Transitions

Last weekend I was calling this my penance knitting.

Now I've knitted my way through the muddy-purple, tomato-red, mint- and kermit-green. I'm starting to get flecks of blue. A couple of people have commented on how Japanese the colour scheme is! I think it's growing on me.

Colour Schemes

This afternoon's colour topic is Colour Schemes. I see "natural" on the list. I love to observe the colour combinations that nature comes up with. Often there's a surprise there and always the subtelties of variations. These little tomatoes are from my friend A's vegie patch.
The red-green complementary combination is a classic, but there's so much more to see in real life.

Wall of Colour

I dropped in to the local hardware shop a couple of days ago. I'm gradually collecting the makings of a Japanese braiding stool for Kumihimo. I managed to find a set of circular hole saws, which I'm hoping will work for the central hole in the stool. Before I can try them out I need to remember where I put the wooden plate, which I've allocated for the project--things are still somewhat disorganised around here.

While I was there I stopped to pick up some paint chips: I have a collection which I use to demonstrate and experiment with colour matching. Who could resist this array: Interestingly, despite the wide variety of colours avalable, I struggled to put together a simple colour wheel of primary and secondary colours. A lot of the shades are muted and there are lots and lots of neutrals. But I did head out with a handful of colour to add to my collection.

Colour Surprise

I love to ckeck out colour combinations in nature. There is no reference to colour theory and I'm continually surprised by what I find. Here's one from the garden at the cafe I visited on Christmas eve: Bright pink, orange-yellow and white--who would have thought? But it works. I have no idea of the name of the flower, but I've noted the colours for future reference.

Look at These Colours!

I didn't get to see my friend M last weekend. Life was a bit crazy for both of us. So much so that I forgot to return the bed I'd borrowed for my visitors in time for the arrival of her visitors. M was kind enough to revert to Plan B. I haven't even spoken with her enough to find out what Plan B was. I've spent the last couple of days sorting bits and pieces. It feels as though there are an awful lot of bits and pieces! It's going to take a little while for me to get back into routine.

Meanwhile this pic arrived in my inbox from M: The colour combination pretty much floored me. When I start to analyse it, I can see a range of colors from burgundy through orange to yellow--that shouldn't surprise me too much. Look a little closer and of course there's the green. And some of the yellows blend into the greens in the centre of the lilies. At this point I've decided to stop analysing and just stick with the Wow! factor. In my head, I'm already sorting through my dyes, choosing colours and working out proportions. The challenge will be to get the green highlights without muddying up the clarity of the red-orange colours. Of course, I could leave the green out of the dye pot altogether and add it in the form of neps in my spinning or a contrast yarn while weaving or knitting. There are so many options . . . I'm looking forward to having a go--after I've cleared the bench in the kitchen and returned M's bed to her.

Conversations with Wool

I've started the Engagement Gift blanket and have been adding a few rows each day so that it is starting to take shape.
Choosing and collecting the different colours took me several weeks before I started the actual crochet. I wanted a good variety while representing J & A's favourite colours--thankfully they're complimentary: green and burgundy. The teal contrast was an easy enough fit and I thought I was well on my way. Well I guess I am well on my way, but no matter how carefully I plan, these projects seem to develop a mind of their own. This one is saying, "More light green, please". I hear the message loud and clear. So I thought I would buy some more of the apple green colour. I went back to the shop where I'd bought it, but that colour is all gone. I do have some other options and there are several light greens I could use. I also need an incentive to visit one of my favourite wool shops to see what they're up to. It's CCCK's first birthday this week and it's far too long since I've been there. But at the same time I am a little annoyed with my wool. I'm asking, "Why couldn't you tell me earlier?" but I'm not getting much response, just, "More light green please". "OK, OK, I get the message". By the way, I hope listening to textiles won't be considered a sign of insanity. I'll admit to being somewhat crazy about my craft, but I know plenty of people who tell me their projects talk to them, and no, I'm not hearing voices, so don't worry too much.

So Glad You Asked!

Where does that colour combination sit on the colour wheel? I'm so glad you asked, because I was asking myself the same question. Since posting Meg's photo, I'd got as far as picking through my boxes of wool tops and pulling out the colours I could find. I don't have quite the right pink-magenta colour, so I'll have to go shopping:), but here's what I've come up with so far--complete with colour wheel for orientation: The pink-green is pretty much a classic complementary colour scheme. What surprised and delighted me was the touch of the unexpected, because the whole colour combination leans towards the yellow side: so the citrus green and apricot are the wow factor. That's one of the things I love about taking my colour shemes from nature rather than from the "book". I wouldn't have done it, and according to the colour wheel it's not balanced, but I love it.

Morning Visitor

My friend, V, brought her latest project with her when she dropped in this morning. It's a feathered star design which will be the centre of a quilt:

When I'd finished admiring the neatness of her stitching--if you're a quilter, you'll want to know that she's using the foundation piecing method to get all those points precise--I started thinking about the colour scheme. Olive green and burgundy, fair enough, but the pale purple is unexpected. It works though! And here it is in the feature fabric:
I'm not quite sure how I'd classify it as a colour scheme--split complementary, I guess, since yellow-green is opposite purple-red on the colour wheel. The point is, it's a great colour choice and makes the feathered star very lightly feathery. I like it. And it reinforces a point I often make with beginner quilters, that you're always pretty safe if you use any of the colours you find in a feature fabric.