September colour
Today, I’ve been thinking about colour again, especially as my beautiful garden Dahlia are coming to an end.
I don’t think of colour as a palette chosen from a shade card, or a set of colours that are supposed to work together, or from a carrier bag in front of the tele but colour as something you discover by looking – really looking. And this year, I have really looked at the flowers that I have grown.
So, I’ve been sitting with Rowan Kidsilk Haze and a handful of my last flowers. I’ve knitted little swatches, changed colours, changed my mind, pulled them out, tried something else and watched what happens when one shade sits beside another. I feel the colours more than just look and I have a very exciting new knitting project in the pipeline.
This is the part of knitting I never seem to tire of but don’t get much time to do. A full day just knitting and pushing colours and flowers around is a true gift of time and creativity.
A colour can look completely different depending on what is next to it. A pink becomes warmer beside rust. A green suddenly looks sharper beside red. A quiet, almost muddy shade can become the colour that holds everything together or becomes the subtle change that the eye doesn’t always see but the mind sees it.
A Creative practice swatching and developing skills and outcomes, is why I started the Colour Swatch Journal.
I wanted others to learn to explore that process of looking and experimenting rather than simply deciding in advance what a “good” colour combination might be.
I’ve been knitting for more than forty years and I’m still surprised by and LOVE colour.
I’m currently working on something new with these colours. I’m not quite ready to show you yet — but I will be soon.
September is looking very beautiful from where I’m sitting.
Want to explore colour with me?
The next Colour Swatch Journal group will begin in January. It’s a space for experimenting with colour, keeping a visual record of what you discover and developing your own understanding of colour relationships. It is a place to learn and grow and take those skills into your own knitting projects after
There is more information about my Colour Swatch Journal Group on my workshops page which is here
tracey doxey 