34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's color schemes. Not color theory., August 26, 2006
This review is from: The Quilter's Color Scheme Bible: More than 700 stunning color combinations (Spiral-bound)
Every quilter gets stumped, at some point, when considering the fabrics and colors to use in a quilt. None of us want to invest the considerable amount of time, energy, and love that goes into creating a quilt, only to have the end result appear muddy, or garish, or with one color clashing with another.
The Quilter's Color Scheme Bible does indeed show you 700 variations of color on quilt blocks and in (somewhat abbreviated) quilts (that is, you see a 3x3 grid, not an entire quilt). Each page in the easy-to-flip-open book shows a given block (say, a bear's paw), with 7 examples of color schemes that will work. Since the book is separated by theme -- harmonious colors, saturated colors, shades, etc -- the most common blocks are shown with a couple dozen color combinations. So if you're stumped for how to choose colors with "puss in the corner" and not sure whether it'll work better with fall leaf colors or lilac shades, this book should certainly help you make choices. Certainly, it's rather stunning to see how your color choice can change the mood of the quilt or the patterns your eye follows.
However, this book isn't about teaching you to _think_ in color. It's primarily giving you a handy menu shortcut to help you _choose_ color. If you're staring at two indigo fabrics in your stash and wondering what would contrast best with them, this book could be a helpful tool. (I think I could accomplish almost as much by browsing colors in Electic Quilt 5, but the book is a lot cheaper than the software.)
One sign that this is not a book that is serious about explaining how color "works" and how to make your own choices is that its color wheel repeats an old error... one that makes me wince every time I see it. The color wheel is presented with the primary colors as red, yellow, and blue -- when that is NOT SO. The "blue" that you first met as a primary color in kindergarten is actually _cyan_. In most of life, who cares -- but this is a book about color, and it ought to be explicit and correct. Amazon has several books about color theory for quilters, but the one with which I'm most familiar (and I like quite a bit -- I learned a lot) is Color Play: Easy Steps to Imaginative Color in Quilts, by Joen Wolfrom.
As a result, the value of this book varies based on what you're shopping for. If you want a "Cliff's Notes" to color choices, this one will do just fine. It will not serve your needs adequately, however, if what you seek is a book to help you "think better" about color.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Quilters will find this indispensable., October 14, 2006
This review is from: The Quilter's Color Scheme Bible: More than 700 stunning color combinations (Spiral-bound)
Over seven hundred color variations for a range of traditional and modern quilting and patchwork designs, from nine-patch to octagons, are packed into Celia Eddy's The Quilter's Color Scheme Bible, a handy reference which provides at-a-glance details for quilters who want to mix and match designs and colors. Arrangements focus on complimentary tonal variations and include choices of these combinations, each shown as a photographed fabric swatch. Comments include notes on mood influences, changes between combinations, how the eye perceives patterns and designs, and more. Quilters will find this indispensable.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
100 Traditional Blocks, shown in 7 colorways, using typically 3-color combinations, February 2, 2009
This review is from: The Quilter's Color Scheme Bible: More than 700 stunning color combinations (Spiral-bound)
I agree with both of the previous reviewers that this is not the best book on color theory, and yet it is a wonderful quick reference for color combinations within a pattern. It may be surprising to those new to quilting, how different patterns emerge when choosing placement of light and dark colors. Even though I would still sketch my own color choices, or use EQ software, this book is very helpful in seeing the possibilities in patterns (because of value) before you commit to cutting your fabric. Nice reference book, but only a 3-star because I would probably use more than 3 fabrics (colors)in a quilt, and there are so many more books I think are inspirational to own first.
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