Let's talk color...

I knew half way through this busy week Sunday would roll around with no finishes.   And then a couple of days ago I remembered that I was hosting a Crochet Along (today! eek!) in the Our Happy CAL Place on Ravelry, and I hadn't even begun the project I wanted to invite others to join me in there!

So I got busy on that and today I have another started project to show:

What is it, you ask?   It's the start of one of my favorite projects.  A crocheted Linen-Stitch Scarf.

I love this stitch pattern for so many reasons.  First of all, it is super easy. Mindless, even.  And it's a perfect stitch pattern for playing with color.  Because each row overlaps the one before, you get to watch how colors play with one another - the whole effect changing with each new added color.  And...  It's a stitch pattern that's fun for all sorts of projects: scarves, shawls, pillows, blankets, tote bags...  really anything that requires a square or rectangular piece of fabric to create. You can use various yarns and colors to create subtle shading, or a wild cacophany of color.

In this scarf I'm using Red Heart Boutique in the Unforgettable line in the colors Sunrise and Tidal:

You can probably figure out which is Tidal and which is Sunrise.

I'll admit, from the above picture these two colorways do not look like a natural fit. Not to me, anyway.  While blue is opposite orange on the color wheel and therefore complementary, these two colorways don't appear to be complementary because they are so dissimilar in tone.  The blues in the Tidal are muted and the colors in the Sunrise are nearly off the chart vivid.  

Using these two colorways in most projects probably wouldn't work if each is used by itself to create much width at all before introducing the other colorway.  But when working the Linen Stitch pattern, the colors are laid on top of each other and the end result is much more interesting (I think) than either colorway is on its own.  The muted blues of the Tidal colorway are lifted from being kind of gray to being truly blue.  And the bright orange in the Sunrise skein is still vivid, but it isn't overwhelming.  Separated from the other bright colors each vivid color in the Sunrise skein gets to shine on its own, rather than compete with the other colors.

Truth be told, I wouldn't have had the courage (or sense) to put together the above two colorways if the Sunrise didn't have a smidgen of blue running through it.  And, as I've come to look at these scarves as a total experiment in color, I was eager to give these two colorways a try together.  I think the end result will be something totally unexpected, but hopefully fun and interesting to wear.  I can't wait to finish and see what I finally have!  :)

To see what other Yoppers are up to, visit our group on Ravelry.