Today's post is part 2; part 1 was yesterday. If you didn't read it yet, go back here.
CandT kindly sent me a copy of this book so I could review it when I posted about Joen's article in "The Quilt Life".
As I said yesterday I own a lot of Joen's books because she has a way of explaining color that everyone can understand. This new book is wonderful with lots of quilt photos in the galleries.
My favorite part of the book is her descriptions and explanations about why each of the quilts was successful. So many people ask me if there are patterns for my quilts when in reality they just need an explanation of why the colors and values worked so well. I learn so much from these explanations because color and value is intuitive with me, not from a formal education about it.
I love this chapter. Joen explains in easy to understand words how to choose one of nature's color schemes for a successful quilt.
I have people telling me all the time that my colors make a pattern work well when really it is Value that is making it work. This chapter helps the reader to understand the uses of value.
Notice the bar across the middle with 2 colors in it. They are the colors Joen is discussing but the top and bottom row show many value changes in each color. Most people forget that red goes all the way from pink to burgundy and if you were supposed to choose a red/green combination, they would choose middle tones of each instead of thinking pink/lime green or burgundy/green. There are all kinds of helpful color studies throughout the book to illustrate her points.
If you don't have a good book about color and value, luminosity and luster, transparency and color temperature, you may want to consider buying this one. You might learn to love a color you never considered using before. Check with your local quilt shop to see if they have it in stock.
