For a tiny team like ours, that’s a huuuge stretch but we love both of these shows so much that, when we realised they were scheduled for the same weekend, the whole SpaceCadet crew decided immediately that we simply had to do both of them. It means double the yarn, twice the samples, and two full booth displays (wait… what?!?) but add in a couple of wonderful friends who are coming into town to help us out and, even though it’s going to be one crazy weekend, I’m confident that we’re going to have a blast at both shows! If you’re coming to see us, please drop us a quick line to let us know so I can keep my eye out for you!
Speaking of shows, I’ve got something fun to share with you: my Six Tips for Attending a Yarn Show, a behind-the-scenes guide to getting the most out of the shows and festivals you plan to attend this year. Now, if you’ve recently joined the SpaceCadet mailing list, you may have already seen this (or be about to receive it) but, if you’re not, it’s a great way to learn the best times to chat with your favourite vendors, how to time it so you shop without the crowds, and more!
Ok, I’ve got lots of other fun stuff to share this morning too so, go make yourself a nice cup of tea, curl up in a chair, and let’s dive right in!
A couple of years ago, designer Karen McKenna used our yarn (SpaceCadet Celeste in Molten Cool) to create the Napa Valley Wrap which, to my utter delight(!), ended up on the cover of Crochet! magazine’s Fall Special issue. And then I was equally delighted to see this week that that same wrap has just won first place in the Florida State Fair. Congratulations to Karen! (She is re-releasing the pattern in mid-April and, if you join her mailing list now, you’ll get a 25% discount when it does)
Naturally, you’ve heard of temperature scarves (and blankets), where you choose colours for different temperature ranges and then knit or crochet a row each day to record the temperature. But you don’t often read about them in a publication as big as the New York Times. Last week, I did!
You may have seen a Little Free Library box out in the wild — that’s one of those little cabinets with a glass door and books inside, that acts as a kind of honesty-box library — but until you walk past the Wild Hand yarn shop in Philiadelphia, you may have never seen one containing yarn, needles, and patterns. Every morning it fills up and, by every evening, it’s empty again… and serves as way to invite new customers into the shop. Read more here.
The wool-lover in me is very, very pleased to read in this article that William and Kate recently took their little princes and princess to a farm for lambing. Start that love of fiber early and right at the source!
I love that Jacqui’s designs are incredibly size inclusive (this one goes from an upper bust measurement of 30″ up to 57.75″) but, more than that, I love how perfect this design is as we move between seasons. The wave-like texture is beautiful, the long sleeves perfect for cooler spring days, and the pattern gives instructions for both cropped and longer styles. Designed in DK, I’d knit it in SpaceCadet Lyra or Astrid in the colourways Fathoms Down, Time Traveller, or Thrive.
Beautifully graphic and yet deceptively simple, this cowl’s lovely colourwork pattern is inspired by the floor tiles at the designer’s grandparents’ house. It’s knit on size 15 needles for a quick result and looks just as interesting on the inside as it does on the on outside. The specified yarn is a super-bulky but, if you don’t have that on hand, I’d be inclined to knit a test swatch holding double a bulky yarn from stash (like Elara). I’d love to see how that heathered effect would look in this design!
If you’re looking forward to summer (and really, we’re at that time of year when it doesn’t feel too crazy to start thinking about it), then this is a perfect project to add to your queue! The gorgeous lacework is so eye-catching while the waistband section lends shape and stability. Available for free on the designer’s website, there’s also a paid version that offers schematics, stitch diagrams, and instructions to customise the pattern for specific body shapes. I’d love to work it up in SpaceCadet Lyra in Crisp for a soft Spring colour, Blood Moon for something spicier, or Zazzle for a really bold statement.
Ok, that’s it! My tea is all finished and it’s time I got myself down to the studio. We’re going over colours for some upcoming club shipments (hooray!) and a few other fun things. I hope you’ve got a colourful day planned as well and, until next time, all my best!
I’m pretty excited about today! Let me tell you why… For a while now, I’ve felt like we needed to develop more blues. I mean, it’s kind of crazy that we don’t have a better palette of blues: it’s one of my favourite colours and look beautiful with so many other hues. So a couple of months ago, we developed a series of blues that I just love, six gorgeous new shades of blue that work together and with the lots of other SpaceCadet colours. I couldn’t wait to share them with you!
The plan was to release them in January, a palette of blues during that icy-cold month seemed perfect. All I had to do was take each colourway’s “glamour” shot to go on the yarn page, so I set up the lights, picked up my camera, and grabbed the photos.
But when I looked at the images a few days later on my computer, they looked off. There was a deep, electric turquoise that looked… weirdly baby blue. And the navy was so pale it almost looked… well, nothing like navy. I made an attempt to fix them in Lightroom… and then in Photoshop… but there was simply no way.
Now, probably the most important thing I do is make sure that the yarn colours on our website are as true to life as I can possibly make them, so I decided to ditch those images and start over. I set everything up again, double-checked all the settings on my camera and adjusted the lights, and began snapping photos. But when I imported them into my computer, the results were just the same.
this is not what these blues look like!
I tried again, this time moving the whole set up from room to room, to try to get differing light effects: sunshine vs shade, studio lights vs natural, direct vs diffused. I even set them on different backgrounds in case my original background was messing with the camera’s white balance. Still, nothing worked. And by now, a January release was looking a lot more like mid-February… Well, I told myself, that will be fine. February is still icy-cold.
But when the fourth photoshoot produced nothing better (and by now I was trying out every camera I could get my hands on, including my phone which I normally wouldn’t dream of using for a image like this), I gave up. Never once in the history of SpaceCadet have I used a professional photographer (I mean, I’m a maker — I really believe in learning new things and doing stuff myself) but I could tell this was way beyond my skills. I’d hand the yarn over to a professional, pay them for their time and skill, and get six colour-accurate photos back at the end. I kind of hated giving up like that, but getting the colour right was worth it.
Now, here’s the thing… When I emailed the photographer and explained what had been happening, I asked him for pricing. And when he emailed back, he said that he thought, since I am also a small business owner, it would probably help me the most if, in addition to taking the photos and colour-correcting the images, he also walked me through what he was doing and gave me pointers on how to improve my own photography for the future.
this is also nothing like what these blues look like!
What?!? This is how he makes his living and there’s no reason for him to help me to do what he does so that I don’t need his services in the future. But he is! And that’s kind of blown me away and warmed my heart all at the same time.
So that’s what I’ve got planned for today, and I am so excited! For the colour-accurate photos, for some (hopefully) improved photography skills, and to be able to release these beautiful blues at last. And if you are excited about them too… watch this space in the next few weeks!
But before I get going, I’ve got a bunch of fun fiber news to start the day off right. So go grab a cup of tea and let’s jump in!
More interesting behind-the-scenes stuff in the life and times of being a knitting pattern designer: Hunter Hammersen reflected on some incredibly harsh feedback she received over the price of her new pattern for a little knitted envelope. In this age of easy direct communcation, it’s an issue faced by almost every designer I’ve ever worked with (and, to be honest, I know many who have dropped out of the business for this exact reason), so the whole thread makes for interesting reading. (Side note: I’m delighted to report that SpaceCadet yarn made the cover photo on the pattern — it’s the one that’s buttoned shut)
Have you always wanted a craft room all of your own? Well, when you get it (when, not if), you’ll want to check out this awesome guide to hacking Ikea furniture to make the most of your craft space. I think the cutting table made from Lack end tables is my favourite!
The whole SpaceCadet crew has been on the hunt for awesome pattern ideas for the folks joining us in making an epic Mini-Skein Project in 2020 (want to join us? click here) and one thing that jumped out at me this week is the idea of using Latvian braids to add mini-skein colour to any project. It’s not something I’ve tried before, but this colourful tutorial (and this one and this one) have really got me intrigued. Have you tried Latvian braids before? What do think of them?
I am absolutely blown away by these crocheted dog patterns. It took me quite a while realise they really were crocheted (and also, frankly, it took me a moment to realise they weren’t actually real dogs!). I’m not sure I’ve ever really believed there was a good use for eyelash yarn, but this is one for certain!
Upcoming Shows
Trunk Show at A Good Yarn in Sarasota FL — this weekend!
If you live in the central Florida area and would love to smoosh SpaceCadet yarn in person, get yourself to A Good Yarn in Sarasota! We’ll be sending a ton of beautiful colourways, including full sets ready to make the stunning Rey’s Cardigan (below). Don’t miss it!
There’s something really eye-catching about this take on brioche knitting — just look at the way the texture pops and the colour glows! The stitchwork is designed to incorporate three colours within two textures in a slightly off-kilter triangle shape that lends movement and interest to the whole design.
I’m a sucker for a good pun so, quite frankly, this design had me at the name alone. But beyond that, I can’t think of any better time to cast on a snuggly cowl like this than these cold days of winter. Add in the fact that it’s lined and has drawstrings to make it even cosier, and it’s an absolute winner!
If you’ve ever crocheted a granny square/stripes, you know how addicting they are (how addicting? soooooo addicting) and this gorgeous design takes the granny in a fun and modern direction that I absolutely love! Designed in DK, it’s an awesome option for members of the Gradient Explorers or an epic Mini-Skein project (SpaceCadet Minis are fingering, but the weight will be about right if you hold them double and the colour will look all heathered and lovely).
Ok, my tea is all gone and it’s time for me to head over to the photographer’s. Wish me luck! I hope you have a wonderful day planned as well, with lots of colour and a little fibery goodness. And, until next time, all my best!
Before we start, I just want to thank everyone who reached out to me last week after reading about my software-meltdown saga to offer commiserations and kind words. I so appreciated hearing I am not alone in getting caught up in a software nightmare like that, and I loved reading your emails — and, most of all, knowing that I am surrounded by a wonderful, supportive community of club members, customers, and fiber friends. You all brought a smile to my face during a pretty stressful week!
Speaking of having a smile on my face, did you see that my assistants Jade and Sara are prepping to release a beautiful new pattern called Loop? It’s a wonderful new design with a unique construction that creates an eye-catching cowl in mere minutes. It’s a really easily memorisable pattern (“open skein, wrap around neck“) that I’m sure you’ll never tire of. You can see how delighted they are with their new FOs!
You can see more photos, read all the details, and get yarn suggestions (heh!) by clicking here. The best part was how much fun we had as we took these photos! Not just because we were all laughing at the idea of this new “pattern” they’d come up with but also because they’re both good friends.
It’s great to work with great people. And I’m so grateful that I get to do that.
The Long-Tail Cast-On is one of the most commonly used but I have to admit it drives me nuts because I’ve always got too much (or worse, too little!) yarn left over when I get to the end of the required number of stitches. I was pleased to come across this article which gives four handy methods for measuring out your long tail to ensure that doesn’t happen. I’m not sure they’ll turn me into a convert, but I’m willing to try. (And if you’ve got a different method that you think is useful, please let me know!)
It’s always entertaining (and educational!) to take a behind-the-scenes look at any industry and this conversation on Twitter is no exception: knit and crochet designers discuss the most ridiculous reason someone has used to ask for a refund or free pattern.
Architectural Digest has declared that bouclé is a hot trend to watch for. There’s a retro feel to the textured fabric knit or woven with yarns that feature exposed loops of fibers and it certainly makes for an eye-catching look. It might be fun to add a couple of bouclé cushions to my couch or perhaps even cast on a bouclé scarf. What do you think, do you like the look of bouclé yarn? Do you see it as a trend worth following?
If you’re a knitter who has held back from embracing crochet because you’re a little nervous about how to stitch crochet pieces together, this handy tutorial shows you how to use mattress stitch to do just that. Just like in knitting, it really does create a beautiful seam!
Upcoming Shows
Trunk Show at A Good Yarn in Sarasota FL — the weekend of Feb 21 – 23
If you live in the central Florida area and would love to smoosh SpaceCadet yarn in person, get yourself to A Good Yarn in Sarasota! We’ll be sending a ton of beautiful colourways, including full sets ready to make the stunning Rey’s Cardigan (below). Don’t miss it!
When I first saw this pattern, I clicked the link so hard I’m sure I nearly broke something. But I just had to look at it up close — ohhhhh that texture… And I love the line that the designer uses to open her description: “If you had made the sea, would you have made it calm?” Nope, not if a rough sea looks this gorgeous! Designed in fingering, this is a perfect candidate for Ester, which is lovely and soft to the touch but easily has a enough oomph to keep the sea as looking as rough as you like. Try it in Drizzle, Fathoms Down, or Time Traveller for some gently undulating blues, greys, and greens.
Here’s another texture option that absolutely jumps off the page! With an fascinating constrution that combines a fingering yarn with a laceweight held together to form a DK and then worked separately for the bobbles, it’s sure to be one of the most intriguing designs on your needles. Knit this hat with the coordinating mittens and you’ll have an absolute showstopper set!
The thing I love most about this simple design is the delightfully subtle beauty of the yoke increases. Usually those increases are hidden in some intricate texture or colourwork but, here, they are left unadorned and I think there is something gorgeously compelling in their simple symmetry. Available for free for a limited time, the pattern is designed in sport and specifically for gradients, so it’s a beautiful option for stash-busting. Lay your yarns out to find several that flow together and go chain on!
Ok, my cup of tea is empty so it’s time to get the workday started. We’re packing up club parcels today and dyeing some wonderful colours for our upcoming shows. I hope you’ve got a great day planned with at least two scheduled-in knitting/crochet breaks (it’s important!). And, until next time, all my best!
I’m going to share with you a little saga, because this week didn’t start out as planned…
The plan on Monday was to pack and ship the parcels for one of our clubs. With piles and piles of yarn all twisted and tagged and ready to be go in their boxes, I imported the club members’ addresses into our postage-printing software, got the label printer loaded, and hit print. And…. the software crashed.
this is a pretty harrowing tale — let’s soften it a bit by looking at lovely yarn, shall we? this is the SpaceMonsters Club exclusive colourway, Oct 2019
And when I say “crashed”, well, I mean not so much crashed as spontaniously burst into flames, burned with the heat of thousand suns, melted into an oozing puddle at the bottom of the computer casing, and then cooled hissing and popping as it slowly hardened into a charred rock. Metaphorically speaking. The computer was fine, the printer was fine, but the software that was going to allow us to print labels for the scores and scores of club parcels that we needed to ship that day was utterly beyond saving.
I called the help desk and, to cut a very very long story short, it appears my computer had gotten stuck on an older version, which had been slowly growing more and more corrupt over time. David, the Tier 1 help desk guy had never seen anything like it. He passed me onto Carlos, the Tier 2 guy, who had also never seen it before but we got to work on it. He dialed in to my computer and we uninstalled the software, reinstalled it, moved to a different computer, came off wifi, tried a hotspot, hardwired it, went back on wifi, created a new profile, installed again… Everything we could think of and, all the while, he kept putting me on hold so he could check with his colleagues for more ideas (the hold music was Vivaldi’s Spring, which I love, but it was on a loop that repeated every 5 minutes and, by the time the whole ordeal was over, I would’ve gladly paid a month’s wages to never. hear. it. again).
SpaceMonsters Club exclsuvie colourway, Sept 2019
It took hours and hours. I mean, I had to find a cable recharge my phone twice during the call. At one point, Carlos and I got cut off and instead of calling him right back before he got stuck on another call, I took a huge risk and… used the bathroom, just because it had been that long since I’d been able to get away! Luckily, I got him again when I called back and we were able to pick up where we left off.
At long (long) last, we got the software running and we began running test labels. We checked every setting, one at a time, and ran new labels to test each one, choosing names at random from the list of club members whose parcels were still waiting to go out. Carlos chose a name, then I chose one, then he chose one… He was asking what kind of club it was and I was pointing out which club members had been with us the longest or shared the most awesome projects with us. And the software, thank goodness, just kept producing the labels.
He and I finally decided we were done. To be honest, I’m not sure the software is fixed, per se, but it is working and that was good enough for me and Carlos. It was 9:30pm, I’d missed my dinner and he’d stayed over the end of his shift by 30 minutes, but my computer was finally able to print labels again! After all that time, it was actually a little weird to say goodbye to Carlos. “We made a good team!” he said, and he was right — it felt like a real accomplishment.
SpaceMonsters Club exclusive colourway, April 2019
After we hung up, I looked at my phone’s call log: all together, I’d been on the phone for seven hours and fifty-five minutes. An entire work day! I was exhausted. But I went to bed knowing the software worked and the labels were printing!
The next morning, I printed out all the shipping labels for the club parcels that should have gone out the day before, and it worked beautifully. As the printer happily spit them out, I rolled them up tightly as I sipped a calming cup of tea. Then, I casually clicked over and checked my email.
And there was a message from a club member letting me know the label I’d just printed for her had her old address and asking if we could send her parcel to her new address. But how did she know I’d just printed her shipping label…? And there at the bottom of her email was an automatic shipping notification sent by the postage-printing software — something it’s never done before and which I’d never asked it to send! And I suddenly thought back to all those test labels we’d printed the night before… so many of them using real customer addresses…
SpaceMonsters Exclusive colourway, June 2019
Sooooooo if, by chance, you recieved some mysterious shipping notifications from SpaceCadet earlier in the week… say, I don’t know, half a dozen in very quick succession… and you’re wondering what the heck was going on, please allow me to apologise. You were one of the club members that Carlos and I picked. I probably told him what a great club member you are, or about a project you’d shared with us. And then he and I hit print and print and print, without realising we were filling your inbox up with notifications. I’m so sorry.
I haven’t yet figured out how to control when those notifications go out and, after having logged eight hours on the phone with the help desk already, I haven’t had the energy to phone them and find out. I will — I just needed a little time first. But, in the meantime, if you get a strange shipping notification that looks different from what you usually receive, at least you’ll know what’s going on!
After all that, it was such a relief to get back to yarn. Lovely lovely yarn that’s smooshy and warm and cosy and nothing at all like software problems. So let’s leave all that nonsense behind and grab a nice cup of tea and dive into a big pile of yarny news and updates. Are you ready?
The SpaceMonsters Club Closes Tomorrow
Speaking of clubs, if you’ve been wanting to join in the fun of the SpaceMonsters Mega Yarn Club, there are only a couple of days left to join! And I always say that dyeing for our clubs feels more like dyeing for friends than for customers, and it’s so true — as my even conversations with Carlos demonstrated!
SpaceMonsters Colourways and gift from Dec 2019
The SpaceMonster Mega Yarn Club focuses on big, smooshy wosted and bulky weights in gorgeous colours, and the story behind their inspiration. Plus we create an optional coordinating colourway and there’s a fabulous gift every season (those are so much fun to come up with!).
I love designing colourways for the SpaceMonster Club, because the big, smooshy, worsted and bulky yarns we dye for it take colour in completely different ways than thinner yarns. So click here and join in on all that smooshy, colourful fun!
These adorable itty-bitty amigurumi have completely blown my mind and I can’t stop going back and looking at them. They’re crocheted with sewing thread and a .35mm hook (that’s so tiny!) and, one presumes, some steely determination (though Lucia says they are easy to make). Are you up for a challenge? Grab some magnifying glasses and give them a try!
I came across this graphic illustrating “Knitters Knitcabulary” the other day and it made me smile. If you’ve ever heard a group of knitters chatting and someone said something that made no sense to you at all, your answer may be on there. There are a couple that were new to me!
As knitters and crocheters, we don’t take our clothes for granted the way other people do — we notice little construction details and complex stitches, even in store-bought clothes. But I have to admit, I’ve never thought much about zippers (maybe because I’ve never tried to make one from scratch?!?), so I found really interesting this article giving the history of the zipper’s invention. I had no idea that something so ubiquitous had such a rocky start. Fascinating!
Scroll down and you’ll find one of my pattern picks this week is a gorgeous pair of socks that use stranded knitting throughout. If that technique is a little intimidating to you (whether for socks or one of those gorgeous colourwork yoked sweaters), you’ll find this video tutorial an invaluable resource for a simple and easy way to catch those floats (no stopping to move balls of yarns around! wooot!)
I know this pattern is called Whoops a Daisy but I have to admit that, when I look at it here in the depths of midwinter, I see snowdrops. And that’s actually perfect because, by incorporating stranded colourwork throughout, the pattern will produce the kind of toasty warm fabric that’s just right for this time of year. Worked cuff-down in fingering, thesee sweet socks would be great for using up some of our Multicolour Minis or scraps from your other projects. Be quick and you’ll get 15% off if you buy it before the end of January!
This may look like a standard triangle shawl… until you look a little closer and realise that the colour changes on either side of the spine. Designed the show off the pairing of a variegated yarn and a coordinating semi-solid (if you’re in our Yarn Alliance or SpaceMonster Clubs, you’ve got plenty of those!), but I think it could also look amazing incorporating our Ombre&Gradient Mini-Skeins. And if you’ve never worked intarsia, the simple join at the spine gives a nice introduction to the technique without being overwhelming. Pick up the pattern with an introductory 15% off if you get it before the end of Saturday!
You can never have enough cosy wraps (hello, subfreezing temperatures here in Pittsburgh!) and I love the gorgeous texture and fabulous fringed edge of this one (seriously, all winter wraps should have fringes, right?). Crocheted in heavy weight yarn, it’s a quick and easy way to use up those wonderfully chunky SpaceMonsters skeins you’ve collected! Find it on Ravelry here or for free on Toni’s website here.
Ok, well, my tea is all gone and it’s time I got today started. I hope you’ve got a warm and cosy day planned, with lots of yarny breaks (…and no software problems!). So, until next time, all my best!
One of the oddest things about running SpaceCadet is the unseasonality of it. What I mean is, yesteday morning when I got up, it was 16 degrees Farenheit outside and, yet, one of my jobs for the day was to plan out our spring yarns. I was supposed to concentrate on soft spring colours, light textures, and lacy patterns… my head filled with those gentle spring breezes and the smell of new grass, baby bunnies and flower buds. All while the vicious winter wind whipped around outside and relentlessly pushed a creeping chill in from the window panes.
I couldn’t do it. Instead of thinking about warm days, I found myself wanting to curl my hands around a steaming cup of tea and wrap up in something thick and woolly. Something very thick and very woolly. Who can possibly think of spring in these depths of winter? I know I’m supposed to, but I’d much rather think about the lovely, smooshy, warm yarn that we’ll dye for our new SpaceMonsters members. Or cast on a quick and chunky knit with some of the gorgeous yarn we just sent our SpaceMonster members this past season. I mean, it just feels right when it’s this unforgivingly cold outside.
Mirror Mirror, the SpaceMonsters Coordinating Colourway Oct 2019
So you know what? I did made that cup of tea. And pulled on a pair of cosy socks (with cashmere, thank you very much) and warm shawl around my shoulders. And then, as I sat looking out at the winter-barren scene outside, I whipped out my phone and checked the weather forecast: it’s going to warm up over the weekend (to a balmy 40-something). I think about spring then!
Susan Pierce at Shinywear makes fabulously adorable knitting familiars — everything from t-shirts and totes to pins, stickers, and even flasks (“I drink, therefore I tink”). I love them all but I think my favourites are her Octopus (product knitter) and her Sloth (process knitter). I mean, we all know exactly where we are on that spectrum, right? :cough: teamsloth :cough:
Garter stitch is usually the first stitch a new knitter learns and then is quickly abandoned for more “real” knitting. But of course garter is real knitting and I loved this article from Interweave that outlines five useful ways to use garter stitch. My favourite is number four, which shows a really clever way to incorporate garter into ribbing.
Sheep and goats are the original weedwackers — they have been used for that purpose for millenia — and some cities in California are incorporating this “unconventional fire prevention method” to help control the threat of wildfires. Goats are being deployed to control vegetation, especially in areas with hilly or difficult terrain. A bonus: the animals eat invasive plants and grasses while only minimally grazing on native plants. This article was an interesting read.
Imagine you join a local knitting group to make friends and socialise, a group which makes hats to sell and to donate to charity. And one day, a rather famous chap named Archie wears one of your hats and suddenly sales shoot through the roof because the whole world seems to want one. That’s exactly what happened to Make Give Live, a group based in New Zealand, when the Duke and Dutchess of Sussex (that’s Harry and Meghan) showed off their son in his adorable (double pom-pommed!) hat. Read more and see pictures here.
The SpaceMonsters Club is OPEN!
The best part about opening the SpaceMonsters Club last week was seeing how many of our current members renewed their subscriptions — and so many did so fast! That means so much because it tells me they love being part of the club!
And when we’re dyeing yarn as gorgeous as the latest colourway (below) and giving gifts as awesome as that adorable phone/tablet holder, why wouldn’t they?!? But there’s nothing like being able to welcome new members to the club and renewing members back to make it all worthwhile.
SpaceMonsters Colourways and gift from Dec 2019
The SpaceMonster Mega Yarn Club focuses on big, smooshy wosted and bulky weights in gorgeous colours, and the story behind their inspiration. Plus we create an optional coordinating colourway and there’s a fabulous gift every season (those are so much fun to come up with!).
If you’re thinking about joining in the fun, now is the time! The club is open for new subscription only for a limited time. So click here to learn more and jump aboard!
This gorgeous sweater has two things I absolutely love: unexpected design details and the clever combining of variegateds and semi-solids. The lace panel along the sleeves is delightful and that contrast line along the side seam finishes it off perfectly. Even better, it’s sized all the way up to a 4XL so there’s an option for everyone. Designed in fingering, I would crochet in Oriana (for that drape!) in Feather and Nine Stones, Drizzle and Fathoms Down, or Oxblood and Everything Was Better in Black and White.
It was the split cables laid sideways that made this sweater jump out at me. I just really like the pattern they create. But then, I read a little more detail about Mélina’s approach to sizing and I was really intrigued: each size comes with three bust measurements, what she calls a “triple bust option”, for a more customised fit (read more here). Plus, this pattern includes a cardigan version as well! Designed in sport, I’d knit it in Lyra in Stroppy or Thrive.
I had to include this — I just had to! Inspired to create a “better quality ugly Star Wars Christmas sweater” (is that a thing…? is it a… compliment?), the result is somehow downright glorious. And if you love it too but think it might be a bit overwhelming, I think I might be inclined to modify it by doing the colourwork on just the yoke, for an oh-so-subtle hint of Star Wars styling.
Ok, I’d better finish this tea and get back to work. I hope you’ve got a wonderful day planned full of yarny goodness (and tea! and warm socks!). And until next time, all my best!
I’ve always felt there’s a positive side to nearly everything in life. Not always, of course, but most things can have a positive aspect, if you look hard enough. I have to admit, however, that I was always stumped by stocktake — that odd, annual ritual that every retail business has to conduct. I simply couldn’t see the positive side of having to stop work in order to perform the exceedingly tedious job of counting and recording every single item in the building. I’m remembering especially the year that I worked for a company whose stock consisted mainly of thousands of tiny screws…
shudder
But I have to tell you that stocktake feels a little different when what you’re counting is hundreds of skeins of beautiful yarn! All in glorious colours that you’ve created yourselves. This week started with the SpaceCadet crew stopping all our other work to slowly through every single skein the building, carefully counting and recording each one before packing it gently back in its bag. And even though the work was technically just as tedious as other stocktake, it didn’t feel like it at all. It was joyful, it was fun… we’ve even stopped calling it stocktake and started calling it “Pet All the Skeins Day”!
See? There really is a positive side to nearly everything…!
Ok, I’ve got a lot of great fiber news to share this morning, so go grab yourself a cuppa and let’s get started…
How do you join a new yarn in your knitting? There are a bunch of different methods and, to be honest, I’ve never really known which one is best. But this incredibly comprehensive analysis of every style I’ve ever heard of (plus a few more!), complete with test swatches and lists of pros & cons, certainly makes it much easier to decide. There are a few that I think I’m going try. What about you?
The other day I came across this article about Ikea’s move to using responsibly sourced wool for their rugs. As a dyer, the parts I found most fascinating were watching the video and seeing how their yarn is dyed (at minute 3:53) and the acres and acres of skeins drying in the sun (minute 4:02). It makes our little hand-dyeing studio look like a doll’s house in comparison! Genuine question: can anyone tell me what breed of sheep that is in the video being shorn? I don’t know, but I’d like to.
I am always delighted when the textiles in animated movies are portrayed in a technically correct way (and a little twitchy whenever they’re not) but, after reading this article about the effort it took to create the costumes for Frozen 2, I realise it’s almost (…almost) as hard as making them by hand in real life. I have a renewed appreciation for what I’m seeing on the screen!
It’s so cold outside at the moment that only the cosiest handknits will do for me. I love that Vicki Howell did this little round up of the warmest stitches in both knitting and crochet. Light a fire, pour a cup of tea, and cast these on!
Speaking pouring a cuppa, I came across this article and I cannot tell you how perfect it felt. It is completely spot on both in terms of how often the British make tea (almost every time they turn around — I once counted up how many cups I typically drink in a day and it was 8-10!) and also how very socially important it is to make tea for others. It is imperative to make tea for everyone around you whenever you get up to make tea for yourself, and you’d almost never ever allow anyone to step foot in your house for more than a few minutes without offering them a cuppa (including contractors, workmen… perhaps even burglars?). The article nailed how this small act forms so much of the social cohesion of an entire nation.
Oh, did you hear that? It’s the clock running out on about half of the New Year’s resolutions that were so earnestly declared just a week ago. And usually, I’m amongst that number but, this year, I’m trying something different. A friend gave me a Commit30 planner and the idea is that you make a resolution commitment for each month, and stick to it for just 30 days, before moving on to the next one. I mean, a whole year feels pretty overwhelming but… a month? I can do that! What are your favourite planning tools? I’d love to hear so please click here and let me know!
The SpaceMonsters Club Opens on Tuesday
I love designing colourways for the SpaceMonster Club, because the big, smooshy, worsted and bulky yarns we dye for it take colour in completely different ways than thinner yarns. The dye hits them and soaks in sloooowly and has a lot more time for the colours to mix and blend and produce all kinds of amazing effects. Want to see what I mean? Here’s December’s colourway, “Nature’s Planetarium”…
Just look at all that depth of shade, all those amazing layers of colour popping out from underneath other layers! And add to that the fact that these lovely thick yarns are going to knit and crochet up super-quick, and you can see why I love them so much.
The SpaceMonster Mega Yarn Club focuses on exactly those kinds of yarns: big, smooshy wosted and bulky weights in gorgeous colours. Plus we create an optional coordinating colourway and there’s a fabulous gift every season (those are so much fun to come up with!). The doors will open on Tuesday but, if you’d like first dibs, click here and get on the club mailing list to get an early-bird link!
Are You Joining our Epic 2020 Mini-Skein Project?
Did you see my assistant Jade’s stunning Northeasterly wrap she made from the Mini-Skein Club’s 2019 colours? She cast on in January and worked patiently through each month as they come along. And even though we both knew (of course) that each month flowed into the next, there was something absolutely magical about seeing the whole year’s gradient flow come together on her needles, right before our eyes…
Isn’t it amazing?!?
And now, she’s prepping to cast on for her 2020 Mini-Skein project. Would you like to join her? Whether you join the Club and work with each new bundle as they arrive in the new year, or you work from stash, I know both she and I would love to see you cast on an epic project alongside her! It’s super casual and simple to get started: all you have to do is say you’re in.Click here for details.
(It’s too late to sign up for January’s bundle but you are more than welcome to hop in with February’s colours instead. And I honestly feel like having a little variety in the cast-on colours will just make seeing everyone’s projects all the more interesting!)
documenting Jade’s Northeasterly, from January to November 2019
It was not the pockets on this sweater that I spotted first. It was those lovely colourwork panels — I mean, they’re so eye-catching, aren’t they? And the way they actually turn a corner to run from the hem up to the shoulder and then down to the sleeve. But then, as I looked closer, I realised I was also looking at pockets. Pockets! So, that’s it… I’m sold! Even if there is steeking, and that’s a bit scary — it is, I get it — but I say that pocket-love beats steeking-fear every time. The best news is that there’s a six-month KAL starting right now and running through July, so you’ll have lots of friends to hold your hand when it’s time pull out the scissors!
When I first spotted this hat, it almost looked like argyle but, on closer inspection, I realised it’s actually a beautiful nature motif: Pühalepa flies from the Island of Hiiumaa in Estonia. I love the little pop of colour along the cast on edge and, underneath that pom-pom, the crown is absolutely stunning (click through and scroll down the pattern photos to see it). Even better, there’s a beautiful matching yoked sweater. I’d love to see this knit in Drizzle with Honey, Fat-Free Chocolate with Gentle, or Feather with Wilt.
This gorgeous top is all about the colour and, when I looked at it, I immediately thought what a wonderful pattern it would be for showing off either your Gradient Explorers or Mini-Skein Club yarns! The intriguing construction is worked sideways in two pieces, then seamed at shoulder and back folded at front edge and seamed to create sleeves. Designed in DK, you could use SpaceCadet Lyra (sport/dk) or hold a fingering weight double (try any of our Mini-Skeins) to create a similar effect and amazing colour.
Ok, that’s it for now. I’ve got a meeting coming up shortly and then I have to get to the studio to check how a few colourways came out. I hope your day is filled with fibery goodness too (and lots cosy finished objects — stay warm!). And so, until next time, all my best!
image © Karen McKenna, used with permission
