Today in the Attic we are going to have ourselves a bit of a....
....c o l o u r ~ f e s t....
....yippeeeee!!! There's nothing I enjoy more than messing about with colour and yarn, and I've got some lovely colour-filled ideas to share with you today. Colour palettes are crowding my mind day and night just now as I'm busy working on new crochet designs and projects. Playing and working with colour is an exhilarating way to be creative, I absolutely love the shivers of excitement that buzz buzz buzz when I work on colour ideas. It makes me so happy! Of course, the colour palettes I choose are just the beginning of a wonderful creative journey, but it's very important to get this part right. A bit like a map I guess - sometimes it's fun to spontaneously set out on your travels with only a vague idea of where you're going, but usually it's a good idea to use a map and plan your route.
Whenever I start planning a new crochet blanket, the choosing of colours takes top priority over the choosing of a pattern. Sometimes the colour selection is a very speedy affair and comes together within minutes. Other times I mull it over for many weeks and months before settling on a final decision. It's just such a fun, happy thing to do, I love love love love love it! I really enjoy bringing together a selection of colours that will sing in harmony and tell a particular story or evoke special memories. The above picture shows six colour palettes that I've used to make blankets during the past five years. Each one reminds me of a specific time or place, inspired by nature or relating to happy times spent with my family.
{top row left to right : coast : cottage : cosy ♥ bottom row left to right : harmony : original : sunny}
This is the original colour selection of Stylecraft Special DK I chose way back in the Spring of 2010. I remember selecting these 17 colours in my local yarn shop, pulling the balls down from the shelf and arranging them on the floor of the shop until I fell in love with what I saw. It was so speedy, I remember that I just allowed my heart to tell my eyes which colours made me feel h-a-p-p-y. I then went on to use these colours to make a colourful Granny Stripe blanket for our caravan, and this colour palette now reminds me of all the wonderful family holidays we've had with our beloved Connievan.
These colours I called "Coast" and they were inspired by my childhood growing up by the sea in Dorset. It tells the story of sea and sky, of grassy cliff tops and pebble beaches. I crocheted these cool, calm colours into a ripple blanket in the Spring/Summer of 2014.
I chose these colours at the same time that I chose the coast colours, and the two blankets are a bit like brother and sister. This palette I called "Cottage" and it was inspired by my Mum's pretty cottage garden in Dorset. The story here is of warm terracotta, curvy stone paths, fragrant herbs, summer skies and the pretty colours of sweet peas, clematis, lavender and roses. The Cottage ripple blanket reminds me of Summer holidays and special family times.
Ah, here are my "Cosy" colours, how I LOVE this colour palette! These beautiful, warm, rich colours are inspired by the abundance of colour found in leaves, seeds, berries and flowers during the Autumn season. It makes me feel a teensy bit warm and fuzzy just looking at these colours and remembering the pure pleasure of this cosy blanket journey.
This colour palette is named "Harmony" and I love the calm and gentle nature of these soft blues, greens, purples and pinks. The inspiration for this blanket came from my favourite time of year (when Spring merges with Summer) and makes me think of bluebells and blossom, of babbling rivers and sun dappled woodland. The Harmony blanket was a joy to make and reminds me of riverside picnics and Sunday morning walks.
You will probably all be familiar with these "Sunny colours" as it was only last month that I completed this blanket. These colours are bright and cheery, bold and feisty, and remind me of hot summer days, big pots overflowing with bright summer flowers, lazy days, flipflops and bare arms. They are happy and carefree, and the Sunny Log Cabin blanket is one of my all time favourite makes.
My blankets do all have a very recognisable feel to them - the colours are harmonious and well balanced and very definitely "me" in a way that's hard to define in words. I love that they all have such vivid memories attached to them, and that they mean something very personal to me. Each blanket represents a bundle of personal memories and they are all very heavily inspired by colours of the seasons. I guess I have found an instinctive way to choose colours and make blankets that feels natural and genuine - I'm not influenced by what others are making or what's on-trend. This is just me making blankets for my home using colours that make me happy.
Most days I will find myself having a jolly good play around with yarn colours, it's become a bit of an addiction to tell the truth. You may remember the Stylecraft Colour competition that I helped to judge last year - I've become very familiar with this yarn during the 5+ years that I've crocheted blankets with it and know the ins and outs of the colours very well. There are now 83 (eighty three!) shades to play with in the Stylecraft Special DK, and I am very lucky to have most of those colours on my shelves here in the studio.
Although my colour palettes generally come from within my own memory banks, I do also keep a kind of a visual colour journal of images which inspire me. Sometimes it might be an image on the internet (I have a colour board on Pinterest where I collect images that inspire), and sometimes it might be images in a book or magazine that have me reaching for my bowl of yarn pegs. I take photos of my pegs with the image, then file them away on my computer for future pondering. The above two images were inspired by the pages of Mollie Makes magazine which has a very distinctive colour palette, it's a sort of eclectic vintage/retro/neon brights mix which I find very appealing.
I also collect greetings cards and postcards, labels, wrapping papers, snippets from brochures, magazines, leaflets, catalogues. I keep anything that sparks a happy feeling or sets my creative colour cogs whirring, I'll have to show you my scrapbook pages sometime. I tend to live life with eyes and heart wide, wide open, seeking pleasure in my surroundings and soaking up inspiration wherever I can find it. I just love the thread of colourfulness that runs through my days, it makes me very very very happy.
Yesterday I started a new blanket, oh deep joy! I've decided to make another Cosy Stripe blanket using a palette of beautiful, soft colours which are very pretty and Spring-like. The colours were originally inspired by one of my lovely Facebook followers (thank you Sheena!) who wrote to me and asked if I could create a cupcake-inspired colour palette for her. The idea was so appealing I just couldn't resist, and so here I am at the start of another blanket making journey. There will be a yarn pack coming to my shop in April if you fancy hooking up some sweet stripes for Spring - I'll keep you updated with my progress.
Oh yes, I even made myself a cupcake board on Pinterest - do go and feast your eyes, it's quite the most delicious inspiration.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi! I just ordered a cupcake color pack and pattern from Wool Warehouse. It will take about 10 days to arrive at my home in Venetia USA. I can't wait to start on those yummy stripes!!!! Thank you for being so sweet and letting me look into your crochet world.
Smiles,
Claudia May
Posted by: Claudia May | August 16, 2016 at 06:25 PM
Hi Lucy, I'm fairly new to crochet and after discovering your wonderful blog, I've been trying to decide what to make first! I started a Mandala today and couldn't put it down. I struggled a bit with choosing the colour sequence but your ideas on blanket planning was a great help. Can't wait to make a ripple blanket!
Posted by: Sue | April 09, 2016 at 01:16 PM
Hi Lucy
Today my self and my husband when to the excel ,saw some of your crochet ?
They are lovely l am going to have a go ......the colours put together so lovely
Thank
Angela
Posted by: Angela | April 07, 2016 at 10:16 PM
Great article! I've been looking for something like this to find inspiration and hear how others chose colours and how they put them together. Thanks you!
Posted by: Kathy | April 04, 2016 at 02:26 AM
Anxiously awaiting the finished product and the kit to be out.The cupcake colours are fantastic!
Posted by: Donna Blissett | March 18, 2016 at 03:05 AM
I saw someone crocheting this blanket, so decided to find out where it came from. I ordered the cosy stripe blanket and I love it! I was so excited when it arrived, that I posted it on facebook. I felt like a child in a sweet shop. Such wonderful colours. Many of my friends have since purchased the same pack. Every colour brings a tinge of happiness. So excited about your cupcake colours. Can't wait. Thank you Lucy xxxx
Posted by: Karen Whitehouse | March 01, 2016 at 08:46 AM
After reading this post I realized I have every one of your blanket packs and am in various stages on each one. (My problem is that I LOVE to start projects but after a short period of time I'm on to the next shiny thing on Pinterest or Facebook and have to force myself to finish something.) I love reading your posts and I hope you are feeling much better! Thank you for all you do :)
Posted by: Lori Tretheway | February 26, 2016 at 09:45 PM
have you ever looked at the design seeds website - lots of colour inspiration there Lucy!
Posted by: margaret | February 26, 2016 at 04:12 PM
I love your choice of colours! All of your blankets are just so beautiful. :) I really wish I had the yarn you use here in Canada. I am tempted to order one of the blanket packs online and asking for it as a birthday gift. :D I still have to figure out which colour set I want to have the most!
Anyway, I love your work and wish I had your ability to match colours so well! :)
Posted by: Karen | February 25, 2016 at 04:54 AM
Hi Lucy. The last two posts have been perfect synchronicity. I made and adore the cosy blanket and would like to do a granny squares blanket in the same colours but need 16 colours. Looking at all your pallettes displayed like this, I feel better about the struggle I've been having to choose just one extra colour; they're so perfectly chosen for their harmonies and tones, I know that just one wrong colour could throw the whole thing if it stuck out like a sore thumb. I'd be really grateful if you could suggest one colour that would go well with the 15 cosy colours. Thank you for all the pleasure your blog brings.
Posted by: Janice | February 23, 2016 at 09:25 AM
loving the new spring cakie colours,
Clare x
Posted by: Clare | February 13, 2016 at 03:39 PM
Hi Lucy,
I would love to see a color pack offered that has one skein of every color! can you make it happen?!!
The colors are so inspiring and so are you!
Thanks!
Posted by: maryann | February 12, 2016 at 04:14 PM
Lucy - I LOVE that your blankets are instantly recognisable, and you have a very definite style that is solely YOU! It's funny isn't it what we are always drawn to? I have realised lately that I have a certain palette of colours that I come back to again and again. Before Baby Bear was born, I used to make and sell jewellery (before the days of Etsy and life was less busy!), and I was always drawn to Amazonite, Aquamarine and Rose Quartz. They had such calming properties for me, and I realise that I tend to use them a lot in my makes......I know, ever the pastel girl! I do however crave colour at certain times of the year. I notice pastels in the Summer/Autumn and brights in the Winter/Spring. I usually can't do without an off white in the mix (I can hear your gasp!) and I just CANNOT work with black or that neon lilac colour! I love your peg idea though. I really need to use that.
It's always such a treat to read your posts Lovely Lucy. I know your day is always full and I, and I know so many others, really appreciate all that you share with us.
Take care
Vanessa
Posted by: Vanessa | February 12, 2016 at 01:05 PM
PLEASE! Keep us inspired by your work and writting!
Posted by: Laura | February 12, 2016 at 04:32 AM
After a busy and stressful day, I have really enjoyed reading this post, Lucy. Such a delicious feast of colour, I could feel my shoulders dropping as I perused your different colour combinations: 'Cottage' and 'Harmony' are my favourites. Heaven.
Cathy x
Posted by: Cathy | February 11, 2016 at 08:44 PM
I love the idea of using wooden pegs to wind any thread type of material. I first saw the use of pegs to wind up embroidery floss on YouTube and I thought what a clever idea. Then I saw how you Lucy were winding your yarn on pegs and writing the yarn color and I thought bingo! My way of keeping track of my yarn colors was winding my yarn in balls and folding the yarn label and then sticking it in the yarn ball. However, many a time the label would come off and well a dilemma. I think having your yarn swatches at your fingertips is great and decorative. My grands love lining them up!
Posted by: Estella | February 11, 2016 at 06:27 PM
Wow! What a gorgeous colorful stroll down memory lane. You've done it again, Lucy. More color for the senses. Love the yummy cupcake colors. Pastels are my very favorite. You're such an inspiration to us all. Can't wait to see more of your cupcake blanket.
Posted by: Penny | February 11, 2016 at 04:19 PM
Isn't it lovely to look at all your blankets together in one place like that? A physical photograph album! It makes them all very special indeed xx
Posted by: Winwick Mum | February 11, 2016 at 03:01 PM
Most definitely a fest for the eyes this post! If that doesn't inspire I don't know what will! lol Your latest cupcake colors invoke the feel of Easter to me. I too am like a magpie for collecting things that inspire creative makes. I guess that's why Pinterest is so additive. ; D Enjoy the new blanket and I look forward to it's journey.x
Posted by: Angela-Southern USA | February 11, 2016 at 02:21 PM
What a beautiful, COLORFUL post of yummy yarn!! Thanks for inspiring all of us!!
Posted by: Brenda B. | February 11, 2016 at 02:03 PM
Love love love all the color stories...
Posted by: Ozge Basagac | February 11, 2016 at 01:55 PM
I love your latest colours. I immediately thought of babies and small children!!
Posted by: Carol | February 11, 2016 at 01:31 PM
love the colour in this post, really brightened up my computer screen. I really like your yarn packs and have bought a couple, but last week I put together my own colour palette and bought the yarn and I'm really pleased how the colours look together. I'm doing my own colour pegs too and am adding new colours as I get them, finding them so useful to help chose the colours as there's no way to see them together on a computer screen and the colours aren't always very accurate. xx
Posted by: Erica Field | February 11, 2016 at 12:06 PM
Oh so looking forward to you new blanket? Is it going to be a CAL?
Posted by: Pamela Lawson | February 11, 2016 at 09:20 AM
lovely post as always Lucy xx Joy xx
Posted by: Joy | February 11, 2016 at 09:18 AM