Work for Idle Hands: colour

Colour isn’t something I think about too much, my priority is to work through my stash the best I can. It is made up of donations and charity packs that I pick up whenever they’re available, so I don’t have much say in the colour choices.

We saw my getting into colour darning last time

And I did once purchase a pack of cottons only for their colour appeal

I dived straight in to making some squares, curious about how random combinations would turn out. I do have a taste for eclectic and bright colours all mixing together. This lovely sample from Le Monde de Sucrette

So this is how some of my squarish squares came together

Another basic which I’d never really ventured into till now was variegated yarn. This is what I had in my stash

I set out to make some blanket squares, this yarn being especially soft. What a pleasant surprise it was to see the colours all weaving themselves together!

And I was even more delighted by the way I kept getting different squares. I can’t tell you how much fun this was!

So I am definitely a new convert to variegated yarn. Here are some gloves from Etsy – I had bought them because I liked the colours, without having given much thought to the fact that they were simply made with a nice variegated colour combination.

OK in the meantime I made 2 new crochet hat patterns in Indigenous colours – so beautifully bold. A chunky dc rib crochet beanie.

It was interesting improvising the mix and match colour edging.

The pattern (single colour only) can be found on Ravelry here (US terms).

I also made a summer slouchy beanie with plenty of ‘holes’ which is great for the warmer weather, the pattern here.

So I’ve had adventures with cotton colours, variegated yarn and a couple of new patterns. Here is a little indulgence from a brill ethical shop, Darn Good Yarn: recycled silk, handwoven hemp, and newspaper yarn. The possibilities await....

I was making the scarf for a women’s refuge which had requested items for women and children. It was the only thing I could realistically attempt with the limited time and experience I had.

I had been saving some soft pure wool for something like this. A rich navy blue, a hue that I really like. (I wonder what colour your monitor will show..?)

I started with the quickest stitch I knew, treble crochet. I’d finally mastered the turning stitch at the end of the row. This was something I’d had to undo many times. I must break that habit of ‘hope for the best’!

I pressed on, and thought to add some fancy to break up the colour, so added 2 rows of a grey-pink. I had to frenzily crochet to get this done in time, so I blitzed back into the navy. As the scarf grew, it occurred to me that it was looking more and more like a men’s scarf! How I wished I knew how to do love hearts and flowers!

As much as I loved this colour, and would have worn it myself, I thought this women’s scarf had to look more feminine. So I sorted through the charity stash and started adding purples and pinks.

This part of the making, the improvising, was very enjoyable. The work was growing and evolving. I still didn’t know how it would look finished. I could even add a love heart if I got ahead of time.

I found myself daydreaming about what could be added – a granny square, a pattern or motif.