Cues From Nature and other Resources

One of my favorite things about starting a new crochet project is selecting the yarns and colors I will use. With so many fibers, brands, and retailers out there, the possibilities are endless. But how do you pick that perfect color scheme for your latest project?

Cues from Nature
When it comes to color schemes, the most amazing artist in the world is Mother Nature. For example, I took this picture in my back yard earlier in the year (when the irises were blooming):

Now, my mother is a huge fan of purple, so let's say I want to put together a special purple afghan for her. I already have a basic color scheme in this picture, but how do I pull out the colors and play with them? That's where some of the amazing free tools available on the internet come into play -- like ColorPic.

This free software allows you to grab colors from a digital photo and start building a color palette from them. with just a few clicks, I have a palette ready for my new project and I'm ready to go shopping.

Yarns from KnitPicks collection (http://www.knitpicks.com/)

Other Resources
So, what if I don't have that perfect photo to start with? That's where kuler by Adobe comes in handy. Kuler is a community of folks who love playing with colors and building new color palettes. No need to combine colors -- just browse the palettes in kuler and pick what you like... I'm thinking this one would make a great granny square project -- how about you?

Another great resource is COLORLovers.com. Like kuler, this community allows you to browse palettes and search using a variety of criteria. Sign me up for a new sweater in Giant Goldfish, please...

I hope this post left you with some new ideas for projects and I want to thank Marie for the opportunity to visit with you all today. To read more of my stuff, stop by my blog, itsy bitsy spider crochet or visit me on Facebook!

Kind regards and happy crocheting,
Karla (The Itsy Bitsy Spider)

Wow! Thank You Karla, I am so exicited I can't wait to go check out these great sites and get started on my next project using one of the sites that you recommend. If you have not check out Karla's blog then I suggust that you do right now. go ahead click on the link. it'll take you right there.....I know you want to....