PBQ025 Color Study

Posted on May 13, 2012 by peacebro

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I have the Kona color wheel under way.

 

 

I plan to develop this more with tints, shades and tones of the colors.   Those samples will be smaller, maybe as dots or smaller diamonds around the wheel.

For those who are interested I simply appliqued the colors onto a white background.

 

But next time we need to develop our white to black scale.  Do you have fabric that ranges from white to black?  Ideally we need nine steps in hue.  I think I have to go shopping!

Speaking of shopping…

Have you heard Robert Kauffman Kona will have new colors coming out in June 2012?  I think they will have a supplement color card available too.

Are you making a color wheel?  Would you be interested in working in a series experimenting with color?

Please post a comment with your favorite color.

Bye til next time.

 

 

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PBQ 024 Make a Fabric Color Wheel

Posted on April 28, 2012 by peacebro

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A Fabric Color Wheel is very helpful when choosing which color would add just the right pop to your quilt top.  Here is an old fabric color wheel I have:

Here is how to make one:

Take a square of background fabric.  I am using black for my background.  And I am making it large enough so I can add more than just the 12 pure colors of the color wheel.

So divide your background up into 12 divisions.  Think of a clock face and label where you will want each color to go.  You can use a glue stick or machine applique the color patches in place.

Here are the colors I am using from my Kona Solids

Position                Color Name                        Kona Name

12:00                     Yellow                                   Canary

1:00                        Yellow Green                      Lime

2:00                        Green                                   Clover

3:00                        Blue Green                         Cyan

4:00                        Blue                                     Pacific

5:00                        Blue Violet                          Lapis

6:00                        Violet                                    Purple

7:00                        Red Violet                           Cerise

8:00                        Red                                        Cardinal

9:00                        Red Orange                        Tomato

10:00                      Orange                                 Tangerine

11:00                       Yellow Orange                   Papaya

So here are my Kona colors I first had on hand.  I am actually going to go with the colors I have listed above.

I plan on leaving a bit of room in my color wheel to add colors to the half hour position, such as 12:30 and so on.  And I might want to add darker shades or lighter tints too.

We’ll see how it goes.  But I am excited about this project.  And I expect to learn alot.

Leave a comment if you are paying along or have a question.

 

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PBQ023 Modern Minimal and Color Study

Posted on April 14, 2012 by peacebro

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Thanks to everyone who made suggestions for the quilters alphabet in PBQ022.

Book review Modern Minimal

If you are new to quilting and you like the modern graphic look, you would enjoy making a quilt or two from Alissa Haights Carlton’s new book Modern Minimal.

Modern Minimal

 

 

 

 

 

The quilts are made with solid colors and she includes suggestions for quilting with your machine. After having done a quilt or two in this book any beginner sewist will be ready to venture into their own design.

Color Study

I have a Kona Color card by Robert Kaufman.

Kona Fabric Color Card

I will be using it in future podcasts as I go through my Color Study exercises.  If you want to join along you would find it helpful to have one.

And it helps select which solid color fabric will play best with a particular print you are planning to use in a quilt.  I highly recommend having one.  If you have problems getting one just let me know.

I am currently on the hunt for two last colors I still need for my fabric color wheel which I will share next time.

Is there something you would like to study in regard to fabric color?  Leave a comment.

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PBQ022 A to Z

Posted on April 3, 2012 by peacebro

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If you think of a quilt related suggestion leave a comment!

A is for Applique

B is for Blocks and Borders and Batting

C is for Cutting Mat

D is for design – thanks Colleen

E is for E is for  Embellishment – thanks AJ

F is for Fabric

G is for Guilds

H is for Hexagons and Hoops

I is for Irons

J is for Joy from quilting – thanks Gretchen

K is for K could be for knee-lift on the Bernina system. My K is for my daughter Katie, who asked me to make her a quilt and launched me back into quilting last year. And, of course, K could be for the Kona Solids — Thanks Torie

L is for Label on the back

M is for Marking tools

N is for Needles

O is for Open toe foot – thanks Laura

P is for Patchwork and Pins and Paper Piecing – thanks Gretchen

Q is for Quilt books and patterns and Quarter inch seams

R is for Rulers and Rotary Cutters

S is for Scissors, Sewing Machine. Scraps and Stash

T is for Thimbles and Threads and templates – thanks Gretchen

U is for UFO’s unfinished Objects

V is for value – thanks Colleen

W is for Wholecloth quilts and Walking foot

X is for How about X is for measurements; i.e. a fat quarter is 18 x 21? Or maybe X is for the X-ray vision used by Quilt Show judges when they judge a submission? Or how about X is for the Xanax that we do not have to take because we are in quilt-therapy?  thanks Tori

Y is for Y seams

Z is for Zeal -thanks Gretchen

Posted in General Quilting, PeaceBrook Quilting Podcast, Podcast | 7 Comments

PBQ021 Why a lapse in the Podcast

Posted on March 17, 2012 by peacebro

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A short explanation.

 

Posted in PeaceBrook Quilting Podcast, Podcast | 6 Comments

Monday current projects Mar 12

Posted on March 12, 2012 by peacebro

Here is a current list of my active projects. I don’t count UFO’s.

First Project: Craftsy BOM – this continues each month doing two more blocks. each month.

no change til April — The pic was in my Mar  5 post.

You can still join this Block of the Month group.  Here are my first three months of blocks. To check it out go to http://www.craftsy.com

At that site click on the online classes tab, then scroll down to the free BOM button.

 

Next Project:  Kaleidoscope wall hanging.

This week I got some of the blocks done But I’m not loving the orange.  I think I might start over and use blue in place of the orange.

 

 

 

 

I might like this better with the blue.  Hope to get a few of them done this week.

So this is actually becoming a series study in color.

 

 

  Next Project:  Star Quilt

This will be a larger bed size quilt.  It starts with four red inner stars. I expect this to be a several month long project.

This week I cut out the rest of the star background batik and the inner purple batik for the stars.

You can see that i keep in process projects in an art bin.  I got this from Joann Fabrics.  It is so handy when I am going to take a project to retreat or class.  It is all there, just need to grab rotary cutter, mat and a few other thing and I am ready to go.

 

 

 

Next Project: New York Beauty

Week one is done.  Here is a pic of block one.  Today I start block 5 (which is week two).

You can get the details from Sara on her blog Sew Sweetness.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by.

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Creative – filling your tank

Posted on March 9, 2012 by peacebro

I have found several things useful in filling my own creative tank.    This week I am just going to touch on one.  Getting help from others.

Gather with Friends

I recently completed going through a group study of The Artist Way by Julia Cameron.  The group of ladies that I met on line with each week were inspiring.  At one point we exchanged post cards.

Here are some of the cards from them:

I keep these cards in my studio as a reminder not only of each woman, but what I was able to learn from each.

Just as the benefit of a brainstorming session can be greater than the input of the individuals, there was a synergy outcome that I had hardly expected.  I hope to find a way to continue synergistic collaborative work with others because of the value I felt in the group.

Our group has recently finished the book study.  But as I said the benefits continue.   Creative types often do gather in workshops, retreats or guilds.  Look for these opportunities in your own creative practice.   And if there is no active physical group near you, an online group might be in your future.

 

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Monday Current Projects

Posted on March 5, 2012 by peacebro

Here is a current list of my active projects. We don’t count UFO’s.

First Project: Craftsy BOM – this continues each month doing two more blocks. each month.

 

You can still join this Block of the Month group.  Here are my first three months of blocks. To check it out go to http://www.craftsy.com

At that site click on the online classes tab, then scroll down to the free BOM button.

 

Next Project:  Kaleidoscope wall hanging.

This is a paper pieced project.  The method of paper piecing I am using is by Cynthia England.  You can check her tutorial at her website.

 

 

 

 

Next Project: Modern Guild 36 Patch.

 This is our exchange block for March.

 

 

 

 

 

Next Project:  Star Quilt

This will be a larger bed size quilt.  It starts with four red inner stars.

 

 

 

 

Next Project: New York Beauty

So Today I am starting the New York Beauty quilt along.  You can get the details from Sara on her blog Sew Sweetness.

 

 

 

 

Busy hands are happy hands, right?

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Observing more than seeing

Posted on March 2, 2012 by peacebro

When working with textiles sometimes we can intuitively know that certain colors or patterns are working.  But sometimes they are not.

By becoming more observant you will increase your success at better fabric relationships, and stronger designs.  But developing this ability may not be acquired  as you would think.

To observe is to regard with attention, especially so as to see or learn something.  Being observant outside the quilt studio is the key to drawing upon what you learn when you are ready to create with your fabric.   Here are some ways to increase you observation ability.

Go to a public place, like a coffee shop.  Take a journal and pen.  Write down the sounds, smells, colors, and emotions in the room.  Capture what is happening in the room, and outside in the parking lot if you can hear it.  Note how you are feeling to various things.  Is there something in particular that is calming or agitating?  How could you capture the emotion into colors or patterns?

If you found the above step very difficult, then you may have to try a different practice.  If you have too much flowing through your mind try the following calming steps.

Find a comfortable chair, but not one you would fall asleep in.  Close your eyes. This is a practice of stilling and calming your mind, not emptying it.  An empty mind is a vacuum and the closest thing will be sucked right into it.  Be intentional.  Take a relaxing breath and calm your body.  Still your mind.  Imagine agitated water smoothing out, becoming peaceful.  Be discerning about removing what is causing agitation in your thoughts.  You want to make space for thoughts and observations that will increase your creative spirit.  Take 10 to 15 minutes to be aware of your senses calming.  Imagine at the end of these few minutes you will be ready to freshly be aware and observe what you would have missed before.

We live in a culture that is so distracting that it leaves us hampered in observing what is going on around us.  Be intentional about letting go of distractions and agitations that limit your creative spirit.  Being more observant is one key to feeding your creative spirit.

If you have other ways that you increase your creativity, please leave a comment.

 

 

 

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PBQ 020 Occupy Therapy

Posted on January 9, 2012 by peacebro

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Hi quilters

In this podcast I talk about Occupy therapy, my current status on Orca Bay and what is on the longarm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I touch on my “non” goals for 2012.   Would you be interested in joining my in some color discovery this year?

 

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