Making it right

I was putting off cutting the patches for one of my Godstone Grannies block because I just couldn't find the right fabric in my stash. I finally decided to take my own advice and make it right! I selected a fabric with a dark print on a pale grey background but I wanted something that had a yellow tint to it so that it would be a little softer and work with the yellow center. The solution? My Sakura Pigma pens! On the left you can see the fabric and above and below the hexagon block are a yellow pen and a black pen.

I used the yellow pen to soften the grey background and give it a soft, pale yellow tint. The black was used to darken the bottom edge of the hexagon and also to create a slight curve to create a secondary design. The hexagon on the left has been colour adjusted and the hexie on the right is "au naturel"! It is a subtle difference but that's all I needed.

In the next picture you can see that  the top three hexies have been altered and the bottom three are plain. I am much happier with the top three.

When all six are adjusted you can see the black shading around the center hexagon adds more visual interest!

So everything was going along smoothly until another problem arose! My yellow pen ran out of ink! But you know me.....problem/solution is my way of working! I knew I had a bottle of textile medium so I hauled it out along with my watercolour paints. I mixed up a little paint with the textile medium and did a test hexie. The hexagon on the left is au natuerl, the middle hexie is tinted with the pen and the hexie on the right is painted with the textile medium and watercolour paint. The painted hexie is a little darker than the hexie coloured with the pen but I think I like it better and it works with the center. So I'll baste all of the hexagons, paint them and then heat set the paint to make it permanent!

So if you find that you need a particular fabric for a block but don't have it in your stash, experiment! You might just come up with something really special!

Until I post again, happy messing around!
Karen H