Tag Archives: blue

Color Inspiration Thursday {75}

July 21, 2016 kittywilkin 8 Comments

Over the past two weeks, we’ve been searching for colors rarely seen in my previous color palettes, namely white, grey, blue, and purple. Last week, we attempted some white palettes and settled for white with a pop of color. This week, I’m sharing a couple of palettes addressing the purples and blues. We tried something a bit new for the second palette, but I don’t think it will be the last time we try it! Color palettes were created using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1 and my photographs, with conveniently matched cotton solids and Aurifil threads in case a palette so inspires you to sew!

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Black, Kona Shadow, Bella Baby Blue, Bella Aubergine, Kona Storm, Bella Betty’s Blue

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2692 – Black
2615 – Aluminum
2562 – Lilac
2566 – Wisteria
2745 – Midnight
4140 – Wedgewood

Purple, lovely purple! Literally one, maybe two days after deciding to seek less frequent colors in nature, one of my kids spotted this pinecone refuse left by some critter alongside a hiking path. I went to investigate in response to, “What’s this, mama?” and viola! Purple! and a bit of blue! I love when my kids find little treasures out in the natural world, since that spark of wonder is what makes the world go ’round! I certainly will do all I can to keep it going as long as I have a speck of influence, and will cherish the treasures found.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Stone, Kona Surf, Kona Ocean, Kona Copen, Kona Periwinkle, Kona Blueberry

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2605 – Grey
2525 – Dusty Blue Violet
2780 – Dk Delft Blue
2725 – Lt Wedgewood
2720 – Lt Delft Blue
2770 – V Lt Delft

For this palette, we tried something a bit different. There are bits of blue appearing around our gardens–blueberries are beginning to ripen, the blue bachelor button buds are ready to pop any day, and the borage is flowering its fuzzy blue blooms. But no where is there a strongly dominant blue; it is mixed in with the rest of the colorful bits of beauty but alone would not hold its own in a color palette.

To combat that, I decided to try a reverse color scavenger hunt. I picked a couple of borage flowers and gave my oldest the challenge of finding things in the house that matched the color perfectly. Borage is a tricky color–a blueish violet that’s very soft and subtle, but she managed to find one book that was an absolute perfect match: a little book called the Dali Lama’s Book of Love & Compassion, a sweet little collection of positive reflections that was a gift from my husband way back before we were even engaged. Everything else we tried was either too blue or too purple, so I headed up and grabbed some blue-violet Aurifil spools to see if we could get lucky. Sure enough, 2525-Dusty Blue Violet is the perfect match! If you look at the matching Aurifil threads pulled from the palette, the second coordinating color is exactly that! Once again, Aurifil has the perfect match.

It has been fun to seek the rarer colors, and I still have yet to find a convincingly grey palette, nor have I fully succeeded with a white one, so I will keep looking! I challenge you to spot some odd colors in the world around you this week–where do you see blue? purple? or any other unusual colors that stand out to you? Let me know in the comments, or link to a photo!

Enjoy the search!

Quilting, Tutorials

Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop: Transparent Play {Tutorial}

September 2, 2015 kittywilkin 38 Comments

When I was invited to join the Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop with the challenge of creating a new 12″ finished quilt block and sharing a tutorial, I immediately thought of transparency. I’ve been seeing fellow quilters play with transparency a lot lately (Yvonne’s Triangle Transparency quilt and the Transparency Bee Blocks by Hilary of Entropy Always Wins Blog and Leanne at She Can Quilt stand out in my mind most), and have yet to give it a go.

Watermelon Summer Color Palette — Colors chosen: Chartreuse, Turquoise, Coral, Aqua, Lapis Blue, White

As soon as I saw the color palette chosen, I knew that transparency it was (I’ll save the chartreuse and coral for an actual watermelon project)! I had fun creating a block that both looks cool on its own, but also can result in many fun layouts when replicated for a quilt. I call it Transparent Play (original, huh?!)

Today I’m going to share a tutorial for how to make the new block Transparent Play that I created using fat eighths provided by Fabri-Quilt. While I’m not typically a prewasher, I would definitely recommend prewashing the Fabri-Quilt solids with a color catcher or two.

Note that part of the challenge for creating this block was to make it out of only fat eighths of fabric, so cutting instructions assume a fat eighth is being used. Fat eighths typically measure 9″x21″.

General Notes

All seams are sewn with 1/4″ seam allowance unless otherwise noted. I like to press seams open since it helps the block lay flat and helps me better match seams. Do what works best for you.

Fabric Requirements & Selection

For this block, you will need a fat eighth of each of the following fabrics:

a neutral background (I used white)
a dark (I used lapis blue)
a light (I used aqua)
a blend or medium (I used turquoise)

Since the block is designed for playing with transparency, try to choose fabrics that give the impression of transparency. The blend fabric should be a color that could result from the dark and the light fabrics being overlapped. Note that while I made my block mostly monochromatic (one color), this block could be made with color blends, too. For example red as your dark, yellow as your light, and orange as your blend.

Cutting Instructions

Again, this tutorial is assuming a fat eighth of fabric is being used for each color. Strips should be cut along the long edge of the fat eighth (usually 20-21″ long and called length of fabric (LOF) in this tutorial). Note that many sections of the block will be strip pieced, so the initial cutting keeps this in mind.

Be sure to label your pieces with the coordinating letters so that piecing is a breeze!

From white:

Cut 1 strip 1 1/2″ x LOF and subcut (1) 1 1/2″x10″ strip (A); and (2) 1 1/2″x5″ rectangles (B).

Cut 1 strip 3″ x LOF and subcut (2) 3″x3 1/2″ rectangles (C); (2) 3″x4 1/2″ rectangles (D); and (1) 1″x5″ strip (E).

From lapis blue (dark):

Cut 1 strip 2 1/2″ x LOF and subcut (1) 2 1/2″x5″ rectangle (F); (1) 1 1/2″x5″ rectangle (G); (1) 1″x5″ rectangle (H–note, this fits next to G in the strip); and (2) 1 1/2″x3 1/2″ rectangles (I).

Cut (1) 2 1/2″x7 1/2″ rectangle (J).

From aqua (light):

Cut (1) 1 1/2″x11″ strip (M).

Cut (1) 2 1/2″xLOF and subcut (1) 2 1/2″x5″ (N); and (1) 2 1/2″x10″ (O).

From turquoise (medium):

Cut (1) 3 1/2″xLOF and subcut (1) 3″x5″ rectangle (K); and (1) 1 1/2″x11″ strip (L).

Piecing Instructions

Making the Top and Bottom Panels

Sew H to K along the 5″ side. Cut into two equal 3 1/2″x2 1/2″ rectangles as shown above. These are the HK units.

Sew I to the top of each HK unit, ensuring that the dark lapis blue H strip is on the left. You will have (2) 3 1/2″ squares (above). These are the IHK units. Set aside.

Sew A to O along the 10″ side. Cut into two equal 5″x3 1/2″ rectangles as shown above. Set aside.

Sew F to one of the B pieces along the 5″ side. Cut into two equal 2 1/2″x3 1/2″ rectangles as shown above. These are the FB units.

With F on top, sew C pieces to the left side of the FB units along the 3 1/2″ edge. These are the 3 1/2″x5″ CFB units.

Assemble the top and bottom panels as shown above. Note that they can be assembled identically, but we will rotate one of them 180 degrees as the bottom panel before final assembly of the block.

Accuracy Tip

When matching seams, line up the full length of the seams to be matched (not just at the raw edge) and then pin directly after the seam (about 1/16th “). This will ensure your seams stay in position without the pin skewing the fabric alignment when sewing. It will often result in perfectly matched seams.

Making the Center Panel

Sew M to L along 11″ side. Cut into two equal 2 1/2″x5 1/2″ rectangles as shown above. These are the ML units. Set aside.

Sew B to G along 5″ side. Cut into two equal 2 1/2″x2 1/2″ rectangles as shown above. These are the BG units. Set aside.

Sew ML units to BG units as shown above. These are the MLBG units.

Sew MLBG units to long sides of J as shown. Note that the bottom MLBG unit has been rotated 180 degrees. Pay close attention to the position of the colors to ensure the MLBG units are mirroring each other. Set aside.

Sew E to N along 5″ side. Cut into two equal 3″x 2 1/2″ rectangles as shown above. These are your EN units.

Sew D to the bottom of each EN unit, ensuring that the background white E strip is on the left. You will have (2) 3″x6 1/2″ rectangles (above). These are the END units.

Assemble the center panel as shown above. Note that the right END unit has been rotated 180 degrees. Pay close attention to the position of the colors before sewing. The center panel should measure 12 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ at this point.

Sew top and bottom panels to center panel to complete the quilt block as shown above. Note that the bottom panel has been rotated 180 degrees.

Congratulations! You just made your first Transparent Play block. It wasn’t nearly as tricky as it first looked, was it? Strip piecing is awesome.

This block is fun to play with when it comes to layout, since by simply rotating the blocks, you can create a number of different visual layout effects. Here are just a few:

Layout 1: All blocks in line




Layout 2: Bull’s Eye

Layout 3: Braid

I also couldn’t let a post go without including a peek at a rainbow, so here’s a sample block using color gradient transparency instead of monochromatic transparency.
and a resulting layout:

I hope you’ve had fun making your Transparent Play block, and please tag me @nightquilter on social media if you make it–I would love to see!

There are many other wonderful free block tutorials (60+!) posted in this Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop. Here are the others posted today:

Host – Stephanie @Late Night Quilter
Hannah @Modern Magnolia Studio
Cindy @Stitchin At Home
Abby @Hashtag Quilt
Lisa @Sunlight in Winter Quilts
Carrie @Chopping Block Quilts
Brianna @The Iron and Needle
Tish @Tish’s Adventures in Wonderland
Jan @The Colorful Fabriholic
Sarah @Smiles Too Loudly
Beth @Cooking Up Quilts
Leanne @Devoted Quilter
Liz @LizzyClips Design
Kim @Leland Ave Studios

Also be sure to visit the others hosts’ pages (Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl, Cheryl @Meadow Mist Designs, and Terri Ann @Childlike Fascination) for links to all of the blocks posted Monday through Thursday of this week. All of these blocks are being mailed to a host, who is assembling them into charity quilts.

I made an inchworm friend while photographing this block. He was testing out my seams for good measure! (get it!? LOL) Have fun inching your way through the rest of the blog hop!

I’m linking up with Tips & Tutorials Tuesday at Late Night Quilter.

Color Inspiration

Color Inspiration Thursday {53}

July 2, 2015 kittywilkin 4 Comments

July! With the 4th of July holiday upon us, I thought I’d try my hand at some patriotic color palettes. While the poppy reads a bit more orange than red, the combination of poppies with blueberries in a pristine white dish evoke a backyard patriotism. Since we plan to celebrate the holiday with a backyard barbecue, it seems fitting. Admittedly, blueberries are not yet ripe, so the blueberry photo is a repost from last August. It’s a tried and true blue–enjoy!

Color palettes are created using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1 and my photographs. Matching Kona cotton solids, Moda Bella solids and Aurifil thread is a perk provided by the Palette Builder.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Gold, Kona Cedar, Kona Mocha, Kona Coal, Bella Soft Finish Black, Bella Kansas Red

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2155 – Cinnamon
2390 – Cinnamon Toast
2468 – Dk Wine
1246 – Grey
4241 – V Dk Grey
2385 – Terracotta

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Stone, Bella Etchings Slate, Kona Dusty Blue, Bella Glacier, Kona Regal, Bella Sapphire

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
5011 – Rope Beige
2625 – Arctic Ice
2612 – Arctic Sky
5008 – Sugar Paper
2745 – Midnight
1248 – Grey Blue

May you have a happy and safe 4th of July if you’re in the US, and a lovely weekend to all!

Color Inspiration, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {47}

May 21, 2015 kittywilkin 5 Comments

The blues found in nature are among my all-time favorite colors. Forget-me-nots, delphiniums, hyacinths, the sky, the ocean… all the most gorgeously varied shades of blue! Today’s color palettes are created from some photographs of grape hyacinths found at a local park–Belfast City Park.

Color palettes are created with Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1 and my photographs. An awesome feature of the palette builder is that it matches fabric solids and Aurifil thread, too. This week I discovered that we could use more variety in our fiber blue-voilets–the matches are not entirely accurate–or maybe mother nature wins the hand when it comes to color. That doesn’t mean we can’t soak in the gorgeous colors and feel inspired!

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Kona Deep Blue, Bella Terrain Iris, Kona Hyacinth, Kona Dahlia, Bella Clover, Bella Stone

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2735 – Med Blue
1248 – Grey Blue
2520 – Violet
2520 – Violet
2908 – Spearmint
2605 – Grey

This palette captures the lighter blues and purples, while the next one focuses on the darks. Seeing this sea of hyacinths, I had to take a little detour to photograph them. Now THIS is spring!

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Night Sky, Kona Bright Periwinkle, Kona Laurel, Kona Coal, Kona Lavender, Kona Hyacinth

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
1248 – Grey Blue
2775 – Steel Blue
4173 – Dk Olive
1158 – Med Grey
2520 – Violet
1128 – Lt Blue Violet

Perfect little grape bells dance around a hundred stalks. This palette reads more purply, catching the darker and denser flowers. As I mentioned above, the solids and thread color matches are not as accurate as they usually are.

As you can see, the actual fabric matches read a lot more on the side of either straight blue or straight purple. The flowers are a lovely blend of blue-violet in a variety of shades. Isn’t the aesthetic variety in nature amazing!?!

Design, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {41}

March 19, 2015 kittywilkin 7 Comments

You would think that by now, nearly to April, I would have a few signs of spring to share in this week’s color inspiration. But lo, Maine has not yet gotten the memo that spring begins officially tomorrow and the temperatures have been in the teens, with a rare high of 30. So I decided to embrace the winter for a little longer, and showcase some more of nature’s frigid beauty. Color palettes are created using Play Crafts’ Palette Builder 2.1 and my photographs.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Peacoat, Bella Etchings Charcoal, Kona Silver, Bella Periwinkle, Kona Windsor, Kona Nightfall

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2785 – V Dk Navy
1158 – Med Grey
2615 – Aluminum
2524 – Grey Violet
1248 – Grey Blue
2581 – Dk Dusty Grape

Believe it or not, this cute little weather vane sits atop quite a large cupola that we removed from the chicken coop roof while winterizing it. The snow is still a good 3-4′ deep, but the beauty of the whimsical moon pointing toward spring with sunny shadows cast on the deep snow had to make its way into a palette. As cold as it is, I personally love this palette. Blues and greys will definitely become a Storm at Sea quilt one of these days. Perhaps I’ll use this palette for planning!

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Bunny Hill Blue, Kona Pewter, Bella Fir, Kona Biscuit, Bella Lead, Kona Moss

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2560 – Iris
2610 – Lt Blue Grey
2372 – Dk Antique Gold
2335 – Lt Cinnamon
2370 – Sandstone
2905 – Army Green

A little pine branch, nestled in the icy depths. I was really hoping for a bit more green to read through, but really, the season for green is not *yet* upon us. This instead is an earthy, neutral palette, with just a touch toward green with that final Moss-Army Green.

Corresponding solids from left to right:
Bella Moda U Brown, Kona Mushroom, Bella Lt Blue, Bella Mauve, Kona Blue Jay, Kona Slate

Corresponding Aurifil thread from left to right:
2630 – Pewter
2370 – Sandstone
2560 – Iris
2566 – Wisteria
4140 – Wedgewood
1310 – Med Blue Grey

Shhh don’t tell anyone that these magnolia buds are on the tree all winter long. I’m pretending it’s a sign of new life! Spring! Blue skies at the very least are peeking through. The warm sun shines, and surely, SURELY spring must not be too far behind. Right!?

What season are you experiencing right now? Are you eager for the next, or enjoying the current weather? I find it easy to enjoy winter until those first teaser warm days. Then my mind is on planting seeds, raising chicks, digging in the earth, and spending our days outside. Our entryway may be full of potting soil in the very near future!

Design, Life

Color Inspiration Thursday {8}

July 3, 2014 kittywilkin 3 Comments

In honor of the 4th of July tomorrow, your inspiration color palettes for the week feature red, white, and blue in true patriotic fashion. I have a confession to make: I did a lot of tweaking to these palettes to get them to be primarily red, white, and blue. Don’t get me wrong–the colors are all present in the photographs; they just were not the colors that came up on the palette when first created. That’s one of the features of the Play Crafts Palette Builder 2.1 that I love, though. You can move the color-choosing dots around on the photograph until you find the featured colors you love.

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Wine, Tomato, Rose, Snow, Fog, Regal

Our garden strawberries are now slowing to a trickle, but we had a decent crop this year despite an overly weedy strawberry bed. I took these pictures of our first harvest, a bit over a week ago. Nothing like some good red, white, and blue (blueberries won’t be far behind) from the garden!

Corresponding Kona cottons from left to right:
Coal, Shale, Crimson, Paprika, Shadow, Pewter

I love all of the stony grey-blues that find their way into this palette. I think it would make a great patriotic quilt, or depending on how you lay out the colors, would be quite a nice earthy quilt with the red as a feature color.

What would you make with these palettes?

Have a safe and fun holiday weekend to those of you in the United States!

Knitting

Beauteous, Bountiful, Botanical Blue!

April 13, 2014 kittywilkin 5 Comments

Today is our last day in New Jersey before heading back home to thawing Maine. I’ve heard from friends that the snow is disappearing, grass is finally showing in spots, and the flowers are even beginning to pop up out of the cold earth, but I’m still thoroughly enjoying my last moments in the peak of hot New Jersey spring. It’s been especially hot and sunny this week, which has been a special treat. I admire the flowers every day, especially the growing sea of Siberian Squill in my mom’s garden.

Yesterday I noticed that one of my travel knitting projects perfectly matches the beauteous, bountiful, botanical blue of the Siberian Squill sea. I just couldn’t resist a photo shoot.

This is the Julian Vest by Raya Budrevich knitted in size 4 for my son. I’m using Cascade 220 Wool dye lot 9603 Country Blue Yarn for this project. I’m SO close to finishing this vest; I only need to pick up stitches to do the finishing around the neck and arm holes. Novice knitter as I am, I forgot to bring my double pointed needles. The finishing will have to wait. In the meantime, feast your eyes on this beauty! Nature and knitting in perfect harmony:

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A Note on Lighting

One of my goals as a blogger is to continuously improve my photographs. I am so drawn to aesthetics, I feel like clear and artistically taken photographs are key to having a beautiful blog that begs to be read (or at least gazed upon). I’ve often heard that cloudy days are better for photography than sunny days, but haven’t ever been in a position to test it out. After yesterday’s experiment, I’m convinced that photographing in shade or on cloudy days is best for color! Yesterday, I noticed the jiving nature-to-knitting colors in the bright sun of morning and did my first impromptu photo shoot:

Later in the evening, after the flowers and garden were in full shade, I decided to do a repeat photo shoot. You can see in the top photos–the ones I chose to use for the bulk of the blog post–how vivid and rich the blue appears in the shady photos. It’s the same exact vest in just about the same exact spots, yet the colors are very different. Here are some side-by-sides for comparison (sun on the left; shade on the right):

Photos taken in both sun and shade have their value, but I definitely prefer the shady photos for accuracy of color and clarity of the knitting. Which do you prefer?