Viewing fabric selection in grayscale

As I was reminded when I was testing my Sparks pattern over a year ago, contrast between colours is not necessarily the same as contrast between values.  I'll show you why it matters, then one method to check value with a phone camera.

Why it Value Matters

Colour versus Value

You can definitely see four distinct colours in the photo on the left.  There is contrast between all the colours.

The picture on the right is the same picture viewed through a grayscale filter to show value instead of colour.  It looks almost like there are only three different fabrics rather than four.  The yellow and tan both appear light in value, while the orange and red are medium dark and dark.  There is much less contrast between the two fabrics on the left.  

Why does this matter?  Despite seeing the colors clearly, when these fabrics are used together there will be much less contrast between the yellow and tan than between the red or orange and the tan.  This is not inherently a problem. If you don't need the same strength of contrast, it's fine.  However if you need the contrast between the yellow and tan to have the same strength as the contrast between the tan and the other fabrics, this will be a disappointing collection.

You can see how the difference in the strength of the contrast affects the design.  While the block design is clear in the orange and red, it fades away in the yellow because there isn't enough contrast between the yellow and the tan background.  

I rearranged the fabrics to balance areas of high contrast and lower contrast to rescue most of the blocks in this quilt.

How to check value using a phone camera

I'll demonstrate using my new fabric selection for the Colour Value Mystery Quilt-Along (QAL).  You can read my previous post about how I had to tweak my original selection because of two fabrics being more similar than I had thought.  

The pictures here are screenshots of the camera app on my Pixel phone.  Your phone may be different, but hopefully you can figure out the equivalent steps for your phone app.  If you're lucky, you might even be able to adjust a setting on your phone to just view everything in grayscale from the start.  My old phone had this feature and I miss it!  If you have Pixel phone and know how to turn that on, please let me know!

Step 1.  Take a photo of the fabric, arranged from lightest to darkest. (Note the black strip at the top of these images is the top of the phone screen, not one of the fabrics!)

Step 2: Click on the thumbnail image of the photo, circled in red above, which will take you to the screen below.

Step 3:  Click on the Edit button, circled in red above.  That will take you to the screen below.  The area circled in red has various tool options to choose from.  Swipe left until you find the Filter option.  When that option is highlighted you'll see smal versions of your photo with various filters, right above the toolbar.  

Step 4: Swipe left through the versions of the photo until you find the Onyx filter.

Step 5:  Click on Onyx.  You'll see the photo with the grayscale filter applied.

Step 6:  You can click on Save a copy if you'd like to save the grayscale version to review the results later.

Here's my fabric selection, from lightest at the top to darkest at the bottom.  

I hope you find this useful!

Happy fabric pulling!

Joanne

PS:  There's  still time to join the free Colour Value Quilt-Along!  Click here to go register.

Revising my Mystery QAL fabric selection

I'm hosting a mystery quilt-along again this year.  Though I'm doubling the number of fabrics to four this time, I still want the colour selection to be fairly easy despite participants not knowing what the quilt will look like in the end.  

I chose a design that hinges on having 4 different colour values:  dark, medium-dark, medium and light.  I chose blues for the three darkest fabrics and a light on white print for the lightest.  These digital swatches of Island Batik foundations looked pretty good together.

From left to right:  Island Batik Foundations Marine, French Blue, Chambray and Glaze

I ordered my fabric, spent some time setting up the technical behind-the-scenes parts of the QAL, then squealed with delight when the fabric arrived and the colours were just as gorgoeus as I had hoped.

If I was so delighted, you ask, why am I revising my fabric selection?   Well, part of the beauty of batiks is that they are handmade and each bolt will have some variations.  Usually I love the interest that colour variations add to the quilt.  This time, there was a problem.

When the fabric arrived, I stacked the pieces togethher and saw the strong contrast between each of the fabric, just as I needed.  Today I unfolded the fabric to take some pictures and found this:

Where did my dark fabric go?????

The fabric has different shades of blue through it. I was expecting more of the dark navy you see in the upper right in the photo above, with just a small amount of the lighter blue for texture.  That's what I saw when I first saw the fabric.  When I unfolded it, there were larger patches of the light blue that blended very, very well with my medium-dark fabric.  That's not going to work.  I need strong contrast for this design.

Folks, this is reminder that nothing beats seeing a fabric in person before you buy if you have the option!  This afternoon I trotted off to my local quilt shop to see if I coud find a substitute dark batik.  Yes, I should have shopped there first and not only seen my fabrics before I bought, but also supported my local shop so they can stay in business so I can run there the next time I have a fabric emergency.

Thankfully, I found a dark that I think works.  It's Indigo Vines by Lunn Studios from Artisan Batiks: Kasuri.  I hadn't planned on using a print, but I think it will be OK.  In fact, I think that little bit of print will add a little extra interest to the quilt. 

I can't wait to get started on these quilts.  Yes. Quilts, plural.  Depending where you use the different colour values in the design, you'll get either a slighly traditional or a slightly modern quilt.  I just couldn't pick so I'm making both :)

The free Colour Value Mystery QAL will launch on March 13th and all clues (instructions) will be sent by email every Thursday for 8 weeks.  Registration will open this Friday, February 28th.  If you're on my mailing list, you'll get an email with the link.  I'll also share on Facebook and Instagram, and add a link to the right sidebar of this blog.  After registering, you'll receive an email with the fabric requirements for either version in a choice of 5 sizes, baby through king.  I hope you'll join me!

Happy quilting,

Joanne

Manor Garden

 Manor Garden is one of my favourite recent designs. It looks more complex to piece than it actually is.

Manor Garden by Canuck Quilter Designs
Made with Whispering Woods from Island Batik

As many of my designs do, it hinges on stitch-and-flip corners to build shapes without having to cut triangles or templates. 

Closeup of  Manor Garden by Canuck Quilter Designs
Made with Whispering Woods from Island Batik

The design reminded me of paths in a formal garden. Formal Gardens was already taken, so I had to stretch just a tiny bit for the pattern name.

Manor Garden by Canuck Quilter Designs
Made with Whispering Woods from Island Batik

The Whispering Woods collection from Island Batik is inspired by woods more than a garden, but the nature theme still worked quite nicely.  Here's my selection of 12 fabrics plus a basic foundation, Sugar, for the accent/sashing.  The Sugar has more golden tones that it seems in this photo.

You could also choose to repeat fabrics.

In this mockup I used only 6 instead of 12 fabrics of the Forest Flora collection, also from Island Batik. I also used the accent fabric for the border to lighten up the designs.  There are so many choices you can make to create a quilt different than the cover quilt!  

(Did you know I offer a whole Zoom presentation all about how to think beyond the pattern cover?  Your guild program chair can find out more about this and other lecture offerings here.)

One more picture, just because...

...I want to acknowledge and thank my husband for being such an accommodating quilt holder.  He deals with the wind yet never drops a quilt, holds on for "just one more" shot, and happily traipses through the park with quilts in tow.  It was particulalrly buggy the day we took these photos last summer, which deserves an extra thank you!

Today is less pleasant outside than last summer, though it is sunny at least and not as cold as earlier this week.  Still, I'm hunkered down in my sewing/design space, mulling over new designs and doing the last little bit of planning for my next mystery quiltalong starting on March 13th.  More info and signups for that coming this week!

Happy quilting,

Joanne