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Color Planning
step by step

	The pattern shown here is what I started with. Watch the progress as I work out the colors I will use for this piece. The final project always looks like magic, but the actual progress is a bit messier.
	DAY 1, ATTEMPT 1: I began by hooking the center rose. I had a white and red textured wool that I wanted to use. I thought a light background would be fun to try. The greens are a mix of what scraps I had on hand. I like the soft look.
	DAY 1, ATTEMPT 2: I then hooked the leaves on the opposite side of the rose and hooked in some of my Antique Background (available on the supply page). I liked this background also. It has more of the richness and drama that I am used to seeing in my hooking.
	DAY 1, ATTEMPT 3: What if I try something different? Leaves don't always have to be green. Why not yellow and gold? Against the dark background there is plenty of contrast.... but is there too much for the soft look I want?
	DAY ONE, ATTEMPT 4: If the yellow is too much contrast, what about camel instead? I used my favorite red combination, My Favorite from my book, Dyeing by the Numbers, and 2005 red (this recipe is here on my website).
	At the end of the first day I like the final section at the left. I will look at it again tomorrow and re-evaluate. Notice how I worked all over the piece using different color combinations and I DID NOT RIP OUT. Keep the "bad" stuff in, until you need that space to hook. Often what you don't like immediately after hooking it, looks better later and from a distance. If you rip it out, you lose that information.
	DAY 2: I liked the reds I used yesterday on the end rose, so decided to hook the middle rose with those colors but with a different light background. One that was more neutral and had less of a green cast. It is hard to see the difference in this photo, but you can click on it to make it larger. In fact you can click on any picture that has a blue frame to make it larger to see more detail.
	DAY 3: The next morning I decided that even though I like and wanted to do soft, real soft is just not my style. I needed more textures. The leaves were OK, but I added a green texture here and there anyway. I did my first reverse hooking, ripping out. I removed the hooking that I had done on the center flower. I redesigned the spiral and used textures instead. Now I like it. I tried a yellow rose for the middle one. It's OK, but needs something. I let it go and hook the background instead. Notice how I hook a squiggle all over the background? This sets up the direction of the background hooking, but also breaks it up and makes it more fun to hook. Also if I look like I will run out of background, introducing a new wool is easy.
	I was concerned that the yellow flower would be too bright, so I hooked the background in solid. Eliminating the backing color is the only way to be sure. II decided that it is too light, and the small red flower on the right needs something also. I don't mind that the leaves tend to disappear. I like that look.
	DAY 4: I removed the lightest yellow from the medium sized rose and added a texture with reds and the tiniest bit of yellow. I also adjusted the spiral on this flower. See the line coming in from the right. To work this in, I just snipped and removed enough wool to squeeze the new line in. I added a dark yellow texture to the smallest flower, but it looks like it still needs something else.
	TO BE CONTINUED. . . . .

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