Monday 20 March 2017

Secret Garden: Colouring In Block 2

Last week I showed you how I made my bluebells. Well, I've accepted that they're bluebells, I like to keep it ambiguous - they can be whatever you envision them to be. So, after making up my bluebells I started rethinking my yellow print stems. I felt they took away all focus from the beige toned leaves. Then I thought it was actually the leaves that required enhancing. I couldn't decide how to balance out the block.
So I took out my coloured pencils and crayons to play around with my block and get things more how I 'see' them in my mind. I love colouring over fabric prints with coloured pencils and water soluble crayons. Once you heat seat these quality pigments, they're permanent so there's no need to worry. And, the little touches you make can really impact a big difference. Usually I highlight areas of an applique block with a tiny amount of white, yellow or block matching colour to make certain areas stand out more than others - but this time I'm creating a gentle wash to change the tone of an existing print.
This is my usual colouring in work for applique blocks - a simple enhancing of the existing colour - in this case blue with some added highlight in white to give my flat fabric some dimension. I think the Prisma pencils work best for this.
It just adds some overall subtle visual movement
For the gentle tone wash, I move over to my favourite crayons. They're Caran D'Ache which is the gold standard in pencils, crayons and colouring in pigments. These are water soluble crayons and like the Prisma pencils, they are permanent once heat set. They are pricey - this set cost me AU$160, but they last for years. I've had this set for several years now and I've no doubt I won't exhaust it for a few more years yet.
Being water soluble, I can mix a small amount of pigment with some water and use this to 'paint' with
This is my 'before'
and this is my after
It's a small change which blends in the stark print which was glaring at me.
And that's it for now. It's time for me to get on with making Part 3 so you can actually see what I've done by the time it gets released April 1st. 


“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” 


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Welcome to this wonderful Mystery BOM 


This very special applique Mystery BOM has launched!


Will you join me on this adventure?
The journey started February 1st, 2017
You can join right now
Digital pattern downloads are instant!
The BOM runs for 12 months
The pattern will be emailed to you directly each month
The finished quilt size is 80 x 80 inches

4 comments:

  1. I love how this changed the tone of the fabric! I have a yellow in a finished quilt that always bugs me every time I see it. Can these crayons be purchased singly or is there another product I could use to tone down this naughty fabric of mine? Thanks!

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  2. My heart leaped when I saw that you color and paint your fabrics too!! I will order those crayons to add to my supplies. I use Derwent blocks, pencils and Prisma pencils.I use a textile medium too.I also wanted to add this, your BOMs and patterns are the most fun bc you encourage us to branch out and explore while using your patterns as our inspiration. Im in another BOM about a certain Rabbit Hole...I was so excited about it. The designer is very strict and doesn't take kindly to any changes whatsoever to her pattern and instructions.Not fun at all. Thank you for being a fun designer who lets her followers be as creative as our mindscan get and never clipping our wings. Your awesome!!

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  3. That looks like a lot of fun, Esther. It is going to be beautiful!

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  4. I am so thrilled to see how you enhanced and subdued your applique to suit your liking with these products. I can't wait to give it a try! You continue to amaze me with your wonderful applique!

    ReplyDelete

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