The Yarn Alliance is Open for Subscriptions!

09SepSeptember 9, 2016 By Stephanie

I’m so excited to announce that (after a small delay), today is the day…
The SpaceCadet’s InterStellar Yarn Alliance is open for subscriptions!

Exploring great new colourways is tons of fun… and even better when you do it with friends!The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is your a chance to e into amazing exclusive SpaceCadet colourways and share it with a fabulous community of folks who are just as excited as you are!

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is the SpaceCadet’s Premier Yarn Club.

Subscriptions available from Sept 9-24 ONLY

So, what do you get when you join?

…beautiful yarns, colourways you might never have dared try but suddenly realise you love, and some seriously fabulous gifts!

As a member of the InterStellar Yarn Alliance, you’ll receive a fabulous parcel delivered to their door every other month, containing:

SpaceCadet^® yarn (light to medium weight) in an exclusive Yarn Alliance colourway (guaranteed not to be offered on the SpaceCadet^® website for at least 6 months)
A great Yarn Alliance gift tucked into every parcel!
The SpaceCadet’s Log exploring the inspiration for each colourway.
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance newsletter with periodic special offers exclusively for members.
A 15% off coupon every six months
And your entry to an awesome community of club members who share pattern ideas, cheer you on, and make our activities so much fun!

Plus Get a Coordinating Colourway!

Colours this gorgeous deserve companions, don’t you think? So each month, you have the opportunity to get a second colourway that we design to coordinate beautifully with the first, so you can create an even more amazing project. Usually a semi-solid or a gently variegated, you can use it to create stripes, a contrasting panel, or to go where-ever your creativity takes you!

And Sweater Quantities!

One gorgeous skein just isn’t enough? You also have an exclusive opportunity to order more skeins custom-dyed in the latest club colourway. You’ll receive an email with all the details about a week after your parcel goes out — and then all you have to do is pick your project!

Aaaand Great Goodies!

We have so much fun coming up with an awesome Yarn Alliance gift to pop into every parcel. Each one features our adorable SpaceCadet and is totally collectable. Which one will be your favourite?

A 6 month subscription (3 parcels) starts at $145
and a 12 month subscription (6 parcels) starts at $249

Ready to join us? C’mon — let’s do this!
Click below to choose your subscription:

Very Important: if you are giving a subscription as a gift, please remember to include the recipient’s postal and email addresses in the notes when you check out. We gotta have that to send the recipient their parcels!

Check Out our Gorgeous Colourways from Previous Parcels…

Click below to choose your subscription:

Important Details and Policies: Six month subscriptions include 3 parcels; twelve month subscriptions include 6 parcels. Parcels will be sent out in early January, March, May, July, September, and November. 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. Normal subscription openings for the InterStellar Yarn Alliance are two weeks only in March and September of each year. Cancellation policy: Because we often purchase supplies for all the parcels immediately after the subscription period ends, refunds are generally not available. However, if there are extenuating circumstances, please contact us as soon as possible and we will try to do what we can. By purchasing a subscription, you acknowledge and agree to these policies.

Any questions? We’re always happy to help! Just email us at missioncontrol (at) spacecadetyarn (dot) com.

Today is the Day! The Yarn Alliance is Open for Subscriptions!

04MarApril 22, 2016 By Stephanie

Today is one of my hands-down favourite days of the year, one of those days that I look forward to for months… because today the InterStellar Yarn Alliance opens for subscriptions!

It happens only twice a year and just for two weeks — a really special event –and it’s so exciting to see all the new and returning members come rushing in. I know it means we’re getting it right and making our members happy. And this last session has been a blast! From the deeply saturated colourways, to the awesome gifts, to all the creativity and fun our club members brought to the Photo Scavenger Hunt, being part of the Yarn Alliance is a ton of fun!

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what our club members have to say…

So, what do you get when you join?

…beautiful yarns, colourways you might never have dared try but suddenly realise you love, and some seriously fabulous gifts!

As a member of the InterStellar Yarn Alliance, you’ll receive a fabulous parcel delivered to their door every other month, containing:

SpaceCadet^® yarn (light to medium weight) in an exclusive Yarn Alliance colourway (guaranteed not to be offered on the SpaceCadet^® website for at least 6 months)
A great Yarn Alliance gift tucked into every parcel!
The SpaceCadet’s Log exploring the inspiration for each colourway.
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance newsletter with periodic special offers exclusively for members.
A 15% off coupon every six months
And your entry to an awesome community of club members who share pattern ideas, cheer you on, and make our activities so much fun!

Plus, Sweater Quantities!

A 6 month subscription (3 parcels) starts at $145
and a 12 month subscription (6 parcels) starts at $249

Ready? Let’s do this!

Click a button below to choose your subscription length:

Check Out our Gorgeous Colourways from Previous Parcels…

Hop on board and grab your spot!

Click a button below:

And we all know clubs are always more fun with friends, right? Definitely! So please share it!

On Twitter: Squee! The Yarn Alliance from SpaceCadet is open for subscriptions – check it out! http://ctt.ec/u9dZH+ @spacecadetyarn
On Facebook: Squee! The Yarn Alliance from SpaceCadet is open for subscriptions – check it out! http://goo.gl/1DqDkj
On Ravelry: Squee! The Yarn Alliance from SpaceCadet is open for subscriptions – check it out! http://goo.gl/1DqDkj

Any questions? We’re always happy to help: missioncontrol(at)spacecadetyarn(dot)com

A Reminder Worth Sharing

17Sep By Stephanie

I have to share with you something wonderful that happened this week that reminded me what all this is about. It’s easy to think that what I do as a dyer and what you do as a knitter or crocheter is about producing things… about making scarves and hats and sweaters and stuff. It’s not. What this is really about is what it does for us — you and me — on the inside. It calms our souls and quietens our minds. It gives us pause and focus and a kind of joy that I can’t explain that comes from working with beautiful yarn and our own two hands. And, even better, it creates connections with others who share our passion for the fiber arts. There is something there that is so much deeper than simply what we produce and, in the midst of all our busy-ness, it is good to be reminded of that.

And here was my reminder this week: I received a message on Ravelry, a spontaneous note from a Yarn Alliance club member to tell me how much the latest parcel lifted her. She said, “I was having a really crap day (24 years in the military left me with PTSD and severe depression…). Your little parcel was on my steps when I came home… The yarn is gorgeous and the colors just spoke to me. I know it sounds silly, but your yarn helped me find a happy place.”

It doesn’t sound silly to me, not at all. I understand completely the power of yarn to lift your soul — it’s why I do what I do. And spontaneous notes like that change it from something I have do on my own in a studio to a way of creating amazing, personal connections with other people — with customers, with club members… with you. To me, that’s something incredible and it makes me feel like I have the best job in the world.

Robin’s Chevron Blanket from Ina Braun on Vimeo.

I got another email a few weeks ago from a Mini-Skein Club member who wanted to share with me a fantastic chevron blanket she’s made with her Minis. It’s so beautiful and brought her so much joy that she created a delightful little video that I just have to show you. Isn’t it wonderful that our shared fiber-passion brought her to me, and then allows me to connect her with you?

The other day, I printed out the packing slips for the Knerd bag orders we’ll be shipping soon — there are so many that I wanted to get a head-start on writing the hand-written thank you I include on each one — and when I looked at how many there are, my wrist started feeling sore just in anticipation! But I am so grateful for our SpaceCadet community and customers that I always take the opportunity to make that connection. I love writing a personal note in every shop order that we send out. When I write the dyer’s notes for the Yarn Alliance or the SpaceMonsters Club, I’m sharing with each club member personally.

When you open a SpaceCadet parcel and it lifts your soul, I get that. When you knit or crochet with SpaceCadet yarn and it takes you to a happy place… oh, I totally get that. I feel exactly the same, and it’s why I do what I do every day. It is an honour to connect with the SpaceCadet community — with you — and I am so grateful that I get to do so.

Yarn Alliance subscriptions are open for only a few more days. When you join us, you receive gorgeous yarns in exclusive club-only colourways, fabulous gifts, a 15% off coupon, and entry to a wonderful community of folks who totally get your yarn obsession! Click here to see more and join us. But hurry — subscriptions close on Sunday.

PS — Before I mentioned the message above from our Yarn Alliance member, I wrote to ask if she minded if I quoted it. I hadn’t planned to include the part about her struggles with PTSD or depression, but she replied, “…you can use any part of it, even the PTSD…. I am not ashamed of it. I sometimes joke about my ‘earning’ it.” And y’know, I think she’s right — she has earned it — and the more I thought about that, the more I wanted to recognise it. I am so very glad she let me share that with you.

Arc Over Spiral — a Difficult Colourway

10SepOctober 9, 2015 By Stephanie

The latest Yarn Alliance parcels went out this week to our existing club members and I’m so excited to show you the contents, I just can’t wait! In all honesty, I struggled with this colourway but, once it finally came to me, it was tons of fun to dye. Ready to see it? Here we go…

(Spoiler warning! If you’re in the Yarn Alliance and you haven’t received your parcel yet, stop here and don’t scroll down!)

Arc Over Spiral (…what over what?!?)

The creative process can be like an arc spanning across a series of points or more like a spiral working round and round to the center as you explore the depths of a single idea.

When I began dyeing this colourway, I chose the hues that spoke to me most at that moment – until I realised I was more or less repeating the colourway we dyed for the Yarn Alliance in May. So I change my formulations a bit and dyed another set of skeins – and then realised they were similar to the July colorway. Now I knew I was in a spiral …which is all good fun, but won’t do for a club. Try as I might, though, I couldn’t pull my head out of that space – the same shades kept coming back to me — and so I put down the dyes and went home.

That night, as I was falling asleep, the whole colourway suddenly came to me. I knew exactly what I wanted to dye, and it was nothing like what I’d been trying before – a new mood, a new direction. No longer a spiral, this colourway was suddenly back on that beautiful arc.

The Yarn

Maia is an amazing yarn — light, smooth, so very soft — and perfect for these late summer days. Its drape is incredible and adds a wonderful swing to whatever you make out of it. But better than all of that is what it does with light — it captures it, rolls it around and then reflects it out again in a way that is just stunning!

The Gift — a Perfect Place to Stash Tiny Things

I found HipStrings’ fiber arts tools at a local Pittsburgh show and fell in love with their cool, modern aesthetic. Exclusively for the members of the Yarn Alliance, they’ve created these sweet little bowls featuring the SpaceCadet zooming across in his flying saucer, to hold stitchmarkers and safety pins and all the other little things that want to get lost. Aren’t they fabulous?!?

The Yarn Alliance is Open for Only One More Week!

Our premiere yarn club, the InterStellar Yarn Alliance is open for subscriptions from now until Sept 20. It opens only twice a year, so don’t miss your chance to get our best dyeing delivered directly to your door all year long!

Members of the Yarn Alliance receive gorgeous yarns in exclusive club-only colourways, fabulous gifts, the chance to order extra skeins, 15% off a future SpaceCadet order and so much more! Click here to see our gallery of colourways and to join this fab club.

Squeeee! Today is the Day!

03SepSeptember 4, 2015 By Stephanie

I’ve been waiting for today for weeks now — it’s one of my favourite days of the year! Because today the SpaceCadet’s InterStellar Yarn Alliance opens for new subscriptions! Squeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

Ok, let’s get to all the details — there’s so much fun to tell you about!…

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is the
SpaceCadet’s Premiere Yarn Club

Join us to explore a universe of colour!

Open for subscriptions from September 4-20 ONLY
And spaces go fast!

So, what do you get when you join?

…beautiful yarns, colourways you might never have dared try but suddenly realise you love, and some seriously fabulous gifts!

Members of the InterStellar Yarn Alliance receive fabulous parcels delivered to their door every other month, containing:

SpaceCadet^® yarn (light to medium weight) in an exclusive Yarn Alliance colourway (guaranteed not to be offered on the SpaceCadet^® website for at least 6 months)
A great Yarn Alliance gift tucked into every parcel!
The SpaceCadet’s Log exploring the inspiration for each colourway.
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance newsletter with periodic special offers exclusively for members.
A 15% off coupon every six months

Plus, Sweater Quantities!

A 6 month subscription (3 parcels) is $135
and a 12 month subscription (6 parcels) is $249

Ready to join the fun? Spaces go fast so don’t wait!

Check Out our Gorgeous Colourways from Previous Parcels…

Ready to join us? C’mon — let’s do this!

Clubs are always more fun with your friends, right? Definitely! So please share it!

On Twitter: Squee! The Yarn Alliance Club from SpaceCadet is open for subscriptions – check it out! http://bit.ly/GGzcsn #spacecadetyarn @spacecadetyarn
On Facebook: Squee! The Yarn Alliance Club from SpaceCadet is open for subscriptions – check it out! http://bit.ly/GGzcsn #spacecadetyarn
On Ravelry: Squee! The Yarn Alliance Club from SpaceCadet is open for subscriptions – check it out! http://bit.ly/GGzcsn

Important Details and Policies: Six month subscriptions include 3 parcels; twelve month subscriptions include 6 parcels. Parcels will be sent out in early January, March, May, July, September, and November. 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. Normal subscription openings for the InterStellar Yarn Alliance are two weeks only in March and September of each year. Cancellation policy: Because we purchase supplies for all the parcels immediately after the subscription period ends, refunds are generally not available. However, if there are extenuating circumstances, please contact us as soon as possible and we will do what we can. By purchasing a subscription, you acknowledge and agree to these policies.

Any questions? We’re happy to help: missioncontrol(at)spacecadetyarn(dot)com

Catch a Peek at the SpaceMonster’s August Colourway!

25Aug By Stephanie

As the season fades into autumn, it’s all about the turning of the leaves, naturally, but I am still holding onto summer — and I think one of the best things about this time of year is the clear skies. I simply love sitting outside as the sunlight disappears and watching the stars appear overhead. Can you see that inspiration in the latest SpaceMonsters’ colourway?

Summer Nights — a Colourway Inspired by the Heavens

From the SpaceCadet’s log:

I am not one for hot summer days — the sun is no friend to my skin and the heat makes me wilt. But I love warm summer evenings, when the sun has finally gone to bed and the world is beginning to cool off. I sit on my porch with my knitting and a cup of tea, leaning back to watch the stars come out.

They reveal themselves slowly, as the day’s light thins and fades away. First, the planets — Venus and Jupiter have aligned for most of the summer, shining as a bright pair on the western horizon. And then the brightest stars — Vega and Altair — begin to show themselves in the east, before the sky finally falls into darkness revealing the whole host of stars in the heavens. Some look white, some blue, a few pinkish-purple and some even green. And the sky may be streaked with clouds or clear as crystal. Either way, it is truly a magical time, sitting out in the warmth and watching the Summer Night sky come out in all its glory.

For this colourway, I chose Capella, a wonderfully smooshy single-ply worsted that brings a softness to any colour I introduce it to. I wanted it to really capture the movement of the clouds, the eternalness of the stars. And I think it’s done that perfectly!

The response to Summer Nights has been overwhelming — so many emails, tweets, and Ravelry posts from club members who just love this colourway, and I can’t say how much that means! So I was delighted to send out the email yesterday to our club members with the link to order extra skeins. I can’t wait to see the amazing projects they create with this colourway!

Want to Join the Club?

The SpaceMonster Club won’t open again until December but — fear not! — the SpaceCadet’s fingering weight club, the InterStellar Yarn Alliance opens on Sept 4th. We give first dibs to the folks on the club mailing list, so click here and be the first to grab your space!