Decisions, decisions

I was stunned, absolutely stunned, when I read Sharon's first design challenge on New Year's Eve.  I was anticipating a traditional assignment.  Something like "Use three to five lines in a composition with a nature theme."  So when I was asked to use admiration as a theme, I was floored.  How an artist expresses admiration in a fiber creation is a mystery to me.  Or maybe I just needed to give the design challenge time to mentally marinate.  But I'm impetuous so I knew ruminations over admiration weren't in the cards for me.

So, I moved on to the color part of the challenge, hoping that I'd get some inspiration from a jaunty, vibrant color theme I expected Sharon to select. Wrong! Mauve and celadon are not jaunty or vibrant. They aren't even "my" colors. Last Fall, I took a color workshop with Brandon Mabley at Stitches East. Halfway through the class, we were asked to display our work. The other women produced samples that had subtle color changes in gentle heathers, soft transitions from light to medium hues. Not me.  I handed over my sample for posting and told Mr. Mabley that I wasn't Mexican by birth, but my sample sure looked like I might be. Bright yellows and reds and greens were all over my piece. He called me "Salsa Girl" for the rest of the workshop. See? Celadon and mauve have never been in my color vocabulary.

So, after staring blankly at the computer screen for about 10 minutes, I took Sharon's suggestion and visited the Colour Lovers Web site. That visit explained a lot. The color scheme is one that might be chosen by graphic designers. Did I want to start thinking in terms of a graphic design project?  Then, I clicked on the Korean Handbok link and got the inspiration for my January project. All those little dolls lined up made me think of fashion and the dolls made me think of Barbie. And what do you know? I thought "Why not create some up-to-date fashions for Barbie?

Now, you are probably thinking that I have more than one screw loose. However, I set up some personal parameters for this challenge over and above Sharon's monthly limitations. I have to use up stash wherever possible and avoid adding new materials to stash. I have to produce something useful if possible. And I have to have fun doing the project. Designing for Barbie in the mauve and celadon colorways was perfect because I know a very young lady who is having a birthday in February and she'd love to get some clothes for her doll. Plus, I have been saving some Barbie knitting patterns since 1968! I mean really, if not now, when? And doing this project would be a hoot for me. I haven't played with a doll since... well, for about 50 years.

So, I rummaged through my 7 (huge) boxes of fiber and came up way short. Like I said, mauve and celadon are not my colors. 

So I telephoned my Tulsa sister and begged her to go through her stash to see if she had anything in the assigned colorways. She is the kindest, sweetest person on earth, and she was awfully nice to humor me, especially on New Year's Eve. She promised to send me what she had. She's a sock knitter, so a lot of her fiber remainders will be the proper weight for Barbie clothes. She also buys expensive designer fibers, so Barbie will be the recipient of at least one one-of-a-kind garment.  She also made me promise to buy a Barbie doll to accompany the clothes.  I believe her exact words were, "Oh, come on, Bernadette. Spring for it." So, since Barbie will only be temporarily residing at my house, this will be an acceptable purchase. New personal parameter: Monthly purchases for a project cannot exceed $10. And now I am off to the Dollar General in search of a mannequin, er, Barbie.