Last summer Judy and I drove north for a while, hopped a ferry on a VERY windy day, stayed in a place that we never could figure out what was living in the walls, and took a class where all we did was knit swatches. It was a dream!

We each had brought an inspiration piece and from that we identified colors and found the corresponding yarns. Then we began to swatch.

Judy had rocks. Literally, a picture of river rock with a few blips of moss and reflection of sun. Pretty Judy. Lots of gray, some shades of charcoal and maybe a tad of green.

It’s no secret that color scares me. I’m happy with neutral. Desert Island? Gray, brown and ivory. Preparing for the class, I could hear my mother’s voice and thought if I truly am going to get something out of this class, I need color. I found a lovely painting in an old issue of Taproot. Colors galore.

We began pulling the yarn and swatching. The strategies that Janine, the instructor, guided us through were enlightening. I worked up swatches for hours (ahem, days) and started to “see” what needed to happen – more of one color and less of another. It was amazing.

At some point, it happened. I looked down at my work and realized I hated every single combination. Maybe not hate, but I definitely wouldn’t wear any of them.

It was my inspiration. It had been too forced. I was hoping to bring color into my life and orange and gold were never going to make me smile.

Noticing my struggle, Janine mentioned that “recoloring” a sweater can sometimes be a great way to ease into all of this. Noting hues and values of a project already completed and then shifting to different colorways can be another possibility.

So…I pulled out “Raga Pullover” by Violet McQuade, studied the colors, and began to plot my own version. 

Our instructor, Janine Bajus, is known as a color maven in the colorwork and fair isle knitting world. Her first book comes out this fall and is a comprehensive guide in choosing colors no matter the size of the project.
She was extremely knowledgeable, encouraging and a wonderful instructor for knitters at all levels. Judy and I left feeling energized, inspired and with a new love for color knitting.

We are proud to annouce…

To celebrate our 10 year anniversary,

Fiddlehead Yarns

is hosting

Sign ups for both of these workshops will start soon! Be sure to stay in touch via Facebook, Ravelry and Instagram for further details!