I usually go to fairs, and even stores, with the “look around and see what I find” sort of mentality. Several things are at play there; I design around stash that I have (those yarns I’ve “found”), I like the thrill of discovery, and if I really NEED something I go straight to sourcing it online and ordering. But this year at Rhinebeck it was different, because I was hunting the Tiger.
Tigers . . . quick, what do you think of? Orange and black, and fierce. I have a concept, and it requires orange and black yarn – which is alarming. Especially the orange part. Fortunately, I had my best orange-loving peeps with me. If anyone knows orange, it’s Amy and Jenny.
They know when it’s too rusty, not golden enough, or just plain pumpkin overload. We must’ve looked at every orange yarn at the festival, plus taken in the foliage inspiration, and visited the wool sources themselves.
And as if orange weren’t enough of a challenge, black is NOT a good color in which to design. Even a deep, rich, tonal black sucks the life out things, at least in photographs. We tried greys – I love grey! – but even dark charcoals did not read as Tiger. So many issues; not too black, not too Halloween orange, ideally both from the same source. I was prepared to leave empty-handed, and then we got to Cephalopod. On the Bugga wall, my orange friends located Red Eft, and even though it looked looked scarily pow! to me, even I could see its appeal. Fate was sealed when I found Copper Demoiselle, a purple-black that read Tiger and surprisingly, not Witch.
I’m feeling the feline.
Love it!