Win A Skein of SpaceCadet Yarn!

15MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

I am so excited about the InterStellar Yarn Alliance, the SpaceCadet’s new yarn club which opened for subscriptions on Monday, that I can’t wait for the fun to start! The first parcels will go out in April, but I really want to do something to kick it off right now…

So I’m going to give away a free skein of lovely SpaceCadet Creations yarn to one of you this week, and all you have to do to enter is talk about the Yarn Alliance in a post on Ravelry! It can be anywhere on Ravelry except the SpaceCadet Creations and Interstellar Yarn Alliance groups. Once you’ve done that, leave a comment here with your Ravelry name, and you are entered to win a free skein of SpaceCadet yarn!

yarn, sock yarn, knitting, crochet, hand-dyed, hand dyed, handdyed — Shop Update (clockwise from top left: Celeste yarn in Carnival, Estelle yarn in Tree Snake, Estelle yarn in Sunshine, and Celeste Yarn in First Love

And if you’ve like to earn a second entry after that, just retweet a link to the Yarn Alliance webpage or link to this blog post in a post on Ravelry (and please be sure to mention your Twitter name here if it’s different from your Raverly name).

The giveaway opens now, and closes at the end of Thursday, so you have to be quick! I’ll announce the winner here on Friday.

yarn, sock yarn, knitting, crochet, hand-dyed, handdyed, hand-dyed, hand painted — Shop Update (clockwise from top left): Celeste yarn in Forgiven, Estelle yarn in Evening Fog, Celeste yarn in Spice Trade, Celsete yarn in Spare Change

Which means that by the end of the week, one of you will be the owner of a new skein of SpaceCadet yarn. Because you need more yarn in your stash, don’t you? Don’t you?!?

Of course you do!

spinning, fiber, fibre, merino, alpaca, hand-dyed, handdyed, hand dyed, hand painted — Shop Update (clockwise from top left): Alpaca & Merino fiber in Translucence, Alpaca & Merino fiber in SuperNova, BFL fiber in HandJive, Alpaca & Merino fiber in Beguile

The details (they’re not difficult, I promise!): Contest closes on March 17 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, mentioning the SpaceCadet’s InterStellar Yarn Alliance in a post on Ravelry) before completing the ‘extra’ entry (tweeting a link to the Yarn Alliance). Completion of entries must be mentioned in a comment on this blog post to qualify, and comments must include the commenter’s Ravelry or Twitter name (as applicable). 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. See, that wasn’t too bad, was it?

SpaceCadet Creations at Homespun Yarn Party on March 27

01MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

You know what? We had so much fun, we’re doing it again!…

SpaceCadet Creations will be at the Homespun Yarn Party in Savage MD on March 27! This is a fantastic, juried show that features only indie fiber artists and hand-crafters. But this is no local craft show — the standard is very high and it is such an honour to have been chosen to participate!

If you’ve ever wanted to see SpaceCadet colours in person, or to snorgle the yarns and stroke the fibers, and you live anywhere in the WashingtonDC/Baltimore area or the surrounds, please do make the trip Savage. We’d LOVE to meet you! And you’ll have a great time!

hand-dyed, handdyed, knitting, yarn, spacecadet, space cadet, silk, BFL — Left to right: Silk/BFL Yarn in Straw Into Gold, Plumberry, and Heartthrob

And, in case you’re thinking that March 27th feels like a loooong time away, I’ve put some wonderful new yarns in the shop. This time, I’ve focused on luxury: wonderful, smooshy Luna Laceweight and some decadently shimmery Silk & BFL. Enjoy!

hand-dyed, handdyed, yarn, lace weight, silk, merino, knitting, crochet — Clockwise from top left: Luna Silk/Merino Laceweight in Straw Into Gold, Translucence, Spice Trade, and Covetous

Spinning Up Clouds of Baby Alpaca

03DecApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

So while I was waxing lyrical about the new cashmere in the shop, I never said a word — not a word — about the little something I had up my sleeve for the spinners. Why? Because the holidays are all about surprises!

And this was a surprise worth keeping: the most amazingly soft combed top made from 50% Baby Alpaca and 50% Superfine Merino wool. It’s incredibly light, incredibly soft… It feels like clouds in your hands. And it dyes up beautifully.

50/50 Baby Alpaca/Merino blend in Evening Fog (left) and Tarnished (right)

For those of you who’ve never tried alpaca, I turned to my friend Natalie — a more experienced and excellent spinner — for some advice. She said, “Alpaca is warmer and lighter than wool. For knitting, a worsted weight yarn would make an awfully warm sweater – possibly too warm for daily wear. On the other hand, if you want outer gear like hats and gloves, a thick, woolen spun alpaca would be like carrying around your own little furnace!

“Alpaca is a little more difficult to control than straight wool because it has a shorter staple length and feels sort of slippery. I hold my hands closer together when I’m drafting to adjust for the shorter staple length. I also try to get twist into the fiber more quickly than I would usually do with wool.

“Also, remember that alpaca has practically no memory. So, for knitting, it often works better blended with other fibers that will give it a little bit of elasticity and memory.”

50/50 Baby Alpaca/Merino blend in Rhubarb and Custard (left) and SeaFoam (right)

The blend of superfine merino and baby alpaca together will give your yarn the elasticity and memory that you need for knitting. And the extra lightness and warmth that the alpaca gives you yarn will be perfect for warm winter mittens and hats.

And as I was in a mood for dyeing fiber, I went ahead and did a batch of Blue-Faced Leicester as well. Enjoy!

Clockwise from top left: BFL Combed top in Spice Trade, Sweetpeas, SeaFoam, and Sweetpeas.

The Season for Luxury

29NovApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

The holiday season is upon us and suddenly, I’m in the mood for something a bit luxurious. I don’t know if it’s the chill in the air, or the lovely smells of wintery comfort-food, or thoughts of all the gift-giving to come… but I have been wanting to snuggle down and knit with something really luxurious.

Cashmere, I thought. Cashmere is luxury. And I knew it would be soft, and I knew it would feel heavenly, but I wasn’t really prepared for just how luscious it is…

Estelle Fingering Yarn in Nutmeg Spice Trade (left) and Burnished (right)

Let me introduce you to Estelle, a stunningly soft 4-ply fingering yarn, in 80% Superwash Merino, 10% Nylon, and 10% of that most wonderful Cashmere. The superwash will prevent it from felting, and the nylon adds the strength needed for socks and mittens, but it’s the cashmere — oh, that cashmere — that makes all the difference! And this is not me talking this yarn up — I was quite genuinely surprised by how soft this yarn is, how squishable, how… well, just how luxurious it is. I have not been able to stop petting it all week!

I also haven’t been able to stop dyeing it. I may never go back to ordinary yarn again… Care to join me?

Estelle Fingering Yarn in Steel Leaf (left) and Evening Fog (right)

Cooking Up Something Special

23NovApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

In every home across the country this week, the scene will be exactly the same… There will be mixing bowls filled with the most amazing treasures, and pots gently bubbling on the stove. There will be the old favourites and new recipes, last minute changes and quick saves when things go wrong. A pinch of this and a dash of that…

And it’s been no different here. Well… ok, then, maybe a wee bit different here in the SpaceCadet house. Here’s what I’ve been busily cooking up this week…

…Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Shop Update: From Flat on My Back

11NovApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

You may have noticed that there was no shop update on Monday, as there usually is. Nor on Tuesday, which is when I usually do the update if Monday gets too busy. There were yarns ready — drying, or in the process of being reskeined, some weighed, some tagged… But I was not ready.

I was flat on my back in agony and holding as still as I possibly could. Over the weekend, my neck and shoulder had seized up completely and, man oh man it hurt! I mean, they’ve seized up before, a few times in my life, but never like this. Imagine, if you will, me lying on my back in bed, with no pillow, nothing to contort my spine away from the support of the mattress, and I moved my foot — just my foot! — and it sent a spasm of pain shooting up through my shoulder and my neck and wrapped right around over my skull all the way to my eyes. That kind of agony.

il_570xN.191692570 — Stella yarn in Faded Garland

The doctor is satisfied that it is muscular and not skeletal (I was worried), and I now have some painkillers the size of horse-pills that are working a small miracle. Bit by bit, I am gaining more mobility — and having to remind myself not to rush it, that everything can wait… even though I am desperate to get back work. There were so many exciting things happening this week, and so many wonderful yarns!

Triptich Cranberry — Celeste Yarn in Stewed Cranberry

And so keen was I to get them in the shop that I took advantage of those pills and pushed myself a bit too hard yesterday. The result is that there are now some lovely yarns in the shop …and, I am flat on my back again today. Not anything like before, but just a little reminder from my muscles they are not to be trifled with and I must respect them and take things slooooowly.

il_570xN.191862887 — Luna Laceweight Yarn in Rapeseed

But I did get some really exiting stuff into the shop… There’s enough Megan’s Frost to make a sweater — with two more skeins of Frost waiting to go into the shop as soon as I’m able. And there’s four skeins of Stewed Cranberry, with two more in the studio ready to be reskeined. A beautiful skein of Laceweight in the most amazing golden-yellow. And a skein of Stella in a lovely, quirky colourway called Faded Garland. Enjoy!

And please keep your fingers crossed for me, ok?