Saturday 1 May 2021

Rule Breaker

 I was feeling very smug when this quarter's theme was announced, as nearly two years ago I bought a postcard in a Dundee Museum of a colour chart from Munsell's Colour System to base my quilt on when this theme came up. Well, I wasn't feeling so smug when I started reading up about the system and thought about how that could be replicated in a quilt! I pretty quickly realised that producing a quilt based upon Munsell's system and to do the theme justice was never going to happen, so instead I looked beyond the scientific theories and systems ascribed to colour and went back to basics.


I thought about the sayings relating to colour that I have grown up with, the most quoted of which was "Red and Green should never be seen, except upon an Irish Queen" and decided to put together a Challenge quilt that broke the rule! My Rule Breaker quilt has 10 Red and 10 Green fans alternately arranged in a circle, with a red and green centre that mixes both red and green in two of the quarter circles - very daring :)

It seems that whilst I thought that the Red and Green rule was pretty universal, there are others who maintain that it is blue and green that should not be seen so I placed my red and green Dresden Plate on a blue twill background to break another rule at the same time!

The Dresden plate was quilted with red and green thread in concentric circles to carry on the theme :)

I admit to being biased but I think the red and green combination looks rather well, so I am not sure that I agree with that old saying.

Head on over to Celtic Thistle Stitches to find out more about my Rule Breaker quilt!

13 comments:

  1. It was quite a large subject, wasn't it?! I love the idea of colour rule-breaking - what works works! I think that your red, green and blue combination produces a really exciting effect especially when they are put together in such a dynamic shape, with your lovely strippy binding.

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    1. Thanks Catherine, I really struggled with this theme I have to admit so I am pleased to have it out of the way!

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  2. That's so funny - we have that saying as Blue and Green should ne'er be seen so breaking all the rules in the same piece is a great idea. I really like the tones in the greens and reds, clashing and complimeting at the same time - you rule breaker you!

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    1. I always assumed that the saying was the same everywhere so was really surprised to find that there were other versions!

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  3. I love that you broke the rules! Turned out great.

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    1. Thanks Debbi, it is easy to break the rules when no-one can decide what the rules are :)

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  4. Oh, you rebel, you! Love this. I love blues and greens together. Those colors are so often seen together in nature.

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    1. Thanks Barbara, I did intend to take a photo of the quilt with a red/green bush in the background but none of the bushes near me are in flower yet and the red tulips which were are way past their best now :(

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  5. I just looked up Munsell's Colour Order System and I think a quilt based on that may have taken up the rest of your life! Your rule breaker quilt is much more fun. My Dad is colour blind with red and green and he can see both colours on their own but they merge/blur if they are together so, for example, he doesn't see the berries properly on a holly bush. Next time I see him, I'll try to remember to ask him what your quilt looks like to him. I wonder if the didactic person behind that rhyme was colour blind too or just bossy and opinionated!

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    1. That's what I thought too Janine! There is a theory that the saying has to do with lights at sea where you should never (apparently) see a red and a green light at the same time, but that might just have been made to fit the opinion of a bossy fashionista :)

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    2. The sea theory would make sense - similar with traffic lights!

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  6. While growing up and in high school, it was contended that the combination of purple and green were "gross". I have no idea why, but I rather like that combination now. I feel the same about these colors. Glad you decided to break the rules!

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    1. It is strange where all these so-called rules came from Wendy isn't it, especially as nature breaks them all on a pretty regular basis :)

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