Signatur July 2010 Newsletter 19

'Create Winter Warmth in stunning colours'

Bringing a little colour into winter - we all do it in our own way. Do we jump in with both feet and knit a coat as a single bold colour or do we add colour as a highlight? With really bold colours, as with the Orange Digit Scarf - we tend to make this as a highlight - orange will certainly blow away the winter blues! With the Grey/Black Metro design (middle right) I have played with highlight colours to bring just the tiniest 3 row stripe and bobble of colour into the garment.

Diamond Cable Swing                Digit Scarf                 Metro Swagger                 Boxes Drape

SYDNEY STUDIO OPEN DAY & KNITTING CLASSES

For the first time, my Sydney Knitting classes will include sale stock of discontinued designs and garments in discontinued colours. Bring a friend or buy for a quilter. The sale and classes are only 2 half days - so please check the times closely SAT 28th 9am - noon    SUN 29th 1pm - 4pm

AUGUST KNITTING CLASSES in SYDNEY

AUGUST   Sydney Knitting Classes - email Jane@sigknit.com   Fri 27th August Mitres by Design 9am - 12.30.      Intarsia 1.30pm to 5pm Sat 28th August Fit & Style 1 - 5pm       Sun 29th Agust Mitres by Design 9 to 12.30 See class details online at Shows and Classes

Melbourne's Australian Quilt, Craft & Art Fair

The Australian Quilt, Craft & Art Fair Southbank July 22nd to 25th  Blackheath Designers and Creators Fri 30th July to Sun 1st Aug Blackheath community Centre - Great Western Highway - 2 mins from railway

Melbourne's Southbank hosts one of my favourite shows, though many of the products are aimed at DIY craft, there are designers, like me, also selling ready-made garments. The exhibition incorporates a huge exhibition of Quilts. Many exhibitors sell quilting accessories - jelly rolls and fat squares! There is an excellent cross section of crafts as well as craft classes every day, plus free demonstrations. Melbourne Quilt fair is a great place to pick up a craft to prevent idle hands this winter!!!

Varigated yarns - the stories they create

(Left) Coco Vee Capelet on page 49 of Swing, Swagger, Drape. (for Australia I have replaced the Trendsetter Merino with a Pure Australian Wool in Opal)

I rarely use variegated yarns, as they can by over-busy. Trendsetters' Tonalita, however, is what's known as a long variegation. With the Capelet above combined with a contrast colour (see below) the result is drifts of colour. (Above) Balls of Colours L-R: Sunset 2348; Pink Zebra 2354; Flower Blossom 2345;

Combinations for Coco Vee Cape and Capelet; (Capelet width is shown - the Cape is smaller) Flower Blossom with Opal; Sunset with Briar; Desert Valley with Thyme

Below. Starry Night and Leaf; Starry Night and Plum; Desert Valley with Denim

Below: Pink Zebra with Plum; Centre The Boxes drape using Tonalita shows how the long variation creates wonderful striping shadows - colourway Mossy Tree; Desert Flower and Opal.

I have introduced Vienna (67% wool) for the Greta A-line (longer) and Swagger (shorter). This again is a long variegation in three colourways: Red/Grey; Grey/Black and Beige/Brown. Long variEgations are my personel prefErence, as they create a subtle shading rather than a pepper/salt effect. Long variations are spun with colour rather than dipped and dyed in a hank.

Left to right: Red/Grey; Grey/black. Swagger length is the shorter length in Red/Grey; Beige/Brown with matching buttons, which are so well-matched you can hardly see them! When ordered as a kit, this will include the handmade buttons. Please note when ordering the kit that the book is not included. You'll need to add the book to your order if you do not already have it.

THE CHALLENGE OF COLOUR

You can learn a lot about combining colours from a variegated yarn. As a designer I like to use these as highlights within a colour combination rather than creating a whole garment in variegated. Knitters should beware when adding contrasts, as any colour that matches too well will merge with the variegated, so avoid matching the contrast too closely. This is seen below - the Coco Slub has one hand dyed yarn and 7 solid colours - worked throughout two rows of each - there are sections within some mitres that appear to be the one colour when the hand dye and the solid match each other.

Sometimes we  see a colour in a yarn that we just have to knit, but the challenge is to find the pattern we want to knit. With Mitres and Intarsia you have to create colour combinations or, as I like to call them, relationships. Selecting colours can be challenging. Within my book I share techniques to help with colour selection. I created designs to apply these techniques, with main and highlight colours. Create your own colour combination - try picking a variegated yarn - pull out the individual colours. Match colours to balls of solid yarn - can you combine as stripes and blocks of colour to make these work? The yarn designers who create these yarns are very talented. If you ever struggle to combine colours try using a variegated colour combination to create your own.   I have a fabulous team of knitters. This let me knit and then photograph designs in several distinct colourways within my book to help you further along the journey into a world of colour.

Australian Pure New Wool, need I say more!

So when you then combine up to 8 colour into the Coco Slub you have again to resist the temptation to make a perfect match. This is a time when it is worth investing in a colour wheel from an art shop. The secret to many successful combination and contrasting and complementary colour.

If you'd like to ask a question about anything in this newsletter - or anything all, please email Jane. Thanks for your support - Laura, Petra, Meg, Sue, and I look forward to seeing you in the knitting circle!