Tatting You Up!

30MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

HomeSpun Yarn Party was amazing! So much fun, so many people, and a near mob-scene at one point!

But first, let me just remind you that there are only two days left to join the SpaceCadet’s yarn club, the InterStellar Yarn Alliance. I’ve already been working on the yarn and goodies for the first parcel and it’s going to be fabulous, so if you’ve been thinking about joining and haven’t had a chance yet, don’t wait! The Yarn Alliance closes for subscriptions on March 31.

Ok, now, back to HomeSpun… The place was hoppin’, absolutely crazy. It was wall-to-wall indie spinners and dyers and, the minute the doors opened, it was wall-to-wall fiber-loving customers too. At one point, I actually found myself pushed out the booth on the other side of the aisle, and physically unable to get back into our booth! It. was. wild!!!

And I’m tickled pink to tell you that part of the reason for the madness was… everybody loved the SpaceCadet tattoos! I was hoping people would like them — they loved them. I was running around the booth just trying to get one on everyone who wanted one. Customers waving and gesturing, calling out, waiting for me to put a tattoo on them — or even taking a couple and putting them on each other. Before I knew it, there was little SpaceCadet all over the place. I was thrilled!!!

I stuck one on my cheek, of course (but you’ve already seen that). And then I got a bit risqué and stuck one just below my neckline…

But then, some of my customers thought that was the perfect spot too!

And the thing about the tattoos is that they were the perfect icebreaker. Suddenly, all the customers waiting in line were helping each other put them on, discussing whether they should go for shoulders, wrists, or biceps… It was so cool to see so many people getting into the spirit! Oh, and then… they started comparing yarn. Of course they did! It’s what fiber people do!

Lots and lots of customers sticking SpaceCadets right there on their cheeks. Including my two lovely assistants…

(Don’t they look fabulous?!?)

We came home feeling on fire — happy, exhilarated, exhausted. HomeSpun lived up to everything we hoped, and our customers were so much fun. Our next show is Knitters Fantasy on April 14 and it’s going to be a crunch to get ready for another show so soon but… I can’t wait!

Hey, don’t forget — only two days left to sign up!

Win a Bundle of SpaceCadet Mini-Skeins!

20MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

All day today, I’ve been making Mini-Skein bundles in preparation for HomeSpun Yarn Party this weekend (hey, are you coming?). I love putting them together — picking the colours, arranging the skeins and tying them all together. Mini-Skeins are just so cute and, oh, so much fun!

We took Mini-Skeins to Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet to introduce the idea to customers who hadn’t seen them before and… they sold like hotcakes! I mean, it’s one thing to see them online, but I think it’s completely different when you meet them in person. I loved seeing the customers pouring over each and every bundle, trying to decide which one (or two …or three!) that had the colourways they loved the most.

And the very best part? So many of those customers have came back in the weeks after the festival to join the SpaceCadet’s Mini-Skein Club. Seriously, I don’t think there’s any better compliment than that!

So, the Mini-Skeins are coming with us to HomeSpun Yarn Party this weekend. And if you’re going to be there, do be sure to come by the booth early before they disappear!

Or Win a Mini-Skein Bundle

So, what if you’re not going to HomeSpun? (or if you just can’t wait…) Well, don’t you worry because the lovely folks at the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet festival are giving away a SpaceCadet Mini-Skein bundle in their latest newsletter, along with a copy of Sarah Core’s Mini-Mania Scarf pattern. Just click on this link before March 30, and scroll down to the bottom for all the details on how to enter.

And then you can sit back, cross your fingers, and wait for your own little bundle of Mini-Skein goodness to arrive in your mailbox. Hooray!

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is Open for Subscriptions

16MarSeptember 4, 2015 By Stephanie

Squeeeee! I am so excited I can hardly tell you! I’ve been counting down to today and it’s finally here — the InterStellar Yarn Alliance is open for subscriptions at last!

The Yarn Alliance is the SpaceCadet’s supercool yarn club. And it’s one of the most fun things I get to do in my job! Seriously. While I’m in the studio creating the colourways, or while I’m writing the dyer’s notes, or coming up with all the fab goodies, I’m always hoping the members will love the results as much I do. And do they? Well, check it out…

And, y’know, while I was putting together the new Yarn Alliance images for the website, I realised I was taking a trip down yarn club memory lane. So much luscious yarn, so many colourways I love!

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

SpaceCadet^® Creations 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.
An InterStellar Yarn Alliance group on Ravelry where you can discuss WIPs, ask questions, and share FOs with fellow members.
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance newsletter with periodic special offers exclusively for members.
A 15% off coupon every six months

Subscriptions are for either 6 months (3 parcels) for $125, or for 12 months (6 parcels) for $235.

Want to join the fun? C’mon! We’d love to have you!

A Sneak Peek into the Yarn Alliance’s Latest Parcel

07MarSeptember 4, 2015 By Stephanie

I’ve been dying to share with you the inspiration for the latest InterStellar Yarn Alliance parcel and, as I sent them out a week ago today, I think it’s safe to show you. But if you’re a member and for some reason you haven’t opened your parcel, close this page now — I don’t want to ruin the surprise!

…

…Ok?

Ok, I think we’re safe. shhhh… Let’s have a look at the parcel. But first, I want to show you the picture that inspired the colourway. The thing is, just lately I have become obsessed with Spring. I am soooo ready to shed the grey, dull end of winter and welcome the sweet arrival of fresh green grass, new blooms, and warm warm days. So when I saw this picture on Pinterest, it just sang out to me.

It was taken by Mattie of Still Pond Photography and I just love it. Love it. For days, the mood of this photo stayed in my head, and I found myself returning again and again to just gaze at the colours of those eggs.

So when it came time to dye the Yarn Alliance colourway, there was no doubt what it would have to be.

I’ve been dyeing Spring greens and blues for the shop but, when I started designing this colourway, I wanted to take those colours to another level. Just like the eight eggs, I wanted to have myriad shades of blues and greens, so that the yarn would seem to change every constantly — from row to row, stitch to stitch. I began with one blue and one green, and then layered on another shade, and another shade, and another until I had depth and tone I was looking for. I called the colourway “EggShells”.

Doesn’t it sing Spring to you?

And as excited as I am about EggShells — and I am! — I think that I might be just wee bit more excited about the goody. It was a long time in the making, but the effort was sooooo worth it. Check it out — every member got a fabulous custom SpaceCadet project bag!!!

I’ve had such a blast doing the InterStellar Yarn Alliance this past year — so much fun. And I can’t wait to get started on next year’s yarns and goodies!

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance will open for subscriptions March 16 to 31 ONLY

You can join for either 6 months or 12 months. Every other month, members of the InterStellar Yarn Alliance receive fabulous parcels delivered to their door containing:

SpaceCadet^® Creations 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.
An InterStellar Yarn Alliance group on Ravelry where you can discuss WIPs, ask questions, and share FOs with fellow members.
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance newsletter with periodic special offers exclusively for members.
A 15% off coupon every six months

If you’d like to join, remember to mark your calendar: the Yarn Alliance will open for subscriptions from March 16 to 31 only. And when it does, get yourself over to this page to grab your spot!

Selfish Knitting Month

10JanApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

It was Brenda Dayne — she who creates the fabulous podcast Cast-On (you do listen to it, don’t you? Don’t you?!?) and who just knit this hat with SpaceCadet yarn — who introduced me to the concept of January as “Selfish Knitting Month”.

For knitters and crocheters, the months leading up the holidays are almost always about making things for other people. All our own projects come to a screeching halt as we realise there’s only a few months left(!) and begin to work like mad on our gifts instead. And then, come January, all that is over. And it is time to return to our own projects, our own knitting and crochet. The idea of Selfish Knitting Month magically turns January from cold and dull into something welcome, warm, and cosy. Time to knit for ourselves again!

And I have really taken the Selfish Knitting concept to heart in 2012, in two ways. The first was actually at the end of December, as I was coming up with the newest colourway for the members of InterStellar Yarn Alliance. I wanted to create a something that would be a real treat for the members… to welcome in the new year with something so luxurious and indulgent that it would single-handedly banish January’s cold and grey post-holiday funk.

I saw cold days ahead and they transformed into a warm, moody plum; I felt a bitter wind, and it was a streak of blue-purple; the welcome respite of a cosy fireside became a rich vein of copper gold; and the whole colourway shot through with dramatic streaks as dark as the blackest night. And to make it extra special, I laid all these colours down over the sparkles of Lucina.

The colourway, in honour of the month, is called “Selfish”. …Well, would you give it away?!?

And the other way that I took Selfish Knitting concept to heart? Well, it wasn’t voluntary, and it wasn’t so much me as my body that made the decision. After a December which was just insanely busy and in which everyone except me seemed to come down sick, my body decided enough was enough. This past week, I’ve been sliding ever-so-slowly downhill, until finally this weekend, I succumbed to cold chills, shakes, and muscles that made my neck and shoulders seize up solidly. I have spent the past two days mostly in bed, propped up gingerly on pillows, moving as little as humanly possible.

Except, I could knit. And as painful as my shoulders and neck were (oh, and they were!), it’s been a truly welcome respite to just sit quietly and knit — without having to stop for work-demands or family-demands or… well, not for anything except for another round of painkillers. Selfish or what!? Yep, deliciously so, and it felt great. I took my skein of Selfish and cast on Karrie Steinmetz’s Walnut Grove. When I can sit up well enough to take photos, I’ll let you see how it looks.

So, Happy Selfish Knitting Month! What are you doing to celebrate? Have you cast on something fresh and new, just for you? Leave a comment and let me know, or even link to you project on Ravelry — I’d love to see!

Oh, there was supposed to be a shop update today, but — for obvious reasons — it will have to come a bit later this week. Keep your eyes open for it. And if you liked the look the of this yarn and would like get in on the Yarn Alliance yourself, spaces will open sometime around the end of the February or beginning of March. Make sure you’re on the mailing list to be the first to hear about it!

…And if you’re in the Alliance, your exclusive email with a chance to get extra skeins of Selfish will be coming soon, so watch your inbox!

Risk Makes the Most Beautiful Yarns

30DecApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Some of the most beautiful colourways are simple: blues into greens, rusts laid over reds… And some are incredibly complicated: layer upon layer of eye-popping colour.

But the best colourways — the ones that I can’t stop looking at — are the ones where there’s an element of risk. A combination of colours that might’ve worked… or might not have. A dyeing technique that pushes the boundaries beyond what’s usual. That is the essense of hand-dyed and, when that happens — and happens well — the results are nothing short of breath-taking!

This weekend I’ll be sending out the InterStellar Yarn Alliance parcels, and the yarn the members will find inside is risky indeed. I laid down colours that shouldn’t have worked together, I dyed them in an unusual way. And, as I was twisting up the skeins, today… Oh! I am in love, I am in love, I am in love!

I so hope the Alliance members feel the same way. Risky yarns are… risky, I know. But all I can do is create the colours that call to me, and let them become the colourways I see in my mind. And them pack them all in their little boxes and send them on their way. Beautiful, beautiful, risky yarns…

Here’s a little sneak peek at the Yarn Alliance parcel…

What? You wanted to see the colours? Sorry — no one can see that until the Alliance members have received their parcels! But don’t worry — I’ll reveal this risky, beautiful colourway as soon as they’ve had time to be delivered.