I’ve discovered that apparently when I decide to write blog posts/emails while I’m all knackered out right after doing a yarn show… well, what I write is pretty darned confusing! The previous blog post in a case in point. So now I’ve had some coffee, let me see if I can clarify.
I talked about two mailing lists in my previous post:
If you want to find out about the upcoming ebook, the Super Secret Thing, and all sorts of SpaceCadet news and shop updates, make sure you’re on the main SpaceCadet Mailing List. Emails go out about twice a week, and they’re full of good things. Click here to sign up.
The second mailing list is members-only for the InterStellar Yarn Alliance. If you joined the Alliance in March, you need to get on the Alliance Mailing List by letting me know it’s ok for me to sign you up. If you’re already a member of the Alliance, go ahead and shoot me a quick email with “PUT ME ON THE ISYA MAILING LIST!” and so I can get you signed up.
And if you’re not a member of the InterStellar Yarn Alliance? The Alliance is currently open for subscriptions, but only for another four days, so come and join us now!
Phew! Ok, I think that’s a bit better. Lesson learnt: I must never blog or email before coffee!
The PLY Party was seriously crazy! There were so many people that, at moments, I hardly knew where to stand. It’s so much fun when it gets like that… when everyone’s starting to get a bit high on the fiber!
But, before I tell you all about it, I just want to let you know that there are only FOUR DAYS LEFT to join the InterStellar Yarn Alliance. This is the SpaceCadet’s Cosmic Yarn Club and it is a BLAST! Click here to read more about it, or just click on the button below to join now…
Ok, back to the PLY Party… First, yeah, it was crazy, and then when it calmed down a little… well, that was really nice too, because I got to chat with some really great people. A couple of them were members of the InterStellar Yarn Alliance: one I’d met before in person (and who had such nice things to say about the Alliance that she actually made me blush!) and one whom I’d known only through the forums — what a lovely surprise to get to meet her in person!
I also ended up in a conversation with a brand-new crocheter and showed her a couple of exciting patterns on Ravelry, so (I hope) I helped to get her even more excited about new yarny adventures. And I had a wonderful conversation about England with a lady who’d lived there for years. Really joyed meeting everyone!
But after a show… exhaustion. And yet, there’s so much to do! First, I have to fill the shop back up after emptying it for the show. That was supposed to happen Tuesday — I’m hoping to get it done today. Check in throughout the day to see if I manage to do it…!
But more exciting than that are some great things on the horizon…
First, I’m working on an ebook: a short introduction to using hand-dyed yarns and choosing patterns that will bring out their best. I know hand-dyeds can be a little daunting to some knitters and crocheters — all those crazy colours! — so this will be a quick guide on how to understand them and get started without fear. It should be done in the next month or so, so if that sounds like what you’re looking for, be sure you’re signed up the newsletter to get first dibs!
Speaking of newsletters, I’m about to send out the first InterStellar Yarn Alliance newsletter with exclusive offers just for members. This is a new feature for the Yarn Alliance, so if you’re already a member, please make sure you’ve told me it’s ok to sign you up to the mailing list so you don’t miss out on the offers. (We value your privacy, so of course we will never put you on a mailing list that you haven’t requested to join. Just fire an email to me with “PUT ME ON THE ISYA MAILING LIST!” and I’ll get you on it straight away!).
And… there’s another Super Secret Thing in the works. I can’t say any more about it, but I am so excited, I’m ready to burst! All puffed up and ready to burst! (…That was a hint. Did you get it?) The Super Secret Thing will be ready nearer the end of September — again, make sure you’re on the mailing list to hear about it first.
So, lots of exciting stuff going on. And, also… the post-show exhaustion. It’s sooooo not a good combination. sigh… Could someone please grab me a coffee?
It’s going to be an exciting weekend! We’re packing up all the yarns and heading to Baltimore for Lovelyarn‘s PLY (Peace, Love, Yarn) Party on Sunday, and — so long as the rain holds off — I think it’s going to be a blast!
The PLY Party is a gathering of the indie dyers that Lovelyarns carries in their shop, selling their yarns in person and getting to meet the customers (and that last bit is the part I’m really looking forward to). If you’re anywhere in the Baltimore area this weekend, please do come to the party!
Here’s all the details:
Lovelyarn’s PLY (Peace, Love, Yarn) Party
Sunday, September 11th from 12noon – 6:00pm The party starts inside Lovelyarns at 846 W. 36th St. Baltimore, MD 21211
with a beautiful array of complimentary food, drink (and cupcakes!)
Then go through the shop to enter the THREE TENTS in the backyard parking pad. And for even more incentive, five door prize bags full of goodies will be given away!
—————————————————————————————————-
Now, because we’ll be taking most of our stock to the PLY Party, I will be emptying the Etsy shop for the weekend. I’ll probably do that on Saturday night and hope to get it opened up again early next week (Subscriptions to the InterStellar Yarn Alliance will of course remain available over the weekend).
And this is the first time I’ve ever done the PLY party, but I’m told it’s really popular and gets a bit crazy. …So if there’s anything in the shop that’s been calling your name, you might want to grab it now, because there’s no telling if we’ll still have it next week!
Ok… (looks around)… ok, I think everyone’s got their parcels by now, so I think I’m safe to share the latest InterStellar Yarn Alliance parcel…
The light has changed recently, as summer turns into autumn. There’s something more golden about its cast, it falls at gentler angle. The aura of the end of summer is unmistakeable, and I wanted to capture that in a yarn.
Merino/Bamboo/Nylon fingering yarn in End Of Summer
So I chose this gorgeous 80% Superwash Merino, 20% Bamboo, 10% Nylon fingering weight, because Bamboo really captures the light to create a beautiful sheen across the yarn. And then I dyed it in the shades of summer fields, as the grass turns to a deeper shade of green, and then begins to fade to gold.
To me, these colours perfectly capture the End of Summer. And so that’s exactly what I named it!
Colourway: End Of Summer
.
And here’s something really fun: this month, I had Debbie at Divine Scentsations create some wonderful, hand-made soaps for the Yarn Alliance members. She did four scents — Lavender, Peppermint Leaf, Lemongrass Tea, and Citrus Lavender — and they are incredible! I can show you pictures but… oh! If only you could smell them!
Soaps from Divine Scentsations
One of the Alliance members said she knew she had Lavender even before she opened the package. Thesesoaps smell amazing! I kept trying to pick my favourite scent but… it’s impossible. They’re all really different but soooo delicious.
Yay for InterStellar Yarn Alliance goodies!
————————————————————————————————–
Don’t forget, the InterStellar Yarn Alliance is open for subscriptions right now (and will close again after September 17). To find out more about the great stuff that Alliance members get, click here. And if you want to join the Alliance and be a part of all this fun, just click on the button below…
I am so excited about this! It’s the 2nd of September and that means…
(drumroll please)…
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is open for subscriptions!
What is the InterStellar Yarn Alliance? It’s the SpaceCadet’s fantastic yarn club, and it’s a hell of lot of fun. If you like SpaceCadet yarns, you’ll love being in the Alliance.
Each member will receive an exciting parcel delivered every other month containing:
SpaceCadetTM 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.
Parcels will be sent out in late October, December, February, April, June, and August. 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.
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.
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!
Merino/Nylon fingering weight yarn in "Half-Light"
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!
—————————————————————————————————–
Merino/bamboo/nylon fingering weight yarn in "Torment"
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.
Merino/nylon fingering weight yarn in "Plunge"
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!)
