Color Play: Easy Steps to Imaginative Color in Quilts [Paperback]

Joen Wolfrom (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2000

Features 24 colors, their characteristics, and combinations that look fabulous in quilts.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Joen Wolfrom, the author of Make Any Block Any Size and other quilting books, teaches and lectures internationally. She lives in Fox Island, Washington.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: C&T Publishing (October 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 157120105X
• ISBN-13: 978-1571201058
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #78,144 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Joen began quiltmaking in 1974, after she left her career in the education field to become a homemaker and a stay-at-home mom. Her interest in color and design surfaced in the early 1980s. She has taught and lectured in the quilting field, both nationally and internationally since 1984. Her guest international work has included engagements in England, the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Canada, Germany, Holland, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. In the 1980s, Joen created commissioned textile art for many private clients and corporations. Her work is included in collections throughout the world. Joen is the author of nine books and products. Several were been bestsellers in the arts and crafts field. Her works include A Garden Party of Quilts, Color Play, Make Any Block Any Size, Patchwork Persuasion, The Visual Dance, The Magical Effects of Color, Landscapes & Illusions, Paper Crafter's Color Companion, and the 3-in-1 Color Tool. Joen's earliest bestsellers (Landscapes & Illusions, The Magical Effects of Color, The Visual Dance) will be available electronically in 2007. Joen is the owner of JWD Publishing, a pattern company that publishes designs by leading quiltmakers and designers. These patterns may be purchased at quilt and fabric stores under each designer's pattern-line name. Joen enjoys working in her garden, reading, photography, hiking, playing bridge, and spending time with her family. Visit Joen's website at www.joenwolfrom.com and her pattern company's website at www.jwdpublishing.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

135 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moods and seasons of color, January 12, 2002

By 

Suzanne P. Thomas (Colorado, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Color Play: Easy Steps to Imaginative Color in Quilts (Paperback)

Nothing is more disappointing than to see a beautifully sewn quilt that is ugly. All those hours and material invested to produce, hmm, well, something that will keep someone warm.
While nothing can replace a quilter's own developing sense of color relationships for creating a stunning quilt, Joen's Color Play is a great self-teaching tool. Information many people learned years ago in school, for example that blue and orange are complementary colors, is not true in fabrics. Joen presents the Ives Color Wheel, and promises her readers that using magenta, yellow and turquoise as the primary colors instead of red, yellow and blue will 'create the most powerfully beautiful colors in the world.' The Ives Color Wheel is presented as the only element on page 11 so it is large enough to be very useful when selecting fabrics.
Joen also discusses the colors that correspond with various seasons and moods, helping any quilter who wants to convey a particular feeling or time of year.
Although much of the book consists of color drawings of quilts to illustrate color partnerships, dozens of pictures of real quilts are included and referred to as examples. A bonus chapter at the end explain how to created special effects such as a sense of depth, luminosity, luster, transparency, shadows and highlights - very inspiring!
A great reference book!

110 of 110 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good color reference book, June 24, 2001

By 

"mcc84" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Color Play: Easy Steps to Imaginative Color in Quilts (Paperback)

I am a big fan of Joen Wolfrom and own most of her books, including the Magical Effects of Color which is widely considered one of the best books on color theory for quilters. While I love and refer to The Magical Effects of Color, it tends to be slightly more academic than some might prefer as it goes into some depth on the theory and science of color. Color Play, while covering most of the same principles, is more of an applied lesson in color - a very readable reference when planning a color scheme for a quilt. The book is organized in chapters by color and for each color focuses on its characteristics, offering color combinations that are stunning. Much of her reference is the color combinations we see in nature and nature's spectacular use of analagous, complementary and split complementary color schemes. If you're like me, you'll want to own both The Magical Effects of Color AND Color Play ( as well as every other book by Wolfrom); however if you are simply looking for a very good color reference, Color Play is an excellent choice.

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Always a good source of inspiration, May 26, 2001

By 

Carol H. Miller (www.Quilt University.com) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Color Play: Easy Steps to Imaginative Color in Quilts (Paperback)

It's always a pleasure to see a new book by Joen. I have loved her work since Landscapes and Illusions. Her previous book, the Magical Effects of Color is the premiere reference for working in fabric and color as far as I am concerned. This book is a continuation and recap of much of the information she has covered in Magical Effects and in The Visual Dance. If you already own those books, you will not find much truly new here, although the individual pages showing colors working together in tints and shades is a new and welcome addition. If you are not lucky enough to already have one of Joen's previous books, buy this one. Her understanding of what makes things works together cannot be beat. And she is explaining color from a textile viewpoint, not paint. It makes a world of difference. Her style is readable and all her points are linked to quilt examples. As always, it's like taking a class in color.