This week, I dyed this. Six gorgeous, luscious skeins of this…
Estelle (merino, cashmere, and nylon) dyed in a colourway called Rescue …and I fell in love it with it. Absolutely, deeply, madly in love with it. I thought about keeping it for myself… and I was going to, I really was, but I talked myself out of it and decided to put it in the shop instead.
But first, I emailed a picture of it to a friend. And she emailed straight back with, “I want some!” And five minutes later, another email, “I’ve checked my pattern — I’ll need five skeins.”
And just like that, I went from six skeins to put in the shop to only one skein. But in that one skein… Oh! Some of the most intense, gorgeous green I have ever dyed.
(But if you love it as much as I do and want me to dye any more, talk to me…)
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And here’s a few other things going in the shop this week:
Lucina fingering yarn (with sparkles!) in Megan’s Blues
We had a great response to the Origami Stitchmarker Giveaway! And no wonder — The Sexy Knitter‘s little vial of paper stars are just adorable. And it was just so cool of her to give us one to give away.
And thanks to all of you for entering! You guys are what makes these giveaways fun.
The Winner
And now, without further ado, the winner is….
Annethologist
Congratulations! Please email me at spacecadetcreations (at) gmail (dot) com, with your full postal address, and I’ll have those stitchmarkers winging their way to you lickety split!
One of the things I enjoy most about my job is working with other fiber artists. It is somehow so satisfying to collaborate with people whose work you really admire and who… well, who really understand why I’m so crazy about all things fiber (Because, y’know… they’re crazy that way too!). And I’m lucky enough to have quite a few of those collaborations going on at the moment. SpaceCadet yarns have been chosen recently for four designs in two upcoming books, as well as for designs by a couple of independent designers, and was used in an award-winning sock (more about that soon). Exciting times!
As a really accomplished and inspiring fiber artist, I wanted to find out more about her and her work as a designer…
At what point, in your own mind, did you switch from being a crocheter to a crochet designer? What defined that change for you?
For my first crochet title, Basic Crocheting, I was not confident enough to design all of the patterns myself. I purchased a few from established designers. The sweater pattern was disappointing: it was all single crochet, which made it very stiff and impossible to pull over your head, and it was definitely not “basic” like I had requested. I took a deep breath and told myself it was time to design a sweater. I picked a chevron pattern and did it! Because it was the first time I had worked with multiple sizes, I actually made one sweater in each size to make sure the instructions would work! That sweater was the first time I really felt like a designer.
Do the design ideas flow easily for you, or do you ever find yourself stuck? When you are stuck, what do you do to find inspiration again?
With the wonderful yarns available today in every material and colourway, and with the addition of Tunisian crochet to my stitch bag of tricks, I rarely feel stuck for a design. I keep a binder of “Design Ideas.” Anything that catches my fancy goes in there, from architectural elements to interesting color combinations to nature photos. Often I’ll browse through that with some yarn and stitch dictionaries in front of me. Swatching is a great way to get inspired.
I love lightweight shawls, and the Luna laceweight yarn seemed perfect for an openwork pattern. I like the addition of some post stitches for added texture. To make the shawl symmetrical, I started in the middle of the back and worked left and right.
As your own crochet skills grow, do you find it harder or easier to design simple projects for new crocheters?
I think one thing that crocheters appreciate is the clarity and kindness with which I write patterns, whether for beginners or experienced crafters. I always try to give an overview, kind of like a road map: here’s where we’re starting, this is the route we will take, and here’s where we will end up. Otherwise it’s like driving blind. I have been crocheting for more than 40 years, and I still come up against poorly written patterns that I cannot figure out. It’s frustrating, and there’s no reason for it except laziness and arrogance on the part of the designer, editor, and publisher.
Along with clear instructions, technique photos are crucial. I want crocheters to feel like I am looking over their shoulder ready to answer any questions they have. “Does the hook go here or here?” “Do I skip this shell or work into it?” Photos can help them understand what the pattern requires.
I always enjoy creating simple yet interesting patterns for new crocheters.
For anyone wanting to try crochet for the first time, what resources would you recommend? Where should they start?
For anyone just starting out, there is no substitute for sitting down for an hour or two with a friend or instructor. That way you can make sure you are holding the yarn properly, making your stitches right, counting correctly, etc. Crocheters are often surprised to realize how important the non-hook hand is in managing the flow of yarn from the ball to the project. Your local yarn shop or a crochet conference may be your entree into the wonderful world of crocheting. Ravelry is a wonderful resource, an online community for yarn folks without the intrusiveness of Facebook! YouTube also has many good videos. There are some great designers out there. Read what other people have said about their designs–and how good their instructions are–and choose a book or pattern from your favorite.
I am a huge fan of Tunisian crochet. For anyone interested in giving that a try, I recommend my books (Tunisian Crochet: The Look of Knitting with the Ease of Crocheting and Crochet Pillows with Tunisian & Traditional Techniques). Both of those come with detailed instructions and photos to explain the basic stitches. My first book, Basic Crocheting, also has a lot of visuals and illustrations.
If you had the opportunity to tell the world the one thing they
really ought to know about crochet, what would it be?
Crochet does not have to be frumpy and boxy! Choose the right combination of yarn, hook, and designer, and you can create garments that are beautifully shaped, drape like a dream, and are high-fashion enough to grace any runway.
Now, I’m not allowed to tell you anything about Sharon’s upcoming book — it’s all top secret. But I will tell you that it’s coming out for Autumn 2012 and it’s got some gorgeous designs in it… and two new beautiful new colourways from SpaceCadet Creations. But in the meantime, do go check out her website, www.SharonSilverman.com, and especially her pattern page on Ravelry, where you can find the pattern for the Moonmist shawl, for the lovely Sonata shawl (above) — the first of Sharon’s designs that really caught my eye — and tons more. She’s on Ravelry as CrochetSharon and on Facebook as Sharon Silverman Contemporary Crochet.
Now that everyone in the InterStellar Yarn Alliance should have received their latest parcels, I really want to show you what they got!
And as the weather turned hotter and hotter, I found myself inspired to dye a skein rich in the full-on colour of summer. The yarn is Stella, a really wonderful 80/20 merino/nylon mix and the colourway is Starved for Colour.
And then for fun, I created mini-skeins of Lucina, a lovely yarn in merino and nylon with a little added sparkle, and dyed them in coordinating colours — some Alliance members got purple, some blue, some green. I kind of fell in love with the idea of using it to knit socks with sparkly toes and heels (I mean, seriously, how cool is sparkly toes and heels?!?), but it’d also look great as a border on a shawl, or collar and cuffs on a child’s cardigan.
Now, onto the really cool stuff… the goodies. I was so in love with the custom SpaceCadet Tool Tins that Sarah Wilson, The Sexy Knitter, created for the last parcel, that I asked her if she could create a custom version of her adorable origami stitchmarkers… And she did! They were so cool that I squealed as soon as I saw them! They came packaged in their own little glass vial. Don’t you love them?!?
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Guest-Dyer for the Cultured Purl
“Guest-Dyer” has a pretty nice ring to it, don’t you think? I was thrilled when Shirani at The Cultured Purl asked me if I’d be a Guest-Dyer for their Spectacular Summer of Socks Club. She asked me to create a summery colourway, so I took inspiration from lazy summer lunches eaten under a bright blue sky… And dyed Picnic, a custom colourway designed to create fun bursts of colour throughout the knitted fabric.
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And… Another Yarn Club!
And, as if that wasn’t enough, I’ve been asked to dye for yet another club (squeee!). I don’t know yet if I’m allowed to tell you who I’m dyeing for or what colours I’m making, but I can tell you that I just sent a skein of the yarn to the (very fabulous) designer and I can’t wait to see what she creates with it. As soon as I know I have the go ahead… I’ll tell you all about it!
The first few days of January are probably supposed to be about looking forward, but I cannot help looking back. 2010 was a great year here at SpaceCadet Creations — it’s been exciting, it’s been educational, sometimes it’s been a bit scary, it’s always been colourful!… And most of all, it’s been successful. And ladies and gentlemen, I know that success is entirely down to you. You’ve been encouraging me, supporting me, talking to me… and buying my yarn and fiber. I am incredibly grateful.
For a little while now, I’ve been thinking about how I can show you my thanks, how I can make it real. And so I am very excited to introduce SpaceCadet’s Cadet Credits, a way to reward my loyal customers and let them know how much I appreciate them. Here’s how it works: I will give you a $10 credit every time your purchases accumulate to $150 (minus discounts, taxes, and shipping costs). Your credits will never expire, you can use them right away or saved them up to be used all together, and they can be used on anything in the SpaceCadet Creations shop. It’s my way of showing you how much your support has meant to me throughout 2010.
And that last sentence up there… that’s not just some kind of marketing waffle to make you feel good. I really mean it. So I’m not going to implement Cadet Credits from just today onwards, I’m going to give credit to my customers for all their purchases throughout 2010. Don’t worry — you don’t have calculate a thing. I’ll kept track of all the numbers and will be emailing you shortly to let you know how much credit you have, or how close you are to earning one.
And with that, it is time to look forward to 2011 — it’s going to be an exciting year! There are a lot of great things planned here in the SpaceCadet studio — some I’ll tell you about as they develop, and some that will stay top-secret until they’re ready for their reveal. I can’t wait to get started.
But you… You can start celebrating 2011 right away. So go on! Go spend those credits!
For full details of the Cadet Credit Programme (it’s not complicated!), click here.
The Moonmist Shawl pattern is worked out from the center back in one direction and then the other, to create a delicate piece of lacework so light that it fairly floats across the shoulders.
When she first described to me the design she had in mind, I saw it draped delicately over a beautiful evening gown. I imagined holiday parties, sparkling lights, glasses of champagne… I wanted to create a colourway as ethereal as the Moonmist Shawl itself…
As day slips away and the light grows soft, the Evening Fog rises up out of nowhere and gently transforms the world with a veil of translucent blue-grey.
This is over 100g of wonderfully smooshy Luna Lace Weight yarn, a 2-ply blend of Silk and superfine Merino wool that is amazingly light and soft to the touch. Where there are multiple skeins pictured, each is sold separately.
Fiber Content: 20% Silk, 80% Merino Wool
Weight: Approximately 3.6oz / 100g (approximately 1300 yards per 100g)
Colourway: Evening Fog
Care Instructions for the final item: Hand wash in tepid water, Lay flat to dry.
Each item is individually hand-dyed by the SpaceCadet, using professional grade acid dyes which are mixed by hand from primaries. Please be sure to buy enough for your project as the colours may not be able to be reproduced exactly.
SpaceCadet Creations is a smoke-free, pet-free environment.
Please remember that the colours in pictures may vary depending on your computer monitor. The colours in the photos are as accurate as possible.
