more on the Alice Starmore workshop

Just a bit more about my trip to Nieuwpoort (Holland), where I attended an Alice Starmore workshop. Nieuwpoort is a lovely small town in Zuid-Holland. I especially enjoyed the bus ride over the 'Lekdijk' (along the river Lek). I saw lots of old giant farmhouses with thatched roofs.
I appreciated how 'de schapekop' organized everything. The shop was very organized and inviting too !
And the workshop : what did I learn ? You can see my swatch. We were asked to pick out our own color scheme, and write out line by line what we were planning to knit. Alice Starmore told us to pick one color family for the background colors, and another one for the pattern colors. The central row (row 9 in this pattern); could be something else completely, that would still work with both color groups. She also pointed out that the pattern is very symmetrical, it is mirrored around the central row.
I had a difficult time selecting colors. I had a big bag of leftovers of my crochet blanket, but several of those yarns are very bright. I liked the muted colors Alice Starmore uses in most of her designs, and was trying to achieve the same in my swatch. Selecting colors, knitting 2handed fair-isle and following the chart at the same time was a bit much to handle, so I am not too pleased with the outcome, but I have learned a lot from it.
This is what I used (B = background and P = pattern)

row 1 = plain row - dark eggplant
row 2 = P = green/blue mix - B = dark eggplant
row 3 = P = green/blue mix - B = dark eggplant
row 4 = P = green/blue mix - B = light eggplant
row 5 = P = sand - B = light eggplant
row 6 = P = sand - B = light eggplant
row 7 = P = light khaki - B = nutmeg
row 8 = P = light khaki - B = nutmeg
row 9 = P = orange - B = salmon
and reverse everything

Alice Starmore advised to change the background and pattern colors NOT on the same row, to get a very gradual change of colors. Unfortunately, I started with 2 background colors that were so close, that you cannot see the changes (2 shades of eggplant).
I also don't like the transition of the green/blue mix into the sand color. Maybe I should have used the light khaki there instead, because it has a little bit of the green in it.
And the centre row has to stand out, but this one stands out far too much. I am pleased with the general feel of the swatch tough (not with the knitting). I wanted rich, muted colors, and that's what I got. I would need to knit several more swatches to come out with something that works, but it is do-able. I haven't asked how many swatches Alice Starmore knits, but I bet she doesn't stop after the first one. And she mixes her own yarn, so she has her own palette.
Back home I went back to my bookshelf to see what I have on fair-isle and color theory. I don't have Alice Starmores book on fair-isle knitting, but I do have her 'Celtic collection'. And another fabulous book on my shelf is Ann Feitelsons fair-isle knitting book , with a very good chapter on selecting colors.
Also on my book shelf : Sheila McGregors book on fair-isle . It has a lot of patterns, not for garments, but just black-and-white charts.