hexipoluza #5

So here is an example of a much better blending of very bold and very light contrasting colors

The dark blue looks much less out of place here than it does on the block from my last post

The reason being, I used more of that same dark blue on the other side of the block, to balance all that  dark blue across from it

Then I used more dark blue in smaller increments throughout the block, to keep your eye moving around the block, rather than being distracted by the big wad of blue along the edge

It also helped to soften the edge of that dark blue with a seam that blended it into the the rest of the block, with the other colors of that block.

This shoe block is another way of blending away the stark edge of a too dark or bright contrasting panel while still making space for it in the body of the whole.

Now you may be asking yourself "why use the dark panels at all if it causes so much distraction?"

Its a challenge to make it bend to your will
Its a creative challenge to get yourself out of a rut or just a challenge for yourself to see what you can do with it. It6 also creates some really beautiful effects in both color and texture.

In many ways I do this to myself to shake up, what is normally, routine sewing and its fun to discover for yourself what works and what doesn't.

Like the block from the previous post what i did worked but not quite enough. I chose to leave it as a good lesson in how to deal with that sort of thing.

Because it doesn't matter how seasoned a CQer you are, you will make "mistakes" like that

Especially if you are making all your blocks first and not putting them together as you go.

I find I do this a lot when I put long projects together like the CQJP or even round robins,

 where you need a certain set of blocks to finish the whole.
Its easier for me to put the blocks together first so I know at least the fabrics in them will go together, then even if halfway through the project I go haring off in some other direction, I can pull it back together in the end.