A Colourway for Languid Days

22JulApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

According to last night’s 11pm news, the temperature here in western Pennsylvania is about to get miserable: 92 degrees F (33 C) with humidity that you can cut with a knife. I’m no fan of hot weather and I know it’s not due to last long but, while it’s here, I’ll be taking shelter in the coolest spots I can find.

So, it seemed a perfect time to share with you the latest Yarn Alliance parcel, because the inspiration for this colourway is all about finding refuge from the hottest summer temperatures.

Inspired by a languid summer’s afternoon spent in the shade of a lush tree, its branches draping lazily above and letting the sunlight through only in little pools here and there. No matter how harsh the sun’s ray or how wilting the day, the shelter of that cool, dappled shade is the most refreshing place to be.

Y’know, if I’m honest, this is not a colouway that I feels natural to me — I am not often a yellow kind of girl — but the truth is that I just love this colourway! There is something about that just feels so summery and hot… a little singed around the edges… and yet with that wonderfully cool streak of blues and greens. I just cannot wait to see how this knits up!

And every Yarn Alliance parcel comes with a gift and, this time, it was a perfect match for the colourway. When those long, languid days turn into perfect summer evenings, there is nothing nicer than sitting out in the cooling air with a beer (or, in this case, a cool English cider). Renee from Knerd made us these custom beer cosies with the idea of “cold beer, warm hands, dry knitting”.

And y’know, no matter how hot and miserable the day, I think that just has to be the perfect way to end it. Don’t you agree?

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance will open in September for new subscriptions. Want to be the first to hear when it does? Click here to get on the mailing list and get early-bird notification of the opening dates!

Help Me Choose the Best Mini-Skein Colourway!

07MarApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

We are crazy busy at the moment prepping club parcels and getting ready for our upcoming shows (Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet 14-16 March; HomeSpun Yarn Party 23 March; are you coming?), but I just wanted to quickly share this with you…

The Multicolour Mix

These are February’s Mini-Skein Club parcels and I think they may be some of favourites ever. First, let me show you the Multicolour Mix. Now, when I dyed it, I was just having fun — playing with the kind of wonderfully intense colours that I crave in the depths of winter. Bright and cheerful, I think they perfectly fit the bill.

But when Amy saw them, all twisted and gathered into bundles, she picked one up and held it up, so I was looking at it end-on. “You’ve dyed the Olympic Rings!” she declared. And she was right! Well, sort of. But there we were, right in the middle of the Olympic Games, and I’d unconsciously dyed a red, a green, a yellow, a blue, and… well, it’s actually a deep purplish colour, but it almost looks black. The Olympic Rings, in yarn form.

Maybe I’ll make it a reoccurring theme, every two years or so. …But, erm, in a completely not-copyright-breaching kind of way. It’s just, y’know, yarn.

The Ombre & Gradient Mix

Now let me show you the Mini-Skein Club’s Ombre & Gradient Mix, and I’m really excited about this one. This is a gradient set, meaning that the colours don’t fade as in an ombre set, but instead morph gently from one colour to the next across the set. Do you see how it moves from a lavendar into a gray and into a lemon colour? Imagine that gentle colour shift across the rows of your project — so lovely!

This is the Mini-Skein version of a colourway I’d asked you to help me name a few weeks ago. Do you remember that? We had tons of fabulous suggestions in emails, in blog comments, on Facebook… And my favourite came via Twitter from Amy at Ross Farm Fibers, who suggested a play on the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” I really loved that idea, and the colourway is called… When Life Gives You Lavender.

Tell Me Your Favourite!

Now, I would love to hear which of these Mini-Skein colourways is your favourite. Is there one that you think we should offer as a Limited Edition? Or maybe as a permanent addition to our shop colourways? Let me know! Just click here to vote in the poll and join the conversation on Ravelry (use the numbers at the bottom of each picture). I’d love to know what you think!

Join the Yarn Alliance! 1-16 March

Don’t forget the Yarn Alliance — the SpaceCadet’s fabulous yarn club — is open for subscriptions right now and closes on 16 March. Spaces have been going fast — click here to learn more and join today!

Seven Weeks Later…

30AugApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

I’ve just gotta share this with you because, this week, we have been doing the happy dance — a lot. As you may recall, we had a slight disaster midway through the summer when a big (biiiiiiiiigggg) storm rolled in and dumped approximately 25 feet of water in 15 minutes (or maybe a little less) which completely overwhelmed our drain and so the water surged in under the door instead and partially flooded our family room. If you never saw it, all the sorry details are here.

Fortunately, the damage didn’t reach the levels of a lot of lower lying areas around us, and I was able to get most of our stuff up and away from danger, but the carpet was a complete (uninsured!) write-off. And the asbestos flooring we discovered underneath it meant that the room was wholly unusable until the carpet could be replaced.

That was seven weeks ago. Seven weeks ago. And it’s taken this long to get the room dry, the carpet ordered, and the installation booked. But on Wednesday….

…on Wednesday, THEY INSTALLED OUR NEW CARPET!!!!!!! Wooooot!!!! I know it’s only our family room we were missing but, somehow, it feels like we have our whole house back again. Things that have spent the last seven months in the wrong place are finally able to go back to where they belong. And we are able to sit in the family room again of an evening, have a cup of tea, and discuss the day just like we used to do. I know we could do that anywhere in the house, but somehow it feels so much more right now.

And all I want to do, every time I see that lovely expanse of fresh, new, clean, lovely carpet is to cheer. Hoooooooray!!!!

Speaking of cheering, here’s something to make some noise about. If you’ve been waiting for the InterStellar Yarn Alliance to reopen for subscriptions, your wait is almost over. The SpaceCadet’s premier yarn club opens this Sunday Sept 1 (actually, midnight on Saturday) until Sept 16. Spaces always go really quickly, so be ready.

And for those of you who’ve clicked here and got yourselves on the Yarn Alliance mailing list, I may just open up subscriptions a wee bit early for you. …Such are the perks of reading all the way to the bottom(!).

The InterStellar Yarn Alliance will Open on…

05MarSeptember 4, 2015 By Stephanie

In all the rush of last week, I totally forgot to make an announcement that a lot of you have told me you’re waiting for…

So I’m just slipping in this quick mid-week reminder for you. This is one seriously fun club — gorgeous yarns and fabulous gifts — and spaces go fast. All the details are here, and subscriptions are open from March 8 only until March 24.

So quick! Go mark it on your calendar so you can grab your space on Friday!

Psst… Wanna See the Yarn Alliance Parcel?

11MayApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

I was really nervous when I sent out the InterStellar Yarn Alliance parcels this month. Really nervous. I knew I’d taken a risk — I knew it — but I also knew I had dyed the colours that I’d had in my heart, the colours I needed to dye… And if the dyer follows her heart, that surely must be right. …Right?

But still, I was nervous. Because I know a lot of people buy hand-dyed because they love deep, rich, saturated colour, and this colourway was anything but that. I’d dyed a washed out colourway, of the sort that I’ve fallen head-over-heels for lately, where I gently swirl layer upon layer of colour into the dyebath, and then watch as it settles delicately onto the fibers. Watching it happen is breath-taking, the yarn it creates is beautiful. And the result when you cast on and begin to knit is ethereal, sublime …simply amazing.

Are you ready? Here it is…

It was exactly what I hoped it would be. From every angle, I was in love! I just wanted to grab it and smoosh it and… oh!

I just hoped the Alliance members loved it as much as I did.

In the SpaceCadet’s Log, I explained my inspiration — the colours in my garden as Spring arrived in sudden rush, then retreated and the cruel cold returned, and then Spring began anew. And so there are flowers in my garden both dying and blooming, and I wanted to capture the colours of Nature’s confusion.

And then…! And then there was the goody, and this I knew would be exciting. I’d asked Melissa of Melissa Jean Design to create some custom buttons for the InterStellar Yarn Alliance. And when the parcel containing them arrived, I was so excited, I spent a full five minutes bouncing up and down in my kitchen. They’re ADORABLE!

And what’s more, she did a bunch of different colours! Mix and match, everyone!

But the very best bit? I got to keep all the extra buttons that Melissa made — all her experiments and test runs. I love them! And I feel like I should make something wonderfully crafty and clever with them, but I don’t know what. What would you make?

Hey, don’t forget: this weekend is the SpaceCadet’s Grand Tour of Cleveland! If you’re anywhere in the northern Ohio/PA area, come on out and see us.

Friday, May 11 at River Colors Studio
1387 Sloane Avenue
Lakewood, Ohio 44107 (map it!)
(216) 228-9276

Saturday, May 12 at Soft N Sassy
8047 Broadview Rd.
Broadview Hts., OH. 44147 (map it!)
Phone: (440)746-9650

There will be lots of gorgeous yarns, fabulous SpaceCadet tattoos, tons of fun… and I’d love to meet you!

And Now With Less Added Confusion…

14SepApril 14, 2015 By Stephanie

Ahem…

I’ve discovered that apparently when I decide to write blog posts/emails while I’m all knackered out right after doing a yarn show… well, what I write is pretty darned confusing! The previous blog post in a case in point. So now I’ve had some coffee, let me see if I can clarify.

I talked about two mailing lists in my previous post:

The main SpaceCadet Mailing List, and
The InterStellar Yarn Alliance Mailing List

If you want to find out about the upcoming ebook, the Super Secret Thing, and all sorts of SpaceCadet news and shop updates, make sure you’re on the main SpaceCadet Mailing List. Emails go out about twice a week, and they’re full of good things. Click here to sign up.

The second mailing list is members-only for the InterStellar Yarn Alliance. If you joined the Alliance in March, you need to get on the Alliance Mailing List by letting me know it’s ok for me to sign you up. If you’re already a member of the Alliance, go ahead and shoot me a quick email with “PUT ME ON THE ISYA MAILING LIST!” and so I can get you signed up.

And if you’re not a member of the InterStellar Yarn Alliance? The Alliance is currently open for subscriptions, but only for another four days, so come and join us now!

Phew! Ok, I think that’s a bit better. Lesson learnt: I must never blog or email before coffee!