Retreat from colour?

Could I possibly be drawing back from strong saturated colour? I find I am gradually sneaking more and more grey into my weaving and I really like it.

When I introduced it into the Fresco design I wasn’t sure how well it would work. Although I have always been partial to a bit of charcoal, slate, fog – or whatever grey thing comes to mind – I sometimes hear nasty rumours about grey yarn. Black is often recommended to set off bright colours, while grey is said to suck all the colour out, taking everything else down with it into greyness. But personally I am not that keen on solid black. I do use black, but prefer to use very dark blues (or purples or reds) either on their own or mixed in with the black to make it richer. Grey on the other hand…

greys with green

This week I have finally got myself organised to return to the remaining Fresco warp on the Megado and I have been branching out a tiny bit. In the cushion above, and all of the others I’ve finished so far, the wefts are one colour and one grey. The grey weft is a medium tone, halfway between the light and dark of the warp. I particularly like the blend of the three greys with a single colour. The shading from dark to light makes the pattern appear quite three-dimensional.

Fresco greys

I’m giving myself a bit of a change at the moment by weaving with a light and a dark blue, which is about as close as I can get to two more greys without actually using grey!

new greys with blues

That’s not a very good representation of the colour, but I think you can still see the 3D effect in the grey part of the warp. I am really keen to try a multiple-shades-of-grey warp. My idea is to go a bit bonkers throwing colours at it, but maybe I will like it without them?

Retreat from colour?” was posted by Cally on 24 Sept 2014 at http://callybooker.co.uk

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5 Responses

  1. Gretchen
    |

    Oh, I think grey is wonderful for setting off color! I think of a grey day and beautiful autumn leaves or spring flowers before a storm. I’m so glad I found your blog, it is inspiring and lovely.

  2. ladyoftheloom
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    Cally…you always inspire me to get back to my loom when I have been away for a while. Love the cushions and love the grey.

  3. Cally
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    Glad to hear you are both grey fans as well!

  4. Fabian Burga
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    hola, tambien estoy iniciando en este hermoso campo del tejido, me encantaria que compartas conmigo los patrones de este hermoso diseño. Espero me ayudes a seguir aprendiendo.

    • Cally
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      Hi Fabian – If you want to learn four-colour double weave (4CDW) then my best recommendation is that you look at “Echo and Iris” by Marian Stubenitsky. This is a new book and it is very comprehensive with lots of weave drafts and illustrations for 4CDW and for several other weaves as well.