In yesterday’s Time Out, I showed how I choose colors for a quilt. If you listen closely, you’ll pick up a variety of other tips that you may not have considered before. Everything I talk about is in The Quilter’s Practical Guide to Color—a book I am very proud of :-).
Next week I’m going to show you my favorite binding tricks. See you then!
I wrote about Chris and Lorna’s books in the most recent newsletter. I just found the blog post from January 2016 showing the very first rearranging of books by color. Click here.
With the newly added shelving, the books now go down the entire wall which is at least 16′ long. Nearly all of the books had to come off the shelves so that new books could be placed in the appropriate color space.
There was a lot of dusting going on. And deep thought.
There are a lot of books with whit/cream spines. I think they sorted those first.
It almost makes me wish I had this many books. Instead I have a kindle with a nice cover…
and an interesting stack of quilt and art books.
Chris and Lorna’s books are way prettier. And more fun.
I, however, have less to dust :-).
Sarah Meyers is an artist (and young mother of 3) who makes all sorts of things, including crocheted mandalas. She made one for Lorna and I loved it so much that I commissioned one for myself! FYI: she is willing to more commissions—if you are interested you can email me (becky.pieceocake@gmail.com) and I will give her your email address.
I chose acrylic yarn because I expect to wash and dry it in the dryer. I chose a color palette and OK’d the yarn choices and it’s a kick to see how well it turned out! It’s colorful in a way that is so different from the quilts I make. It is going to be wonderful to cuddle with when the weather turns cooler.
It’s really tactile, and 3-dimensional…
Again, if you are interested in commissioning a crochet mandala, email me (becky.pieceocake@gmail.com) and I will give Sarah your email address.
I’ve shared many photos of our trip to Spain, but I haven’t said much about how what I saw is working its way into my head design-wise. I was definitely inspired by the color, freedom, and spontaneity evident in Antonin Gaudi’s work. The color and playfulness, combined with a deep understanding of form and function, will stay with me.
But there is more to Spain than the work of Antonin Gaudí. I paid particular attention to the colors of the buildings in all of the cities and villages that we visited.
The colors are generally warm, and tend to be light to medium in value. The overall palette is loaded with beige-neutrals, warm grays, pale yellow to gold, peach, salmon, and pale greens…
If you are like me, you have stopped noticing what you see every day in your own home town. It’s so much fun to look around and see something new everywhere you look!
Even the back side of a block of basic apartment buildings is interesting to look at.
White walls and buildings were less common, but they sparkle when you find them.
Strong, dark colors were rarer and stood out from the crowd. There are probably lots of deeply colored buildings, I just didn’t find them.
Gaudí’s mosaics are the most famous, but they are not the only mosaics to be found. These columns can be found in the Palau de la Música Catalana designed by Lluís Domènech i Montaner.
I saw more white walls in the coastal villages. And a lot more blue… blue doors, blue trim, blue water.
As I think about and remember the places we visited on this trip, I see these colors in my head. I’ve begun drawing my next quilt and I know that at least some of this warm and lovely color palette will be in it.
Antonin Gaudí also designed Park Güell, Palau Güell, and Casa Mila in Barcelona. Park Güell was high on my list of places to visit.
There are so many whimsical shapes covered with mosaics!!!
I didn’t love the lion’s head (below), but it’s the only thing I didn’t love.
There are two levels to the park. The part with the undulating bench is on top, in the sun.
The bench marks the perimeter of the space. I especially liked seeing the transitions between different tile colors and styles on the bench. And I liked that the drainage holes were well designed and obviously work.
The plain circles that crop up like dots are really fun!
You can see the more formal garden in the background in the photos above and below.
The views of Barcelona were lovely.
A colonnade holds up the ‘top’ of the park. It is massive, and the columns angle to provide maximum support.
Stone and tile… everywhere you look! And beautiful ironwork…
The non-formal part of the park is more organic. Rock work, no tile.
The whole park feels happy and very alive!
It was hot summer so the flowers were not as plentiful as they would be in the spring but those that were there, were lovely.
We arrived at the park early and missed a lot of the crowds and heat. If you go, do that :-).
You take an elevator most of the way up and then there are narrow passage ways and stone stairs with the occasional place to stop and look out. Barcelona is beautiful from above!
This is also where you get to see the mosaics and other building details up close.
You walk a stone spiral staircase back to ground level.
You can’t see them, but there were a lot of people up there with us. There was not a lot of time to linger. That made taking this photo more interesting/challenging. Do it too fast and vertigo sets in.
Steve and I hope to go back to visit the Sagrada Familia when it is finished.
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