4.15.2010

20/10 Sock Update: Color Theory Lessons

The 20/10 sock challenge is still in full swing at Hemmeke Headquarters. 2 pairs are complete (one sock has been LOST!), and now I find myself with 2 more socks on the needles. Somehow, I got it into my brain to attempt to knit KNEE socks this month, BEADED, LACE knee socks. There is one beautiful, pale blue lace sock half finished on one set of needles, and a different, very stripy knee sock from a different pair-in-progress half-finished on another set of needles (yes, I have LOTS of knitting needles. I recently added over 30 sets from my grandmother's collection).

This stripy pair is a good lesson in color theory. I had one skein of self-striping yarn that covered the whole gamut of the rainbow. My initial idea was to alternate ends of the yarn creatine a eye-busting dual-colored stripe sequence. It didn't work because too many of the colors were so similar in hue that the stripe affect was lost.

Enter a neutral. A neutral color would not only stretch my yarn yardage and enable me to make knee socks (love!), but it would make the colors stand out and separate them a bit, so my brain told me. My brain has been out of school awhile, because it forgot about VALUE!! See that lovely neutral gray and how it doesn't pop against the other colors (try squinting your eyes at the image). That is because the grey and blue and red (and most of the other colors in the skein) are very close in value. Hmm. Black or white or a lighter grey (or I think just the right light aqua) would've been a better choice. Now I have nearly a full length knee sock knit up that might possibly hit the frog pond (rip it, rip it). So will it be "Sassy Stripes Surprise Sara"? or "Undo the Uglies"?

Stay tuned for the conclusion of this thrilling saga....

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