Stuff to Love: The Knitter’s Tool Tin

06MayApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

The magic of knitting is in the knitting — we all know this, don’t we? It’s the feel of the yarn, the click of the needles, the hypnotic meditation of the motion. But no knitter can honestly deny that there’s a lot of fun in all the stuff that goes along with knitting. You know, the stuff — the needles, the project bags, the jewelry… er, I mean stitchmarkers. The stuff is fun!

And I want to show you some stuff that I really love. It’s the Knitter’s Tool Tin, from The Sexy Knitter, Sarah Wilson. Sarah’s cool and funky knitting patterns have appeared in The Knitter, Yarn Forward, Knitty, and Knitting Today, but when I was searching for the perfect gift to go in the very first parcels for the Yarn Alliance, it was her Knitter’s Tool Tin that caught my eye…

And you can see why, can’t you? Is it great or what?!? Everything a knitter might need, right there in a nifty little tin. Perfect.

Of course, I wanted the Yarn Alliance to get something special and exclusive, so I asked Sarah if she’d customise some of her tins just for us. And they turned out fabulous! Check it out…

Sarah put her calling card on the bottom, and a magnet in the lid…

Now, because I didn’t want the Alliance members to be able to guess what was coming in the second or third parcels, we’ve changed the contents of the tin from Sarah’s standard Tool Tin. Yarn Alliance members received the first part of the contents in their April parcel, and will get more in future parcels to built up the full Yarn Alliance tin.

Win Patterns from The Sexy Knitter!

And here’s the best bit — when I told Sarah I’d be blogging about her stuff, I suggested we run a giveaway and she very generously offered two of her patterns as the prizes!

And here’s all you have to do to enter:

First, make sure you’re following SpaceCadetCreations (@SpaceCadetCreat) on Twitter.
And then retweet this tweet, “I’ve entered to win two knitting patterns from @thesexyknitter & @spacecadetcreat! You can too: http://wp.me/pKX4B-CC #SKSCC“

That’s it! Easy, huh?

But if you’d like a second entry (and who wouldn’t like a second entry?), leave a comment here telling us which Sexy Knitter design is your favourite, and why. And there you go, you’ve got two chances to win two patterns from The Sexy Knitter! How cool is that?!?

The Small Print (because I know you love it!): Contest closes on Sunday May 15 2011 at 11.59pm EDT and all entries must be made before the close. All entrants will be verified and must complete the mandatory entry (that is, being a follower of SpaceCadetCreat on Twitter and retweeting the tweet mentioned above) before completing the ‘extra’ entry (leaving a comment on this blog post). Tweet must be exactly as shown in the post above (to facilitate tracking of entries) in order to be valid. Invalid entries will be disqualified. Winner will be announced on this blog and must respond within 72 hours or we reserve the right to choose another winner. SpaceCadet Creations reserves the right to substitute prizes. Prizes cannot be redeemed for cash. Prizes are not transferable. There, that wasn’t too bad, was it?

Bamboo, to Shine in the Summer Sun

03MayApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Are you ready for summer? Ready for those warm breezes, some long cool drinks, and golden light filtered through the lush green that you missed so much these past months? Yeah, me too. I really, really am ready.

And those kinds of days call for a really special yarn. Something like… bamboo. Not only because bamboo really does evoke thoughts of those tropical breezes accompanied by tropical drinks but, more importantly, because it has a spectacular sheen that captures the warmth of the sun and reflects it back in way that is everything you want in a summer yarn.

Here’s to those lazy days to come, gentle days bathed in golden sunlight, and lot of glorious, shimmery, summer knitting…

Clockwise from top left: fingering yarn with bamboo in Soliel, Pink Sun, Juicy, Evening Fog, Translucence, and SeaFoam

Are You Ready?

29AprApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

I’m a little bit excited… I’m a lot excited actually. But I can’t tell you about it because what I’m excited about is the yarn club parcels, which are all finished and ready to be posted out. We’ve spent the whole evening gathering the bits and pieces for them, putting it all together…

And I want to tell you all about it! …And I can’t!!!

But… I can tease you! I can, for instance, show you this…

(I have to admit, I’m really really excited about that one!)

And I can tell you that this goes along with it too…

There’s some of this sort of stuff…

And some nifty stuff to read…

And something else… Something else….

Hmmm… Now, what was it?

Oh yeah! This!

(Wait, you didn’t think I was going to show you the colour, did you?!?)

So… are you ready? Are you ready?!? ‘Cause I totally am!!!.

(And… should I ring your postman and just warn him that you’re gonna be stalking him for the next few days?)

Things My Non-Knitting Sister Says: This Time, It’s Physical

22AprApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

If you attended either the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival or HomeSpun Yarn Party this year, you might have met my sister. She was the one running the credit card machine and handing the cash, and she does a great job at that, but she doesn’t know anything about knitting. She lives her life blissfully unaware of all things fiber-related (though I’m not quite sure how that can possibly be blissful!), except when I call and ask if she’d lend a hand.

knitting, yarn, sock yarn, handdyed, indie dyer — Celeste yarn in Baroque

So the whole fiber-festival thing was completely new to her, and it took her pretty much completely by surprise. I think she might have been expecting sweet little old ladies and crocheted toilet paper covers…

Her first words, as we walked past the huge line of fiber-fanatics waiting for the doors to open, were, “People are here already?!? They’re waiting?!?” Her eyes were wide with surprise, and I stopped myself from giggling. She really didn’t know what she was in for.

But she got her second clue a few minutes after the festival got started. We were sitting near to one of the entrances and a woman walked in, went right up to my sister, with a face that looked almost frantic, and exclaimed, “I’m so excited!!!” before rushing off into the crowd.

knitting, yarn, sock yarn, indie dyer, handdyed — Celeste yarn in Cove

“These people are crazy!” my sister said, looking a little frantic herself. “That lady actually grabbed me when she said that! What’s going on?!?”

I couldn’t stop myself laughing now. When you’re a fiber-freak yourself, when you knit and spin every chance you get, when you’re surrounded by all this all the time, you forget that this doesn’t look normal to outsiders. You forget that it seems a bit, well.. yeah… crazy.

But it’s not. It’s perfectly normal. You and I know that. …And my sister will come ’round in time.

yarn, knitting, handdyed, indie dyer, sock yarn — Lucina yarn in Most Ardently

Shop Update: Clean and Dirty

19AprApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

When we think of spring, we all picture clean colours: the clear blue of cloudless sky, the bright shades of new flowers, and new grass sprouting up through the earth. But what we actually get is a little dirtier than that: grumpy dark skies, rain-soaked puddles and lots of mud, and days that can’t decide whether to be kind and warm, or cold and cruel.

Today, Spring is rainy and grumpy. But there are new yarns in the shop….

From top to bottom: Estelle yarn (80/10/10 Superwash Merino, Cashmere, Nylon) in Pollen, a DoRS colourway, Tuesday Blue, Storm Clouds, Mucky Pup, Spice Trade, Monday Red, and a DoRS colourway.

A Surprising Yarn for Summer Knitting

15AprApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Note from the SpaceCadet: My friend Natalie (peacethrufiber on Ravelry and Twitter) is a fantastic knitter and spinner who creates amazing garments with yarns she spins almost exclusively on spindles.

The SpaceCadet and I were talking the other day about summer knitting and summer yarn. She asked me what I knit with most during the warmer months, and I think I surprised her when I answered, “Wool.”

summer knitting, yarn, wool, handdyed, sock yarn, space cadet, spacecadet, indie dyer — Celeste yarn in a one-of-a-kind colourway

But if you think about it, summer knitting with wool makes a lot of sense.

First there are the qualities that make knitters love wool for winter knitting, such as great stitch definition and memory. These things are just as true in the summer as they are in the winter.

Then there’s the way wool feels on the needles. I knit cotton, linen and other more traditional, cellulose based summer yarns, but I can only knit with them for so long before the stiffness of the yarn starts to tire my hands. Then it’s back to the soft and pleasant hand of wool, with a grateful sigh.

Finally, there’s the fact that, done right, wool is really an excellent choice for summer wearing in addition to summer knitting. People often think of wool garments as cold weather gear but, in fact ,wool is much more versatile than that. It actually regulates temperature, keeping the wearer warm in cold weather, and cool in warm weather. Add in its fantastic moisture-wicking properties, and it starts to look a lot more attractive for summer.

knitting, yarn, wool, summer knitting, spacecadet, space cadet, handdyed, indie dyer, sock yarn — Celeste yarn knit on US size 8 needles (5mm)

Of course, if you pull on a heavy, worsted-weight wool sweater in the middle of July, you will probably end up uncomfortable. Fortunately, there’s no need. There has been a little flurry of garment patterns written over the last few years using fingering and lace weight yarns at a loose gauge to create light, breezy, warm weather garments. I’ve already started a fingering-weight wool sweater for this summer, and am totally enjoying it. I’m using a size 8 needle, and the resulting fabric is soft, sheer and gauzy. I’m looking forward to wearing it on vacation in June!

What are you going to be knitting this summer? Got any patterns in mind that will look great in a skinny wool yarn on big needles?

knitting, yarn, sock yarn, summer knitting, handdyed, indie dyer, spacecadet, space cadet — Skinny wool yarn, big needles... airy and light.