Color Inspiration

People often ask me how I come up with all of my color combinations. They want to know whether I'm just naturally good with color or whether I copy color schemes I see elsewhere. The answer is both--I am pretty good with color, but I'm also always looking for color combinations that appeal to me. I see sweater patterns everywhere--in paintings, rugs, and upholstery; in display signs, product labels, and graphic advertisements; in other peoples' clothes; and so on. I carry a camera with me almost all the time, so I can take a quick picture of color schemes that are worth following up on.

I often find clever color arrangements on note cards, which already reflect an artist's eye. Below are two note cards I really like with colors that I'm planning to borrow.

These colors are actually quite similar to another sweater I'm just finishing (preview to come soon!), but that sweater doesn't have any red. I'm hoping that by playing up the red and aqua/turquoise and downplaying the brown, the two sweaters won't look wholly identical.

After I took the picture of the yarns, I realized that I'd forgotten the blue-green in the background. I'm not sure I have a yarn that will match that color, but I'll hunt around. Or maybe I like the colors well enough with out it. I don't have that yellow-green color in some of the smaller leaves, but I think the butter yellow will be good enough.

I'm excited about both--stay tuned to follow my progress!

Top 10 Reasons Knitting for Babies and Kids is Better than Knitting for Grown-Ups!

10. No harm, no foul: Babies and kids look cute in everything
9. Instant gratification: Garments come together super fast
8. Snuggly yarn: Good to cozy up to
7. Crazy kids: Kids and babies can pull off mixing bold patterns and colors (red stripes and orange polka dots)
6. Figure friendly: No need to worry about fit in the hips and bust
5. Commitment free: I can experiment with different yarns and stitches without committing to an entire sweater
4. Space saving: Works in progress don't take over an entire room
3. Traveling companions: Projects easily follow wherever I go and tuck into a small bag
2. No boredom: I don't have to survive 33 inches of the back of an adult sweater
. . .
1. There's no temptation to keep the final product for myself!!

Hello from Yellow House Knits!

This post marks the start of my new blog: Inside the Yellow House, which will chronicle my various adventures--knitting and otherwise. I'm new to the whole blog world and am still tinkering with the process, but I hope to have things up and running consistently very soon.

Yellow House Knits offers beautiful handknits for babies and children. Check out my shop at http://www.yellowhouseknits.etsy.com/.

I've been knitting for some time now but discovered the fun of knitting for babies only a few years ago. One of my dearest friends was expecting a baby, so for her shower present, I knitted her a darling little green cardigan. Tons of oohs and ahs later, here we are. All handmade sweaters are heirloom items, but I think you'll find that mine are a bit different from others. I love bright colors, bold patterns, and styles that don't take themselves too seriously. I make all of the items for sale here myself. Please email me if you have any questions or comments. I'd love to hear from you: yellowhouseknits@gmail.com.