Can't resist them tumbling blocks...

LOL, yes, that would solve my problem!! I'm thinking of the browns, greys and green heathers that Wool-Ease comes in...

Did you go to JoAnn's website??

Sigh...you got my hopes up, but the site specifies only certain Lion Brand yarns, and Wool-Ease isn't among them. Thanks anyway.

pattern plus

My tumbling blocks is not as lovely as KF's because he has an extraordinary sense of color, and much better access to yarn than any of us.

However, it is possible to simplify that particular pattern a great deal. The basic pattern consists of blocks in the centre, a thin border of diamonds, and a wider border of stripes. Within any one of these sections, he switches colors several times. A single stripe, for example, might have several combinations of the same color. So why not do that stripe in a single color? Or in two shades of the same color? And the blocks in the centre also have the same thing going on. All that is really necessary though, is to maintain the same dark/medium/light relationship within each block.

You know, even with mine, there are so many colors being used, that it doesn't matter if a color is a little bit outside the range. Most of my colors or blue or purple toned. But there is also a little bit of pink, yellow and even brown. It all works because it is a casual, and flexible pattern. The large number of colors being used actually gives you a lot of leeway in selection, although, I'd recommend having a predominant color.

I've really enjoyed the experience of combining yarns with that project. (My recent favorite was pink mohair with bilious purple alpaca.) And I would have missed that joy, by slavishly following color recommendations. Dora

This is true, Dora. I guess I am just chicken.

Katherine

No. You just aren't letting your inner Adventurous Knitter make you buy lots of yarn.

I'm just saying the pattern isn't as scary as you think it is. Dora