In the mood...

Remember mood rings?  They were all the rage in the 1970s.  The mood "jewels" are heat-sensitive--thermochromic--like the thermometer tapes for taking someone's temperature.  They react to the wearer's body temperature with a display of color. According to mood ring lore, the jewel's colors have specific meanings:




MOOD RING COLOR MEANING CHART

BLACK TENSE, NERVOUS, HASSRASSED, OVER WORKED

GRAY ANXIETIES, NERVOUS, STRAINED,

AMBER NERVOUS, EMOTIONS MIXED, UNSETTLED, COOL

GREEN AVERAGE READING, ACTIVE, NOT UNDER GREAT STRESS

BLUE-GREEN INNER EMOTIONS CHARGED, SOMEWHAT RELAXED

BLUE RELAXED, AT EASE, CALM, LOVABLE

DR BLUE VERY HAPPY, LOVE, PASSION, ROMANCE

WHITE FRUSTRATED CONFUSSED, BORED

BRONZE JITTERS, ANTICIPATION, RESTLESS THOUGHTS

PINKISH FEAR, UNCERTAIN, UNANSWERED QUESTIONS

YELLOW IMAGINATIVE, WONDERING THOUGHTS, OK FEELING

ORANGE STIMULATING IDEAS, DARING WANTS

RED EXCITED, ENERGIZED, ADVENTUROUS, READY TO GO

PURPLE SENSUAL, CLARITY, PURPOSE IS KNOWN

(For more on this, see http://www.moodjewelry.com/chart.html)
When I was getting divorced from husband #1, I thought of my wedding ring as a mood ring.  It didn't turn colors, but it sent a message nonetheless. When I was in an angry mood (often), I removed it.  But I digress....
Or maybe not.  It occurred to me that sweaters I've knitted for myself over the years are like mood rings, but more powerful. For me they express, enhance, or even change moods. At the moment I'm making myself a very simple sweater, the "Chic Bolero" from Classic Elite's Classic Elite Knits:  100 Gorgeous Designs for Every Occasion (Taunton Press, 2008). I'm doing it, as is my habit, in a mélange of stash wools organized around orange and pink.

So there you have it, or at least a peek at the sleeve.  Pray tell, have you ever knitted yourself a mood-enhancing or mood-altering or mood-creating garment?