Belated birthday present #1 arrives!

It arrived on Monday - the yarn to make me a Venezia!



I love this pattern, and the colourwork design for it, but I am left completely numb by the colours Eunny Jang worked it up in. Not so good if you have blue-pink skin and high colouring in yer cheeks; I'd look like I was on the waiting list for donor kidneys and/or liver.







So quite some time ago, probably not too long after I got the Winter '06 Interweave Knits issue, I had a play with graph paper and colour pencils to see what my preferred colours would look like. Then I got out the shade cards for Jamieson's and for Jamieson and Smith, both of Shetland. I wanted to stay with Shetland wool, because the colour ranges are amazing, and also because I'm going to give the steek thang a crack.









While J & S is cheaper per ball, I prefer the Jamieson's colours. So I invested some dosh, for swatching. I wanted to have the colours I like, and keep the pattern visually balanced, and not have it look like a mess.






So here are some pix!

The first one, at the top, is the six swatches I did. The second is my three favourites - the top row of photo #1, and the one on the left of the middle row. The third one is a colourway I just didn't quite like enough (from the left of the middle row of photo #1), but notice how the horizontal striping effect is really minimised? I'll keep it in mind for 'ron.

And the winner?


I'm a sucker for purple!

My list of substitutions:
Aubretia (#1300) for old gold and yellow ochre;
Mist (#180) for sand; Loganberry (#1290) for peacock; Hyacinth (#615) for mooskit/white; Clover (#596) for rosemary; Purple (#610) for mooskit; Cyclamen (#562) for ivy; and Pot Pourri (#603) for turf.




I actually prefer the colours in the top right of photo #1 (lavender blues on purples), but the horizontal striping was really pronounced, so no go.

But first, a Southern Summer of Socks and a top to make.