I mentioned earlier that one of the best parts about TNNA was meeting many of the people I’d only ever interacted with online.  One of the folks I had the pleasure of (finally) meeting in person was the lovely Anne Hanson (she of knitspot fame).  Now it’s more or less ridiculous that Anne and I haven’t managed to cross paths before.  She lives all of an hour from me, and I know for a fact that we’ve been at the same place at the same time at several local fiber events.  But now that we have managed to touch base, I can officially confirm that she’s even more charming (and energetic) in person that she is on her blog.

I’ve been reading Anne’s blog for almost as long as I’ve been knitting, and one of the things that shines through in her work is just how important the relationship between stitch patterns and yarn is.  Just look at how carefully and enthusiastically she swatches.  That’s a huge part of what swatches are for, making sure that this pretty yarn and this lovely stitch pattern actually look good together.  Now as a designer, you know that most of the time, knitters are going to make your projects in something other than the yarn you used.  That just comes with the territory, and it’s up to you to give them the information they need to make good yarn choices.  But every now and then, the combination of pattern and yarn is just so perfect…so vital to the design…that you really wish you could sweet talk everyone who gets the pattern into using the yarn you designed it with.

That’s exactly why Anne’s newest club, Fall in Full Color 2012, is so exciting.  Starting in August, Anne will be doing what many designers secretly long to do–sending out the yarn and the patterns together!  The club will have six shipments (one per month from August to January), each including the yarn and pattern for a fall or winter accessory.  Last year’s club featured yarns from places like String Theory, Briar Rose, and Shalimar.  This year’s yarns are sure to be just as exciting, and they’re all in custom colorways (available only through the club for at least a year).  And of course the patterns will be thoughtfully presented and delightful to knit, as Anne’s work always is!

And did you see that bit where I mentioned that it’s Anne’s newest club?  Meaning she’s done this before?  That part is important.  Organizing something like this is a huge amount of work.  Anne’s done it before, and she knows how to make it happen.  You can see all the gorgeous patterns from last year’s Fall in Full Color club right here and all the patterns from her Bare Naked club right here.  With a track record like that, you know the newest club is going to be fabulous.

As further proof that she’s thought of everything (and is determined to give knitters as many options as possible) she’s got three different options for joining the club: e book only, e book plus yarn, and e book plus extra yarn for those folks who want to knit more than one set of goodies.  There’s sure to be a choice that suits you.