What happens when colour value and contrast are not there?
What I’m up to this Wednesday.
Some times new quilters are so disappointed with their first attempt at cutting up fabric and resewing it as they have not been shown colour values and contrast and after cutting up lots of fabric and resewing it it looks just a mess or like one piece of fabric from a distance? I brought 13 tiny 5inch 9 patch blocks in an op shop that had this happen to them, I bought them as the most of the fabrics used were special and such lovely wee pieces.
These are the little 9 patch blocks all different sizes and wonky as seams are from 16th to 1/2 an inch.
close up of two tiny blocks.
I have just placed 4 tiny pieces of fabric over 4 dark pieces of the patches to show contrast, I would not choose these fabric if I was sewing them from start just showing contrast.
I sat and unpicked all the little blocks last night took me roughly 2 hrs while I watched a DVD
Now if I lay those black tiny fabrics on a strong contrast you can see the design is a 9 patch and each little piece of black fabric stands on its own.
This morning I started to play some more with these tiny pieces of fabric.
Dawn breaking this morning.
These colours that I finally arrange please my eye much more than the original but it does not mean it is right, others will be happy how they were, but I just have to change them to make them work for me.
Using the same pieces of dark fabric with 3 different colours neutral fabrics.
Same dark pieces but I have added some more little pieces from the same original 13 wee blocks, we now have contrast and better value so we can really see those 9 patches now. I will play around to day with them and may be start hand sewing them back in to 9 patches and add some more of my own fabric to make up around 20 then make a tiny doll quilt for my DGD for a Xmas present.
Finished sewing on my leaves on the 1st border panel of my PNG quilt, I added a few berries to for a shot of yellow!!! have added a stem and pinned the leaves to number 2 ready to be appliquéd this week hopefully, to day I have finished basting my zig zags to one border, now I have removed all the pins I don’t have to worry about them going rusty in the silk.
In the garden this morning it is full of colour.
Sun is coming over the top of the range around 6.30am
This is all fresh clay that has been dug out of another part of the garden, to help stabilise it we have planted it up in Broms last Sunday
This area that we have just planted with Broms is just off my kitchen window.
Found these hiding amongst the ferns as I walked up my path.
A bunch of bannas picked on Sunday they will take about 1 week to ripen, here the fly fruit bats can not get them?
Palm blossoms floating on a corner of the swimming pool.
New folds on the stagfern such a beautiful soft green what a fabric colour it would be.
Here you can see the shape of the antlers on the stag-fern.
Stunning colour on the fangapani tree.
Mini water lillies
Desert Rose
Broms throw very very unusual coloured flowers these two colours are stunning together this is one very unusual flower LOL.
See how the tiny purple part comes out of the side of the the main flower?
Well I have been blogging long enough time to sit and sew quietly for a while, but first I will link with Esther over on her blog for WOW
http://estheraliu.blogspot.com.au/2016/03/wow-look-where-i-showed-up.htm
l Hope you find time to sew to? thanks for dropping in and I would like you to leave a message so I can visit your blog and share.
Cheers Glenda
beautiful tropical garden
I always love to see your gardens and the delights you find there each day. It has finally turned warm here and winter is on the way out. We are expecting a heat wave of plus 19C tomorrow. A bit warm for our mid March but the ap is running on our maole trees and we will have maple syrup.
Blessings, Chris
Hi Chris Maple syrup!!!!! oh there is nothing like it fresh and on sough dough cakes with butter, we lived in Canada for 4 months one Autumn come winter and those breakfasts of a plate full of sough dough cakes when it was so cold where unbelievable. LOL Our extreme temps have finally left us, this morning it is quiet cool around 25C and I’m sitting in the clouds as there is a lot of rain hanging around us. Cheers Glenda
You are so patient to take apart the 9-patches. They look a lot better though. Your garden is always so pretty, I really enjoyed the tour. All of our snow has melted and now we are in a warm period. But the temps will drop and we’ll get more snow, this is just March. I’m enjoying the warmth while it lasts! Blessings, Gretchen
Hi Gretchen, I have had a busy busy week trying to catch up on some of my sewing projects as I want to be able to work on my Little Hazel, I’m trying to take some control on finishing a couple of quilts this yearLOL. Time Will tell how constant I am over the nect 10 months, first two months went well!! I have plenty of patience when it comes to my patchwork But not not any where else LOL. We have been given a warning for torrential rain and may be worse for Thursday so cleaning up out side to be ready. Glad your winter is over and hope you have no more snow till next winter. Hugs Glenda
Love the sunrise in the morning. Thank you for inviting us to join you doing something so special. Nine patch is a fun block. The small blocks make me smile. The smaller the blocks, the cuter they get.
Evening Maggie, have not been out yet so fabric has not been sent hopefully this week? I have had hrs of unpicking small squares again this week but 2inch ones this time so not so small. Have also been appliquéing leaves on to the PNG quilt, two down one hopefully close to been completed tonight. Looking at using the tiny squares to frame Little Hazel will have to see what it looks like before deciding. Finally the extreme heat has left us and how wonderful it is not to be so uncomfortable because of it. Don’t even have a fan on tonight. Hugs Glenda
Hi Glenda,
It is amazing to be able to see your garden, so far away! I love those flowers with the second flower, crazy!
I find it very hard to resist cast off patchwork squares, and it’s lovely to see what you are doing with yours. You are right how new quilters don’t understand about colour values and contrasts, I’ve been there, unfortunately I don’t think shops help with rolls of brightly coloured fat quarters bundled together – without differing medium and light colours being mixed in!
Happy stitching! Barbara xx
We don’t have a typical English garden Barbara that’s for sure, I had that in NZ and it was very very pretty, here any bulb planted is dug up and eaten by the wild bush turkeys, so we have a tropical garden instead and it has been interesting developing this garden over the last 20 years, we grow a lot of Broms as my hubby has always liked them and it is one plant the turkeys Don’t dig up as they don’t like the leaves as many have spikes along the leaves and these prick their chests LOL. There flowers have to be seen to believe at times. The other ones that grow well here are the heliconias and they are very very different to ant thing one normally sees in a garden. Cheers Glenda
Interesting find to purchase. I like how you are re-doing them.
I am one that probably would put those colors together as I love scrappy and I really do scrappy. I tend to just look at dark and light.
what a trip thru your garden… lovely… you are coming into cooler weather about now, right?
What is it about tiny little squares that just is so intriguing? The dashes of color, the line repeating itself. I like your little patches
LeeAnna
>Thanks for dropping in LeeAnna, we finally are having some rain so I have stopped watering the garden to keep the plants alive. Now we are been forecasted for may be a cyclone this week LOL it’s one or the other living here, so many extreme things happen when living in the tropical rainforest area. Cheers Glenda