Hello! I’ve been immersing myself in colour and it’s been such a joy that I thought I’d share this small journey here. It takes us to Sweden, but let’s start at the beginning. I was going to knit a cardigan from Maja Karlsson’s cardigan book. This one:
It’s a gorgeous design, but the colours – although exciting and very well balanced – are not ‘me’ at all. The cardigan is knit from Léttlopi, an Icelandic yarn that comes in many colours. Which ones to choose to make the cardi really mine?
The cardigan design is called Sundborn, after the Swedish village where painter Carl Larsson and his wife Karin lived in their home called Lilla Hyttnäs. In the introduction to the pattern, designer Maja tells us that the surprising colour combination was inspired by Karin’s textile art and would never have occurred to herself. She ends with: ‘Challenge yourself to try something different…’
I’ve visited Sundborn (twice!) and thought the photos might inspire me. This is the entrance to Lilla Hyttnäs:
The house is that typical Swedish red, with yellow, green and white accents.
It’s an utterly lovely house, but the colours are not something I’d wear. An outbuilding has a blue-grey door decorated by Carl himself with a wreath, the name of one of their children and the year it was finished (if I understand it correctly). I quite like that shade of blue.
Hmmm. Let’s look at the garden for some more inspiration.
More red, yellow, and green, and a bit of purple and orange as well. It’s such a nice and tranquil spot and the colours are wonderfully uplifting…
…but not exactly cardigan colours for me. Another approach then – leafing through a book with Carl Larsson’s paintings. Oh, his colour palette is so attractive. In the end I chose a painting of Karin – scissors in hand, her weaving looms to the left, lush green house plants everywhere and a pink flowering azalea in the foreground.
I thought of combining the pink of the azalea and the deep blue of Karin’s dress with the green of the plants, but it was too different for me. In the end I chose the mixed colour of the ruffle at Karin’s neck to go with the blue and pink.
I’m sorry Maja, I tried to take on your challenge, but I’m staying within my comfort zone. The colours I’ve chosen will go with just about all my other clothes and I’ll love knitting with and wearing them. It’s been fun looking around for different and exciting colours, though.
Now I can’t wait to get back to my knitting. Wishing you all you a lovely weekend and hope to see you again next week!
Mooi, jouw combinatie is veel vrolijker!
De oorspronkelijke versie is idd ondanks het roze wel wat sombertjes. Fijn weekend!
I really liked how you determined your colors – that was a very smart way. I like your color combinations, but, for me, I would have gone with the green instead of the pink – or maybe a blue, green and yellow. So many colors – and so little time. I can’t wait to see your sweater as it progresses and also when it is finished. Happy knitting.
Colours are very personal, aren’t they? It’s not just a matter of what pleases your eye, but also of what you like wearing. Green would be great, too, just not for me. It was fun to choose colours this way, and for me easier than choosing them in the shop.
What a lovely combination of colors! I love that shade of bright pink. Maja’s combo is interesting but not something I would choose, I much prefer yours.
Thank you – the pink is such an uplifting colour!