A Super-Cool New Swag Shop and a Shop Update!

06JulApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

The heat’s getting to you too, right? We’ve been in the high 90s for weeks now (…well, it feels like weeks anyway) and the longer it goes on, the less I seem to be able to think. I mean, I’m squirreled away in an air-conditioned office so I shouldn’t even notice the heat and yet… oh, as that mercury climbs, my ability to focus just seems to vapourise.

It’s not just me, right? It’s you too…? Tell me it is, because the temperature is set to hit 100F (37C!) this weekend and I think I’m just going to melt into a little puddle of uselessness right there on the floor — and I kinda need to know you’re right there with me!

Tour de Fleece

So when your brain is melting into mush it’s probably best to concentrate on the simple things, right? Tour de Fleece couldn’t have come at a better time, and I’ve given myself permission to spend a little quality time with my (most beloved) Lendrum. I’m spinning some top that I dyed absolutely ages ago that, when I pulled it out of the dyepots, I didn’t like at all. I shoved it in a bag and promptly forgot about it. When I finally came across it again about a month ago, I realised I can’t even remember what the fiber content is…. merino? superwash? merino/alpaca? I have no idea but — I’ll tell you what — I am loving these colours now. What was I thinking?!? Here’s my progress, day by day…

The SpaceCadet’s Swag Shop

Wait!, you say. You’re in an office? You’re not in the studio? Well, in truth, this job is split pretty evenly between the dyepots and the computer. And while most of the time I’m elbows deep in yummy yarns and dye, summer is the ideal time to get a little behind-the-scenes work done on all the great ideas I come up with throughout the rest of the year.

And I’ve been working on some really exciting stuff too — I can’t wait to show you! Most of it’s only in the beginning stages, but I can share one really cool thing with you… At every festival we do, at every trunk show, people are always telling us how much they love the SpaceCadet (we love him too!), and then someone always asks, can I get a SpaceCadet t-shirt? I’ve never be able to offer them one before, but I now I can! Check this out — the SpaceCadet Swag Shop! SpaceCadet t-shirts, tank tops, tote bags, and all kinds of cool stuff… Squeeeeee!!!!

Shop Update

Oooh, and there’s one other thing I can do even when I’m melting in this insane heat… How about a shop update? There’s some incredibly rich colours in this one, and a few one-of-a-kinds, so click here to have a look before they disappear.

Pattern Roll Call: Perfect for Laceweight

07JunApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

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!

I’m Knackered, You Get a Shop Update!

18MayApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

I had a fabulous blog post planned for you, full of great colourway combinations for maximum impact in some of this season’s hottest knitting patterns… but, oh!, I’m just too knackered. I don’t know what it is, but all week, I’ve felt like I could just fall asleep where I stand. I’ve gotten a lot of dyeing done — there is always wonderful, colourful dyeing to be done — but everything else has just fallen away.

I find I always need a few days to recover after doing shows — they’re so exciting and there are so many people to talk to, that they actually use up a lot more energy than I expect. Two weeks ago, I traveled to MDSW, which is such a fibery adventure, but simultaneously both energising and energy-draining. And then immediately turned around and did the SpaceCadet’s Grand Tour of Cleveland, back-to-back trunk shows.

And they blew me away. They were so much fun! Can I tell you, if you’re in Cleveland, go to River Color Studios in Lakewood or Soft n Sassy in Broadview Heights. Both of them are gorgeous, mouth-watering yarn shops. And both of them run by really lovely, warm people who made me feel right at home (Erika and her team at River Color: Rachael, Gretchen, Laura, Gail; Cheryl and her team at Soft n Sassy: Linda and Evelyn).

And at both of them, I met some of the nicest people I’ve ever got the chance to meet. They said lovely things about my yarn, which always makes me feel amazing. It was great weekend.

And it wasn’t just the trunk shows that made the weekend memorable. There was also lunch at a bakery decorated with… wait for it… flowers made from coffee filters. How cool is that?!?

There was the oldest microwave I’ve ever seen. For a long time, I thought it was a television in the corner of the office, before I realised what it was. Look at the size of it! Look at the dials! And… it still works just fine. Crickey!

Oh, yeah, and there was a Yarn Harlot too. People, there was the Yarn Harlot! She was absolutely lovely, and very very funny. And she bought a skein of SpaceCadet yarn! That blew me away totally.

Ohhh… and there was yarn. Lots of lovely, lovely yarn…

And after all that, I’m completely knackered. Cream-crackered. And so you don’t get the blog post I was planning. But I’m not going to leave you high and dry… you do get two things that are well worth having. One is some lovely Friday eye-candy in those photos up above.

And the other? I just mustered the energy to do you a wee shop update. Go on, take a look!

SpaceCadet Colourway Collections …and a Shop Update!

04AprApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

You know that moment when you suddenly realise something that should have been blindingly obvious to you? You roll your eyes, maybe slap your own forehead, right? Yeah, I had one of those moments the other day.

A few weeks ago, I updated my wholesale information for local yarn shops that carry SpaceCadet yarn, and when I did the colourway images, I naturally grouped them by collection. Collection?, you say. Yeah, I know I do a lot of crazy, experimental dyeing — and that’s what a lot of you love about SpaceCadet yarn — but I also develop and dye set collections of colourways. They’re colourways that go together, that mix-and-match, that will work beautifully in the same project.

I love these collections. Love developing them, love how one colour leads me to the next, love looking at them all together when they’re done. And my head-slapping moment came when I realised… I’d never shown them to you!

Here, let’s fix that. Now, the first one you’ve seen before — it’s the Quilt Collection and I wrote a post showing you the picture that inspired it, but I didn’t really show you the whole collection together…

The thing I love about this collection is that the semi-solid blue, greens, pink, and red work together on their own, but when you add the varigated yarn, Quilt on a Green Bed, suddenly, they are all perfectly coordinated. I see a cardigan knit in one of the semi-solid colours, with the details such as collar or cuffs knit in the variegated yarn. You may see it done the other way around. Either way, I love how they all come together.

Ok, so here’s another collection, one I don’t think I’ve shown you as a group before…

This one I love — it’s so rich, so dark and yet colourful, playful. And that Honey — oh, how it pops! And again, all the semi-solids pull together with Submerge, the variegated yarn, for a completely coordinated look. Can you see a project in there? Is it one colour and gentle, or is it popping with wild colour?

And just quickly, another soft and springlike collection…

That middle colourway there, it’s one of my favourites ever ever ever. And from it, I pulled out Gentle, the pink on the right. They’re gorgeous together.

The last group of yarns isn’t a collection, so I shouldn’t really include it here, but it’s in the wholesale information and I love these colourways so much, I can’t help but show you! They’re colours that make you just want to dive headfirst into the computer screen, aren’t they?

My goal in creating these collections is to make it so that you can look at the yarns and just see your project — see the colours working together in the patterns you’ve been thinking about starting. I wanted to make it easier to jump into variegated yarns by creating other colours that work with them, so that you can choose whether those variegated yarns are going to dominate your project or just act as a highlight.

And then a few days ago, I suddenly realised I’d never shown them to you! I’ve only ever put them in the shop — individually, even — and not really done anything to tie them together for you. Headslap!

So now that you’ve seen them as they’re meant to be seen, what do you think? Can you see your project? Tell me — because I’d love to know — would it be made of the wildly variegateds, or are you partial to the semi-solids?

Shop Update!

Speaking of going in the shop, I’ve just done a shop update. Great yarns with lovely cashmere, in some of the colourways straight from these collections. Oh, and one eye-popping colourway that I may never be able to repeat again!

Come check ’em out!

HomeSpun Yarn Party March 25 …and a Shop Update

14MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Exciting news! We’ve been accepted to HomeSpun Yarn Party again!

HomeSpun Yarn Party — March 25, Savage MD

HomeSpun is a fantastic event that showcases indy spinners, dyers, and other makers. It’s not the biggest show you’ll ever go to but the quality of fibery goodness is simply off the scale!

And it is an incredibly fun show to do — the atmosphere is electric! Because the people who come to HomeSpun truly love hand-dyed and it is so exciting to get to meet them, see their projects, talk about the yarn and the colours they love. I can’t wait!

So, if you’re in the DC-Baltimore area on March 25, come to Savage Mill in Savage MD, and fall headlong into hand-dyed nirvana. We’d love to see you!

Shop Update

And in case you can’t make it (…or in case you just can’t wait!), I’ve done a shop update. There’s some incredibly gorgeous laceweights in semi-solid colours, and Estelle and Stella in variegated colourways that will take your breath away.

So grab a big gulp of air and… dive in!

Inspirations: Quilt on a Green Bed

28FebApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

I want to show you a picture. It’s by Camille Roskelley and I found it on Pinterest a few weeks ago. And I just couldn’t get it out of my mind.

The colours kept coming back to me… that gorgeous sage green, the dusty pink, that zingy red, and those bursts of cool aqua. Oh! I found my mind returning to the colours in that picture again and again.

The thing is, most of the time, the colour combinations I dye come straight out of my imagination. They pop like fireworks in my mind, and I rush off to the studio to try to recreate them before the memory fades. But this time, all I wanted to do was play with the colours in this image.

And so I did! First, I dyed a few variegated skeins that captured all the colours at once. And then I dyed some beautiful semi-solids that pulled the individual colours out and let them shine on their own.

I love the way the semi-solid yarns work with and support the variegated colourways, don’t you? When I look at them together, I see projects. I can see a cardigan done in that beautiful bright blue, and livened up with a variegated collar and placket. A multi-toned shawl that alternates stripes of semi-solid and variegated yarns. A pair of eye-popping socks highlighted with coordinated toes and heels. There are so many fun possibilities when all the colours work together!

And all these yarns have just gone into the shop. Go have a look — Spring is on its way at last!