I stumbled upon this color challenge over at Patterns by Jen and thought it would be great fun to participate in as well as an excellent exercise for color values as well as meeting my goal.
So, here we are!
Red has never been one of my favorite colors - too bold, too bright for my personality... I even did a blog post about why I don't care for it back in 2014 - Seeing Red - in a new way.
Here is an excerpt of that post...
Red is hot. It's a strong color that conjures up a range of seemingly conflicting emotions from passionate love to violence and warfare. Red is Cupid and the Devil.
A stimulant, red is the hottest of the warm colors. Studies show that red can have a physical effect, increasing the rate of respiration and raising blood pressure.
The expression seeing red indicates anger and may stem not only from the stimulus of the color but from the natural flush (redness) of the cheeks, a physical reaction to anger, increased blood pressure, or physical exertion.
It represents power, hence the red power tie for business people and the red carpet for celebrities and VIPs (very important people).
Flashing red lights denote danger or emergency. Stop signs and stop lights are red to get the drivers' attention and alert them to the dangers of the intersection.
In some cultures, red denotes purity, joy, and celebration. Red is the color of happiness and prosperity in China and may be used to attract good luck.
It is often the color worn by brides in the East while it is the color of mourning in South Africa. In Russia the Bolsheviks used a red flag when they overthrew the Tsar, thus red became associated with communism. Many national flags use red. The red Ruby is the traditional Fortieth Wedding Anniversary gift.
There are many things that are red that I do love...
My wool mittens,
Homemade cranberry sauce,
mixed berry jam,
strawberry cheesecake...
These are a few of my favorite things... (I think there is a song about this???) 😏
I mean I am certainly not afraid to use it. After all, my first published block pattern used it! Pieces of My Heart from volume 8 of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks.
So what was I worried about??? I fearlessly approached my stash and found several reds that I thought might work together and chose two from the 5...
Using what I call the "Black & White trick" I picked two that had good contrast in grey-scale, yet were similar tones of red.
It took some extra special attention to the direction of stripes for the block, but am very pleased with the finished result...
And like I stated before... these will be excellent exercises of color value! Did your see the Wayward Transparency quilt - my first finish on my Babylock Jazz?
Is there a particular color that you are "afraid" of or avoid using because you just don't like it?
Let me know in the comments... I love to hear from all of you!
This block is 12 inches finished... Which means, by the end of the year I will have another work-in-progress project that will need to be finished. I think I need another "sampler" quilt.
Want to see what the February block is? Be sure to follow me here by subscribing and receiving an e-mail when I post a new story, or on Bloglovin', Instagram or facebook. I don't do all facets of social media for every post so you may want to pick more than one.
Happy Quilting,
Melva
I am linking up with Patterns By Jen and The Inquiring Quilter
Your red block turned out lovely. I am going to participate in this monthly color challenge, also. That way, I will have a sampler quilt top at the end. I didn't have a lot of red in my stash and my block ended up more pink than red, I think. No big deal, it's a finished quilt block.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dannette. Pink is a light red... I think it would qualify. :)
DeleteRed is definitely on the top of my list of colors that I don't like, especially bright reds. I love all the reasons you gave. I am more of a pastel person. I prefer soft colors. I am doing the Bears for my color challenge.But I think I will use a more of a wine color. I like that better than a true red. What can I say?
ReplyDeleteIt will be fun to see your blocks grow during the year. I love the black and white trick!
ReplyDeleteI find red to be a tricky color to use. I struggle with orange-reds and blue-reds and figuring out which is which, even though it should be fairly easy. Your block turned out beautiful. It will be fun following along with you on the color challenge this year.
ReplyDeletePopped by from the Challenge. I am not a fan of green - I pretty much give away any fabric of that tone.
ReplyDeleteI like red but realized that I have very little of it. I am putting together a red & cream sampler and had to pull 4 blocks out of the mix because the cream was too lightly colored. It is my own personal challenge to put together this sampler with what little fabric I have (and refuse to buy retail).
I love red and have a ton of it in my stash, but none of it goes together. There are so many different shades of red that I had a really hard time doing my block. The colors I seem not to have in my stash are green and yellow....those will be a challenge for me. Nice job on your block!
ReplyDeleteI hate red, and I avoid it at all costs. However, I did force myself to use it on my first quilt square this year.
ReplyDeleteGood for you in overcoming your distaste for red. Sometimes we all need an extra push to overcome a fear or obstacle. Here's to ya!
DeleteLove red! Your block is great and that greyscale trick sure comes in handy! Thanks for linking up to Wednesday Wait Loss.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I missed this post. Good idea about the grayscale. I should start doing that. Maybe it would make choosing colors easier. Wonderful block! I actually like the fabrics in the gray. Too bad it's not real.
ReplyDelete