I’m certainly not an advanced knitter, and not a risky one either, as I stay within my comfort zone rather than stress out over a pattern where each row is different for 24 rows—or whatever. I enjoy talking too much for that kind of dedication. Not advanced, and not risky. But I’m a bit nutty about my knitting.
Here are some digressions from the potato chips: 3 ladies’ hats, a crib blanket for our 14th grandchild due in June, and a prayer shawl in process on the needles—all broadcasting color. It’s funny about color: it seems that people either love it or hate it! I have observed some rolling eyes and I’ve experienced a few supercillious remarks about my “signature”, which is COLOR/COLOR/COLOR—as if there were a Knitting Four Hundred out there dictating “This and only this is the way it should be done to be socially correct . . . .”, the “way” being: black, white, brown, grey, tan, taupe and perhaps that once-in-awhile navy blue or hunter green—or in the case of a baby’s blanket only the softest shades of pink, yellow, or blue.
I do not object to black, brown, tan, and the rest of the group—in fact I am of the black-dress-and-string-of-pearls generation. I still do the black-dress-and-pearl-necklace thing on occasion. I like brown because it goes with my eyes and summer skin tones. BUT when I’m going to be holding something in my hands and working on it over a period of days and sometimes weeks, I want COLOR/COLOR/COLOR. Watching a colorful garment grow on the needles gives me intense pleasure, and I never tire of knitting! Obviously I’m not alone in my passion for color, as a stroll through our neighborhood yarn store will affirm!
My love for color identifies me with Henri Matisse who rocked the Parisian art world in the early 1900s. Matisse’s revolutionary use of vibrant colors earned him the label of “fauve”, meaning “wild beast”. The artists who followed in his tracks were called “les fauves”. Below you will see a photo of a contemporary wild beast holding her soon-to-be-born 14th grandchild’s crib blanket. The baby is a girl, and I feel certain she’ll enjoy the colors in her blanket.
Does that look like a happy grandma, or what?!!! And a wild beast, for sure! 
Margaret L. Been, ©2013
Wonderful that you’re knitting. I think of you often. ~AKB
Hi, Andrea! Great to hear from you!!!