Title: Colourwash Quilts
Purpose of Book: Amsden designed this book as a one-on-one workshop on the techniques of "blending fabrics together into washes of colour" (Amsden, 7). She focuses on techniques unique to Colourwash, rather than on general quiltmaking techniques. The reader is encouraged to scan the whole book quickly to gain an overview of the Colourwash technique, then to go back over the parts more carefully covering a series of exercises that take the reader though value, color, design and implementation. The author stresses the need for a willingness to explore and not be fearful of making mistakes.
Table of Contents: Part One concentrates on color and value so I have provided the comprehensive contents for that section. Parts Two - Four concern themselves with projects and general instructions and are only briefly described here.
Part One: Design and Planning
1. Preliminary Thoughts
2. Practical Aids for Designing
3. Observing
4. Elements of Design
5. Planning the Borders
6. Texture
7. Working Drawings and Construction Plans
8. Design Etiquette
9. Color
10. Fabrics for Colourwash
Part Two: Technique and Construction
Part Three: Projects
Part Four: General Instructions
References: The Book List includes 22 references, most of which are books about quilting. Two books are references about color and quilting and three books are about color theory or use of color in other fields.
Index: None
Glossary: Color Glossary on pp. 50-51
Exercises: Three value exercises are given on p. 31 and nine color exercise are given on pp. 54-55. Part Three has seven projects covering a variety of skill levels and techniques.
Resources: The last page has a list of publications and products by the publisher.
Other: Color and Gray Scales to use for purchasing fabrics and for photographs of quilts; and adjustable windows for purchase of fabrics and designing of quilt on p. 141. Grids for design on pp. 138-140 and templates for fabric cutting on pp. 142-143.
Color Photos/Drawings: There are many color photos and diagrams throughout the book. Most of the photos are of swatches of material and of quilts (both entire quilts or enlargements of specific sections of quilts). The color photos of fabric swatches are used to demonstrate Colourwash techniques of selecting and sorting fabrics. There are several photos of Colourwash inspirations (a painting by Monet, Gaudi's architecture in Spain, a garden). The overall graphical impression the book creates is one of Impressionistic gorgeousness.
Black and White Photos/Drawings: Many b/w diagrams throughout book demonstrating value, design, and construction techniques. All of the General Instruction section of quiltmaking techniques is amply and clearly illustrated with b/w diagrams.
Book's Relationship/Approach to Color Theory: Amsden was trained as a graphic artist and brings much of her experience in that area to descriptions of design. The discussions on value and color bring a practical and innovative approach to the understanding of color theory. The reader is given a more "artistic" approach to understanding color than is found in many general quilt books.
Title: Color Confidence for Quilters
Purpose of Book: The author observes that many people are insecure about color decisions (in choosing colors for quilting, for clothes, the need to have your colors "done", etc.). She wants to break people free from rules about what colors can and can't go together and the need to "have colors match". In this book she aims to "make a color wheel work with fabric and explain color theory as it applies to prints." (Beyers, 11). The book takes the reader through the process of creating their own master palette, then developing color schemes for individual projects by taking small sections of the master palette.
Table of Contents: Much of the book deals with elements of color theory, but there are so many sections/chapters that it is tedious to print it all here. I've condensed these parts as follows:
1. Creating Your Master Palette
2. Experimenting with Color Combinations from the Master Palette
3. Using Prints for Visual Texture
4. Using Fewer Fabrics Versus Many Fabrics
5. Designing a Palette to Coordinate with a Multi-Color Print
6. Palette Practice with Quilts
References: Two other books on color and quiltmaking by the publisher are given on p. 133.
Index: None
Glossary: None
Exercises: Eight exercises and suggestions for teachers are given on pp. 130-132.
Resources: A list of resources available from the author is on p. 133.
Other: Detachable sample master palettes and color swatches available from the author's line of fabrics are at the back of the book. Several cutting templates are sprinkled throughout the section on quilt patterns.
Color Photos/Drawings: Many color photos of fabric swatches and some photos of complete quilts. The fabric swatches illustrate color, value, and texture discussions and make color scheme palettes for sample projects. Most of the fabrics illustrated in the book come from the author's line of fabrics (Jinny Beyers' by RJR Fabrics).
Black and White Photos/Drawings: Black/white drawings are minimal and are mainly used for grids or templates.
Book's Relationship/Approach to Color Theory: The author does not discuss color theory per se, but she does illustrate it's principles in her descriptions of value, texture, and working with color combinations. The reader is lead through these basics but in terms familiar to quilters. Beyers makes a strong point of breaking the reader away from hard and fast rules on color.
Title: Watercolor Quilts
Purpose of Book: Like Wolfrom, Magaret and Slusser have been inspired by nature and by Impressionist art. They describe the watercolor technique by pointing out that artists put "unmixed daubs of paint side by side on the canvas that looks rough and choppy up close" but when viewed from a distance "the eye blurs the individual elements into soft images."
Table of Contents: A large portion of the book focuses on quiltmaking techniques, so I'm only including the portion of the Table of Contents that focuses on color work.
Fabric Selection and Preparation
1. Color and Its Properties
2. Print Design Elements
3. Surface Texture or Design
4. Organizing Your Personal Fabric Library
5. Expanding Your Fabric Library
6. Fabric Preparation
References: Yes
Index: None
Glossary: No
Exercises: Exercises are sprinkled throughout the first part of the book for the practice of techniques. Projects are given at the end of the book.
Resources: None
Other: Has a couple of photos of Impressionist paintings to demonstrate color techniques. Includes templates and grids for quilt design and fabric cutting.
Color Photos/Drawings: Lots of color photos of fabric swatches and quilts demonstrate color concepts and procedures. Fabric swatches are used in an excellent demonstration of sorting fabrics by value.
Black and White Photos/Drawings: There are some b/w diagrams used to illustrate procedures.
Book's Relationship/Approach to Color Theory: The accessibility of the language, illustrations, and exercises will do much to encourage quiltmakers to step outside traditional bounds and do something a little different. Indeed, Watercolor quilts are all the rage right now and this has much to do with the influence of this book.
Title: Color and Cloth: The Quiltmaker's Ultimate Workbook
Purpose of Book: Penders demonstrates that she is completely in touch with the mainstream quiltmaker when she points out that art, tradition, friendship, and personal expression aside, it's the color and cloth that fascinate the quilter; they suggest the infinite possibilities. Yep, this describes most of the members of my quilt guild to a T. She then points out that the image that a quiltmaker has in her mind is not easily translated into a selection of fabrics. So she designed this book as a step-by-step guide through the process of understanding and working with color and cloth. She intends this book to be an exercise book that the reader works through, rather than a book to simply read through. The completed work book can then be taken to the fabric stores as a guide for selecting fabrics for a quilt project.
Table of Contents:
Part One: Examining Color
1. Cloth as a Medium
2. The Dimension of Hue
3. The Dimension of Value
4. The Dimension of Intensity
5. Temperature
6. Symbolism and Mood
Part Two: Examining Cloth
1. Visual Texture
2. The Dimension of Layout
3. The Dimension of Scale
4. The Dimension of Contrast
5. Visual Texture in Background
6. Grouping Fabrics by Visual Texture
Part Three: Combining Color and Cloth
1. Harmonies for Quilts
2. Fabric Harmony
3. Natural Harmony
4. Standard Art Harmonies
5. Other Art Harmonies
Part Four: Building a Fabric Collection
Part Five: Experimenting with Quilt Blocks
Part Six: Looking at Resources
References: 20 references, 14 of which are on color theory.
Index: None
Glossary: Yes
Exercises: Workpages throughout entire book. The whole book is designed as a workbook that can be utilized for quilt design and fabric selection.
Resources: A teaching plan and fabric sources are described in Part Six.
Other: Part Six also has charts for yardage determinations, suggestions for fabric preparation and storage, and some good excuses for investing a fair amount of money into fabric collection development.
Color Photos/Drawings: The first part of the book includes photographs of fabrics that were available in quilt stores when the book was published (which means that many of them can not be found today, but they still are a valuable aid to the student). The fabric swatches are arranged to demonstrated color concepts. There are no photos of completed quilts.
Black and White Photos/Drawings: Most of the diagrams are templates of sample blocks that are to be filled out by the reader doing exercises; and charts for the reader to use in her fabric collection inventory and analysis.
Book's Relationship/Approach to Color Theory: Penders approaches color theory through actual fabric swatch examples. She discusses various concepts of color (hue, intensity, value) and illustrates with examples of both solid and print fabric swatches (and she's unique in her use of BOTH). She doesn't actually spend lots of time discussing color theory per se and she certainly does not relate it to paintings or nature (the favorite subjects of other authors in the field).
Title: The Patchwork Pocket Palette: A Handy Visual Guide to Mixing and Matching Colored Fabrics
Purpose of Book: Walker intends this book to provide a guide to combining colors for quiltmaking using examples of 22 principle colors chosen from those available to today's quiltmakers. The charts demonstrate close to 400 different ways to combine solid and print fabrics.
Table of Contents:
1. How to Use This Book
2. The Color Charts
3. Looking at Color for Your Quilts
4. Creating Visual Texture
5. Using Warm and Cool Colors
6. Creating an Old-Fashioned Look
7. Using Brights and Primaries
8. Working with Pastel Colors
9. Monochromatics
References: None
Index: None
Glossary: None
Exercises: None
Resources: None
Other: None
Color Photos/Drawings: Profusely illustrated with color photos of quilt block examples and several examples of entire quilts.
Black and White Photos/Drawings: None
Book's Relationship/Approach to Color Theory: As a reference, Walker's book demonstrates the results of color combinations and choices, but it has only the briefest descriptions of color theory and its' elements.
Title: The Magical Effects of Color
Purpose of Book: The author points out that during the early stages of the recent interest in quilting (the 1970's), there was no indication that a relationship between quiltmaking and art existed. Her first attempts at quilting left her dissatisfied with the visual outcome and she realized that many other quiltmakers had questions about color, fabric selection, and design. She began to study nature for clues about the translation of natural elements into color theory, and then to examine ways to duplicate these translations through fabric manipulation. Wolfrom intends this book to be a guideline for the creation of successful quilt designs utilizing appropriate fabric selection. She also hopes that it will provide suggestions for promoting creative growth and for ideas for enhancing designs with quilting lines.
Table of Contents:
1. Colorful Beginnings
2. Using Color Naturally
3. Colorful Intrigues
4. Nature and Color -- A Symphony of Hues
5. Creating Exciting Light Effects
6. More Illusions to Tease the Mind
7. Blending Fabric and Design Harmoniously
8. Creating Beautiful Traditional Quilts
9. Creating Your Own Designs
10. Exercises and Activities
11. Patterns
Appendix 1. Linear Perspective
Appendix 2. First Steps in Pattern Drafting
References: 34 references; 13 of which are on color theory; two are on color use in quiltmaking and the rest are on the use of color in the arts. The nine study sources are books and periodicals on quiltmaking.
Index: Yes
Glossary: None
Exercises: Chapter 10 presents five exercises and three activities on working with color through a variety of media.
Resources: None
Other: A list of quilting books available from the publisher is included in Appendix III. Quotations on color use from Impressionist painters are sprinkled throughout the book.
Color Photos/Drawings: Color photos of quilts that illustrate examples of color manipulation are grouped in two "galleries". The book also includes of painted examples of color concepts.
Black and White Photos/Drawings: Many b/w line drawings, diagrams, and grids throughout the book. The drawings are of elements in nature that illustrate color imagery. The diagrams demonstrate differing color wheels and scales, linear perspectives, and quilt block patterns.
Book's Relationship/Approach to Color Theory: Wolfrom's book is one of the best in the field of color in textile crafts. She is strongly influenced by the Impressionist's study and use of color. Her illustrations and descriptions also strongly evoke images of nature -- the cool night shades, the opalescence of a pearl, mist and atmospheric color. Reading her book is almost like reading poetry and her terminology and discussions prompt the reader to understand the use of color in textiles from an entirely new perspective. The reader's understanding of color evolves from "trying to find a red that matches the bedroom curtains" to using afterimages, transparency, and luster to add dimension, movement and beauty to the finished product. Wolfrom spends more time than any author in this field on the basics of color theory and certainly has many more references to color theory.
Amsden, Deirdre. Colourwash Quilts: A Personal Approach to Design & Technique. Bothell, WA: That Patchwork Place, 1994.
Beyers, Jinny. Color Confidence for Quilters. Gualala, CA: The Quilt Digest Press, 1992.
Magaret, Pat Maixner and Donna Ingram Slusser. Watercolor Quilts. Bothell, WA: That Patchwork Place, 1993.
Penders, Mary Coyne. Color and Cloth: The Quiltmaker's Ultimate Workbook. San Francisco: The Quilt Digest Press, 1989.
Walker, Anne. The Patchwork Pocket Palette: A Handy Visual Guide to Mixing and Matching Colored Fabrics. San Franscisco: Chronicle Books, 1995.
Wolfrom, Joen. The Magical Effects of Color. Lafayette, CA: C & T Publishing, 1992.
Birren, Faber. The Textile Colorist. New York: Van Nostrand Rheinhold Co., 1980.
Brown, Rachel and Cheryl McGowen. The Weaving, Spinning, and Dyeing Book. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1978.
This book includes a few pages on choosing colors, the properties of colors, and a project on hue, intensity and value. Oriented towards creating a palette through hand dyeing of fabric, rather than through use of purchased materials.
DeBoy, Kathleen. The Fiberarts Design Book. New York: Hastings House Publishers, 1980.
Duncan, Molly. Exploring Colours and Design for Handweavers. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed, 1978.
Howard, Constance. Embroidery and Colours. New York: Van Nostrand Rheinhold Co., 1976.
Justema, William. Weaving & Needlecraft Color Course. New York: Van Nostrand Rheinhold Co., 1971.
Lambert, Patricia, Staepelaere, Barbara, and Mary G. Fry. Color and Fiber. West Chester, PA: Schiffer Pub., 1986.
McClun, Diana and Laura Nowes. Quilts, Quilts, and More Quilts. Lafayette, CA: C & T Publishing, 1993.
Has a chapter on Color Choices that describes background colors, the push and pull of colors, allocating colors to individual shapes, light source, and places to go for color inspirations (quilt shows, objects, seasons, historical styles). Has an exercise for playing with fabric swatches.
McKelvey, Susan Richardson. Color for Quilters. Atlanta: Yours Truly, Inc., 1984.
Olsen, Kirtin. Quilter's Color Workbook: Unlimited Designs from Easy-to-Make Quilt Books. New York: A Sterling/Main Street Book, 1990.
There is some discussion of the effect of colors next to each other and the properties of colors, but this book is mostly a workbook that's printed "in color" rather than a workbook that's focused "on color". The author presents about ten color marker variations of 15 quilt blocks.