Let's Talk About Colour

Let’s talk about colour. It seems to be either something we love or something we dread. We often believe that we are either “good” or “bad” at putting colours together. But just like most things, we can learn.

I am not going to discuss colour theory, I’ll leave that for the people who can explain it better than I understand it! What I will talk about in this post is confidence, the world around us and playing. I’ll tell you how I pick colours and hopefully give you some resources to build your own sense of colour.

First, colour is highly individual. It is likely that a colour combination that you don’t like will be loved by someone else. And what you love will horrify someone else. I grew up having been taught that orange and pink do not belong together—ever! (My mom has some very strong opinions.) Imagine my initial shock when I saw a woman wearing a one-piece pantsuit with the left side a bright fuschia pink and the right side the brightest of hunter oranges I had ever seen! My internal dialogue had to quickly recalibrate (Doesn’t she know better? What confidence! Wow, that’s really beautiful!) Now, I’m still not an orange/pink combo kinda person, but I admit it can work and even used them in the same project a time or two.

So my first word of advice is to let go of all your preconceived notions about colour. Approach colour with a “no holds barred” attitude. If you need help with this, go look at nature. I’ve never heard someone, when viewing a field of wildflowers, complain that the flowers clash! (If you can’t get out to see nature, check out wildflower pins on Pinterest.) I sometimes wonder if they all work together because they have a colour in common (green) that ties everything together. I incorporate this idea in my weaves. When I want to use many colours I will often use 1 colour to separate the many colours. White, black and natural are all good choices. Lately I’ve been using a deep deep purple, navy blue or a very dark green. I find them a little less stark than white or black can be.

I live in a province that delights in colour. Like many ocean communities, we have old towns with old houses painted in bright colours (think Jelly Bean houses). So my next suggestion is to take note of the colour combinations around you. Take pictures and set up an album of colour combinations. It might be a piece of art, a row of houses, packaging, even a plate of food!

Finally, my last bit of advice is to get out of your comfort zone. We all have colours we are drawn to. (If you aren’t sure what colours are your go-to’s, organize your closet by colour, your favourites will be easy to see!) Deliberately choose colours you wouldn’t normally use. A great start is a skein of sock yarn in colours you don’t usually pick. Sock yarn is great because it is relatively easy to find a matching weft, just pick one colour from the sock yarn. Noro yarn is another great option…Noro skeins seem to have every colour and still look great!

I have a few physical resources I use too. I of course have a professional colour wheel. It helps me when I want to mix colours I would not usually put together. or finding a good “pop” colour. I also have a book, which while it has great information, and I did read it, I use mostly for the colour combinations! This book (The Complete Color Harmony Pantone Edition) is divided into “Moods” and has dozens of 3-5 colour combinations and even proportions! It is a fabulous book to add to your library.

Want to try some colourful projects? Check out these patterns! Each of these are bright cheerful patterns. Some put together surprising combinations, some will show how colours play together and some show the difference weft can make. Each will challenge you colour-wise but all will give you a beautiful set of tea towels to enjoy! Click on the images for more details and to purchase.

A Peek at How I work

Today I though I’d give you a peek at what it’s like inside my head. It’s a scary place, chock full of ideas, plans and sometimes paralysis! I’m an idea person…that means I see something and I think hmmm…how can I do that? But I’m also a vision person…which means I see a yarn and it must be X.

I’m also an organized person. I have lists of patterns to write, patterns to try, patterns to update, blog post ideas, yarns to try, products to try and review, you get the idea. So many lists! (and may I just say that I got a Kindle Scribe for Christmas, which I understand is a reading tool, but it has a pen and a notebook feature and it is the best paper replacement I have ever written on and now I’m back to writing on technology rather than the beautiful notebook bought specifically for that purpose). But I’m also anti-list so I make a list of things to do on a specific day but I get to that day and I do something totally different because I can’t be ruled by a list. So I add the new things I did do to the old lists (because I like crossing things out) and the old things don’t get done but at least I’ve achieved something.

Most days I start working about 7:30 am. I start with the brain work…pattern writing, blog posts, newsletters. Unexpectedly, I’m really enjoying these tasks and they are beginning to take up more of my time. I’ve always loved writing and since I know people are actually reading my blogs and newsletters (thank you to everyone who takes the time to comment, it means a lot to me) it’s quite fun to do. I make a cup of tea in my favourite mug and settle in at the kitchen counter for a couple hours of “head work”.

Now, I (sadly) cannot live by weaving alone, so things like grocery shopping and cleaning and laundry all need to get done as well as working 3 days a week. So after my brain feels fried, I take a break and get some of the mundane tasks done while I ponder what to put on my loom. And this is where the paralysis might happen.

I don’t have a huge stash, but it’s a decent size. And I have lists of projects to do, so in theory, I should just be able to look at my list, grab the required yarn and get started. But sometimes I just can’t make a decision. Or I can’t make a colour decision, or I don’t have the “right” colour. This is when my husband might walk in on me in the closet with all my yarn scattered everywhere and listen to me lament that I don’t have the right yarn! He does not understand, but he tries. Actually he’s great, he just tells me to go buy it!

(And speaking of my husband, he is absolutely my biggest fan! He has never complained about the mess or as my weaving has slowly eaten up all the living space we have, he has the best ideas, and he encourages me to buy more stuff! He’s even picked up some of the terms and can used them correctly! He has put his foot down when it comes to me getting another loom, but I know if I got another one, he’d be ok with it. I currently have a 60” floor loom, an inkle loom and a 20”, 30”, 32” and 48” rigid heddle. And he solves my technology issues because technology issues make me cry!)

But now I’ve got all the yarn laid out and some say they want to be one thing, and others want to be something else and somehow I never have exactly everything I need for a whole project and as I go through the yarns I’m reminded of ideas that haven’t made it to the list yet, and my yarn should be sorted better and how should I sort it, and now my head is so full that I can’t think anymore and my paralysis is complete. (Please tell me I am not alone in this!)

I have tried to solve this issue by putting projects in bags, everything in the bag required for a single project, 3 or 4 projects ready to go so I don’t have to think, but when it comes time to warp the next project I don’t want to be ruled by the decisions of my past self. *sigh*

If the paralysis has truly taken over, I peruse my Pinterest boards for inspiration. And if that doesn’t help, I kick-start the process by warping a tea towel. Because the only way to get unstuck is to get started on something, anything! Once I get one project going, it seems to relieve the paralysis and I can decide what to put on the other looms too.

Then, once I get started weaving, I can easily weave until 10 or 11pm when my eyes won’t stay open any longer! So I sleep, and then I get up and start the whole process again!

I do hope you have found this entertaining, and maybe affirming…if you are like me you aren’t alone. And maybe you have ideas to help me? Storage and organization ideas, how to pick the next project ideas, how to stop rebelling against my past self, how to ease the longing for a new loom…