You’ve probably heard the podcast of the spring yarn preview, so I thought I would give a little more background into the Stroll and Shadow Tonals. When Tina asked me to design the colorways of these yarns, I thought it was a great idea. Because the Tonals are hand painted, we have exact control over just how variegated the yarn is–something that we could never quite achieve with the old kettle dyed yarn. My goal was to take what we loved about the kettle dyed colors and make them even better–adding more variation of shade and hue, and coming up with completely new colorways as well. The name “tonal” is one I brought in from my fabric background. In the quilting world, a tonal fabric is one that has a similar color printed on a background color, so that the over all effect is more interesting than just a solid. Another name for this kind of colorway is “semi-solid”, but we liked the sound of “tonal”.

I could not be more pleased with how the colors turned out. I want them all! One of my favorites is a completely new colorway that Tina mentions is her favorite in the podcast: Queen Anne. It’s a delightful peachy-pink with shots of golden yellow throughout. I took my inspiration from nature with the Queen Anne cherries that are yellow on one side and coral on the other. The color combination also reminds me of a pink & yellow rose or begonia.

I am using some early sample skeins to knit up a toddler dress for my daughter, who looks lovely in both pink and yellow. The pattern is Elvira from Ravelry. I just love how it’s knitting up!