So Much Fun Stuff: New Website, Mini-Skein Club, and a Shop Update Too!

05OctApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

There has been so much going on here — so much! — that I feel I am about to burst! And it’s all just about ready… a-a-almost there… So today’s shop update will be a mini-update so I can quickly get back and finish all this up and share it with you. More on that update at the bottom.

But right now, let me tell you what I’ve been working on…

The Website

First, a new website! I’m really excited about it because it’s beautiful, everything I’d hoped for. But the reason that’s really cool for you is that it’s going to allow me to a whole bunch of new things that I couldn’t do before (one of them is my new club, which I’m going to tell you about in a second).

But there’s a really important thing you need to know about this website change. If you subscribe to my website via my mailing list, you don’t need to do a thing. But if you subscribe via WordPress, you’ll need to change over to the mailing list — and that’s super easy to do. Just click here to join the mailing list. See? Easy and done! (If you want to ensure you don’t receive duplicate emails during the transition period, you might also change your WordPress settings, like this.)

Mini-Skein Club

Remember that Super Secret Thing I was telling you about? Oh, I am so excited about this…! And if you’re addicted to hexipuffs, dreaming about the BeeKeeper’s Quilt, falling head over heels for the Babette blanket, or any of the other wonderful mini-skein patterns that are cropping up everywhere these days, then you will be super excited too! The SpaceCadet Mini-Skein Club is coming and it will not only be a regular supply of those addictive little skeins, but also give you the perfect opportunity to try out all those wonderful SpaceCadet yarns and colourways that you’ve never used before. Think of it as a mouthwatering knitters’ and crocheters’ sample pack, delivering yarny goodness to your door every month…

I cannot wait to get the Mini-Skein Club started! If you can’t wait either, make sure you’re on the mailing list to be the first to hear when it goes live!

The Ebook

The ebook is with the editor and is so close to being finished, I can taste it! I know a lot of people aren’t sure how to approach knitting or crocheting with hand-dyed yarn, so I’m hoping this ebook will help ease any nervousness. It’s an introductory guide to hand-dyed yarn: how to use it, how to care for it, how to understand it so you can dive into hand-dyed without fear. If that sounds just right for you, then get on that mailing list to be sure you hear when it’s ready for download!

Oh, and this is really cool — the editor has been blogging the process of putting the ebook together. Check it out!

Shop Update

And finally, here’s the shop mini-update I promised you, two yarns that I am just crazy about…

First is a colourway that I’ve called Inlet, because I see all the colours of shimmering and shallow water — blues, greens, grays — with the glint of something precious resting at the bottom. I absolutely love this colourway! The yarn is 70% superwash merino, 20% bamboo, and 10% nylon, so it has that lovely glossy sheen.

And another yarn in that same lovely bamboo base… This colourway is Contrary and I just love the intensity of those cool, cool blues…

So, lots of stuff going on. It’s been crazy busy but soooo exciting! And if you’re excited too, keep checking back to see if the website has changed. Once it has, the ball starts rolling on everything else too…

Shop Update: Snorkel, Sailor’s Warning, Beguile, and Rescue

23SepApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

The ebook has been sent to the editor, the shop has been restocked after PLY, there’s a website revamp underway (now, there’s a mix of joy and pain!), and the Super Secret Thing is almost ready to go… It’s been a good week. …A busy week!

Oh, and there’s been dyeing. Lots of dyeing. Some of it has been that fantastic experimental stuff that I love to do — that’s going into the Yarn Adventurers’ newsletter that will go out later today. If you’re on the Yarn Adventurers’ mailing list, keep your eyes open for it. And if you’re not on the list, get on it!

And there’s some wonderful stuff that’s gone into the shop… A wonderfully vibrant colourway called Snorkel (not for the faint of heart, that one!); the warm and tropical Sailor’s Warning (see it knitted up as a sock); the absolutely stunning greens of Rescue (and there’s four skeins of it, enough for a cardi); and then there’s one of my most favourite colourways ever ever ever, Beguile (three skeins, enough for a bigger project). The skeins of Rescue and of Beguile are both split over different dyelots, but they are all so close that you can feel confident buying across the dyelots if you do want to do a larger project.

Calling All Yarn Adventurers

30AugApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

There’s a lot of experimentation that goes on in the SpaceCadet studio — experimentations with new colour combinations, experimentations with new yarns and fibers. And it’s a hell lot of fun (!) that produces a lot of wonderful yarns. It also produces a lot of yarns that may be the start of something great or… that may be one-of-a-kind specials, never to be seen again.

yarn, knitting, crochet, sock yarn, spacecadet, space cadet, hand dyed, indie dyer — Merino/nylon fingering yarn in "Submerge"

And while most knitters and crocheters stick to the more tried-and-true colourways, there is a small, core group of my customers who really, really love this kind of yarn. I think of them as Yarn Adventurers — customers who like to break new ground, who want to try new things, who love the possibility of knitting with a yarn that no one else may ever their hands on.

If you’re a Yarn Adventurer, I’m talking to you. Later this week, I’m going to put a new button over there in the right-hand column. Look for it — it will say something like “Yarn Adventurer” or “Yarn Voyager”, I’m not sure yet. And when you click on it, you’ll get the chance to sign up for a new newsletter just for people who like you. In this newsletter, I’m going to offer the first chance at some great experimental yarns. You’ll see them before anyone else does. You’ll see them waaaaay before they ever go into the shop — in fact, they may never even get into the shop. It’ll be first-come first-served, and you’ve got to be on the list to know about it. Watch for that button later this week!

There’s just one thing I ask for if you sign up for this new newsletter, and that’s feedback. You are going to be one of the first people to try a new base, to see a new colourway. You are my man on the ground. And I need to know what you thought of it. So, for any yarns or colourways I’m debating about, I may get in touch with you after your purchase to ask your opinion, to get your thoughts. If you’re up for that, and you’re up for a little yarn adventure, then make sure you are on that list!

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Now, let’s get to the yarns in the shop update this week! Every one of them is the sort of yarn that will go in this new newsletter but, until it’s set up, I’ve put these in the shop. First, there’s a pair of merino/bamboo/nylon yarns in a beautiful, luminous, almost oxidised green called “Torment”. I’m crazy about this shade!

And then, the rest of the yarns are on a merino/nylon base that… that I… well, I bought it by accident. Yeah, I know! I just marked the wrong box on the order form and, well, there you go. Almost ten pounds of the wrong yarn arrived a few days later and I faced the choice of owning up to my mistake and hoping the supplier would take the yarn back or… just dye it.

So, I dyed it up (I mean, why not? I love to dye!) and you know, what? I am so glad I made this mistake. I think I’m a little in love with this yarn! It’s an ordinary merino/nylon blend, smooth and quite light, but there’s something about it that I just love. It’s the way it takes colour — it’s almost lustrous. I love this yarn. I’m soooooo glad I ticked the wrong box!

(Oh, by the way, the yarn in the first picture? There are six skeins of it, easily enough to do a whole sweater, maybe a bit more. If you fancy that, grab it up quickly!)

Shop Update: And Then There Was… One

10AugApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

This week, I dyed this. Six gorgeous, luscious skeins of this…

Estelle (merino, cashmere, and nylon) dyed in a colourway called Rescue …and I fell in love it with it. Absolutely, deeply, madly in love with it. I thought about keeping it for myself… and I was going to, I really was, but I talked myself out of it and decided to put it in the shop instead.

But first, I emailed a picture of it to a friend. And she emailed straight back with, “I want some!” And five minutes later, another email, “I’ve checked my pattern — I’ll need five skeins.”

And just like that, I went from six skeins to put in the shop to only one skein. But in that one skein… Oh! Some of the most intense, gorgeous green I have ever dyed.

(But if you love it as much as I do and want me to dye any more, talk to me…)

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And here’s a few other things going in the shop this week:

Lucina fingering yarn (with sparkles!) in Megan’s Blues

Lusterous Silk/BFL fingering yarn in Megan’s Blues

And, to warm things up a bit…

Estelle (merino/cashmere/nylon) in Engine No9

Win Cool Origami Stitchmarkers! And a Shop Update.

20JulApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

In a moment, I’m going to tell you about a delightful little giveaway, but first let me show you some yarns I’ve put in the shop this week. I’m really excited about them because, before I held them in my hands together, I hadn’t realised what perfect compliments they are. But they are! They are absolutely perfect together. The variegated yarn makes a wonderful accent against either the purple or the pink yarn and I am sorely tempted to keep them all for myself… But I’ve put them in the shop instead, and I think I shall have to go into the studio and see if I can recreate them instead.

Left to right: Estelle fingering weight yarn in Truth, Faithful, and Throb

The Sexy Knitter Origami Stitchmarkers Giveaway

I was so excited about the fabulous stitchmarkers that Sarah at The Sexy Knitter made for the members of the InterStellar Yarn Alliance (that’s them, there on the left) that I wanted to give everyone else a chance to nab some of her origami stitchmarkers too. (Seriously, origami! Like you did in school — how cool is that?!?)

And Sarah immediately offered a set for me to giveaway to one lucky winner! Squeeee!

So, here’s what you have to do to enter:

First, make sure you are a subscriber to my blog. All you have to do is click on the Subscription button there in the right-hand column.
Then, just help spread the word about this contest by retweeting this tweet (if your twitter name doesn’t relate to the name you’ve subscribed under, please leave me a comment here helping me tie the two together)

And that’s it — you’re entered!

And if you want an extra entry, just mention this contest anywhere on the web (on Facebook, on a forum, in a blog post) and leave me a comment here with a link that allows me to confirm the mention.

The giveaway will end on Sun 31 July, and I’ll announce the winner in the next blog post after that. Good luck everyone!

Everybody loves smallprint: Sweepstakes opens when this blog post is published and closes on Sun July 31 2011 at 11.59pm EDT and all entries must be made before the close. All entrants will be verified, and must be a subscriber to the blog and then retweet the specified tweet in order for entry to be valid. The valid entry must be completed for any ‘extra’ entries can qualify and ‘extra’ entries must be mentioned in a comment on this blog post which includes a link to verify the entry. Invalid entries will be disqualified. Winner will be announced on this blog after sweepstakes close and must respond within 72 hours or we reserve the right to choose another winner. No purchase necessary. Only one entry per person. Odds of winning are dependant on the number of entrants. Retail value of prize is $5.00. SpaceCadet Creations reserves the right to substitute prizes. Prize cannot be redeemed for cash. Sweepstakes open only to entrants aged 18 years or older and resident in the United States or Canada. A-a-and breathe out…

Dyeing the Angles (and a Shop Update!)

08JulApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

I want to show you something that I think is fascinating. This is Translucence, a yarn I dyed — just playing with the colours, letting them lead me where they wanted — and then instantly fell in love with. Head over heels…

hand-dyed yarn, yarn, knitting, crochet, indie dyer, lace, lace weight, spacecadet creations, space cadet creations — Luna Laceweight silk/merino yarn in Translucence

When you first pick it up, you think it’s a simple blue-grey. But when you look closer, you see the most incredible, delicate play of colours: yes, the blues and greys are there, but they’re mixed in with warm pinks, watery greens, and soft purples. It’s an incredibly subtle and complex colourway.

(…You know what, I really should dye more of Translucence. I think I will — soon. If you like it as much as I do, keep your eyes open for it over the next few weeks.)

Ok, but here’s what I wanted to show you… Translucence is created from three colours that I mix up and then carefully apply to the yarn in a specific order: first one, then another, and then the third. In my mind, I see these three colours as points on a triangle, which I approach from one direction and work my way around.

And I wondered what would happen if I approached that triangle of colours from another direction. Are you ready? Here it is…

The same three colours, the exact same recipe, just applied in a different order. It’s incredible, isn’t it? What a difference!

This is Resplendence and it’s got burnished pinks, gentle blues, and warm greens, all peeking through a beautiful golden yellow that acts as the (maybe) defining colour of the mix. And, even though this is a variegated colourway and even though each of these colours is definitely holding its own against the others, it would still work beautifully for lacework — the colours blend so beautifully that they would work even with a complicated stitch pattern and you’d end up with one incredibly stunning result.

It’s as beautiful as Translucence, but completely different. And all I did was approach the triangle of colours from another direction. That kinda blows my mind. Does it blow yours too?

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Shop Update

Here’s more fun stuff: new yarns in the shop! I went for some seriously intense blues and greens. Think of summer sunlight, think of cool water, think of gentle shade under a leafy tree…

Clockwise from top left: Estelle fingering weight merino/cashmere/nylon yarn in Dry and Blue Sky, Tuesday Blue, Lost, and Cove