Complete Gnomish Goodness

Among the many large special orders I've been working on, I fit in one very special Gnome. I can honestly say I've never fretted so much about a Gnome before!

A friend wanted a whole set: that is Gnome and Cape of Warmth and Gnomish Travel Basket. I told her she has three colors to pick: for Gnome clothes, cape, and basket. She simply answered with "I like jewel tones, surprise me!" Her husband added that she liked teal. Gah!

First, I had to look up exactly what a jewel tone is. It seems simple enough, but when you have to find yarn in such colors, it's much less simple. Then, I hit my stash. I had a lovely teal, and a brilliant purple, and a bright blue. While they each looked good with one other, all three of them were just too brilliant.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew there was a variegated yarn in colors such as teal and blue and purple and magenta. I knew, because I had learned to crochet with it so many years ago. To my great relief, the brand of yarn that I primarily use still makes it. And, it's called "gemstone." How perfect! And the teal looks fabulous with it.


Check out this perfect little jewel toned Gnome.

Since I had found the perfect color for the Gnome clothes (and, I must say, I love working with variegated yarn. I love the coordinating colors), and another color, I still needed a third. I needed something to break up the rich saturation of the colors I had already chosen, something that wouldn't overwhelm the eye with brilliance, but also wouldn't be so bland that it looked dull in comparison. I was coming up short.

I polled the Etsy forums for suggestions. Most of my responses came from jewelers, who work with jewel tones all the time! The resounding suggestion was gold. It's still a bright color, but some how it doesn't overpower jewel tones, nor is it overpowered by them. And, to my great happiness, my preferred brand of yarn also makes a color (somewhere between yellow and mustard, with maybe a bit of orange thrown in) that they call gold. And it was the perfect shade in the yellow family to match with my variegated jewel colors and teal.

The last question was: which colors go where? I was really set on having the Gnome clothes in the variegated yarn, and it worked well with the maroon/burgundy hat. I thought the gold might be too bright to be a basket. So, that was that.

A gold Cape of Warmth works really great against those bright jewel colors of the Gnomes clothes, doesn't it?

And, here is the little bejeweled Gnome in his rich, teal basket, with coordinating yellow buttons!

I think I fretted so much about this really because I didn't want to pick something that she wouldn't like. One friend commented that she'd really like anything, but that didn't help me quell my worry! Thanks to all the wonderful Etsians (both from the forums and elsewhere) who helped me with that third, elusive color! I love how they turned out. I think that's a smartly-dressed Gnome with a smart cape and a cozy basket!

Contact me to order a 3 piece Gnome set of your very own! I hope you can see how much thought goes into my process and how I strive to make a Gnome you will love!