Colour my world

There is a wee bit of colourful language as I pick up the momentum to organize more of my supplies.  I'm dealing with books and paper at the moment.  There was a few things that were shoved under my bed  in a moment of exasperation but I am determined to quit kicking stuff from room to room so I shamed myself colourfully  and I'm going back at it again.

I separated all my colours into groups and I'm trying them all on a cheap sketch pad paper.  This is a good exercise as I differentiate between colours.  Who knew that Phthalo Green was a blue shade and Phthalo Blue is a green shade???  I also determined that no matter how much water you put on neopastels they won't do much. lol  Now Neoart water soluble pastels are wonderfully juicy with the addition of water as are Derwent Inktense pencils.  And I think I like gouache paint better than watercolours.

The standard colour wheel is what I would be sharing with beginners in my remedial art class.  There are 3 primaries and three secondaries.  I probably need to try some custom mixes to get the last sections in place.

But the colour system that 'speaks' to me is the Munsell colour System.  It has five primary colours, red, yellow, blue, green and purple.  This of course changes complimentary colours but I do like it.   But first I got my examples of the five colours down on paper and I'll be giving the secondaries a try next.

A thought?  I wonder if I should be trying this exercise on fabric as well?  hmmmm

A touch of Jacobean

I have a fondness for the quirky look of crewel work, hooked rugs and Jacobean styling.  I saw this rug as a full sized wonder and got it as a 4' x 6' rug.  The asymmetrical aspect of it delights me. It has no aqua which is the accent colour for the hallway but not everything needs to be exact matches.  The hall wall colour may need tweaking though.  And I'm not sure how the Rooster's boots will affect it. :(  It seems to me it could also work in DD's living room but she is all about clean and bright.  But I like it which is good as it is a special order.

I'm off to work at the local thrift shop again. I am on the hunt for matching bedroom lamps for DD.   Then it'll be off to DD's again for some measuring and list making.  I got a cupboard to fit by the fridge.  It was not what I was looking for but the next best thing.  I'll get the rooster to cut it down, add a shelf and the storage unit that fits over the toilet will be perfect.  I luv it when creative things leap out of store aisles and say, "what if...".

Wah on my Wow day

It is going to be back to basics for me!  This quilt is very ripply and I'm kinda puzzled as to why.  It is probably due to sloppiness; a loosening of the all the details that are necessary for quality control!  It isn't terrible but it is a wake up call.

I approached this quilt with a desire to work in a less controlling manner. That's okay except I am seeing some problems. I like it overall but it has caused much angst!  ;^)  So here is my critique:

First I could have thought out the fabrics better.  The more colours the more skill needed to get it right.  I had a palette but the proportions of colours should have been adjusted. I might have been better to fore go the blue which is not so prominent in the theme fabric.   The blue border ties in with the tiny bit of blue in the sashing. which is purposely offset and made sense when I did it.  LOL

Then I used stash fabric for the backing which was great except I never thought about the binding.  Not good.  Pink seemed the best but I went to sleep last night with an uneasy feeling.

In the morning I dragged out more fabric.  aha!  My theme fabric.

This also solved another problem. It added bits of red which I spent considerable time trying to spread all around the edges but particularly where there seemed to be a  serious lack.  Another accent gone amuck. I seem to like accents so much they start to assume a secondary position.  :{

I did go back and applique a pink bud in the centre of the lower left green block. The dark was a coordinating fabric that wanted to be another accent.  sheesh!  (I'm assessing as I type and I'm learning lots!)

I like asymmetrical and hence the wonky sashing.  It solved a fabric deficiency for the final border and I'm cool with that.  But I should have been measuring the sides, not sewing and cutting which seems to be what I must have done.  Bad!  Dock 20 points!  The machine quilting is fairly evenly spaced.  First thread I used was very linty, a variegated Wonderfil.  Nina coughed at one point.  I tried some Invisafil from the same store and all I can say is I'm anxiously waiting a Machine Quilting Sampler of threads from Superior Threads.  I used some scarlet cotton threads and the thread has bled some. grrr

So this is not an award winning quilt but I feel okay about my kids giving it as a gift.  It'll be used and loved.

I have another quilt up for MQing. But for me!  No pressure and no pressing deadline.  I'm set up to do it and I'll work on it at a more relaxed pace.

But I also have some little projects cluttering the worktable.  I need to make some stamps.  And I need to do my snippets challenge.  Until next week...

Collecting/Making

I spent yesterday organizing, sorting, selecting colours for the colour class.

This was part 2 as we used the colour wheel to identify various colour groups. The class itself was the bonus as I had already begun to identify some glaring gaps in my repertoire!

According to my file folders I collect particularly strong complimentary colour groupings.

But according to my actual quilts I make monochromatic or analogous colour schemes.

It seems I play it way too safe.

I think I want to change that.

Can this trash be saved?

These Journal quilts are full of surprises! My theme was garbage, anything we'd be throwing away. I had scraps left from a quilt project. I had a flimsy piece of white fabric. I had some phone books to throw away. I have been seeing lots of projects with selvages lately. I'm not sure I'm for saving all my selvages but I can come up with a few rather than throw them away. I have some paints that need to be used before I feel like I really did just throw my money away.

So, here is the process and reclamation from the garbage.

I used a gel medium to glue down bits of paper from the yellow pages of the phone book. I chose the sewer section which had a lot of non fabric advertisements. lol

I learned in my research that the first colours should be the opposite of your final plan. I tried to use a light hand over the papers even though it is a transparent paint. My 'oh' was kinda hesitant. :0 I also want to add a strip of green mulberry paper to separate my fabric strip.

I'm getting ready to add the finishing colour.

I'm sorry I was so dismayed at the arrival of 'midnight' I forgot to take a photo. But this is also where I got really nervous as things were getting out of hand. The Setacolours were ordered after a class I took a number of years ago. With basic colours you can mix everything you need. Uhm, works in theory but I am thinking I'd rather have smaller bottles and lots of options. yikes! Where is the garbage?

Thank goodness I got some Shimmer Pearl. (I shoulda got white as well.) So I covered a whole lot over and slapped another piece of of the yellow pages on top. Trust me, this was my trying to redeem my mess and it looked quite bad. So I shimmered a whole lot more!

well, that worked and I was off again. I'm wanting yellow and blue. I was so intent on not making garbage I forgot photos and focused on process.

I'm not unhappy but it certainly wasn't quite what I had in mind. Except for the heavy breathing and the heart palpitations, it is kinda fun and as my learning curve flattens out I'm sure it will totally be fun!

So here is my garbage!

This is probably a truer representation than the mellow photo I posted at the beginning.But I'll be posting the mellow version to the 3CS Journal Quilts flicker group!

Another Find

My last couple of projects weren't exactly lost. They were set aside as I pursued bigger, better, bolder, etc. Their day has come.

The Bali inspired the star blocks. They are scrappy in the sense that I gathered many teals to make the backgrounds of the stars. I always feel it is better (and safer) to use many variations of the main colour.

The centres are my bright accent fabric surrounded by the Bali. The star points are a very light rainbow-like fabric in aqua, pink and mauve. Then the star block was set in a square of the theme Bali.

After making the blocks I wanted to try a different set, hence the zigzag. The mottled fabric was the best choice and I was nervous about having enough. The top seemed an odd shape, more long than wide so I set it aside and there she has laid.
I have a friend; she was the one who introduced me to quilting who has the dreaded C word in her life and I thought of this top. She is a 'blue' gal! Teal is close, right! It would be a couch quilt so perhaps the shape is okay. I have the Bali and a couple of neat chunks for a backing.
The plan today is to get it off the design wall, the backing sewn, and be well on my way with the basting as I need to get the other 'found' blocks up on the design wall in preparation for Wednesday's Workshop In Progress.
It is incredibly white in my world right now so playing with all these colourful fabrics just warms me up tremendously. I find I am making happy noises! 8)

Colour Wheelies

I need to get all my colour wheels spinning in the same direction. lol

There will be four sessions in the upcoming colour classes. They should be basic, not overly complicated. My intention is to enlighten, not overwhelm. But such a big subject!

I want more than a binder, I want a pretty (as in smashing) journal. I may be trying to twirl before I can spin. It looks more like a scrap book. I need to learn how to blur edges and blend.

But back to class content. This isn't about journalling. It is about making colourful quilts with confidence and having fun with a colourful stash that is full of useful options. The economy being what it is, we should at least have 75% of our stash budget invested in fabric that earns its keep.

I spent a lot of money and time accumulating my stash. It was fun but I do wish I'd understood colour principles better and resisted more of those 'buy me, I'm purty flirty' fabrics. Colour is so much fun to play with I find it painful to listen to quilters who are anxious about 'what goes'. So I'm happy to share what I've learned and I enjoy teaching because it forces me to clarify what I know. Hopefully it'll be a win/win time for us all.

Having the grandson over for the weekend and seeing that he is perhaps not too young to join in playing is certainly going to help me loosen up and enjoy this very colourful journey. But if I don't keep track of those pencil crayons, I'll be the one doing wheelies! ;^)

We're having a party!

My Grand daughter turns one on Sunday and I was sent to get the prezzie. Not a great idea. My going alone I mean. Totally safe to go for the Grand sonny. I'm not into trains, tools, etc. But, oh my! Totally inappropriate. She is only one. So this I maybe bought for me. ??? I spent HOURS playing with my doll house. Have you seen what is now available? Boggles one's mind. I couldn't do big and basic. I resisted tiny and adorable. vbsigh

I got a starter cottage. Family of four and the baby's bottle will not even be noticed as it is swallowed with a cup or plate being the chaser. oh dear! So I knew some would be put away for later. But I couldn't resisted looking, then opening, then assembling, arranging, and flinging myself into Playing! awk! I went hunting for a few more people and another chair or so from some of my own kids play stuff.

Then I just had to see what the itty bitty stuff would look like when it was invited to play. It has been hard to quit but I need to put everything away. I have a 5 item to-do list to get checked off, not to mention the party planning.

There is another party happening as well. 3 Creative Studios is launching their new site with a great party. They have all kinds of good things planned including give aways and challenges. This is a fun bunch and I enjoy joining in with their plans and play days. If I don't get lots of things accomplished in the coming year it won't be for lack of motivation, tips, and tricks on their part.

And speaking of combining work with pleasure... I have a colour class coming up. I have been re-reading Color Mastery: 10 Principles for Creating Stunning Quilts from my library of technique books as part of my 2011 goal planning. She recommends making a colour journal and as this is THE Year of the Journal, I picked up another spiral journal which I'll use. But not just swatches and theories. This is gonna be pretty and it isn't just for class but for me! Party time for this chick as I'm waiting for littlest chickie to catch up to her Gram'elle. I wonder what year she needs a little sewing machine. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Just as she needs to let go of our hands and get walking, I need to get walking with all the tools, techniques and tremendous support that is available to me. Time to party!

Bookmarked!

I tackled the box of green scraps which had a few teal bits. I laid double sided interfacing down, removed the top release paper and arranged strips. I ironed then down when I had a nice selection in place using a Teflon sheet to protect the iron. Then I removed the release paper from the back and added a fabric backing.


I don't care for raw edges fraying so I laid a piece of black netting over everything. It really is almost invisible but adds a unifying element to the various fabric scraps.

I used variegated thread to apply various sewing machine stitches to stabilize everything.

I rejected my first idea of straight cuts for my bookmarks because diagonals are much more interesting. This is about 2" x 8". I satin stitched around the edge and then added two buttons, one sewn on top of the other for some interest.

The TOM challenge has caused me to be more diligent in using my scraps. It is also a great way to experiment with 'What if...'

RYBW

Great turn out for quilting last night and lots of challenges. All quite different but that is to be expected and definitely encouraged.

My art challenge viewed thru the camera caused me to add another line of machine stitching at the edge. I want to experiment more with this 'envelope edge' because it certainly is quicker. I think this method can lead to some problems with fullness but it is minimal if the size is kept down. Not for queen sized quilts that's for sure.

The small traditional quilt pleases me. I did not get the MQing done in the individual squares, mostly because I'm not sure what I'll do. So tonight I'll finish that up. Washing the traditional quilts makes them finally finished in my mind. The art quilts seem to look better smoothed flat.

The back is kinda fun and I'm luving using up all the fun bits from my stash cupboard that holds all the novelty, focus fabrics, or just those busy prints.

I'm always glad to have colour in my life, especially in the grey days of fall and spring.

Finally something

In my attempt to change bad habits I resisted blogging about promises. (dreams) Tonight is our Common Threads group and the challenge was red/yellow/black and white. The size is an 8.5 x 11 inch page. This could be an intimidating colour combo but I like colour challenges.

I got all excited and picked a great collection of prints. But then I remembered that this is also an art challenge. So I changed gears but because I am working on a colour workshop I decided to do up the more traditional quilt to encourage our newer beginner quilters. Then I mixed things up colour wise for the art quilt to encourage shades and tints as options.

White light contains all the colours but in fabric white is the absence of colour. I chose a very light Bali with hints of colours. Then I chose a greyed black. Black in nature is the absence of light but in dyes it is the combination of colours. It also had a little streak of yellow that I utilized. I had no true red so I went with a blend of a dull red and a dull yellow. I very much prefer to work asymmetrically. I was going to do circles but one section reminded me somewhat of a mountain so I rough cut that, added another. The smaller yellow could be a more distant mountain or perhaps a sun. I'm not sure about raw edge applique so I did one seam 'according to the book' and then I left the rest of the seams exposed. I left raw edges for the applique also.

I found a backing which is actually the challenge colours! Another example of how changing the proportions affects things.

I am busy MQing the little table place mat. I'll post it tomorrow *after* it is finished. ;)

I am so glad to be back playing in the Coop and Saucer Playroom. I guess I mean working!!!

Focusing on a Funky Fall

The theme for fall is Funky and Folk arty. The colours are golds, rusts and some purple. I seem to be gravitating to lots of pumpkin orange as well. I try to carry an element of nature from room to room so grapes and leaves work.


Once upon a time I was all over the place. Since I've identified a couple of basic things I've found my life is still interesting but certainly simpler and more focused. I now consider if something I want is the right colour for the right season's theme. I luv change and I luv a few very diverse design styles. I need to consider my budget, my lifestyle and my hubby. So four specific themes and colours works for me and it is not hard. It mainly takes a bit of analyzing. Spring is slightly modern, very simple, lots of white ornaments, plain glass and blues and greens. Summer is slightly Victorian cottage with pastel colours, battenburg lace and old quilts. Fall is folk art, wood, cider mugs, soup tureens and rusts, golds, purple. Winter is more traditional, cranberry/navy, china, candles, brass, all those layers of classic Stuff!

Our house is old farm house. The main entrance thru the veranda, the 2 story layout, re purposed front room and dining room, the worn wood floors, and casually cluttered look and some neutral pieces of furniture work for us. When the four seasons change I can have 4 distinct themes by changing colours and styles of quilts, tablecloths and pillows; reshuffling vases, ornaments and pictures, and adding the season's leaves, flowers and fruits.

So fall means putting my pretty tea things behind cupboard doors and showcasing chunky mugs, candles, pottery and my chickens and roosters. The lacy fabrics make way for plaids, tapestries and rich solids. The sweet peas and roses become asters, squashes, grapes, dried leaves and grasses.

Downstairs is more traditional with the golds, rusts and purples. Any sewing projects will use these fabrics. The grey skies have arrived so these are showing rather dull. I want some new table runners and a big quilt for the front room. Perhaps a sampler with some fun houses, wonky trees and winking stars.

Upstairs is less traditional and lots of orange has found expression. The hall rug has encouraged the playing around with orange. Who'd have known but I'm liking it. The nine patch will be for our room, the stripes are for the 2 bunk beds and the gorgeous floral has found a home and a purpose in the guest room.

I MUST get some older UFO's done but if the urge overwhelms me to start something new, at least it will relate to where I am headed. At least, I am hoping so! 8)

Lemon and Lime

I was on the hunt for yellows yesterday. I have gathered up all the yellow things I have and put them in the kitchen. I needed another tall yellow 'something'. The yellow plate I saw was too nauseous and the vintage yellow plastic coffee and tea canisters may have been a mistake I'll live to regret but I passed.
The glass bag was a thrift store find that I picked up. Well, snatched may be more accurate. fifty cents

I have many of these round place mats in various colours and they often add the dash of colour that I need.

The kitchen is going to be yellow and this wall is also going to be seeing some major changes. I'm getting very tired of cleaning these open shelves so whatever I do will be behind some glass doors! I also have way too much blank space above the display that isn't always easy to fill. Like this grouping. I even thought of stapling the yellow place mat up on the wall! But for now, here is my collection of yellows.

South end.

North end.

This is a very sunny room with a south window. I'm going to go with painted cupboards and probably paint the panelling as well. I did have a plan but since an outside wall is recommended for the exhaust fan I'm having to do some rethinking. Again! But no changes for a mellow yellow theme.