colour
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The Quilter's Field Guide to Color ~ Context
This is not just any book about colour, this is The Quilter's Field Guide to Color by Rachel Hauser. I am not exaggerating when I say that this book is a game changer for me. I have learnt so much from reading it and not only through the practical advice Rachel gives but the actual EXPERIENCE of working through the exercises in the book. It's so much more than just information about colour (although it has got lots of that), it is packed full of genuinely helpful topics around colour. With excellent examples, tips and exercises to get you inspired to work with your fabric and create well thought out colour combinations and palettes. The book even contains a pull out of colour swatches that you can cut up and keep in the handy envelope at the back of the book, allowing you to play about and use them with the exercises Rachel gives. It is the most thought provoking and mobilising quilting book I have encountered.
Today is my stop on the book hop and I chose the exercise 'Context'. This is about the relationships fabric form. Ever notice how one fabric print can look completely different paired next to other fabrics or colours? That's context.
I started with a print that I like but hadn't yet used in a project, the mustard/yellow/pink floral - Little Honey, Folk Song by Anna Maria Horner. From there I chose similar prints with yellow / gold colour (not the exact same shade), some paler prints, some brighter prints with bits of pink and a couple of greeny/blue prints. OK so I also auditioned plums, browns, brighter blues and possibly more. After some time spent using the colour swatches and pulling out most of my stash from the cupboard this is what I picked...
tula pink rainbow leaves runner
Sometimes a pattern and a fabric collection seem made for each other, and this bed runner is one of those! I used two charm packs of Tula Pink's Eden (with plenty left over) to create the Rainbow Leaves Runner from Quick and Easy Quilts by Lynne Goldsworthy for the Sewing Quarter.
I adore all the projects in the book, I've already made the Gypsy Cushion, and this runner is a great way to add some modern brightness to a room.
The appliqué is relatively quick and easy to do, I used pinking shears to cut the leaf shapes and used Aurifil 50 wt #2021 to stitch them in place. I spent the longest time arranging the leaves and am super pleased with the graduation of the colours.
I used my walking foot to echo the shapes of the leafs, working from edge to edge along the rows.
It created beautiful patterns on the back of the quilt too!
It was hard to get a decent picture of the whole runner, I have put a little video clip on my instagram if you want to check that out!
But you can get an idea of how it looks on a bed because Sewing Quarter presenter John Scott, the cheeky rascal, 'borrowed' it for an evening and took these pictures (don't panic he returned it to the studio the next day!)
I can change my world with colour
I created an embroidery a little while ago and used the design to create a colourful patchwork hoop which is featured in Issue 14 of Quilt Now this month (and on the cover!! yippee!).
It is really fun to mix embroidery and quilting since I love them both! I enjoyed playing with my scraps and laying out what would become the log cabin. Often times I use my floor as a design board and this helped me visualise how it would ultimately look:
Hoops are easy ways to brighten up your space or to give as little gifts and this one works as a nice reminder for when you are creating.
I epically failed to take a picture of the finished hoop myself but you can see it here (shamelessly nicked from the Quilt Now website!)
I epically failed to take a picture of the finished hoop myself but you can see it here (shamelessly nicked from the Quilt Now website!)
I originally used the embroidery pattern in another project, some of you may remember the nail polish manicure bag I made adapted from the free Fat Quarter Shop Nail Polish Pattern:
Well here is the other side of that bag!
It works so nicely in that context :)
It could be used for a make up bag or artists case too. You can get the pattern and instructions for making the hoop version in this months Quilt Now! It will also be available at Pink Castle Fabrics if you want to add it to your basket ;)
Should you stitch this up and use it in any of your projects please do let me know, I would love to see!
** US peeps feel free to drop the 'u'! When tracing the pattern just move the word color slightly to the right to keep the pattern centred.
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