download the SpaceCadet’s free guide) but, as these socks show, sometimes it’s best to just throw out the rules (are there rules really?) and just go where the yarn leads you.

And in this case, the yarn led Rebecca to some of the coolest diagonal pooling I’ve ever seen. “I loved seeing the colors start to spiral around each sock,” she said. “I’m more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants knitter, so it was pure luck that the socks ended up with those fun spirals.”

Seriously, how subtly funky are these socks?!?

So, if you meet me at a yarn show and I ask you to send me photos of your project… or you open your parcel and find a little note from me asking you to share your project in the SpaceCadet Ravelry group… know that I mean it. I love seeing what you guys create with my colourways into and I really do want to see your projects. Quick! Grab your camera and show me your work!