Month: December 2011

Creative Prompt #133: Green

secondary color

Green County, Wisconsin

Greenpeace

Green energy

shades of green

teal

Green Bay, Wisconsin

lime

“It’s not easy being green” – Kermit the Frog/Sesame Street

Green Day

Green Line Subway

Grasshopper drink

Green Bay Packers

Definition: Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered one of the additive primary colors. On the HSV color wheel, also known as the RGB color wheel, the complement of green is magenta; that is, a purple color corresponding to an equal mixture of red and blue light. On a color wheel based on traditional color theory (RYB), the complementary color to green is considered to be red.[5]

The word green is closely related to the Old English verb growan, “to grow”. It is used to describe plants or the ocean. Sometimes it can also describe someone who is inexperienced, jealous, or sick. In the United States of America, green is a slang term for money, among other things. Several colloquialisms have derived from these meanings, such as “green around the gills”, a phrase used to describe a person who looks ill.

chlorophyll

Green Lantern

kelly green

Irish

Fiddler’s Green

green tea

Simply Green

emerald

Going green

turning green

the Green Party

U.S. Green Building Council

Post the direct URL (link) where your drawing, doodle, artwork is posted (e.g. your blog, Flickr) in the comments area of this post. I would really like to keep all the artwork together and provide a way for others to see your work and/or your blog, and how your work relates to the other responses.

The Creative Prompt Project, also, has a Flickr group, which you can join to post your responses. Are you already a member? I created that spot so those of you without blogs and websites would have a place to post your responses. Please join and look at all of the great artwork that people have posted.

Gift Books for Quiltmakers

Pam, over at Hip to Be a Square Podcast, asked me to make a list of books I would recommend for holiday gifts. I was flattered to be asked, if a little mystified. After thinking it over I thought it was a good idea.

This won’t be a review post. If you want to read book reviews, you can click on the link in the idea cloud and read to your heart’s content. Most of the books I am recommending will be quilt books, but I am including a few non-quilt books as well.

Sandy did an amazing job in her list by categorizing and giving ratings in a recent podcast. I am not doing that.

In no particular order, the books I recommend are:

1. ColorPlay by Joen Wolfrom – this book about color begins the process of teaching a quiltmaker to make informed decisions about color and guides the quiltmaker through learning to put colors together.

2. Piecing: Expanding the Basics by Ruth McDowell – this book is out of print, but can be found as an eBook at the C&T site. You need this book if you want to be able to piece any shape to any other shape. This book will nudge you along the road to piecing odd angles and out of the ordinary shapes.

3. Adventures in Design by Joen Wolfrom – This book could be considered a companion to ColorPlay. While not the most comprehensive book on the subject, a good companion to others for learning about design. The examples in this book which illustrate design points are excellent.

4. The Quilter’s Book of Design, 2d edition by Ann Johnston – Johnston writes an excellent resource on design. I like the way it is laid out by principle and element. If used with Adventures in Design, the quiltmaker can get a good picture of design in quiltmaking.

5. Falling Together by Marisa de los Santos – de los Santos’ poetic language makes this a fabulous book to which to listen while sewing.

6. Threading the Needle by Marie Bostwick – another book, from the Cobbled Court series, that stands on its own very well. Recent economic troubles factor prominently in the story. New characters are introduced.

7. Masters: Art Quilts v.2 curated by Martha Sielman – art quilt eye candy. This book is all about inspiration. The photos are wonderful and this book provides a jolt to the creative process.

8. Quilts Made Modern by Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr – I like this book because the tone is kind and because the authors weave additional information beyond how to make the included projects their way into the text. The book is infused with advice on color. The authors took the time to show and talk about a few color variations for each project. No, they didn’t make all of the quilts in multiple colorways, but used line drawings. This is not a “my way or the highway” design team. They want the reader to be able to envision the projects in different colors.

9. The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns by Jinny Beyer – This massive block dictionary includes nearly every block known to womankind. If you want to be inspired, this is the book for you. If you want to start learning how to draft blocks, this is the book for you. If you want patterns and projects skip this book. The 4,000+ block line drawings provide endless inspiration for quilts.

10. Sew What Bags: 18 pattern free projects you can customize to fit your needs by Lexie Barnes – this book is more than a bag pattern book; it really gives information about the structure of bags and how to design your own.

Happy Reading!