In all the rush of last week, I totally forgot to make an announcement that a lot of you have told me you’re waiting for…
So I’m just slipping in this quick mid-week reminder for you. This is one seriously fun club — gorgeous yarns and fabulous gifts — and spaces go fast. All the details are here, and subscriptions are open from March 8 only until March 24.
So quick! Go mark it on your calendar so you can grab your space on Friday!
The first day back to Real Life after the holidays can be like waking up from a long slumber. And sometimes it’s a gentle start to the new year …and sometimes it’s not. 2013 has started with a bang! There’s tons of stuff to look forward to and I can’t wait to tell you all about it in the coming weeks. But first, let’s start with this…
It’s Yarn Alliance parcel time! You know what? The first club parcel of year might just be my favourite. The depths of winter are such an inspiration… the new year is always so full of promise… and, after all the hustle and bustle of the holidays, it’s so nice to sink comfortably into Selfish Knitting Month.
Selfish knitting should be sheer pleasure, so I started with the luxurious cashmere softness of Aurora — this is a yarn you really have to feel to believe. And I layered onto it the colours that were calling to me — deep purple-blues of a cold winter’s night and the soft silver-greys of the stars above, and the snows that reflect them. And as they dyed, I let the colours mingle together, creating a gentle undulation from one shade to another.
I really, really love this colourway.
Now, the gift! I’m excited about this. I met Kristine Keller at TNNA two years ago, just after, Stormy Blue, her lovely yarn-and-pottery shop opened in Murrysville PA, and I liked her straight away. She’s down to earth and fun, so I was delighted to run into her again a few months ago at Indie Knit & Spin, where she was selling her gorgeous yarn bowls.
And as I was looking at her booth, I spotted these lovely hand-made shawl pins — every single one completely unique — and immediately thought of the Yarn Alliance. I phone Kristine a few weeks later and asked if she’d make some custom SpaceCadet shawl pins and she was totally up for it. I love them!
So, now that the holidays are over and all your gift-knitting is finished, how will you celebrate Selfish Knitting Month? C’mon, it’s time to make something luxurious and wonderful …and all for yourself. What will you cast on?
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!
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:
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!
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.
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:
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.
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**)
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!
This week, very quietly, the biggest event of the SpaceCadet year happened. It wasn’t a show, it wasn’t a big order, it wasn’t a feature in a knitting magazine. But it was something I’ve been working toward slowly — inch by inch — for a looooong time. And then this week, it happened. Quietly, and with no fanfare, just as if it was the most unimportant thing in the world.
And, y’know, to you, it probably is — but to me, it’s huge. So when I tell you what it is, please do me a little favour, ok? Just for a moment, give a little squeal for me — I am just so excited!!!!!
Ok, you ready? Here it is… See that shop link right there on the right? The one for the SpaceCadet shop? Last week, it took you to an Etsy shop. But today, when you click on it, it will take you to…
(go on, click it!)
I’ve designed this shop to give you everything I wasn’t able to give you before — and I am just so tickled about that. You can start by browsing all the yarns in one place on the Yarn Info page, where you can easily compare them by fiber content, weight, and yardage.
And there’s a lot to compare — the SpaceCadet’s fleet of yarns has increased from eight yarn types to… eighteen. Everything from laceweights (silk! sparkles! linen!) to bulkies. And in between, a beautiful array of choices. I’m sooooo excited — check it out!
When you’ve chosen your yarn, you can click through to see which standard colourways are in stock. Or, if you’re feeling adventurous, there’s a link to show you that yarn in all the fabulous experimental colourways in the Department of Rocket Science.
My goal is to make it as simple as possible for you to find exactly the yarn you need for your project. Or… if you’re in a mood to just wander through the yarns and explore until you find one that captures your heart, you can do that too!
There’s still improvements I want to make — little things to tweak here and there, and a few big things too — but even though I want to keep going until it’s perfect, I know that, really, it’s perfect enough. And so, after months and months of preparation, the new SpaceCadet shop is ready at last. And while it feels like a HUGE thing to me, I know I’m biased. But secretly, I am really hoping that it’s pretty darned exciting for you too. So… will you squeal with me?
(Now, at the moment, there are only a select number of yarns in the new shop. I’ll be doing a shop update on Wed Sept 19 — see the banner on the main shop page — but, for now, most of the yarns are coming with me to… )
As soon as I walked into KNOTS in Chardon Ohio (for a class with Brenda Dayne earlier this summer), I knew it was exactly what a yarn shop should be. Cosy, welcoming, and packed with fibery goodness, I was thrilled when Kate asked me to do a trunk show there!
I’ll be bringing a ton of yarn, including lots of wonderful experimental and one-of-a-kind colourways. So if you’re in the area, please do come. I’d love to meet you!
SpaceCadet Trunk Show from noon to 5pm at
Knots – Knitting on the Square
153 Main Street
Chardon, Ohio 44024
(click here to map it!)
Subscriptions to the Yarn Alliance have been going like hotcakes and there are only a few spaces and three days left before subscriptions are closed. If you’ve been thinking of joining and haven’t subscribed yet, grab your place quick before it goes! Click here for all the details.
Saturdays are always quieter on the internet. And beautiful holiday weekends that catch the last of the summer days are even quieter (who wants to be inside on a computer when there are rays to catch and burgers to grill?). So when I realised that the InterStellar Yarn Alliance fell on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend, I really thought that sign-ups would be slow. Slow with tumbleweed; slow with crickets…
Crickey, was I ever wrong — you guys have blown me away! I been walking around with the hugest grin on my face to see so many people piling in to join the Yarn Alliance. It’s been incredible — and we are going to have a blast!!!
Wanna see what I mean? The latest parcels for the Alliance went out last week and, here, have a look…
First there was the yarn. I love the colourway and I’m really happy to report that, from the comments on Ravelry, the members did too. This is a colourway that’s all about summer: bright, happy, and bursting with colour.
And then, of course, there was the SpaceCadet’s Log, with all the details of the inspiration behind the colourway. (Shall I let you in on a little secret? This colourway was a total mistake — I was aiming for something else entirely but, as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to go with it!)
And then there was the gift. And I am super excited about this… Check it out — it’s a fabulous custom-made SpaceCadet notions bag! I absolutely love the idea of the Yarn Alliance members opening up their project bags to find all these little SpaceCadets grinning up at them!
(And there’s a very poignant story behind this gift — read it here and send my friend Amy some love)
Doesn’t it look great? The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is open for subscriptions only until Sept 16 and space is limited. So if you want to find out more, be quick and click here for all the details.
Come and see us at the PLY (Peace, Love, and Yarn) Party! Every year, Lovelyarns in Baltimore hosts a bunch of indie dyers for a seriously exciting celebration of hand-dyed yarn. If you’re anywhere in the Baltimore area, you do not want to miss it. Click here for all the details, and then come out and see us. And make sure you stop by and say hi to me — I’d love to meet you!