Things My Non-Knitting Sister Says: This Time, It’s Physical

22AprApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

If you attended either the Pittsburgh Knit and Crochet Festival or HomeSpun Yarn Party this year, you might have met my sister. She was the one running the credit card machine and handing the cash, and she does a great job at that, but she doesn’t know anything about knitting. She lives her life blissfully unaware of all things fiber-related (though I’m not quite sure how that can possibly be blissful!), except when I call and ask if she’d lend a hand.

knitting, yarn, sock yarn, handdyed, indie dyer — Celeste yarn in Baroque

So the whole fiber-festival thing was completely new to her, and it took her pretty much completely by surprise. I think she might have been expecting sweet little old ladies and crocheted toilet paper covers…

Her first words, as we walked past the huge line of fiber-fanatics waiting for the doors to open, were, “People are here already?!? They’re waiting?!?” Her eyes were wide with surprise, and I stopped myself from giggling. She really didn’t know what she was in for.

But she got her second clue a few minutes after the festival got started. We were sitting near to one of the entrances and a woman walked in, went right up to my sister, with a face that looked almost frantic, and exclaimed, “I’m so excited!!!” before rushing off into the crowd.

knitting, yarn, sock yarn, indie dyer, handdyed — Celeste yarn in Cove

“These people are crazy!” my sister said, looking a little frantic herself. “That lady actually grabbed me when she said that! What’s going on?!?”

I couldn’t stop myself laughing now. When you’re a fiber-freak yourself, when you knit and spin every chance you get, when you’re surrounded by all this all the time, you forget that this doesn’t look normal to outsiders. You forget that it seems a bit, well.. yeah… crazy.

But it’s not. It’s perfectly normal. You and I know that. …And my sister will come ’round in time.

yarn, knitting, handdyed, indie dyer, sock yarn — Lucina yarn in Most Ardently

A Surprising Yarn for Summer Knitting

15AprApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Note from the SpaceCadet: My friend Natalie (peacethrufiber on Ravelry and Twitter) is a fantastic knitter and spinner who creates amazing garments with yarns she spins almost exclusively on spindles.

The SpaceCadet and I were talking the other day about summer knitting and summer yarn. She asked me what I knit with most during the warmer months, and I think I surprised her when I answered, “Wool.”

summer knitting, yarn, wool, handdyed, sock yarn, space cadet, spacecadet, indie dyer — Celeste yarn in a one-of-a-kind colourway

But if you think about it, summer knitting with wool makes a lot of sense.

First there are the qualities that make knitters love wool for winter knitting, such as great stitch definition and memory. These things are just as true in the summer as they are in the winter.

Then there’s the way wool feels on the needles. I knit cotton, linen and other more traditional, cellulose based summer yarns, but I can only knit with them for so long before the stiffness of the yarn starts to tire my hands. Then it’s back to the soft and pleasant hand of wool, with a grateful sigh.

Finally, there’s the fact that, done right, wool is really an excellent choice for summer wearing in addition to summer knitting. People often think of wool garments as cold weather gear but, in fact ,wool is much more versatile than that. It actually regulates temperature, keeping the wearer warm in cold weather, and cool in warm weather. Add in its fantastic moisture-wicking properties, and it starts to look a lot more attractive for summer.

knitting, yarn, wool, summer knitting, spacecadet, space cadet, handdyed, indie dyer, sock yarn — Celeste yarn knit on US size 8 needles (5mm)

Of course, if you pull on a heavy, worsted-weight wool sweater in the middle of July, you will probably end up uncomfortable. Fortunately, there’s no need. There has been a little flurry of garment patterns written over the last few years using fingering and lace weight yarns at a loose gauge to create light, breezy, warm weather garments. I’ve already started a fingering-weight wool sweater for this summer, and am totally enjoying it. I’m using a size 8 needle, and the resulting fabric is soft, sheer and gauzy. I’m looking forward to wearing it on vacation in June!

What are you going to be knitting this summer? Got any patterns in mind that will look great in a skinny wool yarn on big needles?

knitting, yarn, sock yarn, summer knitting, handdyed, indie dyer, spacecadet, space cadet — Skinny wool yarn, big needles... airy and light.

Shop Update: Yarns for Spring in All Her Guises!

12AprApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Spring is a conundrum. One day it’s gloriously sunny and warm, and the next has a chill wind and grey skies. Spring is a tease. Spring is frustrating! Spring is fickle…

And today’s shop update reminds me a lot of Spring. Some of the colourways are light and bright and sunny, full of the colours of newly opened buds and warm days to come. And some of the colourways are dark and brooding, the days of wet and drizzle that are so necessary to process of Spring’s unfurling…

From left to right, starting top-left: Celeste yarn in African Violets, Poppies in the Fields, and Tiger Lilies; Estelle yarn in a Dept of Rocket Science colourway, Celeste in Baroque, Celeste in Carnival; Estelle in Cold Flame, Translucence, and Grave Goods; Estelle in Hieroglyphics, a Dept of Rocket Science colourway, and Celeste in Grave Goods.

Pattern RollCall: The Knits You Loved at HSYP!

05AprApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

At HomeSpun Yarn Party, we had finished two pieces that got so many comments, so many questions, so many compliments, that I knew they had to be showcased in a Pattern Rollcall!

Paint the Sky

The first was the Paint the Sky wrap by Susan Wolcott of Y2Knit, a beautiful rectangular scarf with delicate yarn overs that rise up the length of it like bubbles through water. Knit in a semi-solid yarn, the pattern would really shine, but done in a varigated yarn, it becomes an absolute gorgeous riot of colour.

We knit ours in one skein of Lucina yarn in a gentle pink-and-purple colourway called Sweet Dreams, and it was gorgeous! But it would look stunning in any of these yarns that have just gone in the shop:

yarn, hand-dyed, sock yarn — (clockwise from upper left): Lucina sparkly yarn in Most Ardently, Swollen, Carnival, and Baroque

.

Fleurdelise

The second finished piece that got so much attention was the Fleurdelise One Skein Triangle Shawl by Michelle Miller of Fickle Knitter Designs.

This was knit for me by my friend Natalie (as my birthday present!) using one skein of Lucina in SouthEasterly, a yarn that is varigated but all without a great deal of contrast in the colours. With a more complicated lace pattern like this, it often works best to use a yarn that’s either semi-solid or has a simpler change of colours. Personally, I’d love to see how it comes out in two of our most popular colourways, Sugared Violets and Beguile.

yarn, sock yarn, hand-dyed — (left to right) Lucina Yarn in Sugared Violets and Beguile

You can see why these patterns got so much attention at HSYP, can’t you? So beautiful!

Last Day to Join the InterStellar Yarn Alliance!

31MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Sunday was the HomeSpun Yarn Party and we had a FABULOUS time!!!! Thank you to everyone who came out to Savage Mill — it was great to meet you all, and to talk about yarns and fibery things. You guys made it so much fun!

And SpaceCadet yarn was popular too. The booth was packed for most of the day…

spacecadet, space cadet, yarn, sock yarn, knitting, hand dyed — The booth was packed!

We really didn’t expect to be so mobbed — at times the line seemed to extend right out of the booth space itself!

hsyp, spacecadet, space cadet, yarn, sock yarn, knitting — The line!

.And it’s wonderful to get that kind of support, but we were very sorry that our customers had to stand in line so long to buy our yarn. So, we’ve all talked it through and come up with a couple of ideas that should make everything a bit faster and easier for our customers next year.

Speaking of fast… The opening time for subscriptions to the SpaceCadet’s yarn club has flown by: Today is the last day to sign up for the InterStellar Yarn Alliance!!! If you’ve been thinking about it, wanting to do it…. but haven’t made it happen yet, sign up TODAY! You can click here to read all the details of the club, or click here to go straight to the shop and sign up. Come on! We’d love to have you join us!

And finally, we’ve been busy this week getting things organised and getting yarns back in the shop. There are some in there now, but lots and lots more to go in over the next few days — and lots of new colourways. Keep your eyes open for them!

(And, just between you and me, if you liked Beguile and Sugared Violets — the chocolate-and-pink and chocolate-and-purple yarns that sold out at Pittsburgh Knit&Crochet — make sure you keep checking in!)

Emptying the Shop!

25MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Don’t panic! There’s a good reason to empty the shop and it’s only temporary. More on that further down. But first, we head out this weekend to Savage, Maryland to be part of the HomeSpun Yarn Party on Sunday, and this place is a flurry of activity getting last-minute prep done. And I know I mentioned in my last post what a busy time it’s been around here, but I did I forget to mention what an exciting time it’s been? I think I did..

Profiled on the HomeSpun Yarn Party website

Exciting is not just because of all the prep Homespun, but also because HomeSpun Yarn Party did a feature post about SpaceCadet Creations on their website. It was such a rush to see our name and our yarns up there with all the other fantastic indie dyers and spinners who go to HomeSpun!

.

Interviewed on Falling Stitches

And, to add exciting on top of exciting, the designer Ariane Caron-Lacote interviewed me on her blog, Falling Stitches. I’ve been a fan of her designs for a while, and I was so delighted that she asked me to be interviewed. Pop over and have a read and, while you’re at it, check out her designs (including my favourite, Dalia).

Emptying the Shop

I will remove most of the yarns and fiber from the shop while we’re at Homespun (to ensure that we don’t inadvertently sell any of the same yarns twice!), but I will get everything back in again as quickly as possible. I will probably take the stock out on Saturday night, and then you can look for the shop to be fully stocked again sometime between Sunday night and Tuesday morning. If there’s something in the shop right now that you really love, grab it now!

And, of course, I will keep the subscription buttons for the InterStellar Yarn Alliance live, so that you join and become a member any time you like! Remember, there’s less than a week left to sign up for the Yarn Alliance — subscriptions close March 31, 2011!