If you ask me what day it is, I don’t know. If you ask me what time it is, I’ll be no help to you. And if you ask me which way is up, I might end up pointing in any direction. Rhinebeck is only two weeks away and, though life keeps trying to derail the whole thing, I am keeping my nose to the grindstone and powering through.
And you know I love it but… well, if you’re not made of either yarn or dye, I probably have no idea what to do with you right now!
But just before I run back into the studio (run, SpaceCadet, run!), I just want to quickly share with you a sneak peek at the Dublin Tee by Melissa Jean Designs. It’s debuting at Rhinebeck, but I got to see one of the sample being knitted up and snapped some pictures for you guys.
In a way, it’s a simple tee. But the beautiful cable work gives it stretch and shaping that takes that tee to whole ‘nother level. It is just stunning.
The yarn in these photos is SpaceCadet Lyra, an incredibly sproingy sport weight yarn in 100% superwash merino. What? You didn’t know “sproingy” was a word? There is no other way to describe it! When you squish it between your fingers, it just goes sproing right back into shape!
The Dublin Tee will be available at the Melissa Jean Designs booth at Rhinebeck, so please do stop by and see it… see us… see the sproing! And if you can’t make it to the festival, it will be available through the Melissa Jean website after its debut.
Don’t those pictures make you want to cast on right now?!? Yeah, me too. And you know what? As soon as I’ve got all this dyeing done and the festival is over, that is exactly what I’m going to do!
If you were listening closely in the middle of June, I am quite certain that you heard a loud noise in the distance. And you might have thought it was just a child yelling three streets over, or a dog who suddenly spotted a stray cat, or a distant explosion of some sort. But no, it was me, letting out a scream on the day I met a dress.
I was at TNNA and had run into Heather Dixon, the designer at Army of Knitters and the creative director at Clotheshorse magazine. And, after some lovely chit-chat about the Universal Importance of a good cup of tea, Heather suddenly said, “Oh, the dress!” and took this little number down from the rail…
Months and months previously, Heather and Mindy Brown, the editorial director at Clotheshorse (and the designer of the dress) had asked me to dye some Celeste in the colourway Stewed Cranberries for a segment they were doing on indie dyers. And so I dyed it up and sent it off and… went back to normal life. And I think maybe I knew it was for a dress, but I really didn’t have any vision of what it might eventually be like. I have no idea why, but my head had conjured up something like a heavy, elongated sweater with cables running down the front…
So when Heather pulled Bayeux, it was so completely NOT what I was expecting… And so incredibly gorgeous — with that fabulous combination of knitted top and crocheted skirt, lovely nipped-in waist, sweet capped sleeves, and asymmetrical crochet hemline — that I think I actually let out a little scream right there on the TNNA show floor.
And that is the noise that you heard. But then, if you’d suddenly realised that the yarn you’d dyed and sent away those many months ago had been turned into something so incredibly stunning as Bayeux, you’d have squealed too, right?
I’ve put a bunch of Celeste in the shop that will be perfect for this dress, in Stewed Cranberries, Honey, and a really gorgeous experimental green. And a bunch of other great yarns too… Click here to check it out!
(Also, everyone please cross fingers that the next shop update will be in the new shop! There’s a lot of work between here and there, but I am really looking forward to having that big button above take you to the brand new SpaceCadet shop! Wooot!)
Hey, I just have to tell you about this because I am so excited! Do you remember a few weeks ago I introduced you to the wonderful Melissa and her new podcast SingleHandedKnits, which she records beneath the palm trees and on the beaches of Hawaii? Well, Melissa is putting together a fantastic KAL in honour of the upcoming election. It’s called Sock the Vote, and Melissa has asked me to dye custom colourways for two the “parties”. It’s going to be a BLAST! But spaces are limited and going fast so — quick! — click here to take a mid-day trip to Hawaii and let Melissa explain all about it.
…You know what? Go ahead and click that link regardless. Because no matter where you are or what you’re doing right now, somehow everything just feels that much better when you see those palm tree swaying in the background. And, seriously, Melissa is just such a lovely, positive person, you can’t help but smile as soon as you see her. Go on, click!
I’m mad busy at the moment getting ready for TNNA this weekend. If you don’t know what that is, it’s The National Needlearts Association’s Summer Show, and it’s one of the most fiber-fantastic (and fiberista-fantastic) events of the entire year. We’ll be shopping for new yarns, so we can do a major revamp and extension of the SpaceCadet line-up later in the season. Exciting or what?!? Stay tuned for updates.
So today, I was packing my bags and — as any self-respecting knitter does — choosing my knitting projects. And as I lined my current WIPs up on the bed, I realised they were all in the lovely new project bags that I’ve totally fallen in love with. And I suddenly thought, hey, I ought to share them with you…
I love the gorgeous vibrant patterns — I mean, who wants to hide her knitting away? A busy floral on the outside and, inside, stripes or polka dots to balance. I’m kind of a sucker for dots — they make me happy! — so I turned this one inside out.
Yep, they’re fully reversible! And with a drawstring that I’ve tied in a loop so I can knit with the bag over my arm.
I got them from CristineCreates on Etsy. I meant to only get one… but I kinda couldn’t help myself. You know what I mean… right?
Y’know, I… I couldn’t just have my projects sitting there naked, could I?
Did you hear that almighty THUD the other week? That was me, hitting the floor when I discovered that… wait for it… the Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, was knitting with SpaceCadet laceweight yarn. Not just knitting with it, she found herself actually being called by the colour, and I honestly don’t think a dyer could hope for any higher praise than that!
The second thud — you heard that one too, right? That was me when all my laceweight sold out in what seemed like only minutes. It was crazy to see the awesome power of the Yarn Harlot”s influence! But also so cool because I love these laceweights and it was exciting to see them take center stage at last.
Stephanie chose to knit Omelet, a beautiful and intricate lace shawl. It was a great choice for the yarn — and it’s exactly what most people think of first when they pick up of skein of laceweight yarn. But I also know that a lot of people end up putting that skein right back down again, because lace like that can be really intimidating.
So I wanted to show you a beautiful alternative: this is Mythos by Laura Nelkin and, knit in a laceweight yarn, it is the most perfect light summer cardigan to slip on whenever the evening brings the slightest chill.
Mythos is one of the samples we take to our trunk shows and it’s amazing how almost everyone falls in love with it on the spot. It can be knit in either a fingering yarn or, as shown here, a laceweight yarn held double. And with simple stitchwork and straightforward shaping, it’s a really appealing way to use those gorgeous laceweights that sometimes seem so inaccessible. What could be better for laid-back, lazy summer knitting?
Shop Update!
I’ve been busy dyeing to get those laceweights back in the shop! So, here’s the first batch — some of the 100% Merino that the Yarn Harlot has been knitting, and some of the gorgeous Silk and Merino Luna Laceweight — all in those rich, gently undulating colourways that are perfect for these delicate yarns. Click here to see them!
Somehow….. somehow it turns out this weekend is the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival (MDSW). And even though I’ve had my hotel room booked for months, it has still managed to sneak up on me. Will you be going? If you will, please look for me — I’m not vending (I wish!) but I’ll be shopping and having the fibery time of my life! You can spot me by the SpaceCadet tattoo on my cheek and please stop and say hi — I’d love to meet you guys in person!
But listen, there’s someone else who’ll be at MDSW that I want you to meet, and even if you’re not going to be there this weekend, you’ll still want to get know her. Her name is Melissa Tompkins-Stahl and she creates beautiful buttons and knitting patterns as Melissa Jean Handknit Design.
I’d mentioned previously that I met her at Rhinebeck, but I love her work so much, I wanted to get a little more in depth with her and she was kind enough to answer a few questions for me.
Which came first, the buttons or the knitting patterns? And which do you feel is more your ‘true’ calling?
Knitting definitely came first. I was writing children’s patterns and making them up as kits. I wanted to write the patterns, dye the yarn and source the buttons. I met some potters who made buttons for me, but I had specific ideas of how the buttons should look, I decided to start making them myself. I worked for a pottery called MacKenzie-Childs and felt comfortable venturing out on my own…however, there was still a learning curve. I had to do quite a bit of research along with trial and error before my buttons were good enough!
As far as knitting, I knit a lot but have not released any new patterns in a few years. I am waiting for my youngest to go to school full time, which she will do this fall. I have 2 patterns to release this summer…Dublin Tee (pictured below) and Janey Pullover (a rerelease actually). With my kids in school, I feel I can better meet deadlines…pattern writing involves more than just me…test knitters, tech editors, photo shoots, and the public. Buttons making is much more solitary and I can fit it in as I can. I can’t wait to get more ideas out of my sketchbook and onto my needles.
So, tell me what you love about your job…
I love that I work in my studio at home…I can crank my music, or listen to podcasts and work. It affords me time to take care of my family while doing something meaningful to me. I also like the process of making buttons, working with my hands, with color. I love the element of surprise when I open the kiln and find shelves of color…that never gets old!
How crazy does it get for you before a big show like MDSW or Rhinebeck? How many buttons do you bring, and how long does it take for you to make them?
No matter how far in advance I start gearing up, the 2 weeks before Maryland and VERY busy. I bring about 5,000 buttons (I did not count) but there are a lot!
Where will you be located at MDSW this year?
I’ve changed from a tenter to a barn dweller this year. I will be hunkered down in Barn 4, booth 12.
What new or interesting buttons are you taking that we should be looking to nab at MDSW?
This year I’ll have very small buttons with shanks, I am very excited about. They lend themselves well to sock weight yarn. On the other hand, I will also have some very large buttons, great for bags, hats and shawls. I will also have a beautiful teal color and a deep red.
Where else can we buy your buttons and knitting patterns?
Don’t you love her buttons?!? I do — and I’m going to buy a ton of them at MDSW so if you want them, you better get there before I do! I have a hankering to knit some lovely wide wrist cuffs and put Melissa’s buttons all over them. What do you think?
Oooh, and there’s one button up there in particular that’s really calling to me — ten points to the first person to guess which one it is!
I know I’ve said it before, but one of my favourite things about this job is seeing what you guys make with SpaceCadet yarn. So often, the way the colourways look in the skein is completely different from how they look in the finished object — and I just love seeing that transformation!
Many of you are kind enough to share pictures of your projects in the SpaceCadet group on Ravelry. And quite a few of you email pictures of your projects to me personally (I love that! Thank you!).
And I want to share my favourites with you here. I think you’ll find it just as fascinating as I do to see how the colourway in the skeins translates in the finished projects!
The first one I’ve chosen is this incredibly cool, slouchy hat made by Stacey Trock. She’s the designer of crochet amigurumi at FreshStitches.com and author of Cuddly Crochet and Crocheted Softies, and for this project she chose SpaceCadet Estelle yarn in a colourway called City Park — a lovely green that gently washes into hints of blues and yellows. Here’s what the yarn looks like in the skein…
And here’s what Stacey created with it! The pattern is the Rocka Beanie by MayaB. And I just love the way the stockinette and simple shaping let the colours shine through!
There are so many fabulous projects out there in SpaceCadet yarn that I am going to turn this into an ongoing series. I’m looking for great projects in luscious colours, shown off with really beautiful photography. Know of a project like that that I ought to see? Please, tell me about it!
Oooh, two more quick things:
If you’re a fan of Stacey’s work and you’d like to meet her in person, she’ll be at Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet this weekend, teaching classes and selling her books and kits in booth 51. And she’ll be coming to the Ravelry meet-up on Friday night. Stacey’s an absolute doll — if you come and meet her, you’ll love her!
And if you’re coming to Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet, please please wear your SpaceCadet project. Not only would I be thrilled to see it, but if we’re not too crowded, I’d love grab a couple of pictures of it, maybe for a future blog post. So, please do wear your SpaceCadet project!
