Oh, What to Cast On?!? Ombre Mini-Skeins!

I had a little dilemma last week: it was knit night, but both of my current WIPs* were at either the point of dividing for the sleeves (that’d be my Vitamin D) or joining in the sleeves (that was my The Old Man and The Sea).  I knew I wouldn’t really enjoy trying to do either whilst carrying on the kind of lively conversations we always have at knit night, so I needed to cast on something that was simple and would be fun to work on while nattering the evening away.

I wandered through Ravelry a bit (…a bit? Is it even possible to wander through Ravelry’s pattern library just a bit?), and asked for suggestions on Twitter.  And though I found so many gorgeous patterns, nothing was jumping out at me as the perfect knit night cast-on.  Maybe, I thought with a shrug, maybe I’ll just have to deal with it and do the sleeves at knit night.

And then, as I turned to go up the stairs, I suddenly spotted the extra bundles of our first ever Ombre Mini-Skein Club parcels and instantly knew what I needed to do.

 

The SpaceCadet's new Ombre & Gradient Mini-Skein Club Parcels

Aren’t they gorgeous?  The colourway is Tranquility**, which is a mix of deep purples, red purples, and a very intriguing splash of gray-purple.  I’ve loved this colourway since the moment I pulled it out of the dyepot and, yet, I’d never grabbed a skein for myself.  But I suddenly thought, now that all the Mini-Skein Club parcels had gone out…  why not?

I have to tell you, I think they might be even more adorable once they’re wound into teeny tiny balls.  Don’t you agree?

 

The SpaceCadet's Ombre & Gradient Mini-Skein Club bundle

I needed another skein for the main colour, and chose Sliver, an incredibly gentle and ethereal gray that looks stunning against the dark purples and then almost disappears into the lightest purples.  I know I could have picked something contrasting for more impact (Sage? or maybe even Fizz?), but I really liked that subtle synchronicity that Sliver brought to the Mini-Skeins.

 

The SpaceCadet's Ombre & Gradient Mini-Skein Club bundles

And so I cast on…  Leftie by Martina Behm — the perfect simple and fun knit night project!  So straight-forward and so addictive…  Just increasing along one side, adding leaves on the other, and counting quick progress stripe by stripe.

And I went off to knit night a very happy girl indeed!

Click Here to Learn More about the SpaceCadet's Mini-Skein Club

 


The Pau Hana KAL

We are getting super excited for the Pau Hana KAL starting on October 17!  A gorgeous new design by Mel of Singlehanded Knits, Pau Hana uses the SpaceCadet’s Ombre & Gradient Kits to create a casual, laid-back sweater that’s perfect for chilling out when the work day is done.   And the KAL is a fab opportunity to knit it in camaraderie and support of a whole community of great knitters!  Want to join us?  Click here for all the details!

 


*in case WIP is new to you, it means “work in progress” …and I usually have a lot more WIPs than FOs (“finished object”). It’s just how I roll.

**There’s also a colourway called Tranquility Blue.  It’s much the same as Tranquility but, y’know…  more blue.  I was just playing with different colourways one day, and came up with them and liked them both so much I decided to dye more of each.  But then I got confused somewhere along the line and called them both Tranquility.  Oops.  So I added “Blue” to one of them.  It’s confusing, I know.  But better than if I hadn’t added “Blue” and just let you all join me in my confusion.  Right?   …Right?

Announcing… Pau Hana!

I have an announcement.  But before the announcement, I have a little funny story that I want to share with you.  My friend Mel, otherwise known as MSkiKnits of the Singlehanded Knits podcast (you watch it, right? because, seriously, she records on the beaches of Kauai)…  Anyway, Mel has been busy designing a fantastic pattern with a SpaceCadet Ombre & Gradient Kit — actually, two patterns, and here’s where the funny bit comes in…  because she hadn’t named one of  patterns yet, so she kept referring to as “the sweater”.  But when she said that, I somehow got the wrong sweater in my mind.

So she was phoning me up and asking questions about the kits and how they would work with the pattern.  And I was happily answering her questions.  And sometimes it all suddenly wouldn’t seem to make any sense to me and I’d paused confusedly… or sometimes she’d pause…  But then we’d get ourselves back on track and everything would seem fine again.

MSkiKnit's Pau Hana knit in a SpaceCadet Creations Ombre & Gradient Kit

 

And then the other week, she told me that the pattern was ready for release at last.  Hoorah!  But as she went on to describe the details, suddenly it all started to not make sense again.  And so I finally owned up to my utter confusion and said, “Hang on, Mel.  What… wait, what exactly are we talking about?”  And that’s when she and I suddenly realised that the entire time we’d been talking — through all those phone calls — she’d been asking about one sweater, and I’d been answering about a comletely different sweater!

*sigh*  …SpaceCadet indeed.

Not to worry, the pattern is gorgeous.  The yarn works with it beautifully.  You’re going to love this!

And now the announcement…

MSkiKnit's Pau Hana knit in a SpaceCadet Creations Ombre & Gradient Kit

This is Pau Hana

Pau Hana is a beautiful Dolman style sweater by MSkiKnits of the Singlehanded Knits podcast, designed completely around SpaceCadet Creations Ombré & Gradient Kits, to capture one of the hottest trends in colour right now.

Pau Hana is knit top down,with a beautiful center panel pattern repeated in the cuffs and bottom edge detail. Front and back panels are knit side to side in parts and joined together in the round beneath the arms. After joining, a series of decreases gently shape the sweater to flatter all figures. Upper and lower bottom arm seaming is simple and enjoyable.

The positive ease in this sweater makes it perfect…for all sizes, all layering choices, all seasons.

Want to see this sweater live? Head HERE for a peek at it on Mel on the blog and in the podcast on the beach in Hawaii at sunset!

MSkiKnit's Pau Hana knit in a SpaceCadet Creations Ombre & Gradient Kit

The Pau Hana Kit

And, hey, guess what?  In celebration of the pattern’s release, I’m doing a limited number of Pau Hana kits!   The kits are created with Lyra, the SpaceCadet’s gorgeously sproingy sport weight, and each kit includes:

  • either four skeins for size XS, S,  and M (32″, 34″, 36″ bust)
  • or five skeins for sizes L, XL, XXL (40″, 42″, 44″ bust)
  • a FREE copy of the Pau Hana pattern with five pages of detailed directions
  • an instructional video, provided exclusively with each SpaceCadet Pau Hana kit purchase, which explains how to weigh yarn, join and transition most effectively.

The SpaceCadet's Pau Hana Ombre & Gradient Kits!

To buy a Pau Hana kit, click the button below and then be sure to choose a colourway option that is marked “Pau Hana” to ensure you get the pattern and bonus video.

Click here to buy a SpaceCadet Pau Hana Kit!

(These kits are limited in quantity but, if we run out, I’ll open the listing to pre-orders for as many more kits as I have yarn in stock.  If you click over and there are none left, be sure to come back shortly to nab one of the pre-orders!)

The KAL

And look, if a whole bunch of you are grabbing a kit and casting on, we might as well make this a party, right?  So let’s turn this into a Pau Hana KAL!

The Pau Hana Knitalong is a fabulous way to knit this gorgeous jumper in the company a whole bunch of other excited and enthusiastic knitters!

You’ll be able to share your progress, get support and extra instruction on the best way to use the intriguing colour changes of the Ombre and Gradient Kits, and enjoy the camaraderie as we all work through this beautiful project together.  It’s gotta be the very best way to knit — c’mon and join us!

MSkiKnit's Pau Hana knit in a SpaceCadet Creations Ombre & Gradient Kit

The KAL will begin in mid-October and run for about six weeks.  Each week there will be benchmark goals to help keep you on track, but you don’t have to worry — everyone can work at their own pace, and the only requirement is that your share your progress and help us all cheer each other along.

Ready to join the fun?  All the updates and information will be post on the SpaceCadet’s Ravelry page.  Click here to join the group, and then say hello in the Welcome thread!

I can’t wait to get started, can you?  Ok, who’s in?

The SpaceCadet's Pau Hana Ombre & Gradient Kits!