NUMBER 13!

I'm still trying to get through my head that it is now December.  Where has this year gone!  So far, Connecticut hasn't received any snow (not that I'm looking for it!!), and the only sign that tells me that this is December is that I'm now seeing more outdoor christmas decorations on houses and lawns.  Yes, my christmas lights are up too!
The reason that I titled my latest blog 'Number 13!' is that I just completed my 13th barn quilt.  Now, to some people this number conjures up bad luck and should be avoided like the plague.  Well, for me this number was lucky in several ways.  While I was planning out the color combinations for Spinning Spools I wanted to paint the spools tan.  I didn't have any tan paint, so I decided to try mixing my own colors.  Now, you would think that, in order to make tan, all you need to do is to add some white paint to brown paint and, VOILA, you have tan.  Not so.  If you go to my last blog showing the sign board that I painted, take a look at the background color that the Mariner's Compass is on.  That was supposed to be tan.  However, when you look at it closely, it has sort of a lavender hue to it.  It doesn't look bad, but it's not tan.  So, I go to the trusted internet and search 'How to I make the color tan?' and came up with the following color combination.  White paint, some yellow, a touch of red and a touch of black.   There were no measurements given for the amount of each to use.  So, I said what the heck, let's experiment.  The result you can see in the photo.  Very close to tan, in my books!

As you all know, practice makes perfect with anything that you do repeatedly.  Now that I have 13 barn quilts under my belt, I'm getting much better at taping off the various area's of the board when applying paints.  In the past I have had to retouch area's on the board where small amounts of one color of paint would seep between the tape and onto the adjacent colors.  So I was lucky, once again, that my taping came out flawlessly and I had no retouching to do.  Is my head swelling?!  Well, maybe so.  The next photo shows the results of my taping.

The secret to making nice sharp and crisp lines between paint colors is very scientific.  I use the curved end of a Sharpie pen!!  After applying the tape, I press down the edge of the tape that is facing the side that I want to paint, with the Sharpie pen.  I also use the end of a modeling paint brush and press the tape down at the point where it overlaps other tape.  You can see a very small void under the top tape.  By pressing it down, you eliminate the chance of paint seeping in the corner.  Gee, do you think that I can patent this tool?!
Now, I've got to decide what block pattern I would like to do next.  I have a couple of idea's. 
I would like to close by thanking you for taking the time to visit and read my blogs.  Please feel free to post comments.  I look forward to reading them.