Staying Neutral

This month I have a lot of great colors available on Etsy, and I wanted to talk a bit about the use of neutrals in a design. To see my Etsy wool click here.

This is a close up of my rug design Jane Austen. Even though the border seems to be all colorful selections, it is really made up of 80% – 90% neutral colors. Beige, tan, browns, grays, taupes and antique whites. The basket look like it is gold, but it is actually shades of camel and tan with a hint of grayed down blue.

The red flowers are the “colors” in this rug. That means that approximately 90-95% of the wool needed was a neutral color.

Spring is Here is another example of a design that is 95% neutrals. And the soft red colors are very muted. What makes them look colorful is that they are the most colorful wools used. Throw a too saturated color in the design, and the rest of the colors look blah, and your eye goes right to the bright color instead at looking at the birds and all the flowers.

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Here are some other details that show you how key a role neutrals play in every part of a design. I find it important to have all values and temperatures of neutrals in my stash. That means, neutrals from the lightest light to the darkest dark, in everything sort of gray, to taupe, to brown, to russet, to pumpkin, to rust, to camel, to tan, to khaki, to blue-gray. Then I also consider having choices of solid and textures. Much more often the color that I really need is a neutral rather than a more saturated color. So next time when you are thinking yellow, consider trying a camel or golden brown instead.

Have a creative day ~ Karen

 

 

Colors imitate tea

One thing that I have learned about color, is that it is much like drinking tea. I used to think that I didn’t like camomile tea or green tea as they were too strong and astringent for my tastes. And …

Books that give me color inspiration

If you get a chance to go to the bookstore, I suggest you peruse these books. I have really enjoyed both of them. Here are a couple of my favorite pages from Fifi O’Neill’s book, Romantic Prairie Style:

This stained glass door is so nostalgic. The vibrant glow makes the whole room sparkle. Will I have to take up stained glass next?

I was blown away with this color combination. First there are the soft, dusty aqua walls with the antique red curtains, chandelier, and natural wood furnishings. But then she tosses this vintage sapphire blue cloth across the table. I would have never thought this color would enhance everything as it does! Amazing!

Let color inspire you today ~ Karen

Colorful wool shipment in progress

Wool wool wool! My Color Inspiration rug hooking class is coming up in a couple of weeks, and wool is everywhere!

An exercise in color

I have been visiting the paint department in our local Home Depot frequently lately, and thought of a color exercise for us to do. Paint chips are wonderful things. In order to have a vision for working with color, not just painting your walls in color, many times you need to have colors that inspire you. Paint chips are a treasure trove of wonderful colors to dream on.

Punch hooking a rose rug

I love to punch hook, and one of my designs for 2013, Madame Odier, was done with this technique. When you punch hook, you are working on the back of the rug and everything will be in reverse on the right side. I find it to be a freeing technique, as you can’t see the finished side as you work, so you become more adventurous and daring.

Do mothers and daughters hook the same?

I love to see families crafting together and sharing the same creative passions. Surprisingly, in our rug hooking guild there are several mother and daughters that hook together. Everyone has their own tastes and styles, however in one case mom and daughter showed how similar they can be.
Our local rug hooking guild had a display of our work at the Eugene Public Library the month of October. One of the highlights for me was seeing my design, Fruitlands, hooked by members Marilyn Lynch and  her daughter Kym Ramsing.

Here is a fun dye method that gives you uncommon results

Dyeing wool is an art in itself, worthy of all the time you would like to give it. The more you dye, the more predictable the results can be. But what if you are going for unpredictability? Dyeing wool for …

New light colors for you to pick from

I wanted more antique light colors in my Etsy Shop, and am excited to announce four new primitive hues. Above is Creme Brulee, a warm beige with light yellow and tan variegation in it.

Mood lavender

I have been working on new purple colorways for the last few weeks, marbleizing different blue, purple, and gray wools in my dye pots. Trial and error have produced some lovely results.