Blanket Planning

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.

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Comments

[Ellie]

I thought the harmony blanket was to showcase the new stylecraft colours? I'm sure I read that on your blog. It's a bit disingenuous to say you're not influenced by external factors when you do make money from sales of stylecraft yarn (nothing wrong with that of course).

[charl]

Oh god those colours are gorgeous!! I'm doing the cosy stripe at the moment after having the wool pack for Christmas but will be buying that pack as well when it's available. Love your blog and look everyday . You taught me to crochet! 😊😊

[Sue Kelley-Holmes]

I love the way you put colours together. The cup cake colours are beautiful and will be on my to do list. I am working on the Sunny Log Cabin and have done 10 squares so far. Thank you so much for all your hard work and thought that goes into the projects and your blog.

[SquareMary]

If I were going to make a cupcake blanket, it would just be all chocolate brown! Yours is much more fun!

[Angela]

Oh my goodness Lucy, what are you doing to us! I just have to make this blanket too! Oh wow, I just love these colours. I've fallen in love again, lol!

[Olfat Al Kasaby]

Happy to read your blog post Lucy, it made me happy and I'm happy for you :) Thank you

[heidijo]

Love love love these colours, I sometimes find Your colours at tad to bright for me,even though they blend well and I enjoy seeing the finished projects but oh my thsee just shouted and jumped off page at me. It's my birthday month so might have to get an iou for April. Thanks Lucy.

[Janet Berg]

I really like the way you are organizing (?) the colours.

[Nicola]

I have the cosy and coast colour packs but have stashed them away until the time is right to use them in something lovely.

[Monica]

Oh my word I absolutely looove all your colour pallets breen used in all your projects ♡

[SimplyMrsP]

Really lovely Lucy. Thank goodness you are a colour expert because you help me enormously xxxx

[Lonormi Manuel]

I've enjoyed seeing your pins on your "cupcake board", and have wondered at their purpose -- now I know! Your spring colors will be lovely together in a blanket. One part of the creative process with which I've struggled most is choosing color palettes. I love bright, vivid, almost childish colors, and it's taken me a while to give myself permission to indulge in them. When we work with colors that give us joy, I really think that joy comes through our fingers and into the work, where it may be shared with others. ;) Glad you're feeling better! Do take care!

[Emma F]

I love your colourful posts and enthusiastic zing for life! I have been very ill for some time, but have followed your blog for years and you always make me feel better. I adore the sunny disposition that comes across in your writing, and have just finished making your Coast blanket. I was sad when it ended! Can't wait for the spring pack! Best wishes to you and your family x

[Anne]

A wonderful read! Like you, I have special memories to all the blankets I made.

The new color choice looks great! I am working on a cozy blanket with 25 different colors at the moment. It will be a wedding gift for my honorary aunt and it is so much fun with working with all the rainbow colors!

Take care
Anne
Crochet Between Worlds

[Jayne Quayle]

I'm no good at choosing colour palettes so I tend to buy yours from wool warehouse. You are fab at it!

[Lynne Gill]

You've got me winding yarn round pegs to make a colour selection tool now Lucy! an excellent idea. I really rather like your new colour way, but am in the middle of my SEVENTH blanket! I also want to make a Harmony one too…..

[daisy jones]

So nice to see some softer colours creeping in, very easy on the eye as well as the soul very calming I think?...enjoy
bestest D x

[Penny]

Gorgeous new colour pack Lucy. Love it. Penny x

[Dorothy Bradbury]

This is one I shall have to make - after I have finished my Sunny Log Cabin and my Coast Ripple. Your blankets are fantastic and your colour schemes amazing!

[Katie]

So interesting to read how you bring together those beautiful colours. Thank you x