Tag: Inspiration

Since we have been obsessing over the Peacock, I decided to use the Peacock piece, as is, for ColorPlay this week. Ok, I have been obsessing

I would have cropped out more of my design wall, but decided just to leave it in and see what happened.

Since the colors are all cool colors, I thought I might finally develop the calm palette I have been seeking.

Using the Palette builder tool is always interesting. I am fascinated by the tool’s initial selections of locations on the photo. There are always circles on the edge. The choices the tool made tends towards darks and neutrals, in my opinion. If I were given the palette and then shown this quilt and asked if it was the palette for the  quilt I am not sure I would say yes. There are only 1 each of green and blue.

Fortunately, we can move the circles around. This palette is almost the perfect palette. It might actually be the perfect palette. While not complete, I do think it reflects the colors of the piece. I particularly like the addition of the green – Kona Blue Grass on the bottom of the list. The fabric I used was not that manufacturer, but it is a good match. I might need to use Kona Blue Grass if I run out of the solid that I have been using.

Of course, it is impossible for me to leave well enough alone. I moved the circles around again.

This is similar to the number 2 above, but tending more to the neutrals again. I wanted to get the lavender in the palette to see what that would add. Despite the Kona Blue Grass, I don’t like this palette as much.

I had to fix it, try to make it less depressing, so I tried again. The palette is still somewhat tending towards neutrals, but the Lapis, Holly and Stratosphere balance out the Kona Coal and Graphite.

It isn’t the perfect palette, but I am rather partial to Stratosphere and Lapis. They make great additions to almost any palette.

There is a gold color in some parts of the fabric and I wanted to try and get that into the palette and see what it did sitting alongside the other colors. I worked on trying to get it from the area with the greens. It shows up there in the original panel. The closest I could get with that strategy was Kona Peridot (second from the right on the bottom). Between the Peridot and Coal, the palette is starting to look depressing again.

Distracted from the gold for a minute, I moved more circles to try and get back to the first palette.

The palette I came up with is different than the first palette, but still quite pleasing. The addition of Kona Leaf (second from the right bottom) and Candy Blue (far left bottom) are wonderful. This looks like a very restful palette.

I got back to trying to capture that gold. It was a lot easier when I realized there was a gold center in one of the hexies towards the bottom. The fabric chosen by the tool is Kona Gold. It is fairly brown and I am not sure I like it.

It occurred to me, as I assessed these different palettes that each palette is very limited. I always use many more fabrics when making a quilt. The Peacock is actually one of the most limited in terms of fabrics, but I still have 7-10 different fabrics. It looks like more because of the way I cut up the Peacock panels. Combining all the different colors from the various palettes might be the way to go in making a quilt.

Let me know what you do with the Palette Builder.

I took this photo on one of my walks. It was late in the afternoon so the sun was going down. One of the beautiful things about this time of year is the way the sun tinges the clouds with pink at about 4:45 or 5pm. I love it. Of course, the clouds help and they have been dumping rain on us. We don’t complain about the rain, but I will complain about the cold. It has been bitter for a place that doesn’t get snow regularly. I have been wearing so many layers!

My first iteration of a color palette has all of the circles clustered around the upper left hand corner. I am not sure why. However, this is almost a monochromatic palette with a serious number of blues. I see more colors, including a tinge of yellow in this picture, but I do think that the tool has got it mostly right.

For the second palette, I wanted to try and keep the monochromatic look, but add some contrast. I wanted the contrast to be light so I tried to find areas that might be in the white-cream-light grey realm. The Kona cream and ivory chosen by the tool both have a tinge of pink, which I think is a good choice.

I moved the circles around a little again for the third palette. I wanted to try and capture the yellow. I wasn’t really able to find that yellow in the photograph. I guess that is one reason we should take care of our eyes: they can see things our camera can’t. Still, the palette is pleasing and would make a very calming quilt.

 

Have you tried the Palette Builder? What have you made?

Nobody died, but I did have a slightly stressful week, which you can see on Instagram and Twitter, if you are interested. I post more about my life there. No quilt related emergencies. thus, the late posting of ColorPlay and little other posting this week. I also haven’t sewed much.

This is an old photo from a prior Thanksgiving dinner, but I thought it would make a nice themed ColorPlay this week.

The first color palette is the default. It is what the tool gave me out of the gate; I didn’t make any changes. I really like it, mostly because I got two in the red area right off. I also like the neutrals.

I fooled around with the dots a bit on the second option, keeping the reds, but changing up the neutrals. I also added some additional greens, which, though present in the first palette, were not representative of the theme of the tablecloth.

Finally, this is my masterpiece. I really like this color palette. I like the various greens – they are brighter – in combination with the two reds and only one neutral and think it would make a great quilt.

More torture for you for the sake of color. This is an example of a standard sundae you can order at almost any Austrian cafe. I indulged several times with different sundaes while I was in Austria. I had this one in Steiermark near GroB St. Florian. I didn’t think much about what I was eating while I was there, though I didn’t stuff myself either.

This one is called Pfirsich Melba, I think, meaning Peach Melba. I’d give a lot for another one in Austria just now.

The first one, the standard made by the tool, has a load of neutrals as the others in previous editions had. I kind of like the coffee colors and the combination, but would probably never make a quilt with these colors. I get depressed using dark purple fabric in the winter. No pink; I’d get depressed and never finish it or toss it or give it to the Charity Girls. If I ever go live in Hawaii I’ll think about trying a neutral quilt.

I made some changes to the location of the circles to get some color.

I got some red and a kind of gold Kona calls Yarrow. I wanted to keep some of the neutrals to see how it would look.

More color. I needed more color. I didn’t have much with which to work.

The third time I put all the circles on the colored areas. Lots of red, mauve dusty rose, which are really called Cayenne, Sienna and Deep Rose in the Kona world.  Yarrow is back as well.

One thing that this exercise does is it makes me look – really LOOK – at the photos. After trying to get more pink or color, I finally saw the blue towards the base of the dish. The blue looks lighter to me than the Palette Builder determined.

Kona Everglade was added to the mix. As usual, the work paid off and this is the best of the lot.

Have you made something with one of the palettes. Let me see it.

These dishes caught my attention when I was in Franziskanerplatz in Graz. Later I saw a set of four cups in an antique shop and I thought of buying them as a thank you gift for one of my friends. Unfortunately, the cups were 25 Euros each, which was out of my budget right at that moment. If I had a vacation house, I would buy a set for it. However, a person can only use so many dishes and I have enough at the moment. They are so bright and cheerful, though not clunky and chunky like some other colorful styles. I especially like the purple.

The dishes are by Lilien AT and the style is from 2010, called Daisy. I don’t know if they are still available, though I doubt it as they are not listed on the Lilien website.

This was an appropriate photo for this week since I, and my house, are still recovering from Thanksgiving. The colors are cheerful and springlike.

I had fun with the palettes. I was shocked at the default palette that the tool came up with. Can you believe all the browns and neutrals. It is as though the tool is design to select from the edges of the image. I was really shocked at this palette considering the bright colors of the dishes.

Of course, I got busy and moved the bubbles around. I wanted to try and get all those gorgeous springy colors. One thing I noticed was that within the colorful areas, it was possible to get different versions of the colors we see. For example, at one point Kona Maize was part of the palette instead of Kona Sunflower. There are shadows that are difficult to see in the photo and that affects the palette.

I tried again, still going for the bright colors and made a slightly different palette. Kona Maize is back instead of Sunflower and Kona Peach is in place of Kona Salmon. I forgot to move one bubble off the window frame, so Kona Juniper is also included.

It just occurred to me (DUH!) that there are tone-on-tones that I could match to this palette instead of going to buy the solids. Not sure why that leap of inspiration didn’t occur to me before.

I am working, today, with another photo from my trip to Austria.

I used to live at Glockenspielplatz 6/3/13 and this is the Glockenspiel (chimes, carillon) across from the main house door. I don’t remember that giant tower and will have to look up some photos from my last trip to Graz to see if I simply don’t remember.

Again, I am playing with neutrals, apparently. The colors of the buildings are remarkably consistent in Graz. The yellowing stone of the buildings, the red tile (slate???) roofs and the green copper of some towers or other architectural details. No fuchsia or turquoise here.

The Palette Builder tool created a much more neutral heavy palette, which makes me wonder how the circles are placed on the image by the programming. The circles seem to gravitate to the darker sections of the photo. You can see that none of the gold or sand colors have a circle on them.

Still the tool selected a bit of blue, which adds to the palette, though I was sorely tempted to move the blue circle to a darker section of the sky.

I thought my first attempt would also be somewhat depressing (I am gaining more of an appreciation for neutrals, however), but the yellow and the blues add some cheeriness.

I wanted to get a good color for the green copper, but wasn’t really successful. This made me think about whether I was expecting a matching color from my mind or if I was truly seeing that green color. Yes, I do know there are a variety of greens in that architectural detail.

Since I seemed to be stuck on greens, I decided to try and create an almost completely green palette using that copper covered tower.

I am not sure if Limestone, Shale and OD Green are actually greens. If I assume they are, I have to say they lean heavily towards the grey end of the green spectrum. Yes, I did move that blue circle to a spot that would register Stratosphere.

Let me know if you make something from either of these color palettes.

On my first day in Dornbirn, I went with my Austrian mom to the natural grocery store (Bioladen). Across the street was the house above. I love the painted shutters and the window boxes. September is such a lovely month in Vorarlberg.

I decided to use the photo to see what kind of palette I could make. I have recently been fascinated with the combinations of neutrals. I see a lot of houses in the neighborhood painted in a pleasing combination of neutrals. I am reluctant to commit to such a color combination, however. There is a difference between admiring as I amble by and being forced to look at it each time I drive up and walk in.

This photo has some interesting neutrals. I focused on the neutrals in the first palette. As individual colors combined with super brights, as per my usual, I can imagine using them. I am not sure about the palette above. I was trying to get a white, but the Palette Builder recognized the color as baby blue. It is interesting to think about using a very, very pale blue instead of white. This is when I need a team of assistants to sew on command. 😉

Kind of depressing, especially after Tuesday, so I tried to create a brighter version. Not much to work with, but I do like the result. The watermelon is an interesting color.

What have you made?

My recent trip to Austria was a complete feast for the eyes. Everywhere I looked I wanted to capture the images – the layering, the lines and especially the color.

It is hard to choose a favorite museum, but right now I am in love with the Silberkammer in Vienna. It is the museum of the Kitchens and Dining of the Hapsburgs. There are dishes, serveware and set tables everywhere. Above shows one of the rooms of the pantries that remain. There were several, but some are now used for other purposes. Ever since I saw the butler’s pantry at my friend Kathy’s childhood home in Upstate New York, I have wanted a pantry. Of course, the one shown above would take up half of the main floor of my house (kitchen, dining room and part of the living). To have somewhere to keep china, crystal and silver would be fantastic.

One of the sets of china includes a soup tureen decorated with a lovely jade color. I am using it as our color play today.

The color scheme the Palette Builder tool originated was all neutrals. That lovely green color was not included. I didn’t even save that palette. I moved all the circles around to come up with something better

It is interesting that the green is considered Kona Bluegrass. I’ll have to go and look up what color Kona Jade is, if there is such a color.

Again the tool had problems with the pinks/fuschias. I moved the little bubble around quite a bit and the Kona Crimson was the only red I could get. I think the angle of the photo had something to do with the results as well.

I would definitely change out some of the colors if I made a quilt with this color palette.

Let me know your thoughts or if you make something from this color palette.

Once again, I used the palette builder to…well… build some palettes for you.

The photo is a photo I took from the car window as my friends drove me around GroBes Walser Tal in Vorarlberg, Austria. I chose this picture deliberately because there were a lot of blues and I wanted to see if the Palette Builder could deal with them.

I am pretty pleased with the palette the tool built. I didn’t even move the circles around.

I like some of the colors in the second palette, but I am not as excited about it overall. Peacock and Glacier are two of my favorite Kona solid colors. The others are ok.

This is a fun tool, as I have said, and I could make 50 more palettes with this one photo. Go and make a quilt with this palette.

Yes, I am going to torture you today. I am not really very sorry. It is helping me to remember my trip.

Milka is a brand of chocolate sold in Austria. Occasionally, I can buy it at World Market, but not regularly. It might be sold elsewhere, but it is not widely available here in the US. When I visit friends in Austria, I indulge.

Yes, chocolate snobs are sticking their noses up, because this bar is made from milk chocolate. I am also a dark chocolate fan, but this milk chocolate is no Hershey’s. It is so creamy and rich that it calms fretful children and makes grown men weep when they eat it.

Now that you are frantically rummaging through your desk drawers looking for chocolate crumbs, let’s get to the ColorPlay. 😉

I took the wrapper and ran it through the Palette Builder tool. If you still haven’t tried it, get some colorful photos and have some fun.

I didn’t crop this photo, but when I ran it through the tool, I moved the circles off the background and focused on the wrapper. Yes, I can control the colors to a certain degree, as you know, by moving the little circles around. The palette above is a little heavy with those particular shades of red and green. Thus, I decided to make a new palette and try to make it lighter.

Perhaps the Daffodil and Ruby, in the middle photo above, add to the palette in ways that I cannot imagine without sewing. My favorite, however, is the second palette. Yes, there is a lot of purply tones, but it feels lighter and fresher to me. What do you think?

The whole idea is to give you ideas for palettes for your quilts, so let me know if you create a project with either of these palettes.