Nuts about Needlepoint » color

Color Selection

Janet Perry — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:08:55 +0000

Originally posted 2008-10-04 07:12:05. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

After my recent posting about selecting threads based on a choice of Watercolours, my friend Jan Fitzpatrick send me an email about her method of choosing thread colors along with this picture of a glorious Jean Hilton piece, French Perfume (available from Stitches from the Heart).

Here’s her explanation of how she picked the colors
“I open the skein of Watercolors, etc. Tie one end to the tag so I always know what color it is (and dye lot if needed). Then wrap the thread around the tag until the tag is covered. Then I use that covered tag and search my stash to find colors to go with it. The rest is how you describe your process.

“I did two Jean Hilton designs this summer for our home. One started with Watercolors Rain Forest. I knew I wanted to pull out the olive green and rust as the main colors. Using the technique above, I could easily find the correct shade of each. The design used lots of specialty threads, most of which I didn’t have on hand. Off to Regal Rabbit with my covered tag and other threads I had already chosen. It takes time, but so worth the effort.”

The piece was done on vintage canvas, brown on green, to give it an antique feel.

As you can see from the picture above, it turned out great!

Book of Hours Color Twinchy – Sneak Peek at New Color & Thread Club

Janet Perry — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 17:20:12 +0000

Going from the earth and mineral colors that predominated the palettes of Ancient Egypt and Greece, the High Middle Ages seem to burst in a world of color and light.

I have adored the bright, rich blues of medieval prayer books, or Books of Hours, since I first saw one in a reproduction in High School. A picture from Jean de Berry Book of Hours, it’s the monthly scene for June, is below.

illustration from medieval book of hours

Those colors are the inspiration for this Twinchy. It captures the bright colors with the blue and red, the lightness of the palette with the blue-violet, the slightly yellow white of vellum and parchment, and the gold that is so much a part of illuminated manuscripts.

It’s just one of the twelve color palettes I’ll be exploring in Color through the Ages my exciting new color and thread club beginning March 1, 2012.

Each month you’ll get the charted Twinchy (2″ square needlepoints) and lots of information on the palettes, color, and three threads in a PDF.

There are two subscription option, basic and deluxe. The basic subscription gets the monthly PDF only. The deluxe gets the PDF, canvas for the Twinchy, and samples of three threads.

Basic Package includes the PDFs of each month’s program. It is $7.50 per month. Use the PayPal button below to register.

Deluxe Package includes the PDFs of each month’s program as well as canvas and three thread samples of about 2 yards per month. It is $12.50 per month. Use the PayPal button below to register.

In addition if you make a single payment for either option (using the buttons below or pay via check (contact me for the address) you will receive a10% discount..

Please note that the Deluxe Package prices are for shipment to US addresses only. If you want this option and live outside the US, please contact me. All sales to California are subject to sales tax. If you are in California and choose the subscription, you will be invoiced for the sales tax separately.

How Do I Find a Neutral Gray Thread?

Janet Perry — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:09:58 +0000

Grays can be a real problem in threads. You think you have found the perfect one, you get it home and UGH, it looks horrible with your other threads.

This is because there are three types of grays, warm, cool, and neutral. Warm grays have gray plus a bit of a warm color. Cool grays have gray with a bit of a cool color. Neutral grays are just mixtures of black and white.

If you pick a grey for an all-cool color piece and it’s a warm grey, you get that UGH feeling. A neutral, or even better, a cool gray will look great.

But often it’s hard to tell.

Here’s what to do at a shop or when shopping your stash.

Take a skein of red thread and with a skein of blue thread. Put one next to a possible gray thread. Then do the same wit the other thread. If it is a neutral gray, it will look warm next to the blue thread and cool next to the red thread.

If it doesn’t do both, it isn’t a neutral gray.

I get home from Phoenix late tonight or early tomorrow, so my TNNA reports will start on Wednesday.

Taking Color Cues from Fashion

Janet Perry — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:54:24 +0000

My husband thinks I’m sort of weird because I love fashion magazines. One big reason I love them is that they often give me ideas for needlepoint.
One great thing is that you can use color combinations that they showcase to put together interesting combinations for needlepoint.

Sometimes you are lucky and the magazine spells out a combination for you. For example, the combination of nude, light pink, minty green, and coral in Style Watch inspired the Twinchy freebie pictured here. It’d entirely made up of Cashmere stitches, charted below. (Instead of a complete chart, use the picture of the finished needlepoint to stitch it.)

A stunning malachite-grren sequined evening gown inspired me to stitch a malachite clutch in all metallics.

When looking to fashion for color inspiration there are three types of things that can inspire.

You can take you inspiration from an individual outfit. If you see an outfit that combines a bright yellow blouse with navy blue pants, look at the neutrals paired with it to create the start of a great piece.

You can take inspiration from the colors in a print. The prints do lots of the work for you. They always have a background color, which becomes your background. The figures in the print determine the other colors. You’ll get the best success from using these colors in similar proportions. You can do this by writing down the colors and then ranking them from most to least used. Note also where there are big gaps. (A future post will demonstrate how to do this).

You can also take inspiration from a color spread, as I did here. The spread took these colors and showed current clothes and accessories in this palette. Coral was most predominate, then light pink (some almost white), green came next appearing in one piece and as a print’s background. Nude was used the least, although both the light pinks and lightest corals were almost nudes.

While I love and often use the combination of deep coral and bright turquoise, this combination made me think about these colors in another way. The threads I used included three shades of Aurora silk perle (coral), Gentle Arts floss in porcelin (center pink), Kreink #12 in an unlabeled color (green), Elegance E844 and Neon Rays N40 (nudes), and a mix of Gentle Arts Cotton Candy and Crescent Colors Spun Sugar (outside pink).

And it’s all thanks to the fashion magazine.

Changing Colors on a Canvas

Janet Perry — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 14:57:15 +0000

Depending on what you want to change on the canvas, there are different ways to go about this.

There are some general rules to remember when changing colors:
1. If you are changing from one color to another (i.e. green to red for example) you will have the best results if you keep the colors the same in value.
2. If you are changing values (i.e. going from blonde to dark brown hair), you should color the canvas to something closer to the shade BEFORE you start to stitch. This will make any needlepoint dandruff blend into the stitching instead of sticking out.
3. Check the new colors you have chosen to be sure they work with the remaining colors by lining the colors up together. Sometimes changing one color means you will have to adjust or change other colors as well.

Skin & hair – If you are changing these areas, you should just be able to change them without changing other areas. But you might want to color the canvas first.

Geometrics – Since these don’t refer to anything in real life, you may find that changing one color affects the other colors. So if you changed green to red, you may find that you also need to change the yellow-green and the pink already in the piece in order to keep the overall piece in balance.

Not getting a balanced color scheme is probably the biggest problem when changing colors. If it is something realistic, look at real life objects the new color and make appropriate changes. For example, if you are stitching roses and change your red roses to yellow ones, you might need to change the leaf color. Many of my red roses have dark true green leaves, but my yellow ones have mid-range slightly yellowed green leaves.

In geometric or abstract designs, you need to be aware of the color scheme of the original and start by using that as the basis for your change. If the original is red and green and you change the red to violet, you probably need to change the green to yellow as well.

If you change the saturation of the colors (brightness) you must keep the value the same. If you go from greyed to bright, look for bright shades of the same color in the same value.

In geometrics, it’s critical to check the threads.

And always, when changing colors, you should be willing to make adjustments as you stitch.

Color through the Ages Sneak Peek

Janet Perry — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 15:30:22 +0000

Many of you have asked to see what the Twinchie projects for Color through the Ages will look like. This year’s needlepoint club is going to go beyond the traditional color schemes to look at color combinations that refer to a specific time, place, or object.

Through charted Twinchies (2″square needlepoint) based on quilt designs, club members will explore color schemes typical not just of ancient times, but of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Twentieth Century, along with others.

Pictured here are two of the completed Twinchies, Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. I’ll post a couple more sneaks late this month. Both societies used similar color palettes based on minerals. In these packets you’ll learn about mineral colors, why “dirt” isn’t just one color, why blue is so prized, and more.

In each month’s packet you will get:

Extensive information about color and this color scheme
Information about the quilt block or setting
Charted Twinchie with thread list
Information, including stitching tips for three different threads

The club begins March 1, 2012 and registrations are open now. There are a number of different pricing options, depending on what you want.

Basic Package includes the PDFs of each month’s program. It is $7.50 per month. Use the PayPal button below to register.

In addition if you make a single payment for either option (using the buttons below or pay via check (contact me for the address) you will receive a10% discount..

Come join me on this journey of exploration.

2012 Needlepoint Club – Color through the Ages

Janet Perry — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:34:36 +0000

Color can be so evocative of a time or a place. Think of the combination of deep ultramarine blue, gold, linen white and rusty red. Ancient Egypt, right?

Or what about the terra cotta, black, and golden yellow of Greek pots?

This year’s needlepoint club, Color through the Ages, is going to go beyond the traditional color schemes to look at color combinations that refer to a specific time, place, or object.

Each month you’ll get a PDF instruction packet with the chart, information about the color scheme and something about color of the time, and information about three different threads.

A continuation of 2011′s popular Color, Thread, and Quilts Club, you’ll have a chance to expend and extend your knowledge with these delightful little pieces.

The club begins March 1, 2012 and registrations are open now. There are a number of different pricing options, depending on what you want.

Basic Package includes the PDFs of each month’s program. It is $7.50 per month. Use the PayPal button below to register.

In addition if you make a single payment for either option (using the buttons below or pay via check (contact me for the address) you will receive a10% discount..

Come join me on this journey of exploration.

Downloadable Needlepoint Book – Needlepoint A Foundation Course

Janet Perry — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 15:22:56 +0000

Originally posted 2010-02-04 07:28:37. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

This book, Needlepoint A Foundation Course, is by Sandra Hardy and was originally published by England’s Guild of Master Craftsman in 1998. The complete book is now available as a download in Hotfiles or Depositfiles format (click on the link to go to the page).

This book is a good overview of needlepoint, with simple, clear explanations of basic stitches and techniques. While not all of her information is correct, there is lots of good stuff in this book. Some of the techniques, like shading, beadwork, and waste canvas are more advanced. Each technique has clear pictures illustrating it and a project to follow.

In general the 18 projects are traditional in design, calling on traditional and folks art for their inspiration. All of the projects have complete materials lists and working instructions. All are charted. This is my biggest problem with the book. The charts are in black and white with symbols and can be very hard to read. if possible, enlarge them before stitching.

For the more adventurous stitcher there is information about dying your own yarn and canvas as well as a chapter on design. The design chapter covers design, color, borders and the technical aspects of getting your design onto canvas.

2012 SOTM Colors – Reveal your Teal

Janet Perry — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:48:59 +0000

Teal is, in clothing, a universally flattering color. In my family where we got from golden to ashy to ruddy to olive, it’s the only color we can all wear successfully.

It is also just about my favorite color and currently I am on a serious teal buying spree, getting a leather tote, tops, dresses, and just about anything else I can get me hands on.

But all this is besides the point. I’m going to make the ANG 2012 Stitch of the Month (anyone can follow and it’s free, check it out). The piece will be done in shades of one color in a variety of threads.

I want to use different color and I want to use all stash threads. I also didn’t want to use a color that is strongly associated with a cause, since I don’t know what the result will be (it’s a mystery project).

So I picked teal because I love it.

These are just the first threads I’ve pulled for the project. They include some metallic, Grandeur and Pebbly Perle, Waterlilies, a vareigated knitting yarn, Vineyard Merino, Silk & Ivory, Dragonfly Lotus Threads, and Planet Earth wool. I haven’t gone through all the drawers yet, so I know I will be adding more threads.

It’s way overkill but this gives me plenty for picking and choosing. I’m thinking I’m going to buy some teal paint and sponge paint white canvas for the background. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

BTW, teal also happens to be the color of our local hockey team, the Sharks, who used Reveal your Teal as a slogan one season.

Quiet Multi-colored Schemes

Janet Perry — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 14:54:50 +0000

Originally posted 2009-05-07 06:03:31. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

You can use a multi-colored thread as the basis for a quiet and calming color scheme.

I started this project last night and I’m so delighted by how it looks. It is the first time I’ve deliberately chosen to do this kink of color scheme and not made it either truly monochromatic or much brighter.

Here’s hows to do it.

1. Your choice of multi-colored thread is important. This one is Wild Violets Silken Pearl from The Thread Gatherer. Look for one which has colors in at least two color families and one which has mostly either tints (light colors) or tones (grayed colors) of about the same value.

2. Pick one of the colors to be emphasized in you piece. In this case I chose violet.

3. Pick threads of different textures. I have Impressions. metallic ribbon, floss, and silk, along with the silk pearl.

4. One of the threads should be in the narrow value range but a different texture. That’s the metallic for me.

5. One of the threads needs to be a very different value. For me this is the red-violet Impressions. Not only is it much darker, it is the only re-violet thread.

The problem with this kind of color scheme is that too often they turn out dull. There are several keys to making this work.

The more narrow the value range, the quieter the color scheme will be. The more the values are in the middle to light range, the more happy it will be.

But you still must have accents, that’s what lifts this scheme from the boring. Your accent should be from a color in the multi-color but should be significantly different in value. This color ends up being the first thing you notice in the piece and keeps the whole thing from looking vague and boring.

I’m sitting here thinking about other threads in my stash and composing more quiet color schemes using them.