Monday, October 25, 2010

Colors in nature

I hear so many quilters say they don't ever work with yellow fabric.  I think I fell in love with yellow the first time I saw a tree changing colors.






When I was about 8 years old I colored leaves, shading from green to yellow, to gold, to orange, and then to brown.  I cut them out and my mother and I pinned them to the curtains in the little room that had the piano in it.  I went to a one room school through 4th grade and whatever the older classes were learning, we learned too.  I learned the order/blend of colors in the rainbow, which is the same as the color wheel that was taught in the 1940's.  I wonder if any kids are being taught that today.

I was not very energetic yesterday after the migraine the day before so I made a few more log cabin blocks and then played with groups of fabric.  This one is a combination of Brandon Mabley, Kaffe Fassett, Martha Negley and Philip Jacobs, all designers for Westminster fabrics.

16 comments:

Tine said...

I love yellow - and orange too :)

Unknown said...

Yellow is a definite must have in my stash. Funny that my friend and I were speaking of yellow and she said she almost never uses yellow, but in her last quilt she noticed it was lacking something. So she put in a little yellow and it gave it the punch it really needed!

patty a. said...

I am glad your feeling better. I entered a piece in an exhibit at the Rocky Mountain Quilt Museum several years ago. The theme was using orange in a quilt. My colors ranged from an orangy yellow to darker orange and I was pleased with the outcome. It was exhibited for a month so I am not afraid of yellow or orange. I also recently made a yellow zig zag quilt - it's posted on my blog.

Laura said...

I teach Kindergarten and they learn to blend the colors of the rainbow!

hetty said...

I love yellow! Well, I love all colours. My daughter teaches her class about the colours in a rainbow. I have no idea if it is part of the curriculum or just something that she enjoys teaching.

Sewing Junkie said...

I took an art class in high school, but have a natural sense of the color wheel theme. When I worked in a fabric shop many came to me to ask my opinions and I think it was a color theory I had from this class. Yellow is and essential color in the spectrum and we all should use it more. Glad you are feeling batter. Nothing can zap you like a migraine. Chris

dianen said...

What a wonderful memory - coloring the leaves and your mom and you pinning them up on the curtains. That gave me such a nice warm feeling. Thanks Wanda!

Quiltdivajulie said...

My mom helped us gather colorful leaves (reds and yellows) each fall ~ then we'd carefully press them between sheets of wax paper. Later, we'd trim them apart (leaving sealed wax paper around the edges), poke a hole, add hole reinforcements, and then tie a string through each one. The finished leaves were hung on the glass brick window in the dining room and stayed until the Christmas cards arrived and took over that space. I still love colored leaves!

Needled Mom said...

The yellow/green/orange/red and browns are my favorite colors. How could someone NOT love them?

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

I love to use yellow in my quilts. It just says happy to me. Now I am very intrigued to see how that last group of fabrics will progress. I don't think I would have put those together, but the odds are real good that since it's you doing it - it will turn into something wonderful!

Vicky F said...

Hi Wanda,
Glad you are feeling better. I woke up yesterday with a migraine as the storm you got the day before was rolling in; I never tied them to weather, but hmmm...

Yellow is a "must" in quilts; just look at the yellow middle in all flowers. Can't have a pink, red or blue flower without yellow.

I have a strong negative reaction to orange, but I think that reflects back to my grocery store days when we had to wear orange and white striped uniforms day after day (in the 70's). I'm getting more comfortable with using bits of orange and rust in quilts now!

Vicky F

Jodi said...

So glad you're feeling better! Love those Westminster fabrics!

quilthexle said...

Glad your migraine left you ;-)) And I'm so happy that you share my love for yellow. I LOVE yellow, and maybe I'll sew a all-yellow quilt in the future!

Anonymous said...

The leaves are beyond amazing!

Who has time for a migraine, I get so frustrated when I get one! Just slows you down....I am glad you are better.

Love the leaves!

HollyM said...

I like the combination of a common color theme withe the different textures--beautiful.

Cathi said...

I love using yellow -- it just adds such a lovely sparkle to quilts!
I got the migraine today.