Colours I Feel.

Have you even thought about the colours that make you feel something? I hadn't until recently. And I feel a bit silly about it. But maybe that's the normal progression of things. I buy things I like, I make things from them. I discover I don't really like it. I learn from the experience. It's ok to be learning.

I've always liked the rich, saturated colours of designers like Anna Maria Horner. And interestingly, my earliest quilts reflect that clashy, happy feel. And then somewhere a long the line, I made quilts, like those above and below, according to an idea I had. I could use these colours, with grey and half square triangles. I could take my boyish prints and cut them up small. I'll use this particular line I've been given and follow this pattern. Can I tell you a secret I only occasionally let you know back then? For my first year of serious quilt making, I felt like only a very few reflected who I was and what I liked. Why was that? I used to think. What's the disconnect? What is it about some quilts that make me go, meh, and others that give me tingles?

Well, a little while ago I started a Pinterest Board. I named it Colours I Feel. And I started adding anything that gave me that feeling I've been trying to express in my work. I find it hard to express them here in words (which is partly why I quilt!), but they include things like my sense of identity, passion, satisfaction, beauty. It turned out to be a very useful little exercise that helped me pinpoint what exactly what makes me go YES! in a quilt. Want to hear them?

1. I like clash. I think I've always known this, but while making quilts a couple of years ago, I kept playing with limited colour pallettes. Then any clash I tried to throw in just didn't work. Even when I was making scrappy quilts, like the one above, when I stuck to just reds and blues, it sat flat.

2. I like pink. It's funny. I didn't buy pink for a long time. Not till Evie, at 18 months, decided she was going to choose what she wore. And there had to be pink. I started making pink pinnies to sell and keep. I started making pink quilts with the scraps. But what I've discovered is that what makes a quilt feel complete to me, is having those various shades of colour in the mix. Not just the primaries.

3. I like low volume. It's probably to my detriment that I rebel against what lots of other people are making. Because when low volume became really popular, I kind of snubbed my nose at it. But over the years, and then with my pinterest boards, I've learned that I need my quilts to have a bit of breathing room. I'm still figuring out how I like traditional blocks (I love my red and white quilt! But scrappy blocks with a plain white background have never really appealed to me...), but I love pockets of saturated colour balanced with light.

So for February's Do.good Stitches block, I'm asking the Care Circle for some scrappy, improvised, string play. I'd like a bright mix of colour concentrated in one section, bordered by low volume prints. For those who prefer structure over improvisation, I'd be very happy with a log cabin, with brights on one corner, and light colours on the other? or a basket weave pattern? Or maybe Anna Maria Horner's feather block?

Below is what I made after a couple of hours of simple play. They're not very complex, but boy, I love them!

And I'd love to hear from you? Do you have a certain mix of colours you know you like? Or are you still learning?