I always think of this cartoon when I have a plan that has no guarantee of coming out as I orignally thought.I begin with so much hope and faith and then abruptly everything changes and I am swept along without a clue as to where I am going and what I will have when I am finally at the finish line.
So here's where I started.
I have this skein of yarn that is multicolored, not bright, but subtle "colors that have no name" which is what I call those blend-y parts where dyes mix. I love this yarn even tho it isn't saturated color. So if I can love it in yarn, can I love it equally in a quilt?
We shall see. First do I have fabric that matches this yarn? I kind of thought I had found one piece that would work, but after I fused it and cut it up, it never got used...which is so not-surprising to me.
Here it is and while it is lovely, it is way too rich and not subtle enough. So nevermind.
But I know I am in the neighborhood of the colors I will need, so I begin looking for the fabrics that I have rejected in the past as being too washed out looking. Now I actually want that look, like it was once bright, but must have faded.
It turns out that I have just the stuff I need. Who'da thunk it? And it is already fused. Amazing luck.
They are pretty light, but I can always add the darker versions for contrast. 
Yes, this is working. By bringing in lots of subtle colors, and juxtaposing them next to bits of opposites, I can make this work, and it can be exciting even if the colors are subtle in-betweens.
And then when I have brought in the darker versions, suddenly they became saturated colors and vroom, I am back in familiar territory again. 
Now let's go back to the beginning.... WHY do you think this yarn is so great....???? I don't see it as great and it is hard to get my brain around the next step, much less three steps further......
ReplyDeleteI love the colors. You really have the eye for color. i can't wait to see what you will do with it.
ReplyDeleteI'm a color junky like you, but I have grown to appreciate more subtler tones too... good exercise in conrasts and subtlety!
ReplyDeleteWow, wow, wow! At the beginning of the post I thought hmmmmm.... I just wasn't getting it. By the end I was excited! You are a master at placing the colors. I'm sure you could make beige and grey exciting. I can't wait to see the progress of this one.
ReplyDeleteI love the subtlety of these, and I was suddenly struck by the memory of those drop-dead-GORGEOUS 'blacks' you dyed years ago for a workshop that turned out amazing deep rich shades of chocolate and aubergine and teal.
ReplyDeleteJust thinking how those much darker colors would make these shades glow ... kinda like beams of light through a dark forest. Not that that would necessarily be what you're after of course, but it could create intense focal areas without being too heavy handed. At least, it does in my minds eye, which is not quite the same as being able to do it reality, heh.
Love seeing your process.
ReplyDeleteI love your familiar territory!
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