In every home across the country this week, the scene will be exactly the same… There will be mixing bowls filled with the most amazing treasures, and pots gently bubbling on the stove. There will be the old favourites and new recipes, last minute changes and quick saves when things go wrong. A pinch of this and a dash of that…
And it’s been no different here. Well… ok, then, maybe a wee bit different here in the SpaceCadet house. Here’s what I’ve been busily cooking up this week…
You may have noticed that there was no shop update on Monday, as there usually is. Nor on Tuesday, which is when I usually do the update if Monday gets too busy. There were yarns ready — drying, or in the process of being reskeined, some weighed, some tagged… But I was not ready.
I was flat on my back in agony and holding as still as I possibly could. Over the weekend, my neck and shoulder had seized up completely and, man oh man it hurt! I mean, they’ve seized up before, a few times in my life, but never like this. Imagine, if you will, me lying on my back in bed, with no pillow, nothing to contort my spine away from the support of the mattress, and I moved my foot — just my foot! — and it sent a spasm of pain shooting up through my shoulder and my neck and wrapped right around over my skull all the way to my eyes. That kind of agony.
Stella yarn in Faded Garland
The doctor is satisfied that it is muscular and not skeletal (I was worried), and I now have some painkillers the size of horse-pills that are working a small miracle. Bit by bit, I am gaining more mobility — and having to remind myself not to rush it, that everything can wait… even though I am desperate to get back work. There were so many exciting things happening this week, and so many wonderful yarns!
Celeste Yarn in Stewed Cranberry
And so keen was I to get them in the shop that I took advantage of those pills and pushed myself a bit too hard yesterday. The result is that there are now some lovely yarns in the shop …and, I am flat on my back again today. Not anything like before, but just a little reminder from my muscles they are not to be trifled with and I must respect them and take things slooooowly.
Luna Laceweight Yarn in Rapeseed
But I did get some really exiting stuff into the shop… There’s enough Megan’s Frost to make a sweater — with two more skeins of Frost waiting to go into the shop as soon as I’m able. And there’s four skeins of Stewed Cranberry, with two more in the studio ready to be reskeined. A beautiful skein of Laceweight in the most amazing golden-yellow. And a skein of Stella in a lovely, quirky colourway called Faded Garland. Enjoy!
There are some designers whom I admire hugely, and some whom I just want to sit and absorb knitting knowledge from, and some whose stars have shot so high into the knitsphere that I’d be awed just to meet them. But there is only one designer that I genuinely like so much that I want to sit down and a pour a nice cup of tea, and spend half an hour knitting with her each week. And… I do!
Brenda Dayne produces Cast-On, my absolute favourite knitting podcast and the most relaxing half-hour in my week. She is (as I was until a couple of years ago) an American expat living in Britain and, in between her interesting and entertaining pieces about knitting and spinning and dyeing, she also paints pictures of her home in west Wales that take me straight there. Cast-On is an absolute delight.
And even if I weren’t a fan of Brenda’s, I’d want to show you this design for the name alone, but her Brother Amos Hellfire Lace Socks are worth knitting not just because of Brenda, and not just because of the name (Hellfire..? Lace..? How did those two words end up side-by-side?!?) but because it is a gorgeous design. I love the way the lace flickers up the leg (what better to keep your feet warm as winter sets in?), and I know the stitch pattern would be interesting to knit without being too daunting.
And they’re beautiful, aren’t they? Just beautiful!
These socks call for a yarn that lives up to their fiery name, and I think they’d would really… (ahem!)… glow in the warm colours of Ball of Fire or Sunset Over a Stormy Sea. Don’t you?
Celeste yarn in Ball of FireCeleste yarn in Sunset Over a Stormy Sea
I expect that by the time many of you read this, Halloween will be last night’s old news, but we are still in the midst of Trick-or-Treating — the doorbell is ringing and every time I open the door, I am greeted by fairy princesses, butterflies, kitty-cats, football players, ghosts and zombies. All of them are filled with joy, holding out their bags in excited anticipation, and enjoying themselves immensely. This holiday is so much fun!
And when once the doorbell stops ringing, we will sit down with a cup of hot cider and whatever is left of the candy, and I will pull out my knitting. Perfect.
Wait…! You’re confused? Nobody likes green? Well, that comes from a story that a friend of mine tells, of a time when she popped into her local yarn shop to buy some green yarn to knit a gift for a friend. But she couldn’t find any green yarn — not any — so she asked where it was. And the reply came without a moment’s pause, “We don’t sell green because nobody likes green.”
Every time I dye green, I feel like such a rebel. Or… wait! Does dyeing green make me a nobody? It’s so confusing!
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And, just in case it’s true and, really, nobody likes green, I dyed some blues too. Because everybody loves blue… don’t they?
Clockwise from top left: Celeste fingering weight yarn in Faded,
The contest to win a $25 SpaceCadet Gift Certificate ends tonight, so — quick! — make sure you’re entered! All you have to do is go the SpaceCadet Creations Facebook page and click the “Like” button right at the top — and that’s it, you’re in with a chance!
After that, you can earn up to four additional entries by:
