Friday, May 14, 2010

Color, Color, Color


What’s your favorite color?

This is a tough question! The more you delve into it, the harder it is to answer. I have favorite colors for certain things – like really white milk, dark green leaves, silvery fish, slate stones, muted brown tree trunks, flaming red watermelon, sweet pink roses, luscious eggplant…it goes on and on. And then there are colors I use to create a homey environment (soft gray with bright white trim), a creative office space (green) or a clean embroidery studio (cream). But when I open my closet, I see my old favorites – black, gray and brown splashed with bursts of lilac, pale blue, lime, apple green, silver and white. We are creatures of habit. I often buy the same clothes over and over again. And it’s not on purpose, it’s just habit. I can’t resist a chic white tee or deep black pants. You’d think I was a waitress!


So how do we break our color habits? For me, I do that with embroidery. First off, I’m a firm believer in SEEING the embroidery. So even if I’m going for a monochromatic look, I make sure the threads are in the same color family but not the same value. I love experimenting with new color combinations. Coral, turquoise and tan are a new favorite. I find aqua, black and gray stunning. So what’s your favorite combination? Do you love brights? Pastels? Earth tones or jewel tones? Do you have two or three colors that you just can’t resist?   
 Post a comment below telling us your favorite color combo and get a chance to win a one-year subscription to Designs in Machine Embroidery Magazine! If you already subscribe, we’ll renew your subscription for a full year!

The lucky winner from last weeks giveaway for the Mini-King spools of rayon thread is...CHERYL!

Cheryl said...
Oh wow, my first sewing lesson from my mom was sewing strips of rag fabric together, so she could make rag rugs to sell. It was a White treadle machine, that is still in the family. Later, when I didn't need as much supervision she purchased, with S&H Green Stamps an electric zigzag portable machine, so we could both sew at the same time.

Congratulations, Cheryl! Be sure to email Amanda at agriffin@dzgns.com to give us your address so we can send you your gift!

I look forward to hearing from everybody!

35 comments:

Unknown on May 14, 2010 at 4:11 PM said...

My favorite color combo is blue and green. Dark, bright, pastel, dusty. Second choice would be blue and yellow. And finally, blue and brown. Are you getting the theme here? Blue it is!

srb4 on May 14, 2010 at 4:26 PM said...

I am a purple-pink-red fan. I often use some sort of plain or lightly patterned fabric to embroider my designs, because I really love to have the embroidered design pop from the pillow, jacket, placemat I have made. I use other colors, of course, but when I look at my creations over the last few years, there is a lot of purple-pink-red!

Phyllis in Texas on May 14, 2010 at 4:32 PM said...

I love Blue and White. It always feel fresh. I also like black pants with brightly colored tops like Red, Yellow, Lime, or Pink.

Unknown on May 14, 2010 at 4:34 PM said...

I love colors of any kind and in unusual combinations. I have never really had a favorite color, and my wardrobe refects a diversity of colors. Dark fabrics with metallic gold and silver color embellishments are my favorites for special clothing. Metallic colors can really dress up a jean jacket or simple pair of jeans to make a spectacular outfit.
Gail

Cathy in AK on May 14, 2010 at 5:21 PM said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Cathy in AK on May 14, 2010 at 5:23 PM said...

My latest favorite color combination is lime green and shades of bright pink - fuschia, hot pink, light pink. Of course that could change tomorrow!

Unknown on May 14, 2010 at 5:32 PM said...

The colors I always gravitate to are white and black with a bright lime green as an accent. I love the contrast.

Mary on May 14, 2010 at 5:57 PM said...

My color is blue and taupe,the purple or lavender and green and I love red, white, and blues. Blues it is for me.

Unknown on May 14, 2010 at 6:58 PM said...

Hi I like pastel colors they are soft and I like that. But I would have to say my favorites are the twisted variegated ones they can make a whole design go from drab to fantastic. The sky isn't one color nor the grass and leaves. I just love them you can do so many things with the color choices. Beverly ^j^

rosemaryschild on May 14, 2010 at 7:08 PM said...

My favorite color combo is brown & turquoise. Brown is not really a favorite color for most, but add a splash of turquoise & you have something wonderful & eye-catching!

bissecat on May 14, 2010 at 11:44 PM said...

My favorite colours is :Black,Red,vhite and lime .

Judy @ CQC Library on May 15, 2010 at 12:28 AM said...

I love all kinds of combinations of colors, but I'd have to say my all time favorite is the complementary combo of yellow-green with red-violet.

Unknown on May 15, 2010 at 9:06 AM said...

My favorite colors are Browns with what I call Pooh (Winnie) Green and turquoise. I also love the green and turquoise with a nice sharp black. But all in all I must say by pattern comes down to the Pooh Green - I even had a spa room painted that color - Love it.
theagedpage@roadrunner.com

Stitchfork on May 15, 2010 at 12:43 PM said...

My favorite can change from day-to-day and project-to-project and season-to-season. But I do lean towards shades of blues on brown as a no-fail combo!
Cathy aka Stitchfork

Anne on May 15, 2010 at 2:15 PM said...

I love rich blues mixed with white and yellow. I collect Blue Willow dishes, so my eye is always drawn to blue-and-white combos.

Greta on May 15, 2010 at 3:35 PM said...

My favorite colors never change... white, black, purple, blue and green. I also like the in between color combo's such as aqua, turquoise, lavender, grays, but stay away from reds and yellows. Brown is tricky as there are some very pretty ones, but a lot of them are downright awful and my family call those "fuzmuckelty"... not sure of the origin of that word, but it comes from the hills of West Virginia.

chelsea1 on May 16, 2010 at 5:06 AM said...

My favorite color combos include brown, it is a softer contrasting color than black. I love blue and brown, pink and brown, green and brown.....

Cheryl on May 16, 2010 at 11:43 PM said...

For me color really depends on my mood. Sometimes it's blue, or brown, and another day will be bright red, or pale yellow. But Magenta, Purple, and Green will always get my attentions. Purple I use the most, in clothing, quilt fabric, and embroidery thread, next comes green. Magenta is more of a hot accent to the purple and green.

CoffeeWineConversation on May 17, 2010 at 12:44 PM said...

I love deep blood red with gold. I love it so much, I tend to overuse the combination and have to convince myself to use other color combos even if my design cries out for blood red and gold!

Manuela on May 17, 2010 at 12:59 PM said...

I like mauve and brown together.

Sara on May 17, 2010 at 1:16 PM said...

I love black and purple, but with summer coming I've been doing a lot of hot pink and lime green together, too! =)

Kyra on May 17, 2010 at 1:25 PM said...

Shimmering copper rose

Misanthropic in Marion on May 17, 2010 at 1:35 PM said...

Aqua and Lime green all the way. Lately I'm been wanting to add punches of tangerine too.

GirlyGirlBags on May 17, 2010 at 1:54 PM said...

I love pink/blue with chocolate brown and pink and green!

Betsy on May 17, 2010 at 2:04 PM said...

I have always been a nut for green, and right now I am seeing my grape leaves unfold with the most luscious shade of dusty purple/rose and it sets off the green beautifully!

Molly on May 17, 2010 at 4:16 PM said...

My favorite colors are green, brown and cream. I love to mix in reds and oranges, too.

Unknown on May 17, 2010 at 4:18 PM said...

I love all earth tones found in nature...how can you beat what Mother Nature has decorated with!! Especially like to decorate with chocolate brown and citrus green--awesome combo, add some splashes of red for extra punch. These are happy and soothing colors.

AdronsCatherine on May 17, 2010 at 5:06 PM said...

I love cream, brown, and pink together :o) Of course, there are so many other combos I adore, but that would be today's fave lol!

JanetteB on May 17, 2010 at 10:27 PM said...

What a lovely selection of colors together. Now to peruse the rest of the blog!!

Unknown on May 18, 2010 at 6:28 AM said...

For the last few months, my favorite colors have been coral and cream... that mouth-watering "watermelon" shade of coral that is nearly pink. I even bought shoes this color (and I don't usually own any other than your basic black/brown/beige shoes).

Karen on May 18, 2010 at 3:16 PM said...

I have to confess that my favorite colors seem to change often. I love black and white with an accent, like red or hot pink, but just love lime green too.

Karen

bev153 on May 19, 2010 at 7:51 PM said...

Any colors that remind me of summer.The blues and greens of water, the tan & white of sand on a beach the yellows and reds of a sun set over the water.I guess i just LOVE Summer Color

Barbara Johnson on May 19, 2010 at 9:18 PM said...

Before machine embroidery if you asked me that question I would have said blue..flat out! Now..only after watching designs stitch out and see the amazing use of color for accent and emphasis, my color world has been opened wide. I have always loved the glitz of metallics. But now it seems the current set of colors I am working with are my favorite, whatever they may be. Thank goodness we have so many to choose from to meet our moods!

WiTatter on May 23, 2010 at 12:34 PM said...

My favorite color is purple, in all it's various shades and hues. From the pales lavenders to the darkest purples. I enjoy all colors, it just depends on my mood, the weather and the season.

designer bedding bed linen on August 4, 2010 at 1:26 AM said...

i am uk base designer bedding company and i love to use cool and calm colors in bedding, throw, bed linen and cushions designs