Black Friday Weekend ONLY: Gift Subscriptions to the InterStellar Yarn Alliance!

23NovApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

It’s Black Friday weekend, which means all kind of gift-buying craziness. Now I don’t know about you, but I am not getting up early to fight the crowds — so here, back by popular request, is a fantastic way to give the gift of yarny goodness and mouthwatering colour… all without every getting out of your jammies!

Give the Yarn Alliance for the Smooshiest of Holiday Gifts!

Holiday Gift Subscriptions to the SpaceCadet’s InterStellar Yarn Alliance are available for one weekend only. Spaces are limited, so don’t wait!

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is SpaceCadet’s fabulous yarn club. If you like SpaceCadet^®yarns, then you’ll love being in the Yarn Alliance!

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance Holiday Gift Subscription includes two parcels delivered to the recipient’s 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.
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance newsletter with periodic special offers exclusively for members.

Black Friday Weekend ONLY!

This special Holiday Gift Subscription is $85 but if the knitter or crocheter on your list deserves more even more Yarn Alliance goodness, you can add on a 6-month membership ($199 inclusive) or a 12-month membership ($320 inclusive), and they’ll enjoy exclusive SpaceCadet yarny goodness long into the New Year!

Choose your subscription level by clicking on one of the buttons below:

SUPER IMPORTANT: If this is a gift, please do NOT forget to fill out the box for the recipient’s postal and email addresses. We gotta have them to make this work!

Shipping within the United States is included in the price; extra charges apply for shipping outside the US.
Six month subscriptions include 3 parcels and are normally priced at $125; twelve month subscriptions include 6 parcels and are normally priced at $235.
Holiday Gift Subscription parcels will be sent out on or near Jan 1 and March 1 2013 . Parcels for the 6-month add-on will be sent out on or near the first day of May, July, and Sept 2013. Parcels for the 12-month add-on will be sent out on or near the first day of May, July, Sept, Nov 2013, and Jan and March 2014.
Normal subscription openings for the InterStellar Yarn Alliance are two weeks only in March and September of each year.

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance Through the Rest of the Year

When you include an additional 6 month or 12 month Yarn Alliance subscription to your Holiday Gift Subscription, your recipient receives all the benefits that other regular members enjoy! With the additional regular subscription, each member will receive an exciting parcel delivered 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.
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance newsletter with periodic special offers exclusively for members.
A 15% off coupon every six months

Regular subscription prices: 6 months (3 parcels) $125; or 12 months (6 parcels) $235

Parcels will be sent out on or near the first day of November, January, March, May, July, and September. Subscription openings will be available in March and September. Shipping within the United States is included in the price; extra charges apply for shipping outside the US.

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance will not open again
for subscriptions until March 2013

Wait! Before you go, just wanted to let you know that there’s going to be another fabulous offer on Cyber Monday. Keep your eyes open for it!
(…But this offer closes at 11.59pm EST on Sunday. How’s that for a dilemma? **insert evil laugh**)

The Moment of that Knitterly Connection

16NovApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Tell me, do you get a little thrill when you discover a new acquaintance is a knitter or crocheter? You both realise that you’ve got this wonderful shared understanding of what’s Really Important in life, and you can ditch the small talk (or business talk) and turn instead to yarn, needles, and your latest projects. It’s a delicious moment, isn’t it?

That’s exactly what happened when I got hold of Vanessa at Vermilion Star Press to put together the gifts for the latest InterStellar Yarn Alliance parcels. I’d admired her work for a long time, beautiful letterpress stationary and invitations, created on a 100 year old Chandler and Price letterpress (that’s “slower than molasses” — check out her adorable thank you note in the photo above). I had a vision of how she and I could work together to create something really special for the Alliance Members. So I emailed and asked her what she thought…

“Shut the Front Door! I am a dedicated addicted knitter! Yes, let’s do it!”

And there it was, that knitterly bond — I knew right away that this was going to be a beautiful collaboration. We chatted back and forth, came up with some adorable designs, and then Vanessa got to work…

Now, before I show you her work, let me just quickly show you the yarn (and if you’re in the Alliance and you haven’t yet received your parcel, look away now!). I’d had all kinds of ideas of what I might dye but, by the time we got back from Rhinebeck, my head was so filled with the gorgeous colours of fall that there was no way I could possibly dye anything else. And so I created the shades of my Rhinebeck Reflections.

(Take a really close look at that label… Can you spot the mistake? Yeah, I didn’t even realise I’d done that until just now. Oops!)

When Vanessa’s parcel of letterpressed goodies arrived, I was so excited! I ripped open the box, took out a set, and ran my finger across the indented letters. There is something about being able to actually feel where the press pushed the words right into the paper that is just scrumptious.

And they were made by a fellow knitter! What’s not to love?!?

Hey, what you up to this weekend? If you’re in the Pittsburgh area, don’t forget that this Saturday is Indie Knit & Spin, a fabulous market of the region’s best indie fiber artists. Click here for all the details …and come and see us!

Pittsburgh Indie Knit & Spin: You Coming?

09NovApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

It feels like we only just got home from the last show when it’s time for the next one! Pittsburgh Indie Knit & Spin is next Saturday and you don’t want to miss it. This is only its second year, but my friend Cosy has put together a fantastic line-up of dyers and fiber artists (and more!). Check out who’s coming:

Beads by Eileen
Burgh Baby Gear
Cooperative Press
cosymakes studio
Dusty Tree Soap
Fibernymph Dye Works
Fiddlehead Fibers
Great Lakes Hand Dyed
Gwen Erin Natural Fibers
Luxe Fiber Arts
SpaceCadet Creations
Spinning Fates
Splashdoodles
Stormy Blue Pottery
Willow Mist Acres Farm Boutique
Wren & Rita

These are some seriously talented makers and, for me, I am honoured to be amongst them. But, for you, it means a wonderful selection of yarn and fiber (and soap and books…), all of it handmade, all of indie. Do come!

Pittsburgh Indie Knit and Spin
Saturday, November 17th from 10 to 4
Wilkins School Community Center in Regent Square
7604 Charleston Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15218 (map it!)
Entry is FREE!

Also, this will be our last show this year, so if you’ve been wanting to smoosh the SpaceCadet’s yarns in person, don’t miss it!

Oh, and apropos of nothing at all, there’s this: I was using my camera the other day and realised there were a bunch of pictures that I hadn’t downloaded of the house we rented for our weekend at Rhinebeck. And I liked some of them so much, I just wanted to share them with you…

You can see why it was so much fun, can’t you? Oh, what a weekend!

Sharon Silverman’s Crochet Scarves

01NovApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

A couple of months ago, I recieved a lovely, lovely, lovely parcel. Amid all the massive boxes of yarn that were arriving in the run up to Rhinebeck, there was one small manilla envelope waiting on the doorstep. I honestly couldn’t think what it might be but, when I ripped open the package, I was immediately over the moon!

Sharon Silverman is a wonderful crochet designer and I’ve really enjoyed working with in the past. She contributed to the SpaceCadet’s Guide to Using Hand-Dyed, and do you remember when she designed her stunning Moonmist Shawl in my Luna Laceweight yarn? So when she told me she was writing a new book of crocheted scarves and asked if she could use SpaceCadet yarn, I jumped at the chance!

So when my copy of Crochet Scarves: Fabulous Fashions – Various Techniques arrived, I couldn’t wait to settle myself right down into a comfy chair and crack it open. And it is — as expected — fantastic. Twenty-one brand new designs, covering everything from traditional crochet to Tunisian (I love Tunisian!) to broomstick lace. And all with really wonderful step-by-step visual instructions and easy-to-read charts.

Now, can I tell you something? I don’t care what kind of a day you’ve had — whether it’s been a facepalm kind of day or wildly successful. And I don’t care what kind of week you’ve had, or month or year or life… no matter how things are going for you, when you see your name in print, in a book, it sends such a thrill down your spine, I just can’t tell you. So, I turned to the Cactus Scarf and saw SpaceCadet yarn right there on the page and… I squeed! Alone in the house, still sitting in my comfy chair (well, jumping out of it actually), I was squeeing my heart out.

One of the hardest things about selling yarn online is that it’s incredibly difficult to express the tactile elements of each yarn. It’s one of the reasons I love doing shows so much. When customers can come and see the yarns in person — smoosh the yarns in person — everything changes. For the Cactus Scarf, Sharon chose SpaceCadet Luna, a merino and silk cobweb laceweight that gives a stunning 1300 yards per skein (that’s nearly 3/4ths of a mile!). It’s so fine and yet so smooshy, and the silk gives it an amazing sheen that I can never seem to do justice to in photographs! That just kills me, because this is one special yarn.

But you know what? I think the Cactus Scarf would look great in any of the other SpaceCadet laceweights too. Pyxis is 100% superwash merino and a great, straightforward laceweight yarn — or for anyone taking their first steps into open stitchwork. But I think this scarf would be amazing in Thebe — it’s a heavier laceweight in silk and linen that has an almost rustic feel and fabulous drape. And then there’s Venus, with its incredibly subtle sparkles blended into merino and silk — now that would be one eye-catching scarf!

So, are you as excited about Sharon’s new book as I am? Check out Crochet Scarves: Fabulous Fashions – Various Techniques and the rest of Sharon’s fantastic crochet designs here on her website.

Rhinebeck: One AMAZING Weekend!

26OctApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

First it rained. It was the kind of rain where you discover that the highest setting on the wipers is frighteningly inadequate, where cars slide off the road, where you wonder if you’re going to get there at all.

And then it cleared, and we suddenly saw how incredibly beautiful autumn in the Hudson Valley really is.

The old farmhouse we rented turned out to be wonderful. It had a lovely pond, and beautiful period features. And big soft comfortable beds

But there was no time to go to bed — there was work to be done — and we headed straight to the Duchess County Fairgrounds to get the Melissa Jean booth set up. It was a lot of hard work but, by the end, I think it looked fantastic, don’t you?

And then it was two amazing, whirlwind days of yarn and buttons and so many lovely customers and some super-cool fiberista friends… We were so busy, I forgot to take pictures of almost everyone (ooops!).

And then, before I even knew it’d begun, it was all over! The booth was taken down and the car all packed up, and we started on the long looong journey back.

And when we finally arrived home after 9 hours of driving, I made myself a well-deserved cup of tea, and looked back at the weekend with a crazy rush of emotion. It was an amazing weekend, and I felt so excited and so happy.

…And ohhhh sooooo tired!

(With huge thanks to Melissa Jean for featuring SpaceCadet yarn, and to Natalie and Kristen for making everything go so smoothly.)

Shop Update!

Lots of yarns went back into the shop yesterday. Lots more will go in today and over the weekend, including some fantastic one-of-a-kind colourways that you won’t want to miss. Click here to keep your eyes open for them!

Rhinebeck? And the SpaceCadet Panics!

12OctApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Rhinebeck is only one week away Rhinebeck is only one week away Rhinebeck is only one week away!

And I am panicking a little. The trouble with a show that’s bigger than anything I’ve ever done is that I’ve got absolutely no idea how much yarn we’ll need. So a few weeks ago I decided to start dyeing and just not stop. And that’s pretty much what I’ve been doing ever since.

One week! And there is so. much. to. do. And I don’t know if I have enough yarn! So I gotta get back into the studio but, before I do… here quick, come take a look…