Chapter 3 : Design Sheet C

I decided to experiment a little more with this Design Sheet, moving away from the painted cartridge paper used before for backgrounds in previous design sheets.

I began by crumbling some brown wrapping paper a few times, unrolling it and re-crumbling between my hands. Then I painted it with a combination of Brusho paints mixing purple and blue, letting the colours blend and separate at will. I love how the colours deepened in the foldlines of the paper, creating a very rich background.

The motifs were cut from cartridge paper which had paint poured upon it in layers, then lifted to allow the wet paint to merge with the colour below.

Another technique I applied was to paint a very wet surface on cartridge paper, then sprinkle some sea salt upon it, creating a very textured and interesting paper.

All the design units were cut from the last 2 sheets. It was definitely a whole lot more exciting to create these design units from more interesting papers.

Description and explanation of Design Sheet C:
[A4 sized to ease scanning in computer]

(i) Complex counterchange: I cut out 2 star shapes exactly the same,using 1 each of the papers described above. Next I drew the star shapes on the backs of the papers. I then divided and cut each star into quarters, before arranging them into a counterchange pattern.

(ii) Divide and Separate - new motif selected. Star shape as in (i) only slightly more complex, and rearranged after cutting out, leaving a slight gap between each piece. New motif outlined in white above.

(iii) New unit overlapping in an edge to edge repeat pattern.

(iv) Symmetrical design, based on new motif.

(v) Interlocked motifs, symmetrically arranged.

(iii), (iv) and (v) above all display interesting negative space shapes, especially the slightly off-centered shapes visible in (iv) and (v).

Dyeing a Colour Wheel

In anticipation of some of the colours I will soon need for later chapters in this module, I decided to dye a 12 step colour wheel, based on the 3 primary colours of magenta, turquoise and lemon yellow.

The actual Procion MX colour numbers were :
Vibrant Magenta MX-8B
Brilliant Turquoise MX-G
Lemon Yellow MX-4G

I purchased them online from Fibrecrafts, from whom I always receive excellent service.

I dyed the cotton poplin fabric, purchased from Whaleys and prepared for dyeing, following the instructions given in the book 'Dyeing to Quilt' by Joyce Mori and Cynthia Myerberg, basing my wheel on set # 2 colour wheel on page 29 of the book. This palette is sometimes called the 'jewel palette' because of the brightness of its colours. Each piece of fabric measures about 11'' x 18'', a decent enough size to be useful in projects! Each piece was presoaked in soda ash, dyed in a plastic cup and then cured overnight in a plastic bag.

The actual amount of dye used to create each colour was as follows:
#1: 60ml Magenta
#2: Red/Orange - 40ml magenta + 20ml yellow
#3: Orange - 10ml magenta +50ml yellow
#4: Yellow/orange - 2.5mlml magenta + 57.5ml yellow
#5: Yellow - 60ml yellow
#6: Yellow/green - 50ml yellow + 10ml turquoise
#7: Green - 20ml yellow + 40ml turquiose
#8: Blue/green - 57.5ml turquoise + 2.5ml yellow
#9: Turquoise - 60ml turquoise
#10: Blue/violet - 10ml red + 50ml turquoise
#11: Violet - 30ml magenta + 30ml turquoise
#12: Red/violet - 50ml magenta + 10ml turquoise

Numbers 4 and 11 are my chosen colour scheme for this section.

The fabrics above are laid out to show the progression of colours. I also set them up side by side, with each colour lying alongside its complementary colour, eg violet and yellow.

You can also see a pile of scrims and muslin dyed in the same colour progression, followed by a few pieces of scrim which were used to wipe up spills. They are almost the most interesting of all, simply because they are so variegated and colourful! Since I love scrim fabric so much, finding it to be infinitely useful, I never have a dyeing session without also including some scrim in the mix! You can never have too much scrim in your fabric collection! Better than crayons!!

Chapter 3: Design Sheet B

Design Sheet B was created on A3 size background, painted sheet.Using coloured papers in the same colour scheme as Design Sheet A, I cut squares of paper about 6cms wide. I adapted the star shape used in Design Sheet A to create new shapes and designs.
(i) Large and small version of same shape combined to create a new star shape
(ii)Edge-to-edge repeat pattern using 2 sizes of star shape
(iii)Repeat border and corner pattern using 2 sizes of star shape
(iv) Linking border pattern using different shapes
(v) Linking 2 different shapes
(vi)A new shape created from an old shape

Comments: I loved creating this design sheet as it felt a whole lot more lively to me than Design Sheet A. If I was doing it again I would use a more interesting, variegated and mottled background, and perhaps even more varied shades, tints and tones for the foreground colours. Repeat patterns 2 +3 were the most interesting to design.