Color Me Happy 4KCBWDAY4

What are your favourite colours for knitted or crocheted projects?

I was looking forward to writing today's blog post. But now that it's here I'm finding hard to articulate my color philosophy. I use a lot of different colors in my projects. I love most colors and enjoy playing with them for effect. There are colors I tend to gravitate toward, but to say they are my favorites might only be true for the moment. The only colors I find myself actually avoiding are the overly pale pastel "baby" colors.

I know when I look at my projects over the past year or so, of the ones I have made and kept for myself, there will be many bright pastel colors. Nothing pale, but lots of rich, vibrant, true colors. Nature colors. Possibly a hint of something dark, but no black. Maybe a splash of white for contrast. Yes, bright, flowery, nature colors. Happy colors.

Dishcloth bouquet on my kitchen counter

My "Lucy Flowers" (a wip for the bathroom wall)

 One of many bright floral-y hotpads I use in the kitchen

A "Just for Fun" kitty sitting on a shelf in the bedroom

I could go on, but I think you get the point. :)

Now stash is a different story. The vast majority of what I crochet is given to others, either as gifts or to charities, so the colors will not represent my personal tastes or preferences. I've also been making a concentrated effort to reduce the beast that is my stash, so there will be an absence of some colors. I know I am low on reds and blues. I am really fighting the urge to shop. Really fighting...

 My Red Heart stash 3 yrs ago

My current stash (Red Heart reduced to 4 cubbies)

Nothing exciting there, so let's move on. :)

As you'll see, I love the traditional granny pattern, especially for charity projects. They are quick and easy to make and I can put one together start to finish in under 4 days. What a productive Bee I am. :) These projects also give me the opportunity to play with colors I wouldn't normally use for myself. I've had some failures, but most of them usually turn out nice. I'll start with a couple of my fails...

 I was going for Christmas, but ended up with Martini. LOL

The other six. I wonder what the seniors thought of this one. :)

Another Christmas one that fell slightly short of its mark.

Now this one is more like me. Very garden-esque.

This is one of my favorites, Neopolitan.

Another favorite. I feel like I'm sitting in a field of flowers. :)

Not a granny, but I saw it on Ravelry in these colors and HAD to make it. :)

There are more, but I won't bore you with them now. If you'd like to see my other granny-ghans, I am CrochetAmore on Ravelry. Just search "granny" in my projects. I am really behind getting pictures up, but I will try to finish that up next week sometime.

One final (long) thought on my personal color style. I have different tastes for different purposes. If you look in my closet you will see I have a clear affinity for purple, teal, blue, and black. I rarely wear red or any "hot" colors. You might occasionally catch me in pink or brown... but it's a rare sight. And never ever yellow, orange, or green... my complexion just can't handle it. :/

In the second stash picture above, you likely saw the pineapple afghan on my bed. When I choose colors for a large project for myself, such as an afghan, I tend to lean toward a more subdued palette. Choosing solids over multis, mid-tones over brights, etc.. I am currently working on a sofa throw, the Pinwheel afghan, in Ranch Red. A very muted, almost brown-ish, red as another example. Why these bland colors? They do seem to go against what I've said about my preferences.

Looking at the examples of my personal color style above (and below,) I trend toward smaller accents of color. A bouquet of dishcloths on the counter. A flowered cozy on the dish under a plant... By allowing the larger pieces to fade into the background, the smaller-more vibrant-bursts of color don't have to compete for attention. They are allowed to make their own statement. In other words, less is more.

Yarn for sofa pillows

Tuna can covers

Various colorful magnets/fridgies

My Christmas tree skirt. Just a hint of red. Let the tree be the center of attention. :)

EDIT: I am just noticing that I do a lot of floral themed projects for myself. How very "Bee" of me. :)
2nd EDIT: Corrected the link for the pineapple blanket.

4KCBWDAY4