The Trouble with Cameras: Shop Update

14SepApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

One thing I’ve discovered since opening SpaceCadet Creations is that I really love photographing yarn. I really love it. When I get the camera in there, in close, and the light is just right and colours are popping and I can almost feel the texture coming right through the picture, I get so excited. Mmmmm… yarn porn — is there anything better?

And I suspect that paragraph is completely incomprehensible to anyone who is not yarn-crazy… But you understand, don’t you? Yeah, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

But sometimes, it goes wrong. I’ve got my camera there, the light is right, the macro is doing its thing… but the colours just aren’t coming out right. It should be working, but it’s just not. And I can’t tell you how crazy-making it is when that happens — because I’ve put a lot of effort into the colours I put in my yarns, and it’s incredibly frustrating when I just cannot get the camera to capture those colours.

This week, I’ve put a bunch of gorgeous yarns in the shop. I love them! Some are sublimely coloured, some are subtle, and some are quirky, but they’re all beautiful to look at…

Clockwise from left: Celeste yarn in Plumberry, Stella yarn in Megan’s Frost, Astrid yarn in Sailor’s Warning, Celeste yarn in Sweetpeas, Celeste yarn in Night Sky, and Celeste yarn in Sweet Decay.

But see that one in the middle, down at the bottom? The one with a lot of blue and what looks like maybe black? That was one of those yarns that simply refused to be photographed. Flat out refused. Oh, it looks nice enough in the picture but, in real life, it’s just so much more — deep, vibrant purples, dark greens and browns, amazing blues. It’s so dark and rich and moody… truly stunning. But could I capture that on film? Could I heck! And it was driving me crazy!

So, if you can’t fight it, join it. So, here’s how I’m going to look at it: see that picture there in the middle, and the bottom of the page? That one is there to make all the other pictures look even better. Seriously — look at them. Doesn’t that one picture make the colours in the one above it look so subtle and soft? And doesn’t it just make the pinks in the one to the right look vibrant? See what I mean?

And so that bad picture serves a good purpose now. But what’s even better is what will happen when someone buys that yarn… Because when they pull it out of the box and see its true colours… they’re going to understand just how frustrating that camera can be!

Great Tools for Beginning Spinners

09SepApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Note from the SpaceCadet: My friend Natalie (npeace on Ravelry) is a prolific spinner who creates amazing handspun yarns almost exclusively on spindles. She’s been kind enough to write about a few of her favourites here.

A while ago, I wrote a bit about resources for a beginning spindle spinner. Since writing that post, a couple of people have come back to me saying: That’s all well and good, but what are the actual tools that a beginner needs?

It’s a good question. One of the appeals of spindle spinning is that it really doesn’t take much. A spindle is basically just a stick and a weight, in one configuration or another. Get one of those and add in some fiber – preferably prepared for spinning, but even that’s not completely necessary – and you should be good to go, right? Well, yes… and no. Yes because, well, yes; at a minimum that is what you need to spin. No because, like most activities, having good tools makes the process easier – especially in the beginning.

I recommend a high-whorl spindle to start with. There’s nothing intrinsically better about high whorls compared to low-whorls, or any other kind of spindle for that matter. All types have their advantages. However, the current spindle resurgence, in the US at least, has centered around the high-whorl spindle and this type of spindle is the most readily available, and the most generally used.

For a complete beginner, I suggest a spindle between 1 and 2 ounces. Something in this range should suit most beginners nicely, and will continue to be useful as a plying tool even if the spinner decides with experience that they prefer lighter spindles.

Whorl diameter is also something to consider. Generally, the broader the whorl is, the longer the spindle will spin. For a first spindle, look for something between about 2.5 and 3.5 inches.

With these basics in mind, let me show you the spindles I most often use to teach beginners to spin. These are only the tools that I have found to be effective – there are many other good spindle makers out there, and this list is by no means exhaustive.

My absolute favorite teaching spindle is this is a 1.3 ounce Kundert:

This spindle has a long, level spin that makes it easy for beginners to control as they first learn to draft. It also has a nice broad whorl which lends stability to the spin, and the shape of the hook captures yarn well, minimizing slippage.

With many of the advantages of a Kundert spindle, but at a lower price point is this spindle from Spinsanity:

This spindle does not have the hand-turned elegance of the Kundert, but it is well crafted and has a very similar kind of long, easy spin.

Another maker I often recommend to a beginner is Jonathan Bosworth:

His spindles come in several size ranges, but a beginner would probably do well with a midi. The whorl here is much narrower. However, the way it is shaped still keeps the weight distribution towards the rim, which makes for a long, steady spin. The narrower whorl also makes it easier to carry around with you, so if you plan on spinning when you’re out and about, this might be a good choice.

Finally, on the high end of the price spectrum is Golding Fiber Tools:

Golding craftsmanship speaks for itself. If you’re one of those beginners ready to commit whole-heartedly to this spinning thing from day one, a Golding learn-to-spin kit would be an excellent way to start.

There are many other good makers out there and this list is just something to get you started. If you try one of my suggestions and find that it doesn’t suit you, by all means try something else. Check out the Spindlers and the Spindle Candy groups on Ravelry for other ideas. Your spinning will only be improved by experimentation!

Spotted in the Wild: Socks Knit with SpaceCadet Creations Yarns

07SepApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

The thing that never fails to take me by surprise me is the way that the colour of a yarn can change as it is knitted up. As beautiful as it looks in the skein, when the colour repeats are all long and stretched out, is nothing compared how to it looks as you start knitting and the stitches join the colours together in unexpected ways. It’s so exciting to watch each row unfold!

So exciting, in fact, that it’s sometimes a bit hard for me to send my yarns off to customers… because I want to knit them up myself and see how they come out. And so the thing that never fails to absolutely delight me is when customers share pictures of their finished objects and I get to see my yarns all knitted up. Let me show you two that I think worked out beautifully.

Cindy won this skein of Garden In Spring in the SpaceCadet Creations May Giveaway…

And she used it to make these fabulous Dancing Diamond Socks by Wendy D. Johnson. I love how knitting subdues the wild variegation of the colours but still allows the yellow to pop. The result is just gorgeous!

When I lifted my first skein of Plumberry out of the dye pot, I loved it — loved it — but I knew that it was the kind of wild variegation that needed a carefully chosen pattern to really bring out the best in the colours.

And when Sarah chose to knit Pomatomus by Cookie A. with it, I don’t think she could have picked a better pattern for the yarn or a better yarn for the pattern. These socks are absolutely stunning!

Thank you so much, Cindy and Sarah, for sharing your beautiful socks with us!

And everyone else, when you finish a project with one of my yarns, please do share it — I just can’t get enough of seeing how those colours turn out!

Softness Radiates from the Screen

31AugApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

New yarns in the shop are always exciting. But not nearly as exciting as those yarns are in person — holding them in my hands, they are simply sooo much better than in the pictures. How I wish you could just reach into this blog post and feel the softness, squeeze the smooshiness. They are gorgeous!

But since you can’t, pictures will just have to do! Have a look:

Clockwise from top left: Luna Laceweight in Calm Words, Stella Fingering Weight in City Park, Celeste Fingering Weight in Precise, Celeste Fingering Weight in Spluttermuck, Luna Laceweight in Old Money, Luna Laceweight in True Love’s Aura.

Now, I know it’s tempting but… no, wait! No, don’t stroke the screen! You’ll leave fingerprints!!!

Scenes from a Fiber Life: Laceweight NeverEnding

29AugApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

With great beauty comes… great danger? Great sacrifice? We all know that laceweight yarns are beautiful — there’s something inherent in its delicacy, and the luxury of its fibers, and the way it soaks up colour. Laceweight is beautiful.

And dangerous, as I recently found out. But sacrifice? The beauty of laceweight requires sacrifice? Not for you, dear readers, but it does for me. Let’s talk about my arms.

My arms are going to fall off. They ache, they’re sore. And as much as my eyes love laceweight, my arms hate it. At 1300 wonderful, delicate, luxurious yards per 100g, it takes a loooooong time to reskein. I have to sit and turn that skein winder round and round and round and round…

When the dyed skein goes on the swift, it really doesn’t look much different from any other skein. My arms are blissfully ignorant of what’s about to happen.

But after a few minutes of winding, when my arm is expecting the job to be half done, I look and find there’s only wee bit of yarn on the skein winder…

And so I keep winding. Round and round and round and round…

And after what seems like forever, I look up and…

.the swift looks as full as it ever was! HOW can that be?!?

My arms are not happy with me. My arms are burning and fed up and ready to quit. It takes some convincing to get them to keep going.

But after a long, long time, the skein winder starts to look lovely and full like this…

And the swift finally starts to look a bit emptier…!

And then just as my arms get to the point where they are ready to fall right off, we reach the end.

And then it’s done. And it’s gorgeous. And I hold the finished skein in my hand and look at how all the colours blend together gently and I am in love! Laceweight is worth it, I tell myself.

Until I lay that skein aside, and pick up the next one and start to arrange it on the swift and my arms realise what’s happening… and they don’t like it. They don’t like it one bit.

Pattern Roll-Call: Something Gorgeous Around Your Shoulders

26AugApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Y’know, even though it’s still August and that usually means high temperatures and hot days, the weather has taken on a slightly cooler tinge this week, and that’s got me thinking about autumn. I’ve been day-dreaming about turning leaves, that crisp smell in the air, and lovely lovely autumn knitting. Is there anything better? And the first thing you need as the weather starts to change is something gorgeous to drape around you to keep that chill at bay.

Abby by Amy Singer

I’m crazy about cowls. They’re so easy — there’s no tying, no arranging, no fussing or adjusting… they just pop over your head and perfectly fill up the space around the top of a jacket to keep you toasty warm. Abby by Amy Singer has a beautifully simple stitch pattern that will work perfectly with any yarn from a Semi-Solid to a Wildly Varigated. I think it would look amazing knitted up in the gentle blues and purples of Mountain Mist.

Mirth by Stefanie Japel

The lace pattern on Mirth is gorgeous, just gorgeous — what could look more elegant draped around your shoulders on a cool autumn day? But the real beauty of Stefanie Japel‘s pattern is that it’s written in both text and charts, and the size of the shawl can customised by completing as many chart repeats as the knitter likes. The allover lace pattern will really shine in a Gently Varigated yarn such as Pink Autumn or Desert Wine.

Eventide by Laura Nelkin

Now here is a pattern that makes you want to grab that crazy-gorgeous yarn that’s been calling your name and just cast on. The long criss-cross floats of Laura Nelkin‘s Eventide really showcase the colours a variegated yarn such as the cool blue/green/purples of Midnight Swim or the gentle pinks and olive-greens of Bramble Rose. And the beautiful openwork creates a pattern that is perfect for those not-too-warm, not-too-cool days that autumn brings.

So, yeah, I know… it’s still August. And the sun in still high in the sky and we’re all still wearing our summer clothes. But one of these days, the weather is going to change suddenly and summer will be gone… And now is the perfect time to cast on so that, when that happens, you’ll have something gorgeous to see in the autumn.