Adding Sparkle

Thanks to Wanda for giving me a nudge toward doing what I knew needed doing. She commented that the yellow section of the azalea mosaic that I felt looked flat just needed some really light yellow to spark it up. I let it sit over the weekend, because it's ALWAYS a good idea to set aside what you're working on and view it with fresh eyes and mind after a few days. Yup, as much as I wanted to be done with cutting and arranging squares, I knew Wanda was right. I started with a few squares cut from an almost white section of the light hand-dyed yellow, but the need for pattern was still nagging at the back of my brain. This sent me back to my batik stash where I found a perfect yellow with floral motifs. How this didn't get into the original stack of azalea matching fabric, I'm not sure; unless, of course, it was squirreled away in a pile waiting to be washed. Yeah, that must have been it, because this fabric was given to me as a going away present in 2006. Once again, I am my own worst enemy.


Here is a before and after closeup of the yellow section.


Yes, now that yellow quadrant plays the same game as the tangerine ones (click here to compare with the before full view), and you might notice that the purple one is trying to get in on the game too. I wasn't as lucky finding the perfect batik with a vine or floral motif - this one is a pale yellow with a lot of green and it almost fades off the grid somehow.


I kept digging and found another purple, not a true batik, but a print mimicking one. I'm wishing it had some yellow in it but just the little bit of pattern, I think, is an improvement. I'm still not sure about this section. Perhaps I'll experiment with a scrap of the batik and see if I can brighten that yellow with a little paint.