Tahki recently held its Cotton Classic Colorplay Challenge, with winners selected by readers of the Interweave communities. And, lucky us, the winning scarves were featured guests at our recent Crochet photoshoot. 

Everyone on our photo team was agog with A Tangle of Color, the winning crochet scarf. A lot of these folks are not crocheters, but they were fascinated by the way the stitches harness the strands of color in this stunner.

Take this photo, for example. Looks like we asked the model to look at the scarf. Not so. She was studying the scarf, curious about how the chains fit in under that shell at the end. And the photographer caught her doing it. Pretty great, I think. 

Stephanie Sario, the designer of A Tangle of Color, sets colorful center strands against neutrals in the main part of the scarf for a pretty great effect.

But I want to pick my own colors. Don't you?

So I lit out to my LYSes.

LYS number 1 is the love child of Wonka Land and Floyd's Barber Shop. If you manage to make a beeline for the yarn you seek without being distracted by the goodies tucked in every nook and cranny, you will still be caught up in conversation at the counter, where you run into someone from the spinning group. Or maybe meet a new acquaintance. And, eventually, you will leave with both yarn and new knowledge.

I left with colors perfect for a scarf for my mom (shhh) and knowledge of how to stuff half an afghan into a gallon-size plastic bag in order to weigh it (so as to figure out how much yarn is needed to make the second half of the afghan. Of course.)

LYS number 2 is filled with lovely, touchable stuff. But when you arrive eight minutes before closing, there's no time for touching. The staff cheerfully and efficiently directs you to your target and helps you feng shui your options.

I left with a clutch of purple. Nothing wrong with that.

The purples--already wound into balls--are stashed in my go-bag, along with hook and pattern. I'll be working on the scarf today at the Carolina Fiber Fest (stop by if you're near Raleigh).

What's that? You want the pattern, too? Certainly. Download the free crochet pattern A Tangle of Color or the free knit pattern, Hap's Pinwheel Scarf, and have yourself a little colorplay.

But go ahead and do it today, because the patterns are available only through June 3. (You'll be mad if you wait until tomorrow, because tomorrow will suddenly become June 4. I know how that happens.)

There are buckets of colors to choose from in Tahki Yarns' 100% mercerized Cotton Classic or its slender sister Cotton Classic Lite.

Be sure to post a picture when you're done. I'll do the same.

Best,

Marcy