Author: tobyroxane

I’ve updated the events page! I have a whole bunch of trunk shows, book signings and appearances coming up, so take a look.

As I mentioned a while ago, Cephalopod Yarns, one of my very favorite indie dyers, announced a yarn club (Club Kraken). If you aren’t familiar with the concept, it’s where you sign up in advance, pay some money, and then the dyers get to have fun playing with dye without worrying about creating a 100% reproduce-able color–usually club colors are a one-time deal. I was given the honor of designing a pattern to go with the first yarn installment.

Club Kraken has three installments and, unlike a lot of other clubs, there were categories you could sign up for like neutrals, semi-solids, rainbow barf, or “surprise me.” And therein lies the challenge!

Designing for this particular yarn club was an interesting challenge. It’s one that I try to keep in the back of my mind all the time, but in this case it was the main concern: to design a garment or accessory that has enough going on to be interesting in a neutral or semi-solid yarn, but is still simple enough to function in a highly variegated (rainbow barf, lovingly) yarn.

This rules out most cable patterns as well as most lace. I find that the best way to go is usually to a) create interest via the shape of the design, or b) use a textured stitch pattern that will highlight the colors in rainbow barf or shine on its own in a neutral or solid color.

In fact, this is what I’m starting to think of as my niche: with the vastitude of stunningly beautiful hand-dyed and hand-painted yarn on the market, patterns that suit rainbow barf as well as solid colors are more and more needed.

Many knitters I’ve spoken to feel seduced by hand-dyed yarn–seduced into taking them home and then, once there, they languish in the stash because the knitter has no idea what to do with them.

A happy marriage of yarn and pattern is one of those sublime moments of knitting, and finding the right fit is crucial. So fear no more the siren song of rainbow barf! You’ve come to the right place!

[end of manifesto.]

Moving on, the pattern I designed for Club Kraken is called Moon Moth.

Right now it’s only for people who are in the club, but it will be available to the general public on June 7th.

Trunk show and book signing at Woolbearers in Mount Holly tomorrow! 1 – 3pm.

If you missed the one at Knitknack last week, it was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures:

I signed books! Like a celebrity!

And then we talked about shoes.

Seriously, we have a lot of fun. You should come.

Don’t forget, everyone–my very first book signing is tomorrow evening at Knitknack, from 6 to 8pm. This will be the first opportunity to see the book in person! Pick one up tomorrow night…all your friends will be SO jealous.

If you’re not already aware, one of my very favorite yarn companies, Cephalopod Yarns, is running a yarn club. What that means is that you sign up, pay a fee, and get one skein of yarn per month for three months. The colors are a fun mystery, but you can choose your category (neutrals, semi-solids, rainbow barf, etc).

Anyway, with each installment of yarn, you’ll receive a PATTERN. I don’t want to give away any state secrets here, but…I really think you should join the club. 🙂

Today’s the last day though, so hurry!

You know what you should do? You should go on Ravelry and join my group, the aptly named Toby Roxane Designs. Once you’re there, you’ll notice that I’m having a little contest. If you introduce yourself in the Introductions thread (the one at the top, with the little green arrow), you could win a copy of my new book, London Underground! I’ll be choosing the winner at random two weeks from today, on 2/11, so make sure to post before then. You’ll also get a skein of yarn to go with it, so you really don’t want to miss this.

Go! Go now!

If you had told me, five years ago, that I’d be coming out with a book now, I would have told you you were quite the optimist. If you told me it would be a book of knitting patterns, I would have told you to check yourself into the nearest mental ward at your earliest convenience.

Lo and behold, I’VE GOT A BOOK.

It’s my London Underground collection–all seven shawls are there. Deep South Fibers will be distributing it so if you’re a yarn shop owner you can order copies through them. If you don’t see it in your local yarn shop sometime in February, tell the owner to order some copies!

I just ordered them this minute and they should be on my doorstep by the very beginning of February. I have a few signings scheduled, so keep checking the events page for details.

So here’s a piece of news I think is pretty un-jinx-able at this point:

Ok, so, to begin at the beginning, last Friday I released a pattern called The Fool. (As you all no doubt remember, I’m presently working on a series of shawls all named after and inspired by specific cards from the Tarot deck. It’s endlessly fascinating. More on that later.) Here’s a picture of it:

The other day, I got a ravelry message from an employee of MISS BABS (whose name you might recognize as the brand of yarn I used in The Fool). She wanted to let me know that they’d be making a sample of the shawl and stocking the patterns to take with them on their festival circuit this year!!

What this means is that when you go to shows like the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival and you stop by Miss Babs’ booth, you’ll see a sample of my shawl on a person or a dress form along with the pattern, which you can purchase from them. And obviously, at the two aforementioned festivals, you might find me standing around grinning like an idiot and offering to sign your pattern. Just humor me.

So far I’m pretty excited about 2013. I’ve got a lot of possibilities on the horizon, which I’m purposely being cryptic about so as not to jinx them. Don’t worry, you’ll know more after the jinx-potential is lower.

I’ve also updated the Patterns and Events pages, which you should go take a look at if you haven’t been there in a while.

I don’t usually make New Year’s Resolutions because I tend to get carried away with list-making and I wind up with 20 half-baked commitments. Instead I sometimes pick one thing to concentrate on–one year it was “Get more comfortable saying ‘no,'” you know, that kind of thing. I’m not sure I have anything quite like that this year, but I do have a gym membership that’s been collecting dust. I can’t believe I’m one of those people.

Anyway, stay tuned for more news (I’m trying to stay more on top of the website in the new year, but let’s not call it a resolution). I assure you, there will be some!

I’ve always been a sucker for hand-dyed yarn. In my opinion, it has more personality than machine dyed yarn has. Hand-dyed yarn has a soul. You don’t buy it, you adopt it.
And Traveller (with 2 L’s, yes) is my new favorite yarn of all time. There are a few different yarn companies that make it: The Verdant Gryphon, Cephalopod Yarns, and Dragonfly Fibers (and I highly suspect Miss Babs’ Yowza is the same stuff). These dyers all use the same base and all of them dye the MOST BEAUTIFUL colors. Each has their own style and technique, I assume (not that I know much about dyeing…although I would love to learn). Each is fantastic in its own way. I have a feeling they’re all competing with each other, which means ALL the colors just get better and better.
The yarn is a dk weight, sturdy and thick on a size 5 needle, perfect for hats, sweaters and gloves (except I use a size 6 because supposedly I knit tightly). It also makes a wondrously drapey, soft fabric for shawls when knit on an 8. Seriously, there’s nothing you can’t do with this yarn. Verdant Gryphon, Cephalopod and Dragonfly all make beautiful colors that range from semi-solid to wildly variegated, to suit every project, stitch pattern, and taste.
It comes with a generous 280 yards to a 4 oz skein—this is true of all three of the aforementioned dyers, and it ranges in price from $19 to $20, making it possible to knit a sweater for under $100, which is a major factor when you knit as much as I, and many of the knitters I know, do.
The only drawback is that very few, if any, yarn shops carry Traveller. I know of one store that stocks Cephalopod, but it’s in North Carolina. The best place to find it is at fiber festivals like Rhinebeck and Maryland, or, failing that, online.
I CANNOT GET ENOUGH OF THIS YARN. You should go out and try some yourself. You will not be sorry. If you, for some unfathomable reason, decide you don’t like it, send it to me. I’ll give it a good, loving home.