Renata wrote:
Yes, the upcoming color studies use one of my favorite blocks, King's Crown. I like the continuity of using the same framework to play with color. What I love about this block is that it contains two shapes, squares and triangles, in two sizes of each. With some larger, and some smaller pieces, you have opportunities to use colors in unequal quantities, or to use a fabric with more intense accents (without overpowering the design).

The exercises are 8 inches square, to fit on a standard piece of paper, but the blocks I show in the lessons (and in the book) are 9 inches square. I like 9 inch blocks—not too large, not too small.

Hmmm, I think Terrie is bringing the scones!!! YUM!!!

Thank you, Terrie! If I weren't going to class tomorrow, it would definitely be your scones (w/orange peel) and clotted cream!

Cream Scones

Your basic scone recipe from Fannie Farmer ( I also have a GREAT recipe with buttermilk, but there is lots of butter )
Minutes to Prepare: 15
Minutes to Cook: 10
Number of Servings: 12

Ingredients
2 C Flour
1 Tbsp Sugar
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt (or less)
1/2 C Cream
4 Tbsp Butter
2 eggs, well beaten

Glaze optional
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp sugar

Add-ins: currents or orange peel, or raisins, or cheese (then put cheese on the top, instead of glaze)


Makes 12 scones

Directions
Preheat oven to 425F

Combine dry ingredients with a fork to aerate. Cut in Butter with pastry blender or two knives until it looks like fresh bread crumbs. (Note: best if the butter is cold). Stir in cream and eggs until ingredients are just moist. Gather into a ball and knead lightly on a floured surface about 12 times (DO NOT OVER-KNEAD) Pat or roll into a circle about 3/4 inch thick.

Mix milk with sugar and brush on scones.(optional) Cut into 12 wedges and place on a cookie sheet about 1 inch apart bake about 15 minutes until lightly browned. Serve hot with butter, jam.

Number of Servings: 12
Enjoy!

Thanks, Christine! I'm looking forward to next week with or without sconces/scones. By the way, the blocks in the next series of lessons look like they could be assembled into a quilt, yes? At a minimum, the continuity of the design of the block from one lesson to the next might be a unifying factor.

Oopps. No need for sconces—I meant scones!

Well done! These are very powerful; you really captured the illusion of dimension. And you are right: intensity can trump value because intense colors, just like dark values, seem to advance. And a really, really intense color will advance more than a really, really dark color that's somewhat less intense. I hope lots of members are following the postings of the color studies. I feel as though I'm in a real class. Who's bringing the coffee and the sconces?!

Christine, thank you so much for the individual feedback--it is immensely helpful! My computer is next to a large window and I did this project in full daylight not realizing how different the picture would look in a different light. It was amazing, but when you wrote back, I looked at my picture at nightime and the intensity of the darker orange in the star even overpowered the "supposedly" darker fabric in the squares! There was a true lesson for me there! I've redone the homework in light of your comments and here it is (I've also added it to the Classroom):



I was trying to keep everything in the same color family just to see what monochromatic AND value would do to the image, but obviously, my stash isn't big enough to do that with... so you see, I've put some different colors into the assignment. Thanks again!

Great idea Renata. I did mine and it's in the show and tell area.

HI Renata, Nice—thanks for showing us! ! I totally understand the desire not to use up fabric in an exercise. When I do mock-blocks with fabric, there is always the nagging thought that I am "spending" it. In your "pretend" blocks, I think the 3-D effect in the second block would be even stronger if the orange background triangles were lighter and/or less intense. You definitely got the point of the lesson!

Very neat, Renata!

I did the star this morning using Edyta Sitar's method and really liked it. It's not perfect, but it works, and I do understand and like her method. Of course, this is the first star of this sort that I've made so I'm sure I'll play with other methods, but not now... However, because this is an exercise in color and there are no expectations of making real blocks, this morning I had the idea of scanning my fabric into my Bernina V6 software and playing that way. I just did not want to use fabric without a real plan, especially when I think I've come up with a viable alternative.

So, here is the star made with actual fabric:



Then I redid this in the V6 software and added the second assignment side-by-side:

I really did not have enough fabric to scan into the computer because I had already made the actual star. Hopefully, my scans will look better with a larger piece of fabric scanned in. There is a lot less pressure and more fun doing it this way. I hope I preserved the spirit and the intent of this class, even if it is through technology. I look forward to the next lesson.

In addition to a digital camera, and mirrors, we can also use a "peephole" from the hardware store. Looking on line I see that most of them are now expensive digital devices, but my old one (similar to this) http://www.peepholesecurity.com/ezview2.htm is what I've used for years. It hangs on a ribbon close to my design wall, and it's amazing how much easier it is to figure out if something isn't working with the help of some distance!
You can also get a reducing glass to get the same effect: http://www.amazon.com/Alvin-7773-Round-Reducing-Glass/dp/B001DKHLB2/ref=sr_1_fed1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354823343&sr=8-1&keywords=%22reducing+glass%22

HI Norma. Thanks for your post. Your quilt is wonderful! Love the movement in the central area. You are so right about the stars; some look light 8-pointed stars, while others remind me of whirligigs, thanks to the use of value. I use my camera too. If I'm working with something small, a few blocks, I'll look at them in a mirror. Any "weakness" becomes more obvious when I see the block or blocks in a mirror. Better to see it then than when the blocks are joined!