Are you old enough to have noticed liking some things now that you didn’t used to, and vice versa? When I was eight years old I was sure I could have thrived on a diet of chocolate chip cookie dough, cake frosting, and Raisinets (everyone knew – even back then – you had to eat some fruits or vegetables). My most beloved article of clothing was made of – now I have to say it – fake fur. Of all my Crayolas, while the bright reds had the shortest life expectancies, the color that would not go away was yellow. I did not like yellow. Yellow was what they painted the walls when they wanted you to “cheer up.” The school nurse’s office was yellow.
Skip ahead a few decades, and yellow has not only been granted clemency, yellow is a good friend. It does, indeed, now cheer me up, and at this time of year I long for yellow. Unfortunately, yellow is on its annual vacation just now, as is just about every other color other than the ones that come to your mind when I say, “January.”
So being able to wrap the color of daylilies blooming in a July garden through my fingers and start to knit with it is like a vacation in itself. I’m making the sample for my Cabled Cowl class with Peru, a wool/alpaca/acrylic blend by Katia. This color of Peru is called “Mustard.” (Don’t get me started on names of colors.) I’m glad I see daylilies, not mustard, though. Mustard lovers, I am one of you. I just happen to think it’s an unfortunate name for a beautiful color of yarn.
Working with yarn, thread, or fabric is such a simple, happy-making way to live surrounded by color. I’m told my complexion is a “Winter,” and I’m right to wear taupes, browns, greys that are a little blue, and blues that are a little grey. But do I want to knit with only those colors all the time? No, I do not.
Do you want to knit with the same colors all the time? I often hear customers say they don’t “understand” color, but understanding and breaking out in a grin when you see a particular watermelon coral or a bright Caribbean turquoise is different. What colors are you missing?