A friend mentioned the other day that I haven’t done a Pattern Roll-Call in a while and, as I realised she was right, I also realised I knew exactly which patterns I wanted to include! Usually, I focus on one-skein projects that work well with hand-dyed yarn but, just lately, everywhere I look it’s been mini-skeins mini-skeins mini-skeins… So I think it’s in the stars that I have to do a few Pattern Roll-Calls focusing on all the fantastic mini-skein patterns that are so hot right now.
And the place to start is with the Beekeeper’s Quilt by Stephanie Dosen of Tiny Owl Knits. It’s the pattern that’s turning everyone into hexipuff addicts and it’s just so intriguing. All those puffy little hexipuffs, all mixing their colours together gently, and the result is a like a patchwork quilt but with a funky, modern twist. So cool!
And here’s another that’s really calling to me: The Sock Yarn Blanket by Shelly Kang. I’m crazy about this design! That’s partly because I’m a sucker for mitered squares but also because I love how it looks like feathers of some fantastical bird flowing down from top to bottom. Again, a million colours that really shouldn’t work together and yet, somehow they do… This pattern also comes with some really helpful tutorials to get you started.
And then there’s the Babette Blanket by Kathy Merrick. And the thing I love about this pattern is that it demonstrates how beautifully the Mini-Skein craze works in crochet. And I also love how these three examples show the way Mini-Skeins can work in any colour combination — bright or subdued, matching or contrasting, each one is just gorgeous!
See what I mean? As a dyer, these projects really get my blood pumping, because they are just so full of glorious colour! I want to dive in and roll around in them! Mmmmmmm…. Gorgeous!
And if these patterns have got you as excited as they’ve got me, do check out the SpaceCadet’s new Mini-Skein Club. Each month you’ll receive a surprise selection of gorgeous SpaceCadet yarns delivered to your door, so that you can try out all the SpaceCadet bases and feed your mini-skein project addiction!
Last week I mentioned to you that I was about to launch a new website. And I said I was excited but I know well enough that I was probably the only one who was really interested in it. But now I want to ask you to do me a favour, please — a personal favour. I thought I was excited, I really did, but the truth is I had no idea how excited I really would be when the site launched. And here’s why: I built it myself!Myself!!!
Six weeks ago I didn’t know CSS from HTML from my elbow (and, truth be told, I probably still don’t!) but I found some great resources, got focused, worked my backside off, and… and… well, this is the result.
…Can you hear me squeeeeing from there?!?
So will you do me a favour please? I know website lauches never really matter much to anyone except the launcher (me!), but please get excited with me! Jump to the comments and give me a WOOT! — because, seriously, who ever thought I could build a site like this?!? And I am just so fired up!
The SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club Goes Live!
Ok, that’s enough of the exciting-for-me stuff (and, hey, thanks for getting excited for me too). Now let’s get to the exciting-for-you stuff…
About a month ago, I came across a tweet that mentioned a word I’d never seen before: hexipuffs. And I was thinking, “What the heck is a hexipuff?!?”
These, as it turns out, are hexipuffs. Very cute... Very addictive!
And then all of a sudden, within a week, it seemed like mini-skein projects were everywhere… The BeeKeeper’s Quilt, the Babette Blanket, the Sock Yarn Blanket… (Oh man, I looove that Sock Yarn Blanket!). See what I mean? Mini-Skein projects are hot!
So then I realised, what would make a mini-skein project even more fun? Getting a surprise box of wonderful mini-skein colours each month to add to your project!
The SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club
Join the SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club and every month you’ll receive an exciting parcel containing a hand-picked selection of gorgeous Mini-Skeins, perfect for adding to (or starting!) your project. You can choose your subscription level: Single (five 20g skeins), Double (ten 20g skeins), or Triple (fifteen 20g skeins). And you can cancel your subscription as soon as you have enough Mini-Skeins for your project.
(But the question is… can you ever have enough Mini-Skeins…?)
And here’s the really cool thing: the skeins are a mix of all the SpaceCadet’s beautiful yarns. Some are Celeste and Stella, there’s a touch of cashmere with Estelle, and the subtle sparkle of Lucina. And perhaps even some of the more unusual yarns from the Dept of Rocket Science — a bit of silk, some alpaca, maybe some bamboo or BFL… If you’ve ever wanted to try the different SpaceCadet yarns, the Mini-Skein Club is a GREAT way to do it!
Subscriptions are limited — Join Now!
Mini-Skein FAQs
What sorts of colourways can I expect in my parcel?
Each parcel is made up of a selection of SpaceCadet colourways, hand-picked to work together, with at least one contrasting colourway to add some zing! You can choose between
the Gentle Mix, which contains mostly Semi-Solids or Gently Variegated yarns, and
the Wild Mix, which is made up mostly of those exciting Wildly Variegated yarns.
All together, they look terrific and will be a great addition to your project.
What are the different subscription levels?
There are three levels, to cover you for the month no matter how fast you knit!
The Single Mini-Skein Subscription is five 20g skeins for $28
The Double Mini-Skein Subscription is ten 20g skeins for $54
The Triple Mini-Skein Subscription is fifteen 20g skeins for $78
(Shipping costs are exactly the same as in the SpaceCadet shop: $4.49 for the Single subscription level, and $1.49 for each additional level.)
When will my parcel arrive? And when will payment be taken?
All parcels go out on or around the 10th of each month, and the deadline for new subscriptions to be included in that shipment is midnight on the 1st of that month (every Mini-Skein is wound by hand, so we need a bit of notice to get your parcel ready!).
Domestic deliveries are sent by Priority Mail, which usually takes about 2-3 days. International deliveries are sent by USPS First Class mail.
Your payment will be processed on the day you subscribe, and will automatically repeat on the same day each month of your membership.
When does my subscription end?
You can end your subscription whenever you have collected enough Mini-Skeins for your project (or, any time you like). And it’s easy to unsubscribe! Just click on the Unsubscribe button on the Mini-Skein Club page.
Anything else I should know?
When you join, you’ll be added to the Mini-Skein Club mailing list, which we use only to easily let you know of any important information or changes to the club in the future.
Oh, and once you’ve joined, please do come over to the SpaceCadet Creations group on Ravelry and tell us all about the project you’re making or planning to make. We’d love to hear about it and see your progress!
Do you remember my sister? I’ve mentioned her on the blog before. She’s incredibly supportive of SpaceCadet Creations but she’s never been a knitter, never been the least bit interested, and so when she helped me out at several yarn shows this past year, she was pretty much completely unprepared for the experience. Like when she saw the line that stretched all the way down the sidewalk as knitters and crocheters waited for the doors to open at the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival (“People are here already?!? They’re waiting?!?”). And her shock that vendors were going shopping and buying yarn from other vendors (“Why would they do that? Don’t they have their own yarn?”). And then the beautifully entertaining look on her face when she finally encountered her first fiber-crazed knitter (“These people arecrazy!” ). Ah yes, watching my sister’s initiation into the world of yarn has been very amusing indeed!
I have tried, on and off for twenty years, to get her to try knitting and she’s never been interested. I’ve explained how relaxing it is, how grounding. I described it in terms of yoga and meditation. I’ve held mouth-watering yarns in front of her. But nope, knitting was my thing, and definitely not for her. And helping out at yarn festivals didn’t seem to make any difference at all. So I felt really confident when I chose the title for this series of blog posts: “Things My Non-Knitting Sister Says”. Because my sister does not knit.
And then, a small miracle has occurred. Somewhere in the world, the earth has moved, a sea has parted, perhaps the planet ceased spinning on its axis for one brief moment… Because earlier this summer, my sister learned to knit.
*insert sound of a record scratching*
My sister's very first knitting project: a garter stitch scarf
I’m trying to remember how it came about, exactly. Did my sister ask to be taught? Did my friend Natalie just decide it was time she learned? I’m not sure but, either way, I just remember the two of them sitting on the couch, Natalie patiently showing her how to hold the needles, and my sister quietly chanting, “in, around, out, and off… in, around, out, and…”. By the time my sister left for home, she had that rhythm downpat, Natalie had given her the needles, and she had a brand-new skein of SpaceCadet yarn cast on for a garter stitch scarf.
Weeks went by and I heard nothing. I was almost afraid to ask, imagining the needles untouched, the cast-on stitches left exactly as they had been when she left. And then, at last, a text message… it said, “I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but I CANNOT stop knitting. I’ve been doing it every day. This is amazing!”
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to the world a new knitter. And I ask you to welcome her into the fold, into our wonderful universe of fibery goodness. She is taking baby steps, to be sure — and please, do try not to spook her — but she is most definitely on her way. I’m so proud of her! And if you are too, please, leave a comment and let her know — new knitters need encouragement, don’t you think?
Her first (inadvertent) attempt at lacework!But by the end, she'd created beautifully even stitches
And here’s the best bit — the next time you see her at a yarn festival, sitting there taking payments and handling the money, and you’re holding a huge pile of yarn and gazing at it and petting it fondly, you can rest assured she probably doesn’t think you’re crazy any more… Little by little, row by row, she’s starting to get it!
There has been so much going on here — so much! — that I feel I am about to burst! And it’s all just about ready… a-a-almost there… So today’s shop update will be a mini-update so I can quickly get back and finish all this up and share it with you. More on that update at the bottom.
But right now, let me tell you what I’ve been working on…
The Website
First, a new website! I’m really excited about it because it’s beautiful, everything I’d hoped for. But the reason that’s really cool for you is that it’s going to allow me to a whole bunch of new things that I couldn’t do before (one of them is my new club, which I’m going to tell you about in a second).
But there’s a really important thing you need to know about this website change. If you subscribe to my website via my mailing list, you don’t need to do a thing. But if you subscribe via WordPress, you’ll need to change over to the mailing list — and that’s super easy to do. Just click here to join the mailing list. See? Easy and done! (If you want to ensure you don’t receive duplicate emails during the transition period, you might also change your WordPress settings, like this.)
Mini-Skein Club
Remember that Super Secret Thing I was telling you about? Oh, I am so excited about this…! And if you’re addicted to hexipuffs, dreaming about the BeeKeeper’s Quilt, falling head over heels for the Babette blanket, or any of the other wonderful mini-skein patterns that are cropping up everywhere these days, then you will be super excited too! The SpaceCadet Mini-Skein Club is coming and it will not only be a regular supply of those addictive little skeins, but also give you the perfect opportunity to try out all those wonderful SpaceCadet yarns and colourways that you’ve never used before. Think of it as a mouthwatering knitters’ and crocheters’ sample pack, delivering yarny goodness to your door every month…
I cannot wait to get the Mini-Skein Club started! If you can’t wait either, make sure you’re on the mailing list to be the first to hear when it goes live!
The Ebook
The ebook is with the editor and is so close to being finished, I can taste it! I know a lot of people aren’t sure how to approach knitting or crocheting with hand-dyed yarn, so I’m hoping this ebook will help ease any nervousness. It’s an introductory guide to hand-dyed yarn: how to use it, how to care for it, how to understand it so you can dive into hand-dyed without fear. If that sounds just right for you, then get on that mailing list to be sure you hear when it’s ready for download!
Oh, and this is really cool — the editor has been blogging the process of putting the ebook together. Check it out!
Shop Update
And finally, here’s the shop mini-update I promised you, two yarns that I am just crazy about…
First is a colourway that I’ve called Inlet, because I see all the colours of shimmering and shallow water — blues, greens, grays — with the glint of something precious resting at the bottom. I absolutely love this colourway! The yarn is 70% superwash merino, 20% bamboo, and 10% nylon, so it has that lovely glossy sheen.
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And another yarn in that same lovely bamboo base… This colourway is Contrary and I just love the intensity of those cool, cool blues…
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So, lots of stuff going on. It’s been crazy busy but soooo exciting! And if you’re excited too, keep checking back to see if the website has changed. Once it has, the ball starts rolling on everything else too…
Here’s a Friday morning brainteaser for you… (because, you need one, right? You’re wide awake and raring for brainteasing this morning, right? …no? Oh, never mind, keep reading. It’s worth it.)
Right, here’s your brainteaser: how do you pronounce amigurumi? Yes, amigurumi. I’m hitting you with a word like amigurumi first thing on a Friday morning not because I’m particularly cruel and sadistic (although… umm… no, never mind) but because if you don’t know about amigurumi, then I have someone I want to introduce you to.
Ok, let’s back it up and make Friday morning a bit easier. How do you pronounce Fresh Stitches? How about Stacey Trock? Better? Yep, me too! I can’t say amigurumi to save my life. …Well, I can, but I have to slow right down and I sound like an idiot. I prefer to say Stacey Trock. Mostly, because I really like her.
Stacey designs crocheted amigurumi, which is a Japanese word meaning a crocheted or knitted stuffed animal. And so you know they are going to be cute, but Stacey’s designs are not just cute, they’re downright funky. I mean, right now, you’re thinking “teddy bears”, right? Nope.
I met Stacey at TNNA in June — she was unmissable, wandering around with a crocheted monkey on her back — and I quickly discovered she is an absolutely lovely person. During the Mother-of-All-Knit-Nights (imagine a room filled with every.single.one of your knitting idols, and that’s exactly what it was), Stacey and I got to talking and… we just kept going for a couple of hours! Isn’t it just the coolest thing when the people you’ve admired from afar turn out to be truly nice people in real life?
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Stacey, your amigurumi are so adorable! How do your design ideas come to you? Do you know what the finished project will look like before you start, or do you let the yarn and hook lead the way and just see how it comes out?
Aww, thank you! I have no idea how my ideas come to me… sometimes I think it’s just a little fairy in the night that brings them. In all honesty, I’ll just get ‘struck’ by an animal idea, and I know exactly how it’s going to look and how it’s going to be made. And more than often, I’m right. Once in a while, I go through a phase of experimenting with different shapes and techniques, and then a whole new batch of animals will hit me.
When did you make the jump from crocheter to crochet designer? What defined that change in your mind?
Ah, yes… you’re hinting at two different questions! The first one is: when did I go from crocheter to being a person who sold crochet designs. I did that one summer, when I was finished with school, and was tired of what I was doing. I asked myself, ‘what would I do if I didn’t have to worry about money at all?’. And I thought, ‘make stuffed animals’. And, I’ve been crocheting since I was very small, so that seemed like the natural method to make my animals. Then, I thought about it, and figured I really could make a living of it… so, then I just started designing! My first designs were a koala and a lion.
The second question, when did I feel like a crochet designer is slightly different. It took a while for me to really believe that this was my job and not just some pipe dream. I would say that after my first book, Cuddly Crochet, came out, I felt like I was really a designer.
It’s interesting, though- because I think of myself as a stuffed animal designer, not a ‘crochet designer’. I would jump to knitting stuffed animals before I would design a crocheted sweater. I guess I’m just obsessed with stuffed animals 🙂
When you design, do you have a specific person in mind? Are you designing for someone, or for yourself?
I always have one of two customers in mind when I design. Customer number one is a late-20s, early 30s woman who is crocheting a toy for her children (of course, in real life, it could be a grandmother, aunt or even a father… but marketing folks tell you to be specific!). She’s interested in a pattern that’s not overwhelmingly complicated (she has other things to do, after all!) and she’s also interested in a fairly mainstream, cute animal. The animal also will need to be baby-safe (crocheted eyes, no long strings, etc.). My Nelson the Owl pattern is a stereotypical example of an animal I designed with this customer in mind.
Customer number 2 is a late teenager or 20-something woman who loves crocheting and wants to make a funky and cute crocheted animal. She’s not scared off by trying a new technique, but the end product has to be awesome. She may be making it to make a statement at work, or crocheting a gift for a
friend (and wants a super-unique gift over something you can just buy in the store). Weird animals are totally okay… even suggested! Sandford the Squid is the best example of a pattern I’ve designed with this customer in mind.
Sometimes, I lose sight of my customer, and design an animal ‘just because’, and these usually end up being flops. Like, I designed a cheetah… he was cute, for a cheetah. But, what’s the market? You don’t give a cheetah to a baby. And, people looking for funky designs aren’t drawn to cheetahs.
It’s been a lesson… even though I’m completely passionate about what I do, it’s still a business, and I need to keep in mind that I’m designing for my customers.
Are there any special skills needed for amigurumi that are different from other crochet projects?
The main thing about amigurumi is that they are worked in the round. You don’t need any special stitches (it’s the same single crochet, increasing and decreasing that you see everywhere), but starting off can be tricky for folks… it’s getting the piece going in the round. I use the sloppy slip knot (a technique that I made up by accident) because it’s quick an easy. The magic ring is another popular choice.
Attaching the pieces (arms, legs, etc to the body) also takes a little artistry. It can be tricky when you start, but using some locking stitch markers to position the piece (and see if you like it) before sewing it on is a great tip. Alternatively, Dawn Toussaint is an amigurumi designer who attaches all of the pieces as you crochet- so there’s nothing to attach afterwards… that can make the whole attaching-thing easier!
What is the best bit of being a designer? What part of it brings you the most joy?
The thing I love most is the flexibility. I get to work from home and make my own schedule. My partner (Tim) is Australian, and we go back to Australia for 3 weeks every Christmas. I’m the studio manager at my yoga studio, and I attend classes at 5pm. Tim is giving a talk at a university in a few weeks, and I get to just go along. I don’t think I could do any of those things if I worked a normal 9-5 job.
Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t work a lot of hours… but the flexibility is priceless to me!
It’s funny you ask the 2nd question… because the best thing in the world happened to me this morning- that makes my job super-awesome. One of my customers emailed me and told me that she was going through a very hard time in her life (due to family illness), and that what had gotten her through was making my stuffed animals for her grandchildren! I couldn’t believe someone would say such a sweet thing to me! Making others happy brings me the most joy!
What is your favourite amigurumi design that you’ve done? Which one makes you smile every time you see it?
I’ve got two. One is Nelson the Owl… I’m not sure if it’s because owls are insanely popular right now, or what, but I make a lot of them, and they’re adorable every time! It doesn’t matter what color combo you use- he’s adorable! The second is Milton the Snail from my new book, Crocheted Softies. I have a total soft spot for snails… and I love Milton!!!
What do you suggest to knitters/crocheters who are nervous about using hand-dyed?
Who’s afraid of hand-dyeds? I’ll go have a talk with them! I think what most people don’t realize is that you can use hand-dyed yarns in almost any pattern that calls for commercial yarns! Crocheters and Knitters seem to get really caught up on using the yarn recommended in the pattern… but as long as you’re substituting a similar weight and fiber yarn (i.e. a worsted weight wool for another worsted weight wool)- you don’t need to think very hard about doing a substitution! And, there’s so much more variety in the hand-dyed market. A commercial yarn company produces thousands of skeins of each color… so they’re pretty tied to producing yarns and colors with a broad appeal. But, since an indie dyer produces yarn in small lots, they can really let their creativity shine through. I’ve gotten some amazingly colored skeins from indie dyers that would have never been available commercially! Also, you can’t beat the colors and love that goes into hand-dyed… so I say, rock on!
The ebook has been sent to the editor, the shop has been restocked after PLY, there’s a website revamp underway (now, there’s a mix of joy and pain!), and the Super Secret Thing is almost ready to go… It’s been a good week. …A busy week!
Oh, and there’s been dyeing. Lots of dyeing. Some of it has been that fantastic experimental stuff that I love to do — that’s going into the Yarn Adventurers’ newsletter that will go out later today. If you’re on the Yarn Adventurers’ mailing list, keep your eyes open for it. And if you’re not on the list, get on it!
And there’s some wonderful stuff that’s gone into the shop… A wonderfully vibrant colourway called Snorkel (not for the faint of heart, that one!); the warm and tropical Sailor’s Warning (see it knitted up as a sock); the absolutely stunning greens of Rescue (and there’s four skeins of it, enough for a cardi); and then there’s one of my most favourite colourways ever ever ever, Beguile (three skeins, enough for a bigger project). The skeins of Rescue and of Beguile are both split over different dyelots, but they are all so close that you can feel confident buying across the dyelots if you do want to do a larger project.
