Meet Alasdair Post-Quinn, Double-Knitting Master!

26MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

This weekend is the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival — always fantastic fiber-filled fun! — and one of the things I’m most excited about is hosting festival headliner, Alasdair Post-Quinn, for book-signings in our booth.

Alasdair is a knitter, teacher, Craftsy instructor, author (Extreme Double-Knitting from Coop Press), and a world-expert on double-knitting, a technique which can be used to make knitted fabric with no wrong side. I sat him down this week to get to know him better but, before I share our conversation, I want to let you know why you should make a bee-line for our booth at the festival (and if you can’t get to the festival, do scroll down and read the interview — Alasdair’s an interesting guy!).

Head Straight for the SpaceCadet Booth at Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet

We’re bringing amazing get-it-while-you-can stuff to this festival and, for the best selection, you’ll want to stop by our booth as early as you can. Here’s what we’ll have at the show:

A Whole WALL of One-of-a-Kind Colourways — We’ve been doing a lot of experimentation and playing with colour in the last few months, and have hundreds of skeins in eye-popping colourways that we may never repeat again — a whole wall of amazing colour. Stop in and see them before anyone else grabs your skein!

Our Show Exclusive Colourway (picture above) — This year’s colourway is stunning! Layer upon layer of colour, the more you look at it, the more colours start to reveal themselves. Knitting or crocheting with this will be amazing — an adventure in colour that changes with every stitch. Available only at our spring shows, we tried to dye enough for everyone — we hope we have — but we sell out every single year…

Sweater Kits in Semi-Solids and Gorgeous Gradients — Want to knit a whole sweater but hate having to dig out enough skeins in a crowded booth? We’ve put together our favourite colourways and our favourite yarns in beautiful Sweater Kits to make it easy for you. Best of all, lots of them are in Lyra, our fantastic sport-weight that everyone raves about for its beautiful stitch definition and smooshy sproingy-ness.

Mauna Kea in Person — If you love the beautiful Mauna Kea pattern, come and see it in person! We’ll have a sample in our blockbuster “Tickled” colourway — and our Sweater Kits are the perfect way to cast it on.

Join the Yarn Alliance — This weekend is your last chance to join the InterStellar Yarn Alliance, the SpaceCadet’s premier yarn club. If you haven’t had a chance to sign up or you’ve got questions about the club, talk to us at the festival and we’ll be happy to take care of everything right in our booth!

Book-Signings with Alasdair Post-Quinn — We’re thrilled to have festival headliner Alasdair in our booth to sign copies of his amazing book Extreme Double-Knitting. Come and meet him in person, get his take on knitting, and find out why he thinks double-knitting is where it’s at. Alasdair will be in our booth Friday from 1.30-2.30pm, and Saturday from 1-2pm.

And speaking of Alasdair, join me as I get the chance to chat and get know him better…

An Interview with Alasdair Post-Quinn, Master of Double-Knitting

What got you into knitting? Where did you learn and how did that then turn into design?

Knitting was always “around” while I was growing up in Vermont — my mother knitted, my grandmother knitted, but despite the fact that I was a crafty child, they never taught me. Something about pointy sticks, I assume. I ended up learning in college, when I went to a craft-sharing event to teach origami — something I’ve been doing since I was very young. Nobody came to my origami session so I wandered around to see what else was being taught. I sat in on a knitting class and was immediately hooked. However, I was still more or less on my own — I picked up yarn and needles at the local shop but mostly taught myself how to purl and tackle other techniques. Because I didn’t know about all the resources available — and of course this was pre-Ravelry — I was designing my own stuff from the very beginning. Many knitters get stuck working from other people’s patterns; I rarely did so I don’t have the mental block attached to designing that some knitters do.

I have to admit, when I look at double-knitting on the needles, I’m a little frightened! What draws you to double-knitting? And how do you make it less intimidating for your students?

Some of the first things I designed were Moebius scarves — just short scarves in a reversible stitch pattern, joined end-to-end with a twist. I think that early tendency toward reversibility primed me for double-knitting. When I found it in the back of an out-of-print book in the local library, I knew I could have some fun with it. I love the reversibility, of course, but I also love the fact that it allows for colorwork patterns that aren’t limited by strand length or number of color changes in a row. And the more I work in it, the more possibilities I find — so I’m also drawn to the element of discovery. However, at its heart it’s just a knit-purl technique. The basic technique is hardly more difficult than 1×1 ribbing. There are details that make it more challenging, but you don’t need to learn them all at once. I make it less intimidating, I think, the same way any good teacher makes any new material less intimidating: by starting with the basics and building on them slowly, by remaining patient, and by adapting my teaching style to various learning styles.

If someone picked up a copy of your book, Extreme Double-Knitting, and decided to dive right in and try double-knitting for the first time, what advice would give them to make their first attempt as smooth as possible? Is there a part of the book they definitely should not miss?

One thing to remember about Extreme Double-Knitting is that the title is a description of the eventual result — not of the entire content. It starts with the basics, and each chapter gives you a new technique or two and then a pattern or two so you can put your new knowledge into practice. Most of the projects are small pieces; I don’t want to force someone to do a sweater just so they can learn increases and decreases. The largest projects are actually the two most basic. The reason for this is that part of learning a new technique is building muscle memory. If you’ve done a whole double-knit scarf or baby blanket, you’re much better suited to going to the next level, wherever that may be. Your fingers will remember the basic technique and adding new concepts is just that much easier.

I’m not sure if I could pick a single section that everyone should see — since everyone is different and will probably get something different out of this book. I guess the important thing is that you’ll probably find something to learn in almost every section — even if you assume you know it already. So even if you’re a seasoned double-knitter, maybe check out the intro chapters before moving into the new stuff you really want to learn. And if you find I really don’t have anything to teach you in those sections, I hope you’ll at least glean a better understanding of how I think about double-knitting and won’t find your time wasted.

Your parallax patterns are absolutely eye-popping! I think it takes a special kind of mind to create 2-dimensional optical illusions like that. How did you come up with them? Do you have a specialist background (such as graphic design) that helped you create them, or do they just come naturally to you?

Like most artists, I don’t work in a vacuum. The Parallax patterns are inspired by the op-art of the 60s and 70s, by overshot weaving patterns, and by my high school art teacher, Mr. Eddy. As a child, I was given op-art coloring books, and played with cartesian grid puzzles. In art class, I remember an exercise where we warped pictures by transposing them square-by-square onto a warped grid. But even in textiles, quilting and weaving often use optical illusions similar to these designs — it’s just not all that common in knitting.

You’re going to have a busy weekend at the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival! You’re teaching classes, doing book-signings in the SpaceCadet booth, and judging the fashion show. What are you looking forward to the most?

Honestly, I’m looking forward most to meeting new people and making new converts to the esoteric art of double-knitting — which can happen anywhere. I’ve never judged a fashion show before, so that’ll be new and interesting, even if I feel a little out of my depth.

Don’t worry, you’ll be fine — we’re friendly in Pittsburgh! So, what are you working on next? Are you taking double-knitting in new directions?

I am working on a new book, tentatively entitled “Double or Nothing”, where I’ll start as I left off in EDK, further expanding the boundaries of the double-knitting universe. I’ve got to cover double-knit cables, double-knit lace, double-knit entrelac, double-knit intarsia, and more. I’m working on new patterns for all of these, and a few will be released beforehand but many patterns will end up only in the book. I expect it to come out in 2016 if all goes well.

I so enjoyed talking with Alasdair — and I hope you will come to the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival and meet him (and say hi to us too!). But if you can’t make it, that’s ok, here’s where you can find Alasdair in person and on the web:

Live Events:

April 17-19, Loveland, CO: Interweave Yarn Fest
April 23-25, Nashville, TN: Stitches South
August 6-8, Schaumburg, IL: Stitches Midwest
September 17-20, Irving, TX: Stitches Texas

Website: http://www.double-knitting.com
Blog: http://www.fallingblox.com
Ravelry group: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/fallingblox-designs
Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/fallingblox
Twitter: @fallingblox
Email list: http://eepurl.com/mXjdf

Six Ways to Get the Most of Yarn Shows and Festivals

17MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

As we are prepping madly for HomeSpun Yarn Party this weekend (March 22 in Savage MD) and the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival next weekend (March 27-29 in Pittsburgh PA), I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how to make a yarn show or festival really spectacular — for us as vendors but also for you as an attendee. And while you might think that’s pretty straightforward — just walk around and look at all the lovely yarn, right? — there are actually some specific things you can do to get the most out of the yarn shows and festivals you attend this year. Here are six of the best:

Tip #1: First, GO!!!

This one is crazy, right? I mean, of course you go! But it’s surprising the number of knitters and crocheters I meet at trunk shows or other events who tell me they’ve never been to a yarn festival. And I totally get it — there are crowds and parking issues, and maybe a distance to drive (or… heh heh… maybe some self-control issues…?) — but the experience is totally worth it. This is your opportunity to not only take classes and meet other like-minded folks, but also to spot new design and colour trends, and to “meet” in person the yarns you would otherwise be able to see only online.

So take this opportunity to explore every booth and snorgle all that lovely yarn. At SpaceCadet, some of our most delicious yarns just don’t sell online. It makes me crazy that our customers can’t tell how incredibly soft that extra cashmere makes Aurora (at 20% cashmere, it is amazingly softer than yarns with just 10%!). They can’t see how subtle and beautiful Lucina’s sparkles are through a computer monitor. And though I’ve managed to capture the sheen of Maia in photographs, how can that also show its incredible softness and drape? As wonderful as these yarns are, their best qualities come alive only when you see them in person. If you’re looking online, you’re getting only half the story. So come to the show and meet in person the yarns you’ve been curious about — it’s a completely different experience!

Tip #2: Head to your Favourite Vendors’ Booths First

Though it may seem easiest to just wander around the festival and look at the booths as you come to them, there’s a real advantage to checking out the show map and head to the your favourite vendors’ booths first. We often debut fantastic new yarns and products at our shows, and they can sell out fast. This year, we have an amazing Show Exclusive Colourway that I think you’re going to love — it’s just wonderful, with layers and layers of colour that seem to reveal themselves afresh every time you look at it. We’ve dyed what we hope is plenty — but shows are so unpredictable that it’s always worth getting to our booth early so you’re not disappointed.

So take five minutes when you first arrive at a festival to sit down with the show map and quickly work out which booths you really want to see, and head for those first. Or, even better, look at the map online before you even get there — it makes the anticipation that much more fun and, I promise, you’ll be so glad when you snag the sell-out yarn of the show before anyone else even sees it!

Tip #3: Check Out the Show’s Special Events

Many shows have more than just classes and a market — giveaways, designer talks, and fashion shows all add to the fun. You don’t want to miss any of those — and some of them are last minute additions — so make sure you check not only the show’s programme, but also your favourite vendors’ websites.

At this year’s Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival, we’ll be hosting book signings by festival headliner Alasdair Post-Quinn, Craftsy instructor and author of Extreme Double-Knitting. It’s a collaboration directly between SpaceCadet and his publisher, Coop Press, so it’s not in the festival programme, but we’re so excited to have Alasdair on hand to chat with our customers about his designs and double-knitting — and you’ll only find out about that by keeping up with our blog. Yarn shows are full of wonderful surprises but to make sure you don’t miss the best stuff, check out the special events on both the show’s and the vendors’ websites.

Tip #4: Start at the Back of the Show

Ok, you’ve been waiting for the show to start, the doors have opened at last, and there, right in front of you, is a sea of amazing yarny goodness so beautiful that you want to dive into the first big pile you see. Resist that urge! Because right behind you is a sea of other knitters and crocheters who want to do the exact same thing, and those first booths are going to get crazy crowded really fast. But at the other end of the show — far away from the doors and all the other festival-goers — are a bunch of booths that are completely empty. And having been a vendor, in one of those booths, I can tell you that the other end of the show stays fairly quiet and empty for quite a while before the crowd finally makes it down there. That means that if you head there first, you can have 30 minutes of peaceful shopping (and first dibs on the best stuff!) before those booths get crowded.

Work your way from the back of the show to the front and you’ll still get to see everything, but you won’t be fighting the crowds every single step of the way. And you’ll get a whole different experience of the show!

Tip #5: Get the Class Schedule to Know When to Shop

Every show I’ve ever done has had times when the booth is a crush of people and other times when it’s completely quiet, and the two usually correspond to the class times. When all the classes are going on, the market floor is usually quiet — and a real pleasure to shop — but the minute classes let out (and they all seem to let out at the same time), it’s suddenly so crowded that you can’t even get into some booths. Take that time to go and find some lunch, or just knit and chill with some new friends you made in class. Then, if there’s a time when the classes start up again but you haven’t got one booked, that’s the time to head to the market. You’ll be able to shop in peace, to really look at what’s on offer, and chat to the dyers and vendors you’ve been wanting to meet. Shopping during class times rather than when they’re out is the difference between a festival that is fun and relaxed and one that is needlessly stressful. Check that schedule and then swim against the tide!

Tip #6: Remember that We’ve Come to Meet YOU!

This is probably the most important tip for making most of your festival or show. Crazy as it sounds (to me, at least), we’ve had long-time customers email after a show to say they were right there in front of our booth, but they never came up to say hello because they didn’t want to “bother” us. And that makes me so sad, because the very best part of going to a show is getting to meet our customers face to face!

We’re there to talk to you, so please do come and say hi to us. If you’ve got questions about our yarn, ask us (it’s one of our favourite subjects!). Or show us the pattern you want to make and let us help you choose a yarn. Now, you’ll get our best attention if you follow some of my earlier suggestions and visit the booth when things are a little quieter (such as when the show first opens or during class times). But no matter when you come and see us, just remember that we’re there to meet you, so please do come and say hi!

The Yarn Alliance is Open until March 29th

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance opened on Friday and subscriptions have just been flying! It’s so exciting to welcome all the new and returning members — because it’s a fantastic club and I know we’re going to have a great time together. Want to join in the fun? We’d love to have you aboard! Click here to find out more — but hurry, subscriptions are open only until March 29.

Mark Your Calendar! Our Club Openings and Yarn Shows

04MarSeptember 4, 2015 By Stephanie

Despite another 2″-4″ of snow predicted for us this week(!), the start of March means our Spring Events are right around the corner (as hard as that is to believe). Here’s a quick heads up so you can mark your calendar so you don’t miss out on any of the yarny goodness…

The Yarn Alliance Reopens for Subscriptions

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is the SpaceCadet’s premiere yarn club, known for its amazing colourways and fantastic gifts. It’s open for subscriptions twice a year for two weeks only — from March 13 to 29 — and spaces always go fast. We give early-bird priority to the people on the club mailing list, so click here and get your name on that list!

Homespun Yarn Party

Possibly our favourite-est yarn show of the year, this super-fast, super-furious event is always pure crazy and intense fun for anyone who craves hand-dyed and hand-made yarny goodness. A one day show that features only small and indie makers, it’s so worth the trip to the beautiful Savage Mill — if you live in the DC-Baltimore area, please come and see us!

HomeSpun Yarn Party

Sunday, March 22 from 12-5pm
Historic Savage Mill 8600 Foundry Street, Savage, MD 20763 Just off I-95, plenty of parking!
Admission is FREE!

Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival

Our hometown festival just gets better and better each year! Having rapidly outgrown all its previous venues, we are super excited that this year’s festival will be at the Westin Convention Center hotel in downtown Pittsburgh. Three glorious days of yarn and fiber fun, plus we are thrilled to be hosting festival headliner Alasdair Post-Quinn (author of “Extreme Double Knitting” from Coop Press) for book-signings in our booth. If you’re in the western PA area, we’d love to see you!

The Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival

Fri-Sun, March 27-29
Westin Convention Center hotel, next to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh

What’s your Favourite Yarn Show or Festival?

I’ll be honest, it can be hard to tell what shows are the best to do without bringing our work dyeing to a halt and going to each one. So I rely on recommendations from friends and customers to decide what to put on our schedule. If there’s a festival that you just love — one that’s fun, lively, and full of that great buzz that being around lots of gorgeous yarn creates, I’d love to know about it! Leave a comment here or please email us: info(at)spacecadetcreations(dot)com. Honestly, your input is invaluable!

Check out our Fabulous Spring Show Specials!

11MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

The weeks right before a show are always a weird mix of wildly excited and crazy busy, all at the same time at the same time. And, as we prep for the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival this weekend (March 14-16, click here for a map) and HomeSpun Yarn Party next weekend (March 23, click here for directions), it feels like there are a million things going on at once.

I have a full-scale mock-up of our booth in my living room right now (even though it doesn’t actually fit in my living room), there are bags of yarn everywhere, and I am trying to keep track of no less than five separate to-do lists at the moment.

But we are bringing so many cool things to our Spring shows this year that it’s worth all the chaos. Wanna see what’s in store?

The SpaceCadet Show Exclusive Colourway

I think creating our Show Exclusive Colourway might be my favourite part of show-prep. This is a one-of-a-kind, non-repeatable colourway that is available exclusively at our Spring shows.

This year’s colourway is called Northern Lights and, just like its namesake, it is a swirl of ethereal and intense colour. When Jade was twisting it up, she called it “mesmerizing”, said she couldn’t stop looking at it. I know it’s going to go fast — make sure you get to the booth quickly!

Ombre & Gradient Kits, perfect for Pau Hana!

I love watching people discover our Ombre & Gradient Kits, so we’re bringing a bunch of them. These are the full-skein kits, enough to create an adult sweater with that gorgeous colour-morphing effect.

And the beautiful Pau Hana from Singlehanded Knits was designed specifically for our Ombre & Gradient Kits. Do you love it as much as I do? We’ll have the pattern available right alongside the yarn that inspired it!

Mini-Skein Bundles

We’ve got tons of SpaceCadet Mini-Skein bundles to bring to the shows. Think of them as yarn crayons and let your imagination run wild! If you’ve been coveting the recent Mini-Skein Club parcels, or if you’ve ever fancied trying SpaceCadet yarn but didn’t know where to begin, these little skeins are the perfect place to start!

Hana Hou Kits

I am blown away by Hana Hou, the newest design from Singlehanded Knits. To support the KAL that will start in May, we’ll be offering Sweater Kits of Lyra, perfect for Hana Hou. Buy one of the kits and we’ll give you the pattern for free so you’re all ready for the KAL when it starts. Come and pick your favourite colourway!

The gorgeous Asola Stole

And we’ll have the gorgeous Asola Stole by Pittsburgh designer Amy Maceyko. Designed in SpaceCadet yarn and constructed with an intriguing oval shape, this is one design you’ll really want to see in person! Amy will be teaching at Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet and stopping by our booth between classes — do come and say hello!

The very best part of the show

But for all the great stuff we’re bringing to the show, the very best thing is something we actually can’t pack… I cannot wait to see so many of our customers in person! It is truly the best part of every show we do — seeing your projects, putting faces to names, and really getting to know you guys. I love it, and I leave every show on a high that lasts for days.

So please, come to the show and introduce yourself. We can’t wait to see you!

And Show Season Begins!

15MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Today is an exciting day, because today starts a series of yarn shows that I’ve been looking forward to for months! This weekend is the Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival (15-17 March in Mars PA), followed next weekend by HomeSpun Yarn Party (24 March in Savage MD), then a quick break for Easter before Knitters Fantasy (6 April in Youngstown OH). It’s going to crazy, busy, fun, exciting, and… whoooo-boy, pretty exhausting too!

But this year, there is more reason to be excited than usual, because we have some GREAT stuff to share with you this year. Here let me tell you all about it…

Colourways like you’ve never seen before!

Our show stock this year is focused on one-of-a-kind and unsual colourways. Yes, there are a few of the standard colourways, but those are always available to you in the shop. For the shows this year, we’ve really cranked up the dyepots and created some gorgeous, vibrant, eye-catching mixes that you may never see again. I can’t wait to see what you think of them!

Sparkly Heels & Toes Kits

It started with the idea of knitting socks out of a lovely skein of Stella in one colourway with fabulously sparkly heels and toes with a coordinating baby skein of our wonderful Lucina. Who wouldn’t want funky socks with sparkly heels and toes?!?

But then, I thought, why would you stop at just socks? What about a delicate shawl with a sparkly lace edging? How about lovely mitts with a sparkly lace cuff?

Or wait… what about sparkly stripes?!? How cool would that be?!? I can’t wait to see what you guys come up with!

Laura Nelkin’s Juego Mystery KAL Kits

Yep, you read that right! And yep, when Laura announced the Juego KAL on her blog, six weeks of kits sold out in 36 hours! We’ve been dyeing like crazy ever since to meet the demand but, at Laura’s request, I’ve dyed a few extras for the shows. They won’t last long — get in and grab yours quick!

Dublin Tee Kits

I adore Melissa Jean’s amazing Dublin Tee! Can’t you see yourself wearing it to… well, pretty much everywhere? So I know you’re going to love our Dublin Tee kits, created in Lyra, Ester, and Celeste — the very yarns that the pattern was designed for — and all packaged up in a sweet little bag for you carry them home and cast on straight away. And to thank you for buying the kit, we’re treating you to the $7 pattern for free!

The Secret Show-Exclusive Colourway!

Now, this is something really special — a custom colourway that I’ve designed exclusively for these Spring shows. It’s rich and deep, multi-tonal with pops of colour and hidden surprises… Intrigued? I’m absolutely in love with it, but you can’t get it unless you come to the shows. In fact, you can’t even see what it looks like unless you come and visit us!

Welllll… I will tell you, it’s in Celeste, which is the lovely 3-ply fingering weight in 100% Superwash Merino that Laura Nelkin chose for her Juego. And wellll… I’m not completely heartless — here’s a little sneak peak…

Ok, but seriously — come and see us at the show! We’d love to see you!

Don’t Forget…

Oh, and one last thing — but this is only for the brave… If love our little SpaceCadet as much as we do, go ahead and ask me for a tattoo! We had so much fun at HomeSpun last year with all the bold, brave women who wore their SpaceCadet tats with pride, and I would love to do it again. Arms, faces, shoulders… cleavage! They’re all fair game, and the SpaceCadet’s cheeky grin looks cute on all of them. So don’t be afraid — let’s tat you up!

And if you can’t make the shows?

Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten you! All the great kits you’ve see here will be making it into the shop once show season is over. So keep your eyes peeled and your needles at the ready. But if you can get to the shows, do it. They’re so much fun, and you know you want to!

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance is open for Subscriptions

from March 8 to March 24 only!

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!