Knitting the Rainbow

When we looked at rainbow color combinations a few months ago, I realized for the first time just how many of my projects incorporate rainbow themes.

Please don't misunderstand. I wasn't oblivious to this phenomenon, I just hadn't fully recognized how often they crept into the picture. Some versions are bright, others are muted. Some focus primarily on color, others feature a blend of color and texture. In all their variations, rainbow combinations continue to pop up everywhere. The most recent examples include:


Angletyn Rainbow
A delightful Raveler in the Afghans & Blankets group called this a sophisticated rainbow, which is a lovely description:

Breidan Baby
When this was released, readers and Ravelers commented on how much they enjoyed the muted shades rather than the conventional baby pastels:




Color Check
Together, the two Color Check panels create richly varied rainbows in vivid, mid-range and soft shades:

Drumlin Gemtones
On their own, the saturated gemtones of Drumlin are an incomplete rainbow. This afghan can usually be found draped over the back of an easy chair in the family room, which is painted a creamy yellow that visually completes the rainbow scheme:

Tikkyn Rainbow
Clearly I love rainbows in all their forms, but I especially like the play of color and texture in Tikkyn. On the front, the colors are frosted with cream and slightly more subdued, while on the back (upper left corner) they're more prominent:

Twegen Berry & Harvest
It's a bit of a stretch, but when these two afghans are displayed together, they create a modified rainbow. (And yes, I do sometimes drape them in tandem on the back of the couch just to see this effect in action. I can be goofy that way.)

Through the years, rainbow schemes have surfaced in toddler sweaters, baby hats, cardigans (Moore Colors), scarves, and too many dishcloths to count.

The recent flurry of colorful knits means the stash is awash in partial skeins and leftovers in almost every shade of the ... well, you know.

To put them to good use, I'm working on several new concepts. One's in the swatching stage, and another's just been cast on. It doesn't look like much yet, but bear with me, the end result could be interesting:

Gradually the assortment of partials and remnants will find new futures, which is a very good thing. Once they're gone, I'll face the classic dilemma: Either stop knitting rainbows, or bite the bullet, buy more yarn, and start the cycle all over again.

What's a knitter to do?


If you're fascinated by rainbows, too, you can see all rainbow-related posts here.