Monday, January 07, 2008

Krazy Kolors Class Preview

Unfortunately, I can't make the first night of the Krazy Kolors Workshop, so this Saturday, I spent some time picking a project, and playing with color - and voila - a perfect preview of what the first class holds in store.

First, I perused patterns to find something I like. I would suggest coming to the first class with at least a good idea of what you want to knit - stop by the shop before the 31st, and we have plenty for you to look at. You can find Kaffe patterns in current and older Rowan Magazines, his own books, many still in print, and older books, which can be found on ebay, or perhaps a friend's library, or even our own free library. If you're reading this post, you're probably pretty internet savy, so what I would suggest is doing a google search, see what comes up, and if you like something, figure out where the pattern is. Kaffe revisits many of his themes over the years, and if you find something from the early 80's, you may very well find an updated version in one of his later publications. Some of his designs are just timeless, though - like the one I picked: The vest consists of 25 bands of fair isle, some bands composed of 2 colors, some of 3. I looked at the chart, and at the yarn recommendations, and I thought, ok, pick 13 colors that play nice together.

So, I went to the shelves and pulled out all of the Rowan Felted Tweed: 15 colors - done, right? Nah, Felted Tweed, while beautiful, doesn't really have a color that "pops," nor does it have a very large range. So, I pulled out all of the Reynolds Whiskey: And then I mixed them together, in what I thought were color families: And then . . . and then I stared at them . . . and stared at them - what the heck am I supposed to do next?

Luckily, in walked Lisa, allegedly for a quick stop in - but it didn't take long for her to be seduced by the colors - so much more fun than shopping for clothes! - and the color families, as I called them were disbanded, and the yarn was sorted into lights, mediums and darks - And then we threw in more yarn! - Drops Alpaca (which would need to be doubled), Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light, some Misti Alpaca, which would also have to be doubled - basically if was DK, or could be DK, it ended up on the floor.

Then, we lined them up, in a color progression - And then, we started cutting. The trimming down process was based on, at least for me, taste, texture, cost, and degree of pain in the neck (i.e. doubling). And here's what I had left: And for now, that's the batch I've "narrowed" it down to - the plan now is to check my stash and see what DK's I have hanging out at home, and to do the final paring down before the first class.

Isn't this going to be so much fun!!!!

So, call the shop, sign up, and get ready to brighten up this upcoming dreary time of year - add color to February and March, and give it a try.

1 comment:

Carrie said...

Oh man I've been debating signing up, and this might have just convinced me! That vest is going to be fabulous!