inspiration and mimicry

When I was telling friends and LYS owners that I would be moving from California to the Berkshires in Western Mass, without fail - after the inevitable "Why?" - everyone had mostly the same two comments:  "You know the winters are terrible" and "Wow, this will give you all new colors to inspire you!". My first winter, though bitterly cold some days, was ultimately survivable if perhaps a bit long in the tooth come April.  As for inspiration, it is endless. My colorful commute changes daily and never ceases to be jaw-dropping every.single.day..

Spring is bright with luminescent greens in the new leaves, rainbows of tulips, purples in the crocus and lilacs and seas of pink rhododendrons. In summer the greens turn rich and deep, the roses come out, the saturation of all colors deepens. Autumn is unrelenting with waves of gold, orange, red, yellow, mustard, tan, ochre, rust and bright greens in the well-watered grasses. The branches show themselves as winter draws in and the wind takes the leaves from the trees, transforming the landscape to greys and browns. When the snow finally falls, the world can turn almost into a black and white photograph, still breathtaking in the lines of the hills and skeletons of the bare trees, while pops of color in the red barns, mustard houses and occasional blue skies remind you that each season is both long and short and the changes between them - at least here in the Berskshires - quite abrupt.

From my studio at the Norad Mill  I have views to the South, West and North through 10-foot tall windows. We watch the storms come in over the hills from NY or Vermont, safe in our thick-walled building. The beauty of the Berkshires certainly has had an effect on the colors I've produced, but as I sit here knitting yet another Ninilchick Swoncho, this time in a palette of browns, mustards, greens and reds, I'm thinking that as much as it affects my dyeing choices, perhaps even more, the seasons may dictate the colors with which I choose to knit, never more apparent than in the fall when I'm drawn to the palette so vibrant and glowing outside. 

Whether it's mimicry or inspiration I can't say, maybe it's a case of full immersion into my surroundings and unconsciously bringing the color with me in my mind's eye as I go about my day. 

Do you find yourself following the seasons in your color choices? Where do you find your inspiration? Are you moved by the colors of fashion or social media, or do you go by the beat of your own drum?