Orange Horizon

For a long time my go-to colors have been black and green. Black is all about how one wears it; it can be grungy and rebellious or chic and sophisticated.Come to think of it, it can be grungy and chic or rebellious and sophisticated too. Wearing black allows one to become versed in the grammar of silhouette. Black has as many personalities as the average teenager, maybe even more, which made it a great companion through adolescence and into the early twenties.

Then there was green. That’s a story for another day.

Recently though, a whole spectrum of colors has suddenly caught my attention. Some of the credit certainly goes to my grandmother, who has decorated her stylish modern home with warm orange and brown textiles. As much as I have always admired her taste, orange just seemed to brazen and bright to get along with the rest of my wardrobe. An orange shirt or two spent their time with me languishing in the closet before being passed on to better homes.

But this Thanksgiving my grandmother showed me some skeins of yarn that she had bought in Italy. One yarn in particular was enchanting. It was variegated dark brown, deep orange and off white and had a unique roving like feel. Hmmm… maybe just a hat? And with that, orange had its foot in the door… and so did brown. In the last month or so (a la Harlot) I have acquired a few pet skeins.

Malabrigo yarn’s lovely Aquarella line of super bulky thick & thin in the enchanting Coronilla color. A rich chocolaty brown with undertones or orange and purple.

Berroco’s Ultra Alpaca (50% wool, 50% alpaca) #6227
A more rusty, laid-back orange.

Berroco’s Foliage (53% new wool, 47% acrylic) #5954
The yarn that started it all.

This makes a heap of yarn.

The love of my life, who offers both financial and emotional support for the knitting habit, does not really want to encourage stashing behavior, so I've been plotting to turn the mountain into a hat/scarf/wristwarmer set. But don't you know it, the right set of patterns hasn't materialized. Any suggestions?