Paintbox: Playing with Colour
With a brief hiatus in the land of bread and butter knitting, it is time to return to the Year of Something New! I propose an exploration of colour. Emily and I have been madly working on a colourful new project and we are immersed in swatches and colourful knits so we want to encourage you to do the same! How about a KAL to keep us all motivated and inspired?
KAL Details:
What is the Painbox KAL?: For this exploration of colour you must choose a pattern involving an element of colour (it does not need to be a TCK pattern), eg. fair isle, slip stitches, stripes, etc. (not just a single colour), and you must swatch it a minimum of 3 ways (three different colour combos). Even seasoned knitters need to swatch when it comes to colourwork!
Dates: Starts today (July 28th) and ends Thursday September 8th (all entries for prizes must be in by Midnight PST on September 8th)
How to join: To join our KAL simply go to the Rav group here. There will be a spot to post your swatch pics and a spot to post your finished objects, and, of course, a spot to chat with knitters about all the colourful things you want to accomplish.
Swatching and colour
Why the swatches? Because (gets up on soap box) swatching is essential to colourwork. I have ripped back numerous yokes, started over many hats, and discovered oodles of stripe combination that just didn’t work. Swatching is a great way to try out some new combinations, perhaps a little bolder or more subtle than your usual. It is the year of something new after all! Do don’t be a wuss and get ready to do some swatching!
For this KAL I will be knitting the gorgeous Christmas in July sweater by Tanis Lavallee, especially fitting since the KAL starts in July right? I think it will be for Bodhi, I’m kind of winging the sizing. The pattern is written for a fingering weight yarn but I’m going to be a rebel and use DK. If I knit the second size it should come out around a Bodhi size, maybe with some room to grow. The lengths are easily adjusted so there is no problem there!
Wondering where to start for some colour inspiration? I always like to check out the Ravelry projects for any pattern I am starting, sometimes there is a kindred knitter who has already worked up a colour combo I adore! Another route is to create a Pinterest board of your favorite colourful pairings to reference. This is the one I created for my Christmas in July sweater.
And so I dive into the stash, ready to make some bold colour decisions, and invite you to do the same! To follow along on your favorite social media spot, just use the hashtag #tckpaintbox
More colourful knits from TCK:
July 31, 2016 @ 2:29 am
I have been making hats and scarves for several years – each in one single color – so I have quite a stash of beautiful leftovers. However, how can i put them to use in a multi color project such as stripes – a scarf for example – if they are varying weights? I have for example a beautiful gray that looks great against other colors but the gray is a bulky and the others are DK or Fingering weights….? I am dying to put all these odds and ends to use!
please advise.
Blessings, Hana
August 1, 2016 @ 9:58 am
Hi Hana – try working more than one yarn held together. You can hold 2 sock yarns together, for example, to create about a worsted weight, or try a DK and a lace weight for a worsted.
August 4, 2016 @ 8:20 am
Thank you!
I will try that!
July 29, 2016 @ 3:23 pm
Wow, beautiful work!! I’m going to look up that Christmas in July pattern. I love colorwork (won a ribbon at our county fair with a child sized North Shore this year!) and am looking for a modern sweater project for myself.
July 29, 2016 @ 1:54 pm
I have to agree with your comments about swatching colorwork. I knit about 40 hats a year for charity, normally solid colors. I decided to try a fair isle pattern without swatching and it ended up toddler size.
July 29, 2016 @ 12:12 pm
Please explain what you mean when you say swatch in three ways. I’m not sure what you mean. Thanks so much. Marj
July 29, 2016 @ 2:01 pm
Hi Marj – I just mean 3 different colour combos
July 29, 2016 @ 6:26 am
I haven’t been receiving my news letters. I thought maybe I didn’t sign up so checked that and all is right there. Glad that my curiosity got the better of me and I just went directly to your site. I agree such beautiful colors, always have a problem when picking out what goes with what and you suggestion to swatch is right on! Love that sweater and I had forgotten about the mukluks – great way to test colors or patterns. These are small enough for me to work in all the heat that we have been having. Thanks for jogging the gray matter.
July 28, 2016 @ 7:49 pm
How can there be no comments on this gorgeous knitting. Just beautiful colors and ideas and love them all. Pictures are wonderful too. Thank you for your marvelous creative color combinations and your awesome knitting and sharing. I look forward to your posts so much just to gain inspiration of a happy, content individual doing what she loves. Blessings Merri